Professional copywriting tips
Summer is most definitely here. The cricket season is in full swing – at least when it’s not raining – and I’m now more than ready for joining in with the Wimbledon crowd; enjoying strawberries and cream accompanied by a refreshing Pimms, while watching Britain’s hopefuls slog it out on the courts.
Perhaps this year will be different…
Okay, so we can’t guarantee that, but what can be different this year is the performance of your website if you follow our lessons on search engine optimised copywriting. Which is a pretty nifty link into this month’s lesson, if I do say so myself!
As always, if there are any areas of copywriting that you would like us to look at in more detail, email the subject or your questions and queries to info@cwrite.co.uk and we’ll address them in this section.
SEO copywriting - the art of writing for search engines - Part 3: Keywords and keyphrases for SEO copy
What are keywords and keyword phrases?
When you search for information, companies or products on the Internet, the chances are you will visit a search engine like Google or Yahoo and type in a word that is relevant to the task you wish to complete.
For instance, you may be planning an overnight stay in Leeds and want to book a nice restaurant for a meal in the evening.
If you type ‘restaurants’ into the search box and press go, you will be given literally millions of choices from restaurants in Australia, restaurant reviews, even definitions of restaurant – absolutely no good to anyone.
Focus the search with keyword phrases
To narrow the search, you may use the words ‘restaurants in Leeds’. This will reduce your options, but will probably still present you with an overwhelming choice.
Specifying the type of food you prefer would be one way of focussing your search. Perhaps you’re looking for Italian and now add this to the search criteria. The result is a very focussed search, which provides you with a manageable list of potential venues.
You will also discover that your keyword ‘restaurants’ has evolved into a keyword phrase ‘Italian restaurants in Leeds’.
Changing the viewpoint
Now reverse the original scenario. Imagine that you run an Italian restaurant in Leeds called ‘A Flavour of Italy’ (a totally fictitious name and no association with any restaurants either living or dead called ‘A Flavour of Italy’ is intended) and want to attract customers via your website.
New customers will not know your name, so it is no good littering your text with such phrases as; ‘visit A Flavour of Italy’; ‘finest food in town from A Flavour of Italy’; or even ‘relax and enjoy the atmosphere of A Flavour of Italy’.
As it is unlikely to be a phrase that is used by anyone performing a general search for Italian restaurants in Leeds, it is unlikely that your restaurant will rank high on such general searches.
The logical search phrase for new customers, as we’ve already established is ‘Italian restaurants in Leeds’, which means that this is the phrase you need to be using throughout your text.
This doesn’t mean to say that you must ignore the name, just expand the phrases you had in mind to include the necessary keyword phrases. For instance; ‘A Flavour of Italy is one of the best Italian restaurants in Leeds’; ‘enjoy the finest food from the leading Italian restaurant in Leeds, A Flavour of Italy’; or even, ‘why not relax and enjoy the atmosphere of the Italian restaurant in Leeds where everyone wants to be and be seen – A Flavour of Italy’.
Establishing keyword phrases
Word of warning – do not just guess the phrases your customers will use to search for your products or services. Always double check that any phrases you come up with are actually being used by potential customers searching the web.
To do this, the first step is to generate a list of potential keyword phrases. For instance, for CopyWrite, this could include; copywriters in West Yorkshire, professional copywriters in West Yorkshire; copywriting services UK; copywriting services in West Yorkshire; professional copywriting services in West Yorkshire; but may equally include; writers in West Yorkshire; business writers West Yorkshire; advertising writing West Yorkshire and so on.
When establishing the initial list, put yourself in the position of your customers and try to think about the words you would use to search for your type of product or services. If you have a good relationship with existing customers, it could be useful to ask them what words they would use to search for your services or products online.
When you have your list, check the phrases using Word Tracker, Keyword Discovery or an equivalent software tool. Word Tracker will give you an indication of how frequently these phrases are being used.
The phrases that rank high on the results are the ones that you need to be using in your website copy.
Well, I think that is more than enough information to absorb for this month’s lesson. It’s now time for you to head off and think about all those keyword phrases that you could be using in your website, and for me to head off in search of the sun – which will probably take even longer.
Looking forward to July
Not to worry though, in our copywriting hints and tips next month, we’ll continue our theme on writing for the web, with some ideas of what to include and what not to include in your text.Find out more
If you want to know more about our copywriting services and how we could work with you to meet your copywriting needs, or for a quote on a copywriting brief, please call 077 646 854 12 or complete our online contact form.