‘search engines’

How to write web content to suit search engines and readers – Part 1: Selecting key phrases

Thursday, February 25th, 2010 | View on own page?

To be truly effective, your web content should address two audiences – the search engines and your site visitors. Let’s begin by looking at how to satisfy the first of these here.

Start by planning a web page for each of your services or products. The search engines decide the relevance of a page to a search query by rating the key phrases in your content, so the first task is to research these for each page of your site and then integrate them seamlessly into your copy (more on this next time).

Note we’re talking key phrases here, not single keywords which are far too general and will produce an unmanageable number of search results. In the new Moving Finger site, for example, I’m likely to have a specific page on my newsletter writing services for which a targeted key phrase might be ‘business newsletter copywriting’ (rather than just ‘newsletters’). Not only does this describe a particular aspect of my business making it relevant to the search engines, it’s also one that is likely to be used by searchers to produce a more highly targeted number of prospects.

You can select the most relevant key phrases for each of your pages with research tools such as Wordtracker or Google’s free keyword tool. Alternatively use the services of a search engine optimisation (SEO) expert. Test drive further options by conducting searches using your own key phrases and by asking customers what words they would choose to look for your services. Check out your competitors’ sites as well. You’ll be able to see the key phrases they use in each page’s title tag as well as those featured in the individual page content.

Check competitiveness

The next step is to check the competitiveness of the top ranking key phrases you’ve identified. I’ve found this best left to an SEO specialist but you can also do this yourself using analysis software such as WebCEO.

In basic terms, the competitiveness of any given key phrase is based on the number of pages held in a search engine’s database which have been optimised for that phrase – the more there are, the harder it will be for your page to be ranked for that phrase.

Nevertheless if you’ve researched your potential key phrases well you should be able to identify plenty of relevant alternatives for which the competition is weaker, and which mirror those used by your potential customers.

Focus on these and you will give yourself a realistic chance of achieving decent search engine rankings.

Coming up in part 2: Making your copy readable

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Could internet plagiarism damage your online reputation?

Saturday, December 5th, 2009 | View on own page?

Internet plagiarism continues to be a concern for schools and universities anxious to stamp out the wilful passing off by their students of online content as their own. But it’s also becoming a problem for business, too. Now you might think that having your expert content used by other sites is the greatest form of flattery and, anyway, it all helps to get the message out there.

But you’re likely to feel decidedly less relaxed if the content you’ve laboured over so meticulously has not only been lifted without acknowledgement, but has also resulted in your site being downgraded by the search engines. Search engines don’t like finding the same content on numerous web sites and consider it spamming, so plagiarism could prove damaging to both sites’ standings. Furthermore, there’s the possibility of damage to your own reputation as you could be mistakenly seen as the plagiarist by those who don’t know otherwise.

You can check the integrity of your site content by searching on some key phrases in Google, or by using the free Copyscape plagiarism checker which also has guidelines on how to go about tackling any breaches. Another useful resource is the Internet Archive Wayback Machine which holds digital references of your site’s previous versions to help date and prove that any disputed copy is, in fact, yours.

I was able to find original pages from the first Moving Finger site going back to 2003.

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How to Produce a Customer Newsletter – Part 1: Choosing the right format

Tuesday, July 15th, 2008 | View on own page?

Producing a newsletter about your business has always been a good use of your marketing budget. It keeps your name in front of customers and prospects over time, reminding them you’re still around and about what you do.

By sharing information and expertise you build your profile as a supplier of value and reliability – and one with whom they’ll want to do business with again and again.

So, when they need something, it’s more likely they’ll call your number and not some one else’s.

Once upon a time, producing a newsletter was all about long lead-ins, artwork, print, paper and mail delivery. But email has changed all that. Now it’s possible for even the smallest business to maintain contact with customers and prospects cost effectively and on a regular basis.

This is not to say there’s no longer a place for a paper-based newsletter and one of the first decisions any business thinking of ramping up its customer communications should take is about which format – print or email – is best suited to its needs.

Here’re some of the key considerations:

Email

  • Reaches targets quickly (firewalls and filters permitting) and ecologically
  • Drives traffic to your website (and not your competitors’)
  • One click referrals through ‘forward to a friend’ facility
  • See who opened what, and who didn’t
  • Cost effective

But:

  • Can be ignored in a cluttered in-box
  • Must comply with legal regulations

Print

  • Long life span – can be picked up and put down, or filed for reference
  • Familiar and accessible format
  • Perceived as added value by recipients
  • Flexible distribution options – post, sales/information packs, reception areas

But:

  • Copy, artwork, print and distribution deadlines need managing
  • Virtually impossible to monitor
  • Relatively expensive

Of course, the business you’re in may well influence your choice. A printer, for instance, would probably feel best represented by a paper newsletter, an IT company by an email one.

If your choice is email, then be sure to use a mass-mailing program designed for the job and avoid the temptation to make do with your standard email program, which can’t handle the obligatory ‘opt in’ and ‘opt out’ choices subscribers must be given. A specialist mass-mailer will also give you excellent stats on delivery, open rates and the links your readers clicked on.

Whichever newsletter route you take, adding its articles to your website (with a facility for new readers to subscribe) will provide a regular flow of fresh content that will be welcomed by search engines and visitors alike.

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