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The Human Approach to Site Optimization
by Scott T. Smith
Most people online today continue to use search engines to find what they are
looking for, as well as follow links from sites they trust. Let's discuss this "trust"
from the standpoint of positioning your Web business.
When you have generated traffic to your site, you need to give people what
they are really looking for. In particular, you must deliver genuine answers and
real benefits through your site copywriting.
This is a big stumbling block for those who use doorway pages to maximize
their search engine positioning - without taking into account their human
visitors.
You know clearly focused keywording throughout your site is fundamental to
successful search engine positioning. So how do you write the words on your page
to accent your site theme for the search engines, and more importantly, serve
your customers?
Go Belly to Belly
The answer is to write for people first, not search engines. The Web
business medium incessantly vies for our attention and fragments our thoughts.
It's exhausting! Doesn't it make sense to create a Web site that offers shelter
from the online storm?
A key marketing thought to consider is that a few hundred well-satisfied
customers can feed you, clothe you, and take care of you into your ripe old age.
These "customers for life" will only be yours if you and your Web site are
personal service oriented. It's a powerful way to separate yourself from your
competitors who think automation is the only answer for Web success.
Here are 10 key questions to help you with this approach. The answers you
generate will inform your Web site writing.
Your Product/Service
1. For your site visitors: What are the specific results/benefits you provide
the people who buy from you?...
2. Your products and services: please list two short key phrases that
describe exactly what you supply.
3. What's your single, most marketable, unique, competitive edge? This is
your essential Unique Selling Proposition (USP).
4. Describe your product/service in detail.
A. List seven features that jump out at you:
(A feature is a fact about a product or service, such as "wash cold,
hang dry", or "made in Morocco". Features demonstrate how
things are created, delivered and maintained.)
B. List seven enormous benefits your products/services give your site
visitors.
(A benefit is anything that will make someone's life better, easier or more
productive by using your product or service.)
5. Which product/service is your "best of the best" - your #1 most popular,
profitable or marketable offering?
Your Site Visitor
6. Who is your perfect site visitor? Supply as much detail as you can:
demographics (age, gender, employment, etc), geographics (location, country,
city, etc), psychographics (interests, culture, lifestyle, etc)...
seven. List seven unique and interesting facts you really want site visitors
to know about you and the products/services you provide...
8. List at least seven of the most commonly asked questions about your
products/services, as well as the answers you give...
9. List at least seven of the most common misconceptions your site visitors
have about your offerings...
10. What are the 3 specific things your target market most wants to know
about or looks for in your product/service?...
The Wrap Up: Integrating Customer and Search Engine Needs
You've thought long and hard, you've dug deep. You've even asked your site
visitors what they want! In the process you've generated the raw materials you
need to write your site copy.
Here's how to use this information to please both site visitors and search
engines:
A. Write for your audience - the people you need to reach. If you are writing
sales copy, we recommend the template outlined here: http://www.copywriting.net/webwriting.html
B. Use the excellent GoTo keyword suggestion tool here: http://inventory.goto.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/.
You are researching which words people actually use when they look through a
search engine to find what you offer.
C. Take the #1 word you find on GoTo. Wherever it makes sense (and without
becoming obnoxious), substitute this keyword for similar words and phrasing
within your site writing. Ideally you should try to achieve a three to seven
percent ratio of your keyword to the other words on your page. To measure your
keyword density, visit Keywordensity.com here: http://www.keyworddensity.com/.
While you are at it, use this tool to check out your competitors under this
keyword. Observe where and how they've used this keyword in their visible text
and source code.
D. Re-optimize your pages around this single keyword, then hand-register
these newly written pages with the major search engines.
This is the "human approach" to site optimization. It's not scientific but
it's fast, and can free up your time to move onto the other aspects of your Web
business.
Scott T. Smith is the publisher of "Starting Point"
newsletter, an excellent source for web page writing and marketing tips. You can
visit Scott's site at http://www.copywriting.net
or email him at scott@infowriter.com.
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