7 steps to seo copywriting success

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7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success Does Access to SEO Keyword Intelligence Make You a More Effective Writer? Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO, SuccessWorks Pelin Thorogood, Managing Partner Schulman+Thorogood Group

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Want to explode your web site traffic, engage your visitors and drive more sales? You may have heard that SEO copywriting - also called "writing for search engines" - is the secret to getting better search rankings. In the past, you may have thought this process was too technical to learn and outsourced your SEO copy needs. But now you can do it yourself - even if you're an "SEO newbie." New content optimization tools and strategies can help you create content that is both easier to discover by search engines and more compelling to read for your visitors.

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Page 1: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Does Access to SEO Keyword Intelligence Make You a More Effective

Writer?

Heather Lloyd-Martin, CEO, SuccessWorks

Pelin Thorogood, Managing PartnerSchulman+Thorogood Group

Page 2: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

The Speakers

Heather Lloyd-Martin is a 20-year marketing veteran, a recognized author and considered the pioneer of SEO copywriting as profiled in the book Online Marketing Heroes. She is nominated for the Top Woman in SEO, 2012 award.

Pelin Thorogood is a new media marketer and entrepreneur, and was recently named one of the “20 Women to Watch” in sales lead management.  Pelin serves as a virtual Entrepreneur-in-Residence at Cornell's Johnson Graduate School of Management.

@heatherlloyd

@pelint

Page 3: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Why care about content?

Page 4: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

The Importance of SEO Content

Keyphrase research

Quality content

Quality incoming links

SEO sweet spot

Page 5: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

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.”

Page 6: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Your main advantage

• Control

Page 7: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Step #1-Who Are You?

Page 8: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

How well should you know your target audience?

Page 9: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Write for the right audienceHow 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?

Page 10: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success
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Step #2: WIIFM?

Page 12: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

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

Page 13: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Let’s compare: Quicken

Page 14: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Mint.com

Page 15: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Step #3: Be a content psychic

Page 16: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Want to get inside your customer’s heads?

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

Page 17: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Look for opportunities to build out new, unique content

Page 18: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success
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Articles become part of resource center.

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

Page 20: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Step #4: Free yourself from “fake rules”

Page 21: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

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

Page 22: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

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

Page 23: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Step #5: Make your Titles sizzle off the SERP

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Think of Titles like headlines

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Title structure

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

• Try to keep your Titles to around 65 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

• Local? Experiment with including your phone #

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Step #6: Control what you can control

Page 27: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

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.

Page 28: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Step #7: Follow the SEO copywriting checklist

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5-W’s and 1 H of SEO copywriting

• WHO does the writing (new SEO copywriters need tools and 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.)

Page 30: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Thank you! Want more SEO copywriting goodness?

SEOcopywriting.com

Page 31: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

Questions? Here’s how to reach me

Heather Lloyd-MartinCEO, SuccessWorks

[email protected]

Twitter: @heatherlloyd

Page 32: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

The Impact of Real-Time Content Optimization:

Does Access to Search & Social Intelligence Make You a More Effective

Writer?

Pelin ThorogoodSchulman+Thorogood Group

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The Question

If a writer has real-time, easy access to intelligence on topics of interest to their readers, based on the words and phrases these readers use while searching or sharing, can he or she create online content that is easier to discover and more compelling to read?

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The Participants

• Ebeanstalk.com is an online toy retailer

• Link Orbit is a new blog network  

• Convince & Convert is a popular social media blog written primarily by Jay Baer (who is also a co-author of the study).

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Focus Focus Focus!

If “keyword focus” is one of the most important things in online writing, how is a writer to determine which words to focus on?

How content optimization tools help: Get real-time access to your customers’ (or rather, your prospects’) words to help you craft your content.

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Choose the Right Keywords

Your focus terms you select should be in line with your content strategy.

Optimize for search popularity

Optimize to avoid competition

How content optimization tools help: No need to be an SEO expert! These tools automatically rank and organize your virtual thesaurus based on your stated content strategy.

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Use the Right Number of Keywords in the Right

PlacesEngaging content not only requires the use of the right words but also the right structure.

How content optimization tools help: The new generation of content optimization tools provides real-time coaching, so you know where and how often to use your focus terms.

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The Results

Significant and consistent impact on content reach and engagement:

Traffic from search engines increased 30%+ and the improved content relevance led readers to spend 100% or more time on page.

Even paid search impressions increased dramatically despite no change to paid search budgets since optimized landing pages matched the purchased search phrases with greater specificity!

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Conclusion

Tapping into SEO Keyword intelligence during the content creation process appears to have a significant and consistent impact on reach (improved search engine results for both organic and PPC), while also increasing reader engagement and conversion with improved content relevance.

Online content development is poised to change fundamentally: Whether writing a blog post, updating a web site, creating new landing page copy, or crafting a press release, easy, real-time access to search and social intelligence on their readers can enable any writer - regardless of level of SEO sophistication - to develop content that is both more discoverable online and more compelling to read.

Page 40: 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success

www.schulmanthorogoood.com

@stgroup