Writing Web Copy for Users and Search Engines

by Claudia Bruemmer

So you want to write your own Web site copy? If so, there are some simple and not so simple rules you can follow to get good results. Creating a search-engine-friendly Web page is both an art and a delicate balancing act between pleasing the visitors to your site so they read and act on your content, and pleasing the search engine spiders that will index your pages for visibility in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

You've probably heard that it's important to have a unique title and description tag for every page on your site in order to rank well on search engines, and that's true. However, nothing is more important than the quality of your content, so you should start there and then work on titles and descriptions after creating your content.

Write for Visitors and Search Spiders

Writing content that attracts and motivates your site visitors, fulfilling their informational needs and leading them to conversion is your goal. At the same time, you want to write content that is optimized for search engines by using the keywords relevant to your business that search users enter into the query box. Use these keywords judiciously and in a natural, conversational way throughout your text, and you can't go wrong. It is important to satisfy your visitors -- that's your mantra. At the same time, you want them to be able to find you via search, and that's why you need to serve two masters: site visitors and search spiders.

Select Keywords With Care

So how do you go about writing good content for visitors and search engines? Let's assume you have an outline describing the basic pages of your site, beginning with the homepage, the about page, products and services pages, contact us, and any pages specific to your business. The first order of the day is keyword selection.

Selecting your keywords is a time-consuming exercise. The best resource for keyword research is posted on Search Engine Land, written by Danny Sullivan, July 9, 2007.

Doing Keyword Research? Here Are Some Resources to Help   (http://searchengineland.com/070709-082957.php)

Two or Three Keywords per Page

Once you have your well-researched list, you want to write copy focusing on two or three keywords per page. Pick the keywords most relevant to your page topic. Discuss one topic per page. Use links to take users to related topics.

It is mandatory to include your targeted keywords in the page title tag and to use these keywords in your copy early on. While it's not mandatory, you also want to include these keywords in your description tag. The search engines use the words in your description tag to create your search listing. Most engines use a snippet from this tag, so mention your keywords up front lest they be truncated. 

Use 3-9 words (60-80 characters) maximum in your title tag.

Use 9-12 words of marketing copy (160 characters) in your description tag.

Write With Passion

Write your copy with enthusiasm and sincerity. This is the best way to get the attention of your visitors. Let them know you are a subject-matter expert in your field and tell them everything you want them to know about your company and your products and/or services.

Write a minimum of 250 words for each page, preferably more.

Use illustrations or photos to make your pages attractive and interesting.

Use header tags (h1, h2).

Linking Strategy

It is important to have both inbound and outbound links on your pages. The links to inner pages from the homepage are useful for visitors and search engines alike. The best way to get your inner pages indexed is to link to them from the homepage and other important pages.

The subject of inbound links is critically important and can be complex. You must conduct a link-building campaign to gain authoritative links to your site. This is a two-fold process. First, your content must be compelling and attractive enough for important sites to link to you. Second, you must actively seek links from relevant sites.

Building links is an important and time-consuming endeavor. The best resource for building links is on Search Engine Land, written by Danny Sullivan, December 18, 2006.

Stop the Freak Out Over Linking

(http://searchengineland.com/061218-200043.php)

Resources for Writing Web Copy

Marketing & Copywriting Articles by Karon Thackston (http://www.marketingwords.com/articles.html)

Writing Effectively for Search Engines, Plattsburgh State University New York (http://web.plattsburgh.edu/intranet/webresources/seo.php)

Choose Your Words With Care

This can be good advice when writing any type of content, whether it be a poem or a business article. However, it's particularly relevant when you're writing web pages. You must choose your words with care because search spiders will rank your pages partly based on the words you choose.

One easy way to do this is to stay on topic. Write about a specific topic and then expand your thoughts with variations on a theme. When I write web content, I don't necessarily start with a list of targeted keywords. Of course, it can help to have this list, but I don't write with specific plans to include targeted keywords in my sentences. This happens naturally when I focus on the topic. In other words, I write to the audience's needs, not the search spider's appetite for keywords

I've read books on web copywriting by several authors describing various methods. One is to create web personas. In fact, one writer suggests creating a personna for each type of visitor to the site, writing to their needs. I found this to be a lot of work, and I got lost in the details. Yet I understand it's a highly recommended and proven system. I also know it's not the only way to write pages that rank well. I can tell you that from experience.

When I was first commisioned to write web pages for an SEO client, I was nervous. I mean, they preach keywords on the page, right? So I asked for a list of key words and guess what, they never provided any. So I researched and focused on the topic for each section I was to write for -- web analytics, email marketing, and branding.

I immersed myself in web analytics and never looked back. The words magically appeared by themselves. I lived and breathed analytics for weeks while writing these web pages. Read several books on analytics and numerous articles by multiple authors. I almost thought I knew what it was all about at the time. Turned out the web pages ranked very highly. Whew!

I do the same for all the pages I write and haven't had any complaints yet. While it's great to use personas, don't feel bad if that doesn't work for you. I found that you don't necessarily have to get into the heads of the various types of site visitors to write to their needs. Perhaps it can be done intuitively without all that effort.

My advice for writing web pages is this: Live and breathe your topic, learn everything you possibly can about it, check out the research. By that time, you're ready to explain this topic to others much like an instructor would. Once you're in that mode, just relax and write -- be genuine and tell your audience what you know. Anticipate and answer their questions. Visitors and search engines will love you for it.