FAQ: What is Search Engine Optimization?

Search Engine Strategies Conference Report – Writing for Search Engines

Search engines read text on web pages and use that text to decide what a web page is about. So, how do you write the copy for your web site in a search engine friendly manner? Heather Lloyd Martin and Jill Whalen addressed this issue at Search Engine Strategies in San Jose, California in August. Below is a short summary of some of the issues they addressed:

1. Write for people first – This should go without saying, but it is actually common error made by web site owners who become overzealous in their search engine marketing efforts. While search engines read your site, your true audience is prospective customers. If users don’t find your copy compelling they won’t buy from you.

2. Research popular search terms – High search engine rankings mean little if your site only ranks high on terms nobody searches for. Use online tools to determine what phrases are most often used by your prospective customers to search for what you sell.

3. Place Benefits near Search Phrases – Ever wonder how Google and other search engines come up with the snippet of text used in their search results? Most often, they grab the snippet from your web page that contains the search terms used in the search. What do you think will entice more searchers to click? A result where the phrase is shown within a bulleted list, or the phrase used within a sentence talking about how great the product is?

Take a look at the screenshot below of a Google search for “Belize Resorts” to see how this could influence clicks:

The first site, belizenet.com, seems like a very comprehensive site related to Belize resorts, hotels and accommodations. There is a good chance a person would click on that result, since it appears to reflect what was searched for. The second site appears to represent a single resort, which definitely appears to be in Belize.The third site listed, belizereport.com displays a snippet about Belize weddings. This is unfortunate because the site actually quite similar to belizenet.com. This is a case where a snippet may be hurting traffic. If belizenet.com decides that “Belize resorts” was an important phrase for their site, they should consider using the word resorts somewhere else on the page that’s more aligned with terms that represent the site.

4. Title Tags are Critical – Every page of your web site has a title that should be used to describe what’s on the page. If your web site uses the exact same title on every page (commonly done) you’re hurting your search engine rankings and the click through rates your search engine rankings are receiving. Use your title tag to describe what is found on each page of your site, and use your important keywords to do so. This will improve the rankings of each page, and the title will be used in the search engine results. For example, the title of belizenet.com’s resort page is “Belize! Resorts, hotels, accommodations in Belize.”

5. Every page should be optimized - If you have dozens or hundreds of search phrases you’d like to rank competitively for, it’s unwise to try to optimize your homepage for every one of those terms. Instead, optimize every page of your site for 2-3 of the phrases. A good way to do this is to optimize your homepage for the most general way you could describe your business, then optimize your products or services pages for the appropriate terms.

6. Regional targeting your web pages - Be sure to optimize for regional terms a searcher may use in conjunction with a description of your business. This may include optimizing your Contact Us or Locations pages or be as simple as adding your physical address to every page of your web site.

For more information on writing for search engines, consider puchasing Jill Whalen's downloadable special report on the subject, "The Nitty-gritty of Writing for the Search Engines."

Ed Kohler is the President of Haystack In A Needle, Inc., a web marketing firm in Minneapolis, MN, offering search engine optimization and pay per click advertising consulting services.

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