SEO For Newbies.
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A Guide for Good SEO Copy by John Jordan
Some might have seen the term, but don't know what it is. I had a photographer friend of mine recently ask me, and he was a big New York City honk.
SEO is search engine optimization - a way to write and organize the copy (and other elements) on your website to naturally gain higher page rank in search engines.
There are many ways to think about and execute SEO - some good, some bad.
Bad: Hidden text, keyword stuffing, dozens of links, cloaking information, creating pages to grab visitors searching for unrelated content, and of course, page redirects.
Good: Proper tab naming, well-written copy, use of subheads and bullets, and incorporating well-researched keywords.
Way back when, people thought that short copy was best for the Web. But it's been proven that longer copy builds page rank. Actually it's quite obvious, because longer copy lets you use more keywords.
Good SEO copy is akin to direct mail copy. It can (and should be) long, but it still should sell. Converting a viewer into a buyer should be your copy's number one duty. For it to do that, the copy should clearly express the benefits of what you're selling, and perhaps do it from a range of perspectives or with particular problems of your target in mind.
In light of this, think of your business uniquely solves your prospect's problems. Doing so will set your business apart from the rest. Of course, you always want to be mindful of important keywords.
Keywords still need to be researched, but they should be prudently placed. The key is to write good, persuasive copy first, then think about keyword placement. A mistake marketers make is to write copy around the keywords. What should happen is that keywords should be placed AROUND the benefits you are trying to express.
The key principle to keep in mind here is that regardless of length, good copy reads short and bad copy reads long. So, the best SEO copy in the world is copy that sells.
Graphically, direct mail techniques should be used, too. Bold subheads, judicious use of bullets, and proper title tags should be employed. Most importantly, make sure benefits are stated in those subheads and bullets. This technique helps the search engines raise your page rank, helps guide your prospect through the copy, and communicates important aspects of your business to increase appeal.
About the Author
John is a freelance marketing communications writer based in Omaha, Nebraska. He has both advertising agency and in-house writing experience. He knows the most valuable asset of any business is what people think of it.
Learn more at http://www.hotcopywriter.com, and build your brand with better words.
Search Engine No No's
If you are truly here for the long term and want to build a legitimate business that will keep growing for years to come you need to keep your SEO ethical.
Here is a handy list of techniques that search engines consider SPAM techniques. So, the bottom line is: Don't use them if you are building your business for the long term.
You'll see these techniques used all over the Internet and many "experts" will tell you to join the "system" free knowing that the only way you'll be able to advertise is with PPC and other money sucking methods.
DO NOT USE:
- Automatically generated "doorway pages."
- Cloaking or false redirects (and here I don't mean cloaking your affiliate links, I mean redirecting to another site without asking.).
- Keyword stuffing.
- Hidden text or hidden links.
- Pages loaded with irrelevant words.
- Duplicated content on multiple pages.
- Mis-spelling of well-known sites.
- Unrelated, centralized link farms.
- Other methods used to try to trick search engines.
It's not worth it.
You want to create a symbiotic relationship in which all parties involved get what they want.
- The search engines get well-constructed pages with quality content for their searchers.
- The people searching win when they get what they ask for from their keyword search.
- You benefit because you will get quality visitors who want what you have to offer.
