A website is like a complex machine – lots of parts all working together to achieve a desired result. The desired result is different for different websites, but there are things they all have in common, too.
• Achieving better SEO
• Getting the kind of traffic you want
• Giving readers the right content to increase conversions
Achieving Better SEO
The first thing to realize when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO) is that, quite often, less is more. When people hire a custom writing service or copywriter, they often enter into the transaction with a list of keywords they want included because, in their minds, that’s where SEO begins and ends.
Keywords are a great idea, but they only work if they have been well researched and if they align well with all the content on the page. That includes the written copy, the visuals, and the effectiveness of your overall brand message.
Just for example, let’s say you’re running a blog with AdSense ads. Google is going to serve ads to your page based on keywords it finds in the copy. It makes sense, then, to target keywords that are popular in Google searches. Those keywords can be determined by plugging in small bits of your copy, article titles, or themes into its keyword planner and selecting the ones that are most relevant and easiest to incorporate organically into the text.
Any professional copywriter should already be doing this, but it’s helpful to at least give him or her a roadmap that they can use to make sure your message is communicated the way you want.
You will also want to make sure that all the content on the page aligns with your keywords and that there is congruency between the keywords and the content, even the visuals. You can place a tag on an image of a bunny that says “save on auto insurance,” but unless that bunny is clearly a mascot of your insurance company, your site probably won’t rank high based on that, and you’ll probably confuse your visitors.
Since we’re already talking about images, be sure that they not only match the message in the copy but also load quickly and are positioned in a way that enhances the overall message on the page. Images are the first things that people notice, and they should direct attention to the rest of your content, not distract from it. Images that take forever to load are distractions. Don’t think people will just start reading if the image doesn’t show up instantly. They will either stare at it until it loads completely, or, more often, they’ll just leave the page, and then, well, you’ve succeeded in communicating nothing.
The last basic element for optimizing SEO in your copy is to make sure that all of your pages or articles have a good meta description. Without that, the search engines take the first 155 characters of text on the page and use that as the description of the page’s content. You want to be in control of this, which is why you should always develop your own meta descriptions or have your copywriter include them with every blog post or article.
Keywords are good here, but they are not essential. Just provide a solid overview of the content users can expect when they click through to your page and do it within 155 characters.
Getting the Kind of Traffic You Want
You can optimize the kind of traffic that comes to your site by presenting content that the right visitors are looking to find there. If, for example, your ads promise information on a given subject, you shouldn’t send them directly to a sales page. They should go to your blog and find a link to the sales page at the end of the article.
If, however, your ad has sales language built in, sending them to a landing page or VSL will likely get a positive response. In this instance, though, it’s helpful to research what kind of content is most likely to result in conversions. Do you need a VSL, a long-form sales letter, or just a concise, single landing page that introduces the product and asks for the sale outright?
Giving Your Site Visitors the Right Content
In the first example above, you’re looking for readers, so you want to provide content for readers. It doesn’t matter if that content has a sales agenda so long as the information is meaningful and useful and isn’t threaded with too much sales language. In fact, in most cases, you don’t want any sales language until you’re ready to present a call to action to either buy or click through to an actual sales page.
In the second example, you’re looking for buyers right off the bat, so tell them that you have something to sell in your ad, then drive the sales angle on the page. In this instance, you’ve set them up to be sold something. This approach works great for e-commerce sites and product launches because you are targeting people who already want to buy something or are curious enough about your product to consider buying it when they land on your page.
Bottom line: If you meet your visitors’ expectations with your content, you will earn their trust. You can maximize the effectiveness of your content in several ways:
• By keeping it relevant to specific groups of people and targeting your keywords and ads to those specific groups
• By providing quality written content that exists to inform, not simply attract search engine results
• By presenting the content in a way that keeps your visitors engaged
Commit to this framework, and you will be able to optimize your content along with its overall effectiveness.