Comments on: Yes, you do need an SEO copywriting strategy. Here’s why

By: Talk About Creative

Talk About Creative — Fri, 13 Sep 2013 05:22:04 +0000

Having a strategy in place makes sense, I really like the analogy you used. You can’t just jump in or it will fail. Creating quality, engaging content incorporating SEO techniques is how you are going to convert your visitors to buyers. It means nothing if you put all of your budget into a fantastic site, but your content is poorly written and irrelevant to your audience. It takes a lot of time and effort.

By: Heather Lloyd-Martin

Heather Lloyd-Martin — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 20:18:02 +0000

In reply to Derek Cromwell. Ha! That's funny. Sounds like sound advice, Derek! ;)

By: Derek Cromwell

Derek Cromwell — Wed, 11 Sep 2013 16:30:48 +0000

I saw Terry’s remark about a content audit and it reminded of a recent nightmare. I went corporate for a little while and we launched a huge rebranding initiative. This included a complete website overhaul.

Part of the strategy for the new content involved me performing a content audit to see where the current website stood.

I carefully crafted a spreadsheet to track details across a site with a few hundred pages. I painstakingly went page by page scoring the content for a variety of factors. at least that was my intent. After about 60 pages of duplicated content I threw my hands in the air, tossed out my notes and drew a new strategy from scratch with one key point in mind.

Don’t let executives touch the website content ever again.

By: Heather Lloyd-Martin

Heather Lloyd-Martin — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 22:37:02 +0000

@Terry – it’s always nice to “see” you. :)

Waaaayyyy too many companies don’t outsource their content audits because they costs money. Instead, they do it in house – and like you said, “they collect data and guess.”

And that’s never smart.

It’s an extremely good idea to outsource the audit along with the writing. Often, the writer can see opportunities that an in-house team can’t see (they’re too close to it.) Plus, the writer doesn’t care about the politics – so he/she will suggest strategies that work versus strategies that are politically “safe.”

And, from the writer’s perspective, when the writer handles it, she/he knows the audit is done correctly. Not that some companies haven’t given me good information – it’s happened. But very rarely…

By: shahzaib M. Feroz

shahzaib M. Feroz — Mon, 09 Sep 2013 07:31:52 +0000

Heather, thanks for listing out the questions. These are going to support a lot. A successful copywriter knows about his primary and secondary objectives; understands the targeted audience; and frames content around benefits of products and services to readers, helping them get converted easily.

By: Terry Van Horne

Terry Van Horne — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 17:15:59 +0000

The bottom line is a content audit answers all the questions and provides the foundation for the strategy! Very few do the audit properly… Mostly todays internet marketers collect data and guess… likely wouldn’t know a good site and it is why Google feels the need for algo’s like Panda, GooPLA, Penguin and the crutch of the crippled marketer…. EMD! If they could really access sites would they get hit by Penguin…well if they could and still did it…shame on them!

Just my .02 Ca….

By: Heather Lloyd-Martin

Heather Lloyd-Martin — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 14:38:24 +0000

In reply to Pat Hall. Thanks, @Pat! I'm glad you enjoyed the post. "Winging" the copy (or strategy) is never a good idea....:)

By: Pat Hall

Pat Hall — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 05:19:11 +0000

FABULOUS advice, Heather! This post really hits the mark, especially for those who don’t know much about website copy but think they can wing it themselves.

A MUST-READ post for every business owner and compelling message that it really pays to first develop an air-tight SEO copywriting strategy!

By: SearchCap: The Day In Search, September 5, 2013 | Search Engine Optimization & Internet Marketing (SEO & SEM) Blog

Fri, 06 Sep 2013 04:26:20 +0000

[…] Yes, you do need an SEO copywriting strategy. Here’s why., http://www.seocopywriting.com […]

By: Heather Lloyd-Martin

Heather Lloyd-Martin — Fri, 06 Sep 2013 01:02:13 +0000

In reply to Glenn Murray.

EXACTLY! Good SEO content has *always* been about conversion. Unfortunately, people still believe that it’s about keywords – or Google – or a nonsensical density percentage. At the end of the day, the question to ask is, “Is the content making me money” (or whatever the main conversion goal is.) If the answer is not just “yes” but “heck yes,” you’ve done your job. :)

Thanks, Glenn! It’s great to “see” you here! :)