What is optimized web copy writing and why it matters
So many web experts today – including 7Bends – talk about the real value of optimized copy writing. Here’s a primer on what it is and why it will make all the difference in people finding your site on the web:
Words Rule
Even with all of the technology of the Internet, the way that prospects find your web site is still through WORDS. People go to a search engine like Google, Yahoo, MSN, or bing, and put in search terms – the ones that seem the best for them. Then, up pops their search engine results – 10 listed on each page. You want your site to come up in these top ten (preferably the top 5) AND you want to have the best description so that people will hop to your web site.
In order to pop up on a prospect’s search engine results – and to have the best descriptive phrase – has everything to do with the words you identify, craft and place on your web site. The words you use on your web site categorize your site. If you don’t include the words that are the most popular ones that people actually use to find your product/service, your site won’t come up. So, choose your words with care. Or, hire a professional to do so for you, if you don’t have the time or inclination to write for the web.
A Few Web Writing Tips
Optimized copy writing starts out with research. There are a number of good tools on the web where you can find the ACTUAL words people use most often to find your type of product or service – not just the ones that you think they will use. This is a key distinction. For example, a medical software company, after doing research would find that people use the word “doctor” 5 times as often in searches as they use the word “physician.” Thus, when writing copy for their medical software page, the writer would want to use the term “doctor” much more often than “physicians.”
There are also other tricks of the trade that work well, too. For example, making sure to use both the plural AND the singular form of your keywords will help more people find your website. Someone is just as likely to search for “Edinburg restaurants” as they are for “Edinburg restaurant.” Cover your bases and have more people find your site listed, by using both forms of the word.
It’s also very important to keep each page on your site as specific as possible – geared to one main keyword – and to make sure that all of the words you use on that that page are very relevant to that one search term. So, for example, if you sell jewelry and soap, having a page for each one your web site – with the most popular keywords keyed to each – would help in getting more traffic to those separate subject pages.
Think of each page of your site as a separate doorway on the web where people can enter. By keeping the words on each page specific to one main keyword, you capture those specific target audiences on the web that are looking for that particular product or service. You only dilute your efforts by having the words you use on any page crossover to other subjects.
So too, the need for fresh copy on your site – related once again to your keywords – is paramount. This is where blogs help. By adding words and articles and information that’s valuable to readers – and all geared around your main keywords – when the search engine bots come out to index your site, they will take these new related words and add them to the list of specific words that your site will appear under. This enhances your reach.
Finally, you want to make sure you have a keyword-laden, benefits-oriented description for each of your web pages. Your “description tag” (approx. 180 characters long) should include the main words for which you wish that page to be found. Without a description tag, many search engines will pick up the first words at the top of each page. That’s why it’s critical to have the top of your page be uncluttered and to have the main words – one or two phrases – that you want indexed – at the top of your page.
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Contact 7Bends To Learn More
Though simplified here, these are a few of the main considerations in writing effective copy for the web. “Optimized” means that the words on each page of your site are crafted for the search engines as well as for your prospects. Optimized copy writing is both an art and a science. It’s highly creative and strategic, and is the most important determinant of how much organic traffic you drive to your site.
The copy on your site should be purposeful, not just thrown on the page. Avoid using brochure or sales copy that was not originally created for the web. Do you homework, take a course, or hire a professional. You owe it your business or organization for the words on your site to work as hard as possible for you. The time and/or money you put into effective web copy will more than pay for itself in increased traffic to your site.
The suggestions in this article just scratch the surface. To learn more, contact us with questions at: info at 7Bends.com.
(Though projects vary and we can price by the project, we generally charge about $500 for three pages of optimized copy. Each site is different, so let’s discuss your particular aims. We also write optimized copy for blogs, online press releases and expert articles on the web.)
