Master One of the Most Important Components of Seo Copywriting in Seven Easy Steps …
Earlier this week we talked about SEO copywriting – exactly what it is, how much money you can make, and a four-step process to building a solid SEO copywriting career.
[Editor's Note: If you missed the first article, you can access it here.]
Today we’re going to talk about the importance of choosing the right “keyphrases.”
Knowing how to strategize, research and include keyphrases in your copy is the most important skill you need to master on the road to becoming a successful SEO copywriter.
A keyphrase is a two-word or longer search phrase that a potential customer types into a search engine to find a product similar to the one you’re promoting.
The best SEO copywriters know how to weave them throughout the content of a webpage without disrupting the flow and sales impact of the copy.
But of course, before you can start weaving them into your copy, you need to determine what keyphrases to use. Fortunately, once you get the hang of it, it can be quite fun and easy.
Here are seven steps to developing a winning keyphrase research strategy:
- Identify the obvious keywords – The first thing you should do is think of the most obvious keyphrases and write them down. Then think of similar terms. Write them down too. Use both non-specific (i.e., the category your product falls into – for example “lawn maintenance”) and specific words or phrases that describe your client’s product or services (lawn mowers, riding lawn mowers). Use a thesaurus to come up with word variations and synonyms (e.g., car = auto, automobile or vehicle). If applicable, also include geographically and regionally related terms. For example, a dental website in Houston might use the keyphrase “Houston dental care” or “Houston dentistry.” Mix and match them till you come up with 50 or so keyphrases.
- Brainstorm with friends and colleagues – Ask them what search terms they would use if they were looking for a product similar to the one you’re promoting. Give them the list of the terms you’ve come up with and see if they can think of any to add to it.
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Use a keyphrase or keyword tool – One of the best resources to aid you in finding the right keyphrases is what is known as a “keyphrase or keyword tool.” Input a keyphrase, and these tools will supply you with statistics on how popular it is as a search term. They also list related terms and their popularity.
Two keyword tools SEO expert Heather Lloyd-Martin recommends in her program SEO Copywriting Success: How to Profit From Writing for Search Engines are “Keyword Discovery” (www.keyworddiscovery.com) and Word Tracker (www.wordtracker.com) – which both offer a subscription-based service and a free keyword tool.
The subscription-based tools give you data from over 150 search engines, making the information you receive from them more relevant, accurate and meaningful than the free services which usually provide data from a single search engine. If your goal is to become an SEO-copywriting expert, signing up for a subscription-based service is a wise investment.
- Study a website’s analytical software or website logs – Most websites have analytical software in place. Four of the most popular are Google Analytics, StateCounter.com, HitsLinks.com and Webtrends.com. This software tells you what keywords people use to find your client’s site and from which search engines. They also tell you which pages get the most traffic, how long visitors stayed on their site, how many pages they read, etc. If your client doesn’t use analytic software, you may be able to get similar information from their web host.
- Review competition sites – You can always learn something by studying your competition, even if they have a less than stellar SEO strategy. Study the headlines, subheads, body text and links. Figure out what they’re doing right (or wrong). Look at the keywords they use in their meta tags. [For more information on meta tags, see the additional information section below.]
- Put keywords into Google, Yahoo or other search engines – Plug in the keyphrases and see what comes up. It’s a great way to see what your competition is doing.
- Spend time on shopping comparison sites – See what keyphrases they use. Read their customer reviews. It’s a great way to find out what’s important to buyers and get a feel for the language they use. In his Copywriting 2.0: Your Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy that Converts, Nick Usborne recommends spending time on Amazon.com. Nick says reading the reviews of similar products will give you valuable insights into the language and priorities of your prospects. He also suggests checking out the bestsellers list to find out how the most popular products are being marketed, and to pay close attention to Amazon’s “Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought …” feature for ideas on how to generate more sales.
Follow these seven steps and you’ll be well on your way to mastering one of the most important components of SEO copywriting.
Additional Information …
Accessing Free Keyword Tools
- WordTracker
http://freekeywords.wordtracker.com/ - Keyword Discovery
http://www.keyworddiscovery.com/search.html - Additional free keyword tools can be found by typing “free keyword tools” or “free keyphrase tools” into any search engine.
Don’t let the term “meta tag” scare you. A meta tag is just a description of what a web page is about, and will be important to you as an SEO copywriter.
You can use the meta tags to learn what keyphrases are being used on a particular website:
- Open the website in an Internet Explorer Browser
- Click on View from the browser tool bar
- Select Source from the View Menu (May also be listed as View Source or Page Source)
This will open up a notepad document showing you the HTML coding behind the website. At the very beginning you’ll see something similar to <meta keyphrase> followed by a series of keywords and phrases.
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