Webmarketing123 webinar 4 secrets to brilliant seo copywriting 4.18.12
7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success
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Transcript of 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success
7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success
Does Access to SEO Keyword Intelligence Make You a More Effective
Writer?
Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO, SuccessWorks
Pelin Thorogood, Managing PartnerSchulman+Thorogood Group
The Speakers
Heather Lloyd-Martin is a 20-year marketing veteran, a recognized author and considered the pioneer of SEO copywriting as profiled in the book Online Marketing Heroes. She is nominated for the Top Woman in SEO, 2012 award.
Pelin Thorogood is a new media marketer and entrepreneur, and was recently named one of the “20 Women to Watch” in sales lead management. Pelin serves as a virtual Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management.
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@heatherlloyd
@pelint
Why care about content?
The Importance of SEO Content
Keyphrase research
Quality content
Quality incoming links
SEO sweet spot
The importance of SEO content
How the text is written can have a
tremendous impact on search positions and
conversions
It’s not enough to “just have content,” or
“stick keyphrases in copy.”
Your main advantage
• Control
Step #1-Who Are You?
How well should you know your target audience?
Write for the right audienceHow can you write effective copy if you don’t know who you’re writing it for...? Consider:
- Who is your target audience (hint: it’s not “everyone.”)- Do you have multiple target audiences?- How old is your typical buyer/reader?- What level of education have they reached?- What are their average income levels?- What benefits are important to them?- What are their hopes, fears and desires?
Step #2: WIIFM?
How to show WIIFM
- What are the benefits of working with you - and why are those benefits important to your target audience?
- What specific objections do you have to overcome?
- What is your competition doing and how do you position your company within your local or national marketplace?
- What tone and feel should you use to resonate with your audience?
How you say what you say is extremely important
Let’s compare: Quicken
Mint.com
Step #3: Be a content psychic
Want to get inside your customer’s heads?
Keyphrase research helps you understand what information people are searching for and what questions they have.
Look for opportunities to build out new, unique content
Articles become part of resource center.
New articles - with product links - featured in monthly newsletter - driving traffic back to the site
Step #4: Free yourself from “fake rules”
Party like it’s 1999...but don’t optimize your site that way
General SEO content “rules”
• Keyphrases in headlines and subheadlines
• Keyphrases in hyperlinks
• Keyphrases throughout the content
• Keyphrase-rich Title
• Focus around 2-3 keyphrases per page
Step #5: Make your Titles sizzle off the SERP
Think of Titles like headlines
Title structure
• Write your Title like a headline. Think “clickability”
• Try to keep your Titles to around 65 characters (with spaces)
• Include your main keyphrases within the Title
• Clearly explain what the landing page is about
• Include benefit statements (such as “free shipping”) whenever possible
• Local? Experiment with including your phone #
Step #6: Control what you can control
Beware the Website mullet
Check for outdated copy. Worst offenders:
- Press pages
- Conference/events pages
- Product pages
- Old articles that are obviously outdated
Set up an editorial plan to update the “old” copy.
Step #7: Follow the SEO copywriting checklist
5-W’s and 1 H of SEO copywriting
• WHO does the writing (new SEO copywriters need tools and training!)
• WHAT pages need to be rewritten (create an editorial calendar.)
• WHERE does the budget/time come from (good writing costs time and money.)
• WHY don’t you look at other opportunities (Twitter, blogs.)
• WHEN are you uploading new pages/making changes. Set deadlines.
• HOW will you know if it works (conversion testing.)
Thank you! Want more SEO copywriting goodness?
SEOcopywriting.com
Questions? Here’s how to reach me
Heather Lloyd-MartinCEO, SuccessWorks
Twitter: @heatherlloyd
The Impact of Real-Time Content Optimization:
Does Access to Search & Social Intelligence Make You a More Effective
Writer?
Pelin ThorogoodSchulman+Thorogood Group
The Question
If a writer has real-time, easy access to intelligence on topics of interest to their readers, based on the words and phrases these readers use while searching or sharing, can he or she create online content that is easier to discover and more compelling to read?
The Participants
• Ebeanstalk.com is an online toy retailer
• Link Orbit is a new blog network
• Convince & Convert is a popular social media blog written primarily by Jay Baer (who is also a co-author of the study).
Focus Focus Focus!
If “keyword focus” is one of the most important things in online writing, how is a writer to determine which words to focus on?
How content optimization tools help: Get real-time access to your customers’ (or rather, your prospects’) words to help you craft your content.
Choose the Right Keywords
Your focus terms you select should be in line with your content strategy.
Optimize for search popularity
Optimize to avoid competition
How content optimization tools help: No need to be an SEO expert! These tools automatically rank and organize your virtual thesaurus based on your stated content strategy.
Use the Right Number of Keywords in the Right
PlacesEngaging content not only requires the use of the right words but also the right structure.
How content optimization tools help: The new generation of content optimization tools provides real-time coaching, so you know where and how often to use your focus terms.
The Results
Significant and consistent impact on content reach and engagement:
Traffic from search engines increased 30%+ and the improved content relevance led readers to spend 100% or more time on page.
Even paid search impressions increased dramatically despite no change to paid search budgets since optimized landing pages matched the purchased search phrases with greater specificity!
Conclusion
Tapping into SEO Keyword intelligence during the content creation process appears to have a significant and consistent impact on reach (improved search engine results for both organic and PPC), while also increasing reader engagement and conversion with improved content relevance.
Online content development is poised to change fundamentally: Whether writing a blog post, updating a web site, creating new landing page copy, or crafting a press release, easy, real-time access to search and social intelligence on their readers can enable any writer - regardless of level of SEO sophistication - to develop content that is both more discoverable online and more compelling to read.
www.schulmanthorogoood.com
@stgroup