SEO Writing 101

As I do not know if this book has been written or in the works, I have decided to share a small part of my knowledge about SEO. If you are doing a search and you type in your Website name to search, you SHOULD show up in the search engine results. If you don’t show up, then you need to contact your online marketing firm or contact us to take over the campaign.

The real achievement is if your Website shows up in the search results when certain keywords or phrases are searched. Think about it, how many people are really searching for your name? I mean besides maybe old friends or ex’s, who else honestly would be searching for Lisa Weinberger?

Do you get the point? You want search results to draw potential clients to your Website and hope your site will convert the visitor into a new client or sale. A Website is only a strong tool if it can be found by potential clients. Online marketing and SEO copy needs to be performed and executed and the minimum amount of time to start seeing results is three (3) months.

by Anna Schibrowsky, Friday, Feb 8, 2008 11:00 AM CST

The conclusion of the 3-part series.

Part 3: Complete Sentences

Your grade school teachers demanded that you always use complete sentences.  No sentence fragments were allowed!

The kids popped open the fruit punch.  They splashed it into their glasses.

Traditional marketing copywriters say go for the attention-getting words.  Leave out the fillers.  Create a sensation and an emotion.

Pop! Splash. Slurp. Mmm. Acme Tutti Frutti Juice Drink. 100% juice. 100% fun.

Complete sentences may pack in more words, but your SEO copy needs to be high conversion copy too.  The headlines that work in print will work on the web.  And people don’t read online copy – they scan it.  Break your copy into bullet points and short sentences.

Tutti Frutti Juice Drink.  Fruit Punch flavor. 100% juice.  8 oz. bottles.  Buy now!

Winner: Traditional marketing copywriters!

That concludes our 3-part series with traditional marketing copywriters winning 2:1.  If you can think of any other teachers vs. writers examples, continue the battle in the Comments section!

by Anna Schibrowsky, Wednesday, Feb 6, 2008 9:00 AM CST

On to Part 2 of our little 3-part series.

Part 2: Pronouns

As a youngster you were taught to use pronouns to avoid repetition and save space for new ideas.  (And your teacher didn’t want you completing half your 500-word essay just by writing the same words over and over.)

The boys drank their fruit punch quickly, and then they put down their glasses.

Hopefully as a marketing writer you were taught to use pronouns less frequently and repeat the product name as often as possible in a radio or TV spot to increase recall.

Acme Juice is delicious.  Acme Juice has nutrients.  Look for Acme Juice today!

In SEO, you want to pack your copy with potential search strings.  Replacing pronouns with synonyms helps you do this and lets you squeeze in more influential adjectives.

Acme Tutti Frutti Juice Drink is 100% juice.  Acme Juice has Fruit Punch flavor.

Winner: Traditional marketing copywriters!

by Anna Schibrowsky, Monday, Feb 4, 2008 7:00 AM CST

Wow! There are some great SEO white paper type articles going up here. (I’m really looking forward to the article Lisa promised on keyword placement.) I hope my little SEO 101 posts are still helpful!

This week I have a fun little 3-part series (with some delightfully cheesy examples) that asks, “Who knows more about SEO writing? Grade school teachers or traditional marketing copywriters?” Check back for the final winner!

Part 1: Variety vs. Consistency

Your grade school teachers advised you to use a variety of words to describe something, to add interest and avoid repetition.

Billy poured a glass of fruit punch. The drink was red. The juice tasted good.

Then you learned to write for marketing, and the rules changed. You were told to be consistent in order to avoid confusing the customer.

Our fruit punch was ranked the best fruit punch, with the most fruit punch flavor.

SEO demands variety so every possible search string is included. But at the same time, you don’t want to confuse consumers. Phrases like “also known as” or “sometimes called” can help you here.

Kids just say “juice,” but our Fruit Punch is now called Tutti Frutti Juice Drink.

Winner: Grade school teachers!