1. Write content that your audience is
already looking for within the last 90 days.
True keyword research is not about
'guessing at keywords' but its all about
researching actual data. How are your SEO
research skills using Wordtracker or Keyword
Discovery? At the SEO Workshops we teach
much more than the traditional "keyword
research" methods. We help students learn
"Keyword Forensics" and how to quickly tap
into the hidden niche trends that 99% of
most Webmasters never even notice.
2. Does your Web copy speak to the
reader or does it speak about yourself?
Remember that your Web site should be
focused on your audience first and appeal
specifically to a niche interest. When
writing your Web copy, you need to dialog in
an appropriate tone and format for the right
audience. Some of the most interesting
content will have more appeal if it speaks
to your audience in terms of "you." You can,
you might, you will, yours, your and you're
INSTEAD of we, ours, we're, we will, we can,
etc.
3. Focus on writing for the human
audience first and search engines second.
While search engine optimization is
important to your visibility, try writing
your content first. Most people don't write
their best when trying to optimize and
create content at the same time. Focus on
creating highly useful content that is
extremely focused on one topic per page.
Once you have completed your writing so that
you are pleased with it, then go in to do a
mild re-write for the search engines.
4. Tips for triggering idea generation
and giving your strategies a unique twist.
While many people seem to spend time
exploring their competitor's Web sites, we
encourage you to lead the way with new
ideas. Try not to be obsessed with what the
competition is doing, but be creative and
start your own new trends. Spend just a
little more time working on your projects
this week than you did last week. Setting
yourself apart from the competition is
easier than you might think and gives you a
huge advantage over others.
5. Creating your content so that it
"speaks" to a specific audience of visitors.
Think of how your Web copy reads and
ensure the dialog flows smoothly. Read your
work out loud and see if you can improve the
tone of your message with natural
expression. Keep your specific audience in
mind. How you write for senior citizen (in
tone and in format) may differ considerably
from writing for an audience of for example
"new parents." Always ask yourself "what is
important to these readers?" Rely on
researching accurate data to eliminate guess
work.
6. Remember strong calls to action
Without a firm call to action, don't
expect the reader to naturally guess at what
you want them to do next. Plain ordinary
dialog that asks the reader to take the next
action will usually work best. Dialog that
is written for voice (similar to the way a
broadcaster writes to project their
personality.)
7. Build your search engine
optimization skills in the beginning with
the "stress free" approach.
If you are new to SEO, you may want to
focus on the long tailed niche phrases since
most searchers are doing fairly descriptive
and intelligent searches these days. Ideally
you want to attract those who already know
what they are looking for and just need to
find your pages more easily. With practice
and the right training you can go after
highly competitive phrases too but you'll
find that the best conversions nearly always
come from the niches. Also remember that it
is the basic SEO skills that carry you
through and must come before any of the
advanced strategies. The result will be
stable top rankings that stand the test of
time with minimal fuss.
8. Give your readers a non-threatening
reason to respond right now.
What is the objective for your page and
does your Web copy work effectively at
fulfilling that objective? It may not always
be about trying to sell a product or a
service. It should not be about fulfilling
your needs first but it should be about
meeting the needs of why that searcher first
conducted a search. Meet their needs and
deliver up something that satisfies their
search first and then give the visitor a
non-threatening reason why they might
respond to you. Do you want their e-mail
address? Or do you just want them to pick up
the phone and call? Never lose sight of the
fact that the Web is a marvelous two way
interactive experience, if you want it to
be. Make your Web site a vehicle for
relationship building and remember that many
readers may actually have the desire to
interact and participate through Blogs or
other "User Generated activity." Give your
visitors something that involves their
participation.
9. Remember that your readers always
want to feel like they are in control of
their Web experience.
People often use the Web for researching
topics of interest or doing preliminary
price comparisons or for looking up
information. While most people explore the
Web for their own purposes, the more that
you put them in control of their experience
the better. If appropriate, you may want to
consider adding additional tools or
functionality to your Web site in order to
enhance its usability for your specific
audience.
10. Did you know that if you write
your content so that it naturally "reads
very well."
You will naturally gain some bonus for
having created content of quality. By this,
I mean content...that reads well to a human
being. Don't stuff keywords all over the
place. Instead, use moderation in everything
you do. One of the things you need to
understand is that "theme based" search
engines like Google, are actually using a
measure of artificial intelligence (AI) to
measure how well your article "reads" based
on all of the overall context of your body
text (other than the keywords) based on data
that a search engine has gathered concerning
a specific topic. This is great news for
writers because if you are making a
transition to writing for the web, you'll
find some search engines are literally
rewarding pages that are "well written."
