SES Chicago Copywriting Boot Camp:

7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Presented by:

Heather Lloyd-MartinCEO, SuccessWorks

SuccessWorks overview

• Pioneers in SEO content since 1999

• Train clients in SEO copywriting best practices

• Develop strategy, new content and edited content

• Founders of SEOCopywriting.com

Why care about content?

The Importance of SEO Content

Keyphrase research

Quality content

Quality incoming links

SEO sweet spot

The importance of SEO content

How the text is written can have a

tremendous impact on search positions and

conversions

It’s not enough to “just have content,” or

“stick keyphrases in copy.”

Your main advantage

Control

Step #1-Who Are You?

How well should you know your target audience?

Write for the right audience

How can you write effective copy if you don’t know who you’re writing it for...? Consider:

- Who is your target audience (hint: it’s not “everyone.”)- Do you have multiple target audiences?- How old is your typical buyer/reader?- What level of education have they reached?- What are their average income levels?- What benefits are important to them?- What are their hopes, fears and desires?

Step #2: WIIFM?

How to show WIIFM- What are the benefits of working with you - and why are those benefits important to your target audience?

- What specific objections do you have to overcome?

- What is your competition doing and how do you position your company within your local or national marketplace?

- What tone and feel should you use to resonate with your audience?

How you say what you say is extremely important

Does this make you want to whip out your credit card?

Let’s compare: Quicken

Mint.com

Step #3: Be a content psychic

Want to get inside your customer’s heads?

Keyphrase research helps you understand what information people are searching for and what questions they have.

Look for opportunities to build out new, unique content

Use Twitter for Content Marketing Ideas

Articles become part of resource center.

New articles - with product links - featured in monthly newsletter - driving traffic back to the site

Step #4: Free yourself from “fake rules”

Party like it’s 1999...but don’t optimize your site that

way

General SEO content “rules”

• Keyphrases in headlines and subheadlines

• Keyphrases in hyperlinks

• Keyphrases throughout the content

• Keyphrase-rich Title

• Focus around 2-3 keyphrases per page

Step #5: Make your Titles sizzle off the SERP

Think of Titles like headlines

Title structure

• Write your Title like a headline. Think “clickability”

• Try to keep your Titles to around 70 characters with spaces

• Include your main keyphrases within the Title

• Clearly explain what the landing page is about

• Include benefit statements (such as “free shipping”) whenever possible

• Experiment with including your phone #

Step #6: Control what you can control

Beware the Website mullet

Check for outdated copy. Worst offenders:- Press pages- Conference/events pages- Product pages- Old articles that are obviously outdated

Set up an editorial plan to update the “old” copy.

Leverage content opportunities

• Can’t change the existing template? Start a blog and/or write articles.

• Are your pages unoptimized? Rewrite them or “edit” pages for keyphrases.

• Consider Twitter/other channels to engage customers in a new way.

Step #7: Follow the SEO copywriting checklist

5-W’s and 1 H of SEO copywriting

• WHO does the writing (new SEO copywriters need training!)

• WHAT pages need to be rewritten (create an editorial calendar.)

• WHERE does the budget/time come from (good writing costs time and money.)

• WHY don’t you look at other opportunities (Twitter, blogs.)

• WHEN are you uploading new pages/making changes. Set deadlines.

• HOW will you know if it works (conversion testing.)

SEOcopywriting.com

Heather Lloyd-Martin

heather@seocopywriting.com

Twitter:

http://twitter.com/heatherlloyd