By Paul J. Bruemmer

(December 2002) High rankings in search engines can bring you lots of targeted traffic, but will you be ready to convert those leads when they get there?

Only if you use skillful, strategic copywriting combined with search engine optimization techniques when designing your Web pages.

Hooking Visitors

The home page is your most important page because that's where most visitors start. The purpose of your home page is to get your visitors' attention by allowing them to find essential information quickly and easily. This means benefit-rich text that can solve problems - copy written from the visitor's viewpoint rather than your own.

Visitors are usually looking for information with short attention spans. They're thinking "What's in it for me?" and aren't interested in sales copy or company profiles. They may want to know more about the company later, but the first order of business is to find information that answers their query.

To design a good home page, focus on the key benefits of your products and services. Every time you get into the details or features, make it a hyperlink to a new page around that topic. For instance, a search engine marketing firm might list the benefit below on its home page.

"If you need higher rankings in the major search engines, we specialize in search engine optimization and copywriting techniques that result in better positioning and increased conversions for your business. Click here to learn more about how we can help you improve visibility and profits."

The "click here" statement should be a hyperlink taking your visitor to an inner page focused on describing your products and services in more detail. From there, and also from your home page, they should be able to click to an "order" or "e-quote" page. You can conveniently offer a link back to the home page, as good Web site navigation is essential for keeping visitors on your site.

Researching Keywords

Before any copywriting or search engine optimization tasks can begin, it's necessary to conduct thorough keyword research to identify the strategic keyword phrases that lead to better positioning and visitor conversions.

Your keyword phrases are used both in visible Web copy (headers and body text) and non-visible HTML code (title tag, meta description tag). It is the selection of the right keyword phrases, coupled with skillful copywriting in using these terms, that makes your site relevant for both search engines and visitors, so choose your words carefully.

Brainstorm to create a list of keywords describing your offerings. Identify search terms that potential customers might use in a search query to find you. Get feedback from multiple sources (customers, suppliers, brand managers, sales people, etc.). Check your Web logs for clues.

Enter these keywords into a keyword suggestion tool like WordTracker. This Web-based tool provides ideas for expanding your keywords by identifying popular keywords within a keyword database. It reveals the number of users searching for specific keywords on major search engines within the last 24 hours, indicating how popular these keywords are with competitors.

Select search terms that aren't overused but remain fairly popular. Look for uncommon combinations. Expand your list to include plurals and misspellings.

Select several of your most relevant terms (high WordTracker scores) for use on each Web page as appropriate. You can use the same terms on different pages if they match the copy on the page.
Copywriting for Conversions
To write copy from a customer viewpoint, use your search terms strategically to emphasize benefits. You'll also want to use teaser copy and hyperlinks for easy readability. This keeps your copy short so visitors remain focused, yet longer copy is just a click away.

Use several strategic keyword phrases to write the copy for each page. Search engines work with text, not graphics, so ensure that your home page includes at least 200 to 250 words. Repeat your keyword phrases at least three times, possibly more if copy is longer. Use keywords in headlines and sub-heads. If it helps readability, bold a few keywords to stand out. Create a new page for each topic.

Ensure that the content on every page includes strategic keywords accurately describing your offerings. Keywords in meta tags should match content on the page. If you use graphics, place keywords in your alt tags to accurately describe your images.

Quick Check List

Brainstorm your benefits, then prioritize and present benefits in terms of problem solving.
Brainstorm for features, but use mainly to support benefits on inner pages.
Grab attention with a compelling headline emphasizing benefits.
Use power words and active voice (See "Words That Sell" by Richard Bayan).
Differentiate yourself from competitors.
Use testimonials.
Establish credibility (awards, customer list).
Close with call-to-action, ask for the business, be precise with desired action.
Ensure your order form is flawless.
Offer something of value to spur a response (optional).
Use "About Us" section for company description and accomplishments.
Use "Contact Us" for accessibility and customer service.
Optimizing for Better Positioning
Once your visible copy is written, it's easy to create the meta tags that help boost search engine rankings. The most important tags are the Title Tag and Meta Description Tag. Others are optional.

Title Tag - Write an HTML title tag for each page. This should be the first tag on the page in the Head section. Use compelling words to draw visitors to your site. Use questions if possible. Start with important keywords first. Begin with a capital letter and use sentence case for readability. Good title tags read like a one-line ad that solves a problem and shows urgency. Don't use your keyword phrase more than once in a title tag.

Meta Description Tag - This HTML tag is important because it's often used by search engines as your site description in search results. It's also used by search spiders to summarize Web sites when indexing. Make your description compelling and relevant to attract potential customers. Copy should contain several strategic keywords from the page. Place essential copy in the first 150 characters as copy is sometimes limited (150-400 characters).

Meta Keywords Tag - Most search engines have stopped supporting the meta keywords tag but Inktomi and Teoma still use it, so it can't hurt if you have the time. This tag should contain your most important keywords for each page, up to 1,000 characters including spaces. Place your most important keywords first, with or without commas.

Alt or Image Tag - The alternative text attribute tag requires text to be placed in the tag within quotation marks. Some search engines index alt tags, so it never hurts to describe your images with a keyword message.

If you want to know what title, alt, image and meta tags look like (the code) and where to put them, read Pandia's article on how to optimize Web page elements.

Beyond Copywriting
Good navigation links to inner pages allow the engines to index deep into your site. Quality, incoming links to your site will boost link popularity.

Once you've focused on the above, the crawler search engines will find and rank your site. You can submit manually from the "add URL" link, or invest in paid inclusion for faster indexing and more frequent refresh. At the same time, customers searching your keywords will find what they're looking for, making favorable decisions due to smart copy.

Further reading:
How to integrate keywords into your Web site copy
Top meta tag myths - an introduction to correct use of meta tags
Developing search engine marketing strategies
SEO Best Practices for Web Site Design

About The Author
Paul J. Bruemmer is founder of trademarkSEO. His articles have appeared in numerous publications, including ClickZ, MarketingProfs, Marketing Today, WebProNews, SitePoint, SEO Today, SEO Consultants, MarcommWise, Pandia, B2B Interactive and Search Engine Guide.

TrademarkSEO is a search engine optimization firm based in Santa Ynez Valley, California and serves clients nationwide. His company provided search submission services to over 10,000 websites, including many of the most prominent names in American business.