So many people are talking about search engine optimization, copywriter after copywriter is starting to offer it, and countless websites are telling you how to do it for yourself. Therefore making sure your site is written to appeal to the search engines has got to be worth ithasnt it
Well, a surprising number of sites arent optimized in terms of the way theyre written (beyond metatags, which are of limited use nowadays anyway). Even today, many of the self-employed individuals I know in the UK and elsewhere dont bother with it, and nor do quite a few of the clients whose websites I write.
So if youre wondering if search engine optimization copywriting is really worth it, here are come questions to ask yourself:
Are you a blue chip company, a famous business or individual, or do you offer a unique but well-known service
One site I wrote is for one of the worlds biggest car companies. It wasnt optimized. It didnt need to be. If all the people you ever want are going to come to your website anyway, then search engine optimization copywriting is unnecessary. Theyll find their own way there.
Do you want your website to exist simply as a showcase for you or your products or services
If youre a photographer, say, who just wants some examples of their work online to point people towards, then fine. But dont expect joe public (or rather joe prospective customer) to discover it for themselves.
Does your business operate in an extremely competitive environment
If so, wouldnt you like to give your business a real edge by making sure that yours is the one customers are likely to turn to first
Would you like to pick up new customers online
The problem is, how do you get those prospective customers to find you without sponsored ads, pay per clicks or expensive banner campaigns (Besides, research shows that a first page ranking works much better than any of these.)
Is it important to be near the top of the search engine rankings
Well, you can probably answer that one for yourself. How many times would you go beyond the first page or two when searching for something If youre not somewhere near the top, you might as well be nowhere.
One solution is to keep adding content to your website. Another is to generate links to your site, either by direct requests or by writing articles. Both of these are major factors in rising up the rankings.
But given that both of these areas involve considerable amounts of time and / or money (not to mention writing), it seems strange to ignore the other key method of finding favour with Google & co - namely search engine optimization copywriting.
But doesnt search engine optimization copywriting cost time and money as well
The short answer is yes, of course. However, less than you might imagine.
For instance, if youre taking the advisable route of getting a professional copywriter to write your website, he or she, if theyre any good, will know how to optimize it. (But make sure they can show you an example or two of other sites theyve successfully optimized before hiring them.)
Optimized copy, in itself, should not cost you any more than regular web copy. A decent copywriter will make sure that the copy flows well, appealing to customers as well as search engines. However, bear in mind that optimized web pages may be a little longer than un-optimized ones. And if youre asking your search engine optimization copywriter to research keywords, that takes time. (Of course, you may prefer to do your own keyword research.)
So once the site is optimized, thats it
Well, it can be. But if youre in a competitive field, and you want to not just get near the top of the rankings, but to stay there, you should consider adding content to your website.
Youre also likely to find that, once youve done your keyword research, there are all kinds of keywords and their variations that youre keen to optimize. Given that its best to optimize no more than a couple of keywords per page, you could find yourself getting your search engine optimization copywriter to add new pages to your website. Which of course costs extra time and money. But its the price you pay for extra traffic and a successful website.
And the conclusion is
If youre already rich or well-known, you dont need an optimized site. But if you want your business to be either of those things, ignore search engine optimization copywriting at your peril.
Peter Wise
Peter Wise is a freelance advertising copywriter, website copywriter and search engine optimization copywriter based in London, UK. He also writes direct mail, brochures, newsletter articles and press releases. If youre looking for a freelance UK copywriter, please call +44 (0) 7767 687524 or visit
Search engine optimization used to be fairly simple. The algorithms the engines used were clearly based on strategically placed keywords, and the strategy in the early days was to beat the engines. How By loading each page with hundreds of keywords, made invisible by making the words the same color as the page background.
The search engines have become a lot smarter since the old days, and figuring out their complex formulas has become a losers game. Yet the goals of both sides need not be mutually exclusive.
The search engine optimizers just want to rank their pages higher.
The search engines are only trying to reflect the most accurate and quality results for their customers. Algorithms are kept secret only because people will do anything to rank higher, regardless of the value of their content.
When you enter a search term, youre taken to a page of results, and advertisements related to your search words. Here are some of the things the search engine tracks:
-What sites you click onbased on their title and description. This is why key words are still important. Theyre the front gate to a site.
-How long before you come back to that results page. If you come back immediately, thats an indication the site wasnt relevant for you, and the engine failed.
-Incoming links to that site, and their relevancy. This is a tough thing for a computer to gauge, and its why investing in artificial intelligence now might be a good idea. Computers get smarter all the time.
There are about 100 more factors that go into a sites evaluation. But the bottom line is that to rank high, you need to provide valuable, relevant content consistently.
If actual people like your site, the engines will also.
So, whats your next step
You need to provide valuable, relevant contentconsistently.
In building and developing your site (a continual process, as Ive said before), dont obsess over key words and search engine optimization. And please dont hire one of the experts who knows how to beat the engines. If they were that smart they truly would not be available for hire.
Focus instead on providing relevant, interesting, benefit-oriented content for your readers. Continue to update your website. Get feedback on what works. Look at your statistics to see where people are leaving and when. Design your site to address the needs of your audiencenot to pound on your chest.
As many of you know, Im a big believer in giving away great information. The web allows us to do that. I get a lot of resistance from prospects and new clients about this. A holistic practitioner told me earlier this week that the universe wasnt ready for him to give things away yet. I think it was actually he that wasnt ready, which is a lot more manageable than the universe.
Share your information. The more you give, the more you get. If youre afraid of giving away everything, then simply learnand listen--more.
Isnt your website supposed to bring you prospectsIf you want your website to be an active member of your sales team, sign up for your Free Website Success Checklist. Stacey Morris, Focus Coach