Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Why Copywriting and SEO are inextricably linked...
Not so many years ago, there was a time when marketing relied on good copy in printed documents. It was when the written word had to have a long shelf life. Today, websites can be updated at any time from anywhere in the world and, consequently, sloppy writing has become the norm.
Attracting the attention of Google and other search engines is crucial for bringing visitors to your website. To achieve this effectively, Search Engine Optimised copy should run parallel with good website construction.
A competent website designer will know how to build a site so that it scores well in search engine rankings. Often, designers will set up 'stalking' websites and pages that contain SEO-rich copy that is not meant to be read by the human eye but links through to the principal website's Home Page.
Keywords
Probably the most crucial aspect of effective SEO copywriting is the density of key words. Key words are the most common words people type into Google when looking for a particular product or service.
A paragraph should be written to incorporate key words as early in the text as possible as search engines are more inclined to identify key words that are placed near the top of a page.
Ideally, website copy should have a key word ratio of about 7% and never more than 10% or search engines will punish your site for 'spamming'; i.e. simply stuffing your copy with key words.
Key phrases
Search engine optimised copy is more likely to achieve good search engine ratings by creating key phrases than by single key words. Key phrases are literally strings of words that people typically type into search engines.
A person searching for a steel bin or steel bins is more likely to type steel bin i.e. two single key words than type 'steel bin' with quotation marks to create a phrase.
Enter steel bin or steel bins into Google and it produces about 370,000 results.
However, 'steel bins' in quotation marks only returns 38,000 results, so by incorporating steel bins into a proper sentence (without quotation marks) it is recognised by search engines as a genuine phrase.
Misspelling
Allowing for people spelling words incorrectly is another way of attracting customers to your website.
Enter steal bin (two key words) into Google and it produces a whopping 4,180,000 results but enter 'steal bins' in quotation marks and Google returns a mere 75 results.
In other words, incorporating steal bins as a phrase within your body copy, without it looking like a misspelling, can be very effective.
For example: 'Steel bins supplied by Merlin Ward at these prices are a steal. Bins come in a combination of brushed steel bins, matt steel bins & etc'.
Misspelled key words that are commonly searched can add considerable value to your SEO copy. The trick is to use them without filling your web page with poor spelling!
Other areas of consideration for good SEO copy are: the overall number of words per page, especially the Home Page; keeping to one topic per page; paragraph headings; links to other pages; and page titles that succinctly summarise a page's contents with just a few key words.
If your website copy incorporates good SEO practice and is managed by a competent website designer, it will attract more visitors to your site and turn 'hits' into real business.
Ultimately, the golden rule for all website copy is that it must read well and that search engine optimisation should not detract from the overall marketing message.
Wednesday, October 08, 2008
Hantsweb Awards 2008
With 2 of our sites in the final 3 of a single category last year (Best Small Business Website), this year has worked out a little different.
we find 2 of our sites have been shortlisted for the awards under different categories.
King Edward VI School (Southampton) - Best Secondary School or College Website.
Skincare Inc (Dibden Purlieu) - Most Accessible Website.
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Design Haus Rivalry gets out of hand!
Design Haus recently competed in the SC90 Karting Challenge @ Team Sport Eastleigh. The group was divided into two teams, they were as follows:
Power Haus:
Steve (Captain)
Shelly
Phil
Stu
Danger Maus:
Tom (Captain)
Katie
Ben
Dominic
Danger Maus got off to an awesome start with Ben setting the pace immediately moving from fourth on the grid to first position. He edged out a 5 sec lead until our sworn enemies, Team Triangle started clawing back the time. Katie was dis-advantaged immediaetly due to Ben being stuck in the seat on the pit change (too many pies!) but recovered well to hold fourth position. Dominic was on the third stint and pulled off some aggressive overtakes until disaster struck and the wheels fell off (literally!).
Power Haus got off to a horiffic start with Phil blowing the engine within the first few laps! (lead foot!) Their luck then got worse with a wheel falling off Shelly's kart too! Steve then took the wheel and proceeded to intimidate the competition out the way! Sadly, we didn't get a pic of Steve's hand gestures! Stu took off on the third stint and set some seriously quick times until a rival team took him out with a shunt up the backside (oo er!).
Coming down to the final 20 mins and Tom and Phil went head-to-head. Tom quickly got into a rhythm and set the fastest lap of 26.081 (beating Ben and Steve's earlier benchmark of 26.4s)!
15 mins from the end, the digital leaderboard broke leaving the whole paddock in disarray! When it came to the medal presentation, the tension had reached breaking point... To all our suprise, Power Haus were awarded third! Boos and hisses rung out from the crowd (mainly from the Danger Maus camp)! It was clear to see that Danger Maus were ahead on the road! In the end, power haus were removed from the podium, their medals taken away. A just result I'm sure you'll all agree!
FYI - This post was written by Ben (a Danger Maus team member)
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