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Why Google’s recent changes mean good news for the SEO industry

Posted on 25. Oct, 2011 by Laura in Blog, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, writing for search engines

Guest Author, Bharati Ahuja

Recently we have been observing many changes affecting the SEO industry. These changes are all initiated by Google and have a direct impact on SEO campaigns in some way or another. The SEO industry has been exploding the web with blog posts, comments and opinions about these updations, most of which are like an accusation that Google is out to get at organic search with a vengeance and give preference, priority and partial treatment to paid search.

The major Google developments affecting the search scene have been:

• Obviously, the Panda update
• The integration of Webmaster Tools with Google Analytics, reflecting SEO data (queries, landing pages, geographical data)
• Google Analytics social data (engagement, action and pages )
• Google Analytics real-time data (Beta Version – this data shows you what is happening on your website as it happens, but only some accounts have access to these reports)
• Google’s “Encrypted Search”

Of course there are many more, but these updations and developments have a direct impact on SEO campaigns. I believe that whatever the prime objective of Google may be currently –whether it is to promote paid search or to improve the quality of organic search results in general — in the long run, these changes will surely improve the quality standards of the SEO industry and improve the overall quality of the web. Why?

• The Panda update focused on quality content and an eradication of content spam.
• The reflection of the social data proves that the integration of social and search results is something that Google is working on and taking seriously.
• The other developments related with Google Analytics and encrypted search shows that Google wants the website owners to get genuine and accurate data for their SEO campaigns .

The prime objective of an SEO campaign is to earn the clicks due to the quality aspects of the website as per the search engine standards and not account for every click as in the case of PPC, where every click has a cost implication.

Moreover, if the site is optimized correctly the search presence of the website continues to improve and become richer with time, thereby ensuring an increasing trend for targeted traffic, whereas in the case of a paid search campaign the period for which the website is having the search presence is limited to the period for which you are paying for the campaign.

I think all these changes are drawing a clear, distinct line between organic search campaigns and paid campaigns. The choice is to be made by the website owner, whether he wants to build a search presence step by step via a SEO campaign or go for a Paid search presence campaign via paid search, or would like to have a combination of both , depending on  the approach, need and requirement for a search engine presence.

All of these developments will make SEOs and website owners think beyond rankings and keywords, because the true meaning of SEO is to ensure quality search engine presence on maximum search options by focusing on overall quality web presence — enhancing the quality aspects of the website and reaching out to netizens via various modes of social media.

About the Author:

Bharati Ahuja  is founder of WebPro Technologies, SEO Trainer and Speaker, Web Entrepreneur, Blog Writer, and Internet Marketing Consultant.

Why Google’s recent changes mean good news for the SEO industry

Posted on 25. Oct, 2011 by Laura in Blog, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, writing for search engines

Guest Author, Bharati Ahuja

Recently we have been observing many changes affecting the SEO industry. These changes are all initiated by Google and have a direct impact on SEO campaigns in some way or another. The SEO industry has been exploding the web with blog posts, comments and opinions about these updations, most of which are like an accusation that Google is out to get at organic search with a vengeance and give preference, priority and partial treatment to paid search.

The major Google developments affecting the search scene have been:

• Obviously, the Panda update
• The integration of Webmaster Tools with Google Analytics, reflecting SEO data (queries, landing pages, geographical data)
• Google Analytics social data (engagement, action and pages )
• Google Analytics real-time data (Beta Version – this data shows you what is happening on your website as it happens, but only some accounts have access to these reports)
• Google’s “Encrypted Search”

Of course there are many more, but these updates and developments have a direct impact on SEO campaigns. I believe that whatever the prime objective of Google may be currently –whether it is to promote paid search or to improve the quality of organic search results in general — in the long run, these changes will surely improve the quality standards of the SEO industry and improve the overall quality of the web. Why?

• The Panda update focused on quality content and an eradication of content spam.
• The reflection of the social data proves that the integration of social and search results is something that Google is working on and taking seriously.
• The other developments related with Google Analytics and encrypted search shows that Google wants the website owners to get genuine and accurate data for their SEO campaigns .

The prime objective of an SEO campaign is to earn the clicks due to the quality aspects of the website as per the search engine standards and not account for every click as in the case of PPC, where every click has a cost implication.

Moreover, if the site is optimized correctly the search presence of the website continues to improve and become richer with time, thereby ensuring an increasing trend for targeted traffic, whereas in the case of a paid search campaign the period for which the website is having the search presence is limited to the period for which you are paying for the campaign.

I think all these changes are drawing a clear, distinct line between organic search campaigns and paid campaigns. The choice is to be made by the website owner, whether he wants to build a search presence step by step via a SEO campaign or go for a Paid search presence campaign via paid search, or would like to have a combination of both , depending on  the approach, need and requirement for a search engine presence.

All of these developments will make SEOs and website owners think beyond rankings and keywords, because the true meaning of SEO is to ensure quality search engine presence on maximum search options by focusing on overall quality web presence — enhancing the quality aspects of the website and reaching out to netizens via various modes of social media.

About the Author:

Bharati Ahuja  is founder of WebPro Technologies, SEO Trainer and Speaker, Web Entrepreneur, Blog Writer, and Internet Marketing Consultant.

How to write for Google’s expanded site links

Posted on 29. Aug, 2011 by Laura in Blog, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, web writing, writing for search engines

Greetings to you! Today, Heather addresses how to write for Google’s expanded site links. Yes, you may have noticed that Google has made yet another change to its SERP (search engine results page). This change presents a fantastic opportunity: besides displaying expanded site links, Google is also displaying a little snippet from each of those links from the page’s meta description.

So now, rather than having just one or two links and corresponding meta description snippets to leverage, you’ve up to six via Google’s expanded search results. Tune is as Heather explains more about this newest SEO opportunity and how to take full advantage of it:

1. More SERP real estate – more opportunities

With the expansion of site links in Google’s search engine results comes that much more SERP real estate for site owners to fill out with meta descriptions (think marketing statements) for those links.

As shown by the Brookstone SERP example, there is little bit of information about each site link (“snippet”) included beneath the main site link. These snippets are pulled from the corresponding pages’ meta descriptions.

• Now, the meta description is even more important

2. Why? A comparison to illustrate: Starbuck’s vs. Seattle’s Best Coffee

Looking at the SERP for Starbuck’s, you can see that it has its sitelink optimization down, providing unique descriptions across their pages from its career center to its compelling product description.

On the other hand, looking at Seattle’s Best Coffee, you see that they have the same meta description across multiple pages: coffee, coffee locator, zip code, map it.

• So you can see how Google’s new way of displaying its search results provides a great opportunity for writing multiple, powerful marketing statements.

Granted you don’t have  a lot of characters to work with – around 35’ish with spaces – but you can see what you can do to make those characters count, making your statement the best it can be for the user.

3. So what does this mean for you?

• Check your sitelinks – what do you see?
• Know that every page must have a unique meta description. If your pages don’t have a meta description, this is great opportunity.
• Google is displaying about 35’ish characters of the opening meta description text, so you need to write well and write tight.
• Adding keyphrases and calls to action is a great idea.

A great resource (which inspired this post) is by Adam Sherk: http://www.adamsherk.com/seo/google-expanded-sitelinks-optimization/.

Remember, if you’ve been thinking about taking advantage of the 30% discount on SEO Copywriting Certification Training by signing up for the free weekly SEO Copywriting Buzz Newsletter, it’s time to take action. This discount ends August 31^st!

Do you have a question for Heather? She’d love to help you out – just shoot an email to her at askheather@seocopywriting.com.  We’ll pick up the Monday video how-to again after the Labor Day weekend, on September 12^th.  See you then!

What is SEO copywriting and why is it important to my site?

Posted on 15. Aug, 2011 by Laura in Blog, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, writing for search engines

Welcome back! In this week’s web-writing video how-to, Heather strips SEO copywriting down to the bare bones: what it is, how it differs from straight copywriting, and why it is so important for web pages and sites.

A lot of folks unfamiliar with SEO copywriting basics find that their new website or newly-uploaded web pages are not performing well in terms of rankings in Google or Bing search results. If this sounds like you, then learning how to write for search engines may help you take your site from where it is now to where you would like it to be.

Join Heather as she discusses the SEO copywriting fundamentals:

1. Definition of SEO copywriting

Taking it down to the fundamentals, SEO copywriting (or SEO content) is online writing that includes keyphrases.*

Keyphrases are designed to help that online text rank better in the search engines. For those of you new to SEO copywriting terms, “keyphrases” simply refers to those *words people type into a search box to find the information they need.

• So SEO copywriting is a very different kind of writing than just straight copywriting, because you’re also looking at what the search engines are looking at in terms of what people are searching for – and then making sure that those search terms are in the content.

2. SEO copywriting satisfies two masters

This doesn’t mean once you know the search terms you want to include them as much as possible in the copy. More is not better. Good SEO copywriting actually satisfies two masters.

Yes, you want to achieve those search engine rankings, but as importantly, you want that same writing to satisfy your customers. You want the writing to resonate with the folks coming to your site and help them think, “all right, I’m at the right place, I can trust this company, and I want to read more (or, I want to buy now).”

• So with skilled SEO copywriting, your writing is actually straddling that line: you’re writing really, really good content for your users, but you also know what the search engines need to see in order to help that page get a better search position – so you’re adding those elements, as well.

3.  Why is good SEO copywriting so important?

Marketing expert Seth Godin has said that the best SEO is great content.

This is really exciting, because is shows your writing – how and what you write – has everything to do with customer satisfaction, search engine ranking, traffic to your blog, and financial success.

• Good SEO copywriting engages your customers, makes you money and attracts incoming links.

4.  The key is quality content

How you write what you write is critical.

• Include keyphrases – yes. But focus more on writing great content for your users.

And the reason for that is not only do your readers want a good experience – they don’t want to suffer poorly-written, keyphrase-stuffed content – but also the search engines want to see quality content.

For those of you new to SEO, Google recently (within the past few months) updated their algorithm so that pages with “thin” content (i.e., little substance, many keyphrases) got “demoted” from the top spots in the Google search listings, because Google wants to see (and reward) good, meaty, quality content.

• So yes, while you want to include SEO elements into your writing, don’t assume that more is better.  The search engines are looking for what your readers are looking for – solid, quality content.

5.  If your online writing wasn’t written with SEO in mind…

You are not alone – there are a lot of site owners in the same boat. And…

• Good news! You have a huge opportunity!

You can start learning how to write for search engines and master those SEO copywriting basics.  You can learn how to take those pages that might not be positioning where you want, and see them start to gain ranking in search engines and see more traffic to your site as a result.

Thanks for tuning in! If you have a question for Heather, please feel free to shoot her an email at askheather@seocopywriting.com, and you may well see it video-answered next week. See you then!

How to write for Google’s Panda update

Posted on 01. Aug, 2011 by Laura in Blog, Copywriting, Freelance SEO copywriting, seo content strategy, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, writing for search engines

Wrestling with the Panda?

If the challenge of working with Google’s Panda update is weighing heavily on your SEO copywriting mind, you’re not alone. Today’s video post addresses the ever more frequent reader question: “How do I write online copy for Google’s Panda update?”

The Panda update has received a lot of attention in industry news and online forums for some time now, as many site owners have found pages that had positioned relatively well before the update have dropped – often dramatically – post-Panda.  And they’re scrambling to figure out what to do about it.

So for today’s video how-to, Heather has put together some tips for working with Google’s Panda update:

1.  Don’t Try to Trick the Panda

There are all kinds of articles and posts online about “special techniques” to get around the Panda update, or to somehow “fool” Google whereby it considers your site to have far more quality content than it actually does.

• Don’t Do It!

The gist of Google’s Panda update is that Google wants to reward those sites that have good content with higher rankings in its search engine results. The Big G does not want icky, anemic content that fails to educate readers or otherwise convey value.

• Instead, Take the Opportunity to Revisit Thin Web Pages & Rewrite Content

Rather than trying to “trick” the Panda or find a way around Google’s algorithm, focus instead on doing what everyone was supposed to be doing in the first place:  follow best practices and create truly valuable content that resonates with your readers and offers them a worthwhile user experience.

2.  Focus on Quality – Not Quantity

One of the issues pre-Panda was that site owners were trying to crank out as much copy as they possibly could.  So rather than focusing on the quality of content, many site owners were of the mindset:  “We need to create 20 articles around one keyword…the articles don’t need to be good, we just need them written fast and uploaded even faster.”

• So if you feel like you’ve been writing at a break-neck pace and your content reflects that (i.e., it hasn’t been all that good), then this gives you the opportunity to step back and evaluate your writing to figure out how you can make it better.

Rather than concerning yourself with kicking out X number of articles per day/week/month, focus on content quality.  By quality, consider these parameters:

• Content that likely will be shared
• Content that is genuinely useful and informative

If you create content around what your readers want rather than what you think Google wants, then that will improve your copy immediately.

3.  Feed the Panda Healthy – Not Junk – Content

What Panda did was to weed out sites that churned out what Google considers “thin content.”  We’ve all seen these pages, where they positioned well in search results but when you clicked through to the site, you were greeted with horrible writing and a bunch of ads – and you could readily tell that the content was written strictly for search engines.

• As with quality content vs. quantity “pulp,” you want to focus on what would make a good reader experience: substantive content that would be “passed” by Panda and considered good “Google juice,” rather than poor copy that the Panda will munch away and kick out of the index.
• So again, this presents a great opportunity to winnow out any junk content that you might have on your site, and start rewriting these pages gradually so that they’re centered on your readers, targeted towards your reader persona, and offer what your readers want.

Creating high-quality, “nutritious” content that your readers will love will also do well in feeding the Google Panda what it loves. It’s a win-win solution for everyone — including that bear.

Thanks for checking in! Do you have a question for Heather? Shoot her an email at askheather@seocopywriting.com and check back next week, where you very well may see it video-answered. See you then!

Beware the SEO copywriting b.s. – 3 tips about those online tips

Posted on 25. Jul, 2011 by Laura in Blog, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, writing for search engines

Greetings!  Today’s web writing video post answers a question from the SEO Copywriting LinkedIn group:  “How can I tell if an SEO copywriting tip is legit?”

An excellent question, as the online world is thick with misinformed SEO “advice.”  Join Heather as she discusses how to judge if that “expert SEO tip” is legit or flat-out b.s.

Beware of the B.S.:  In this particular instance, the writer was told by a most adamant source that bullet points would hurt search engine rankings, to which Heather replies:

• No, bullet points
• Will not hurt
• Your search engine rankings
• I promise.

This kind of “expert” stuff is everywhere online, and much of it simply is not true.  Bullet points will not hurt search engine rankings. There is no magic keyword density or ideal word count for search engines. Heather has addressed these and other prevailing misconceptions about SEO before, with her posts on SEO Copywriting Myths and SEO Keyword Density.  (The corresponding video on SEO Copywriting Myths is on YouTube).

So how do you distinguish the sound information from the b.s.?  Here are three tips for evaluating those online tips…

Tip #1:  Who said it and where?  Consider the source.

• When you come across that SEO tip or news that makes you say “hmmmmm…” stop and consider the source.

For instance, if the person who broke the news or made the claim is from a credible site such as Search Engine Land and is a recognized authority, then yes, the information is definitely worth considering and investigating further.

On the other hand, if the source is “Bob’s Copywriting Blog,” and you know nothing about this Bob person, or if you’re finding that Bob hasn’t been in the industry that long and you haven’t heard anything about him, then the credibility of Bob’s information is questionable.

Tip #2:  Do other experts back up the claim? 

• Regardless of who makes the claim, are there other experts backing it up?
• Are you going to other authority sites and finding the same information repeated over and over?

If you’re finding that yes, this is a claim or technique that is working and has a record of success, then you may want to pay attention to that information.

One of the typical issues with an SEO tip is that while the person sharing it may have found success with the technique on their own site, it doesn’t necessarily transfer well to sites across the board.  You’ll want to make sure others have realized success with the technique on their sites.

Tip #3:  If in doubt, ask a consultant before implementing the strategy.

This is especially important if you’re looking at a technique or strategy that might dramatically change your page or site structure.

• The last thing you want to do is implement a strategy you found online, and then find that it’s not the best thing to do for your site.

A recent post-Panda technique that got a lot of press and received much online attention was HubSpot’s use of sub-domains.  For HubSpot, breaking out key pages into sub-domains proved a successful way — for them — to work around Google Panda.

Understandably, your first instinct might be “oh wow – I have to do that to!”  But again, this is an example of one of those techniques that your find online that might have worked well for one company, but is not necessarily going to work for your site.  Or, equally important, the hot strategy may take so much time and effort to implement that it doesn’t make sense for your business model.

A consultant can help you evaluate whether or not a new strategy or technique is advisable for you and your unique set of circumstances.

Thanks for tuning in!  Do you have a question about SEO copywriting?  Wonderful!  Zip it over to Heather at askheather@seocopywriting.com and be sure to check in next Monday – you may well see your question video-answered….see you then!

Beware the SEO copywriting B.S. – 3 tips about those online tips

Posted on 25. Jul, 2011 by Laura in Blog, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, writing for search engines

Greetings!  Today’s web writing video post answers a question from the SEO Copywriting LinkedIn group:  “How can I tell if an SEO copywriting tip is legit?”

An excellent question, as the online world is thick with misinformed SEO “advice.”  Join Heather as she discusses how to judge if that “expert SEO tip” is legit or flat-out b.s.

Beware the B.S.:  In this particular instance, the writer was told most adamantly that according to some online source, bullet points would hurt search engine rankings, to which Heather replies:

• No, bullet points
• Will not hurt
• Your search engine rankings
• I promise.

This kind of “expert” stuff is everywhere online, and much of it is simply not true.  Bullet points will not hurt search engine rankings. And p.s., there is no magic keyphrase formula, keyword density or ideal word count for search engines. Heather has addressed these and other prevailing misconceptions about SEO before, including her posts on SEO Copywriting Myths and SEO Keyword Density.  (The corresponding video on SEO Copywriting Myths is on the SEO Copywriting YouTube Channel).

So how do you distinguish the sound information from the b.s.?  Here are three tips for evaluating those online tips…

Tip #1:  Who said it and where?  Consider the source.

• When you come across that SEO tip or news that makes you say “hmmmmm…” stop and consider the source.

For instance, if the person who broke the news or made the claim is from a credible site such as Search Engine Land and is a recognized authority, then yes, the information is definitely worth considering and investigating further.

On the other hand, if the source is “Bob’s Copywriting Blog,” and you know nothing about this Bob person, or if you’re finding that Bob hasn’t been in the industry that long and you haven’t heard anything about him, then the credibility of Bob’s information is questionable.

Tip #2:  Do other experts back up the claim? 

• Regardless of who makes the claim, do a bit of research: are other experts backing it up?
• Are you going to other authority sites and finding the same information repeated over and over?

If you’re finding that yes, this is a claim or technique that is working and has a record of success, then you may want to pay attention to that information.

One of the typical issues with an SEO tip is that while the person sharing it may have found success with the technique on their own site, it doesn’t necessarily transfer well to sites across the board.  You’ll want to make sure others have realized success with the technique on their sites.

Tip #3:  If in doubt, ask a consultant before implementing the strategy.

• This is especially important if you’re looking at a technique or strategy that might dramatically change your page or site structure.
• The last thing you want to do is implement a strategy you found online, and then find that it’s not the best thing to do for your site.

A recent post-Panda technique that got a lot of press and received much online attention was HubPages’ use of sub-domains.  For HubPages, breaking out key pages into sub-domains proved a successful way — for them — to work around Google Panda.

Understandably, your first instinct might be “oh wow – I have to do that to!”  But again, this is an example of one of those techniques that you find online that might have worked well for one company, but is not necessarily going to work for your site.  Or, equally important, the hot new strategy may take so much time and effort to implement that it doesn’t make sense for your business model.

A consultant can help you evaluate whether or not a new strategy or technique is advisable for you and your unique set of circumstances.

Thanks for tuning in!  Do you have a question about SEO copywriting?  Wonderful!  Zip it over to Heather at askheather@seocopywriting.com and be sure to check in next Monday – you may well see your question video-answered….see you then!

3 signs that your SEO copy is over-optimized

Posted on 20. Jun, 2011 by Laura in Blog, Copywriting, online writing, search engine writing, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, web writing, writing for search engines, writing for search engines copywriting

Greetings!  Today’s SEO Copywriting video tip addresses the three telling signs that your web SEO copy may be over-optimized.  Yes, there is such a thing, and it happens when you’ve geared the copy so heavily towards the search engines that you’ve forgotten about the user experience.

Join Heather as she discusses the three telltale signs that your web content is over-optimized, and the three ways to fix the problem:

1) Too Many Keyphrases on the Page

• Pages like the one shown are easy to spot: it is pretty obvious that the keyphrases are New York City and gift baskets.  But for the folks who are trying to read the page, and determine whether or not they want to work with this company, it’s flat-out bad copy:
• User experience = bad. Too much emphasis on SEO: There’s nothing in the copy for the reader, and there’s nothing that speaks to benefits. Plus, the copy is so hard to wade through that anyone reading the page would be tempted to bounce out and find another site.

In trying to achieve ranking, the writer has created a user experience that is so bad that it’s actually hurting conversions.

• The fix?  Reduce keyphrases: You have to pare down the keyphrases in the copy.  In some cases, this might mean that you have to re-write the page altogether.  But when you do that, and bring focus to what you’re doing, you’re going to see a huge jump in sales.

2) Too Many Hyperlinks on the Page

Sometimes copywriters pepper the page with hyperlinks for the perceived SEO benefits, thinking all those hyperlinked keyphrases will automatically get the page top ranking.  Others overdo it with the hyperlinks because they want to give their readers lots of choices, so they end up giving them all the choices and assume the reader will pick one.

• Again, the user experience = bad.  Too many choices cause overwhelm.  Plus – what’s in it for the customer?

From the search engine perspective, hyperlinking users all over the place is not going to help you in your SEO ambitions – it’s not going to help you increase your rankings. From the users’ perspective, they are overwhelmed with too many choices and they find it difficult to make a decision.

• The fix?  Focus on your conversion funnel

What you want to do in this case is to think about what’s in it for the prospect — the customer benefits – and then focus your copy around that.  On a landing page, narrow down the decisions facing the reader and hone it to a few educated choices.

In removing the “overwhelm” factor for readers, you’ll see a higher conversion rate as you help move the prospect along the conversion funnel:  you’ll achieve an increase in ROI.

3) “Fluffy” SEO Copy

• The content is longer than it needs to be, so it loses conversion flow
• Local pages and e-commerce product pages are typically the worst offenders

“Fluffy” SEO copy is often a result of the writer or site editor being instructed to conjure 500 words for a web page in order for it to be recognized by the search engines.  This 500-word rule has never been true – it’s a tenacious misconception.  So the writer ends up trying to say something in 500 words that may ideally need only 250 words.

The result is that the content is not only too long, but that it really isn’t written for the readers.  Instead, it’s stuffed with fluff to meet a mythical search engine wordcount.

• The fix?  Write great sales copy and weave in the SEO elements.  Not the other way around.

This requires a change in thinking.  Approaching your web page copy this way, you’ll have really good, tight, benefits-oriented copy that will not only help folks to take action, but you’ll have what you need for the search engines too.

Thanks for joining us for this week’s SEO copywriting video tip!

Do you have an SEO copywriting or content marketing question for Heather?  Fabulous!  Zip it on over to her at askheather@seocopywriting.com, and you may well see it answered via next week’s video!   See you then.

How many words should be on your home page? A closer look

Posted on 13. Jun, 2011 by Laura in Blog, Copywriting, online writing, search engine writing, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, web writing, writing for search engines

Greetings! Ready to get your learn on? Great, because today’s SEO copywriting video post delves into the question:  How many words should be on my homepage?

Heather’s SEO copywriting tip actually piggybacks on a recent (Google) Matt Cutts’ (“that’s a good question”) video addressing whether you should have more or less content on your homepage.  In his 57-second response, Matt doesn’t really cut it with his abbreviated answer. So here, Heather follows up on the question with the specifics on optimal homepage word count, discussing why you should move beyond counting words to how you can achieve reader engagement, conversions and page rank with a killer home page.

What Matt Cutts from Google Says:

• The original question posed to Matt Cutts was: “Should I have more or less content on my home page? There’s certainly a difference of opinion here.”  His answer?
• “If you have more content on your home page, there’s more text for Googlebot to find.” You can view the very brief video at http://youtu.be/4rsOpkDFDtc

So What is the “Correct” Word Count for Your Home Page?

Yes, there are a lot of different opinions on this subject, and that’s precisely why so many people are confused about what to do with their home page.  On one side of the coin, they want to have an exceptional home page that makes it easy for prospects to take action.  On the other, they want to have a home page that positions well in the search engines.

As usual, there is no definitive “right” answer.  The “correct word count” for your home page depends on a number of factors.  Yes, you do want a respectable word count, but you don’t want to bloat you home page with fluff just to make it with the search engines. So let’s look at this more closely…

Looking Beyond the Home Page Word Count: Factors that Matter Most

You want to think about your home page from your prospects’ perspective.  What benefits and message do THEY need to read?

• Landing on your home page, your prospects may or may not know your company.  Focus on what you need to say on your home page that will engage your readers and keep them on your site.

What are you doing on your home page to make it easy for your readers to take action?

• You certainly don’t want to see your visitors land on your home page and immediately bounce off of it.  Your goal is to get your readers to go deeper into your site to learn more about how you can help them with the products/services you provide.
• If you have a blog, you want your visitors to be able to read more of it, not just stop where you blog ends off on your home page.

How is your home page positioning?  How is it faring with conversions?

• Analytics!!  Check them.  If your analytics show a high bounce rate from your home page, and that your visitors are not going to your site’s inner pages, then this presents a huge opportunity for your to revise your home page and make it easier for your prospects to do what you want them to do.
• If your analytics are indicating that things just aren’t “clicking” in terms of conversions, time spent on you home page, or positions, you need to make some changes.

Is your existing home page content written for readers – or is it just serving the search engines? There’s a big difference.

• We’ve all seen many sites where the top part is all pretty pictures and slick graphics, with maybe a few words.  Then beneath the fold, there are about 500 words comprised mostly of hyperlinks to serve the search engines. It’s not like anyone’s actually going to read that hyperlinked content, and often those 500 words are not even well written.
• If that’s the way you’re writing your home page, the good news is that you can have the best of both worlds:  a good amount of quality content on your site that is targeted to your readers and still serves to get those search engine positions.

You can have it all with great home page content and search engine appeal.

• A great example of serving both your readers and the search engines with your home page content is the site 37 Signals. These folks do it right. You’ll find that on the top part of the screen, 37 Signals funnels users into the different types of products they offer.  (They follow up with a lot of copy on their site geared towards these distinct users).  Then below that, they’ve fantastic content written for all users, with social proof, etc.
• You can have the best of both worlds on your home page: quality content targeted to your readers and still achieving good search engine positions, if you make sure that the ranking-oriented copy is good, solid value-added content.  It won’t work for anyone if it’s simply “fluff” for the search engines.

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s SEO Copywriting how-to video!  Do you have a burning SEO copywriting or content marketing question for Heather?  We’d love it if you send it on over to askheather@seocopywriting.com. Have a great week!  We’ll see you next Monday.

Want to be an SEO copywriter? Here’s how to do it

Posted on 06. Jun, 2011 by Laura in Blog, Conversion writing, Copywriting, online writing, SEO Content marketing, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, Tips and techniques, web writing, writing for search engines, writing for search engines copywriting

Welcome back!  Today Heather answers a question from her SEO Copywriting Facebook group:  “How do I become an SEO copywriter and get clients?” In a two-part answer to this loaded question, Heather first addresses how to go about learning SEO and direct response copywriting before you start working with clients, and then what to do once you feel ready to work with clients.

Ready? Then get set: Here’s the word on how to become an SEO copywriter and land those clients!

A lot of folks decide to enter into an SEO copywriting career because they not only love to write — blogs, short stories, poetry, etc. – but also want to make it pay.  Does this sound like you?  If so, then here’s how to do it!

Before You Start Working With Clients…

• Learn everything you can about SEO and online writing: If you come from print, you’ll be taking the same set of writing skills and applying them just a little bit differently when you write online.

There are a few critical differences between print and online writing that you’ll want to master. And while it may sound really technical at first, and there may seem entirely too much to read on the subject, it will serve you well to wade through a few lessons.  The more you know about SEO copywriting, the better you’ll be able to help your clients.

• Want to write to sell? Learn the direct response writing basics: Writing to sell involves a whole different set of skills.  You will want to learn as much as you possibly can about direct response copywriting basics. This will help you write online content that is engaging and converts.
• Consider taking a copywriting course: Many freelance writers report that they’ve successfully used copywriting courses as a “jumping off spot.” This is a great way to get all the information you need at once from a trusted source before moving on to the next level.  Recommended resources are AWAI Online and of course, the SEO Copywriting Certification course.
• Start your own website. Put what you’ve learned into practice: This is a fantastic opportunity to play, by taking what you’ve learned and testing it on your own website. Are those techniques and best practices you’ve studied working for your own site?

Ready to Work With Clients?

Once you’re confident you’re ready to work with clients, you’ll want to:

• Make sure that your own site is perfect: If you don’t have a website for your own business, then now would be the time to create one! Why? Because your prospective clients are going to ask you if you’ve a site to check out. If you don’t have one, well…it’s gonna look pretty weird if you call yourself a website/online/SEO writer, and yet not have a website of your own!
• Optimize your website for your name, as well as for your main keyphrases: This piece of advice comes straight from Richard Hostler, the senior SEO copywriter from Brookstone (via an SEO Copywriter’s Certification call):  he routinely evaluates new copywriters he’s considering to hire by doing a google search for the applicant’s name. So be sure you’re there in search results when you are being considered for that copywriting gig!
• Consider offering your services for free or low-cost to get your foot in the door: Sure, we’d all like to make money right out of the gate, but it does take a while to ramp up your copywriting career. Providing your services at zero to little cost for a non-profit or small business is a great way to prove your value. In return, they can provide you with testimonials, clips, and everything else you might need to cultivate even more clients… that you can charge for your services!
• Consider working as an SEO copywriting assistant to gain experience: Folks who have pursued this route have reported great results from being able to work one on one with an established pro. Granted, while you may not be making that much money when you’re working within this kind of relationship, the long-term benefits do make it worthwhile. You’ve an expert in your pocket to help you with questions and otherwise guide you on your way.

Thanks for joining us for this week’s SEO copywriting video how-to! Do you have a question to ask Heather? Great! Please zip it on over to her at askheather@seocopywriting.com and she’ll be sure to answer it, very possibly in next week’s video post. See you then!