Climb to the Top of Search Engine Charts

Want to know the secret to stellar search engine rankings for your catalog? It’s not technical tweaks or coding tricks. Page-one search engine rankings on spidering search engines such as Google and Inktomi mostly hinge on one thing: your Web site copy.

Search engine optimization (SEO) writing entails expertly weaving keyphrases (e.g., cashmere sweaters, men’s digital watches) throughout your online marketing text. Proper keyphrase research and positioning will reward you with top-tier rankings and online branding. But if you starve the search engine and ignore your keyphrases, your site rankings may slump.

Brand Your Business, Beat Your Competition

If you’ve ever believed that your company’s offline branding automatically translates into top search engine placement, think again.

“The Web levels the playing field for smaller players to compete against the big sites. The ‘moats’ aren’t anywhere near as wide online,” says Chris Sherman, co-author of the book “The Invisible Web,” and associate editor of SearchEngineWatch.com, a site dedicated to SEO news and resources.

Anthony Muller, creator of the original MarketingSherpa.com book “Buyer’s Guide to Search Engine Optimization Firms,” and president of ZenHits.com, agrees: “Once [companies] work on their copy with an expert, they’re virtually unbeatable.”

With a little research and rewriting, iron-clad search-engine placement can be yours. These five SEO writing steps will get you started:

1. Brainstorm your company’s main keyphrases. Your first mission is to outline different phrases you think people use to search for your products. Remember, there are no stupid phrases or wrong answers. Sometimes the most creative thought translates into a fantastic traffic-driving term. Hint: To start, review your site search log files for an instant initial keyphrase list on which you can expand.

2. Research your keyphrase choices. A little research now saves irritation later (imagine learning that no one searches on your desired keyphrases after you’ve optimized for them).

Specialized databases make keyphrase research a snap. The standard research tool is Wordtracker (www.wordtracker.com). If you outsource your research, search engine copywriters will investigate your keyphrase choices and craft strategic suggestions. Either way, you’ll have a hefty selection of keyphrases tailored for your writing focus.

3. Choose two or three specific keyphrases for each Web page. You may have 20,000 relevant keyphrases, but you shouldn’t include them all on your home page. Hand-pick highly specific keyphrases that relate to each product page’s offerings.

For instance, if a page focuses on cellular phone faceplates, don’t use the general phrase “cellular phone accessories.” Remember, SEO is a keyphrase numbers game: The more keyphrases you scatter around your site, the more ways prospects can find your company through the search engines.

4. Write around 250 words of copy per Web page, including each keyphrase at least three times. Will people read all 250 words? Yes, and they’ll appreciate the information. A September 2001 study by Jupiter Media Metrix found 59 percent of retail shoppers wanted more product information.

“Detailed product descriptions are a powerful means of differentiation for retail sites and require little incremental work,” noted Cormac Foster, a Jupiter analyst.

It’s a common misconception that the first 25 words on each page should be keyphrase-packed and marketing-message-poor. Relax; spidering search engines will index your entire page top to bottom, so you can place your keyphrases where they naturally fit.

Specific strategies that may give your rankings an added boost include headlines and subheads—for instance, “Cellular phone faceplates for your fashionable lifestyle.” Or try hyperlinks—for example, “Learn more about our gossamer-soft cashmere sweaters now.”

5. Read your copy out loud. Avoid repeating keyphrases too often. Not only will this look like keyphrase spamming to a search engine (and may get you kicked out of the engines), but you’ll dilute your marketing message. Read your text out loud. This unscientific strategy immediately flags choppy-sounding text. If your copy sounds like this: “Our cashmere sweaters are the best cashmere sweaters online. Buy our cashmere sweaters now,” it’s time for a rewrite.

Successfully weaving keyphrases into persuasive prose requires a learning curve. But the benefits— higher rankings and targeted traffic—may be worth the effort. With some keyphrase research and a little practice you can create top-ranking SEO text in no time. Plus, your compelling copy will convert searchers into satisfied customers. It doesn’t get any better than that.

Heather Lloyd-Martin, president of SuccessWorks, is a leading expert in SEO writing and has written a book on the topic, due to be released in October. Contact her at (360) 715-2199, or heather@searchenginewriting.com