Website Marketing - writing for search engines

Creating Content with Targeted Articles

One of the best ways to promote your listing on the search engines is to have plenty of related content on your site. The content that search engines like best is text, although depending on your type of site images may serve you well. For most sites from jewelry to web services a few basic articles on the subject will increase a sites rank.

The basics of writing for search engines:

• Focus on one set of keyphrases per page. Do some research to determine the most commonly used search terms in your subject. WordTracker is one such online tool that gives you how frequently phrases were searched on. One keyphrase can have several variations of use, plurals, etc. Focus on this phrase and closely related keywords. Trying to get too many non related keyphrases into one page will dilute the effectiveness.
• Keyphrase density should be about 3 or 4 times for every 250 words of copy. 250 words is minimum for most pages.
• Use less-competitive keywords. Target your page to specific types of visitors, these may be narrower in focus than your overall site and therefore have less competition for top search engine ranking. For example if you sell custom jewelry, there is intense competition for that keyphrase on Google. However if you narrow it regionally "custom jewelry Cincinnati" you will note that the chance of getting a high ranking is much better. Write several short articles for each of these niche audiences.
• Write smooth flowing copy. Just because you are optimizing your keyword content for search engines doesn't mean you forget about your readers. Avoid short blocky sentences, proof and edit your copy at least once. Longer articles allow you to express your ideas without bunching up your keyphrases. If your reader can tell that you are writing with keyphrases in mind, you might want to edit your text to lighten the density. It often helps to proof and edit the next day or a few hours, after writing it.
• Guide the reader to the desired action. If the goal of your site is to have readers order an item online or contact you, then your copy should lead them to that towards the end.
• Avoid too many links in the copy. A few links to specific store items or services can be useful as long as the readablility of the page is not compromised. Keep your links in context.
• Title and Meta tags should be written for each specific page when possible. Title tags can contain up to 20 words. The Meta description tag will be used often by search engines and may determine whether a visitor clicks into your site.

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More Reading:
Copywriting: Key to Search Engine Visibility and Conversions
5 Reasons Why Blogging is Great for Your Jewelry Business