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This
section will carry a new article everyday on
web development and promotion.
Today's Article:
Copywriting
Makeover: Search Engine-Friendly Can
Also Mean Visitor-Friendly
By Karon Thackston © 2005
When it comes
to search engine optimization, copywriting plays
a big role. You want to have excellent copy
that appeals to both your visitors and the engines
in order to create pages that will rank highly.
However, sometimes there can be potential problems
with fitting copy into certain types of sites.
Due to space constraints, page layout requirements
or other issues, some site owners hesitate to
include SEO copy thinking it will detract from
the visitor's experience. It won't if you do
it right!
Gigmasters.com is a database
site that allows visitors to search for any
number of entertainment options then book them
directly from the site. They segmented their
target audience by the events visitors would
book entertainment for (i.e., wedding entertainment,
birthday party entertainment, etc.) Pages were
then created for each entertainment type.
The
Problems
Gigmasters.com
wasn't ranking highly for its keyphrases on
a number of pages. In fact, for the page we're
focusing on in this article (see the original
copy here: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/gigmasters-original-wedding.pdf),
Gigmasters.com wasn't ranking in the top 50.
The page desperately needed
more copy. The concern was that visitors would
be distracted by the addition of more text.
After all, customers who come to a site to book
entertainment are going to focus on the information
in each performer's bio. not the copy on the
category page, right? As we found out, this
was not at all true.
In addition to quantity (word
count), the page also needed quality. The one
paragraph of copy that was on the page was rough
and sounded awkward.
The
Solutions
Writing copy that appeals to
the site visitors and the search engines should
be the goal of every SEO copywriter. You never
want to sacrifice one for the other. However,
I knew that adding a long block of copy right
in the middle of the page would not be using
good judgment. Good thing nobody ever said all
your copy had to be in one place!
By breaking the copy up and
adding short blips under each section of the
page, we were able to include enough text to
support the chosen keyphrases. At the same time,
we were able to help visitors make the best
choices for their wedding entertainment.
The
Rewrite
For this particular page, the
target customer was someone in need of wedding
entertainment. The visitor might be a bride
or the mother of a bride looking for a wedding
band (a wedding music band, that is), a DJ or
some other form of wedding reception music.
Most often the site visitor was a bride, however.
I never want to include copy
strictly for SEO purposes if possible. The copy
should always have a dual purpose: to help the
visitor and to boost rankings. To accomplish
this with Gigmasters.com, the introductory paragraph
of copy spoke directly to the bride-to-be. It
gave her the feeling that Gigmasters.com understood
how important the music for her wedding and
reception are.
Under each music classification,
the bride was given ideas or suggestions. Statements
like, "The gentle melodies played by a
harpist or flutist during the prelude to your
ceremony can add an air of distinction"
and " Do you want your guests to dance?
Consider a Latin band or swing band to pick
up the beat" prompted visitors to think
through their selections and evaluate all their
options before deciding.
Each
section of copy used at least one primary keyphrase
to boost support of those terms with the engines.
The copy was carefully written so as not to sound
forced or stiff when including search terms. | 
