Entries Tagged 'copywriting tips' ↓

I have been a copywriter for a while now and many of the projects I am commission to carry out involve search engine optimisation.

That’s hardly surprising considering the importance of online marketing to today’s businesses.

People’s attitudes to online search are changing. Companies are now recognising that if they want to open up their businesses to new markets they have got to get to grips with SEO and keyword identification.

Keyword research

Most people ‘get’ keyword research these days.

They understand that the words they have to target are the ones their customers are searching for. That list might include the particular product that they sell or their geographical location etc.

Usually the list of keywords I am given are pretty relevant – they cover the products/services and will drive targeted traffic to their website.

But the problems start when it comes to allotting keywords to the copy – how many should each web page target?

Common misconceptions

When investing in SEO most people want to maximise their ROI and use SEO to get found for every keyword or phrase they can think of.

For a start, initially, that’s not practical. Over time as they build links and relevant content, they will see rankings for most of their keywords (the level of their ranking will depend on the competitiveness of the term they are targeting). But from the outset, SEO takes time and the early results will be found with the least competitive words.

The second problem is that many people view their website as their Home Page. By that I mean they want to load their Home Page with all their keywords.

So, for example, if they sell silver jewellery, their keyword list may look something like:

• Silver jewellery
• Silver jewellery suppliers Suffolk
• Silver jewellery gifts
• Gifts in silver
• Silver necklace
• Silver bracelet

You get the idea.

Now, to try and include all of those words on one page is complete madness because the resultant text won’t encourage anyone to buy.

Using keywords the right way

For starters you must remember there is more than one page to your website. Plus, Google and the other search engines also recognise this as each page is indexed individually. Therefore you should be targeting different keywords on different pages. The keywords should also be reflected in your navigation and page titles.

With regards to the number of keywords per page, you should only look to target 2 (3 max) primary keywords. You can of course incorporate long tail keywords (i.e. your primary keywords plus modifiers) but trying to target more than 2 can create unwieldy text.

The main point of your website copy is that it should be relevant, interesting and compelling. The traffic your keywords attract must be drawn in by your text and encouraged to buy – otherwise what’s the point?

By researching your keywords, using them to structure your website and then target each page for different keywords will maximise your chances of SEO success.

Can Twitter really help with your SEO?

That’s the question answered by Wasim Ismail on searchenginejournal.com.

The web is becoming more and more social. Social media is becoming a major part of business marketing strategies and is not just the latest ‘thing’ for teenagers. The search engines recognise their importance and are constantly finding ways to integrate social and search results.

Why?

Because social media is the voice of internet users and can no longer be ignored.

Of all the social media platforms out there, Twitter is probably the most popular micro blogging platform (that is until the next big thing comes along).

Due to its vast size, Twitter really does have the potential to help your SEO activities as your tweets can help build your online brand and reputation.

In his post, 10 Tips to Improve Your SEO Using Twitter, Wasim shows how you can utilise your Twitter account and tweets to enhance your SEO activities on line. This is a must for any Twitters out there looking to make the most of their social media activities.

So grab a coffee and have a read – it could be the most productive 10 minutes of your day.

A good product review can contain information on any product or service, giving potential customers the confidence to purchase those products and obtain those services. Customers read reviews and testimonials to get the facts they need before working with a company. So how can you guarantee that your future customers are getting the information they need about your company?

Build Trust

Customers want to know they are purchasing a quality product and that they will be receiving the best customer service available. They read product reviews in search of proof of factual and proven information that can help them with their purchasing decision. Knowing exactly what other clients have experienced with a company gives them the necessary background information on what to expect from that company’s products and services. For example, if you are writing a review for online creative writing schools, be sure to include information on course materials as well as additional resources such as financial aid services.

Your product review page should do more than provide general information on your products and services. Make sure that you give future customers personal experiences, preferably by including high quality and well-written product testimonials received from your other customers and partners. Readers will be more likely to trust your product review when it provides extensive information on all facets of the company.

Be Unbiased

Although the goal of your product review is to provide potential customers with positive information about your products and services, refrain from only including the advantages. A one-sided review can decrease the credibility of the product and cause suspicion about the company in general. When you include any possible disadvantages of the product in your review, your readers will consider you to be a trustworthy information source. Be unbiased, but make sure to highlight the advantages of the product and include disadvantages that do not have huge consequences. Customers will use your advice to purchase the product you reviewed if the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Use Spell-Check

Correct grammar, punctuation and spelling adds credibility to your product review and helps ensure that the review converts readers into new customers. A product review that is void of typos proves to the reader that it was written by an educated and reliable individual, giving the reader the confidence to become a customer.

Be sure to recognize common mistakes such as the difference between “its” and “it’s” and when to use “your” or “you’re.” Proper punctuation placement is also important to maintaining credibility in your product reviews. Know when it is appropriate to use a comma and when a period should be used to avoid run-on sentences. Write your product review in a Word document or other template if you have difficulty with spelling – never submit a review without proofreading it first.

Keep Writing Product Reviews

One positive review can lead to an increase in sales. However, the more positive reviews that are posted online, the more likely your sales are going to increase. Having multiple positive reviews about your products gives potential customers even more background information about the quality of your products and services. Consistent positive reviews prove that you have a reliable company that manufactures high-quality products, which will help build your client list and increase your sales.

David Murton has been helping companies build and maintain their online relationships with customers since 2006. He is also a professional writer and blogger, with a particular interest in the open source Drupal platform. On a more personal note, David is an avid piano and accordion player, drawn especially to music of the classical and romantic periods.

The author’s views are entirely his own and may not reflect the views of FreelanceCopywritersBlog.com. If you are interested in producing a Guest Post for this blog, please get in touch with your ideas.

Something strange happens to people when they try to communicate through writing. Their normal chatty engaging style goes out the window for something more akin to a literary novel.

Why?

You’re still talking to the same people (your customers), it’s just through the written word rather than voice.

Getting the tone and voice of your copy right can make a huge difference to customer engagement and your conversion rates. Your copywriter will be able to adapt their writing style to any ‘voice’ you want, but you might have to give them a few clues.

What do you really want?

Your copywriter is an expert at what they do, however that doesn’t make them a mind reader.

When you brief them make sure you give them a real taste of what you’re after with regards to the voice and tone you want the copy to convey.

Saying something like – “I want quirky”, or “I want something fresh” doesn’t really help. Granted they realise the type of approach you’re after but quirky and fresh could cover numerous styles.

It is very likely you’ve done your research and come across another website or brochure etc., that uses the style you’re after. If so, cite them as examples to your copywriter so they can read the material and get a real feel for what you are trying to achieve.

The copywriting process is a very collaborative one. You can’t just hand over a brief and expect copy that is spot on first time (OK, that’s not strictly true, that does happen sometimes – and it’s great when it does – but frequently it’s not until you actually see the copy that you begin to work out what it is you really want).

The first draft is the copywriter’s visualisation of what the brief you provided asked them for. Once you see the copy it is then shaped into exactly what you want.

By giving a visual example of the tone/voice you want will help the creation process enormously so please make sure you provide examples wherever possible.

A while ago I was asked by the Guardian On Line to take part in their Q&A forum about how to become a freelance copywriter.

Following the success of that session I have been asked to take part in their next Q&A session on how to break into Copywriting tomorrow, 5th April 2011.

The discussion will take place between 1pm and 4pm and there will be a panel of experts available for you to throw your questions at including yours truly and my fellow scribes Tom Albrighton and Ben Locker. So if there’s anything you want to know feel free to hurl your questions at us and we’ll do our best to answer them for you.

We do have to type quite fast so please excuse any typos you may come across and make sure you aim all your really tricky questions at Ben and Tom – they love ’em.

So if you want to learn more about how to break into the world of copywriting drop by tomorrow’s Guardian Q&A session between 1 and 4pm and ask away.

See you there.