Search Engine Optimisation Copywriting - the Top Ten Pitfalls

In the last few years, search engine optimisation copywriting in
the UK and around the world has changed beyond recognition, as
has the way sites are optimised by their design, coding and
links. However, the biggest changes have been with SEO
copywriting. Some of the same old mistakes are being made, and
with all the changes to the ways search engines rank sites,
fresh pitfalls are appearing. This article looks at some of the
most common mistakes and omissions in SEO copywriting - and how
to avoid them.

1. Too much time on the look, not enough on the content.
If, like me, you're in the business of SEO copywriting, this is
a perennial bugbear. The content of your website is more
important than its design, and it's going to be even more key in
the future. Search engines rank websites for what's in them.
You're almost certainly paying your site design people a great
deal of money - but you're wasting it if your copy is an
afterthought and few people visit your website. Invest time and
money in copywriting. Better still, talk to your copywriter
while the site is being designed, rather than ask him or her to
fill in the empty spaces afterwards.

2. Lack of keywords. Keyword selection is the most
critical single factor in search engine optimisation. Yet all
too often businesses ignore it. If you're a blue chip company it
rarely matters - people are going to come to your site anyway.
But any small or mid-size company ignores it at their peril. If
your site isn't optimised in the way it's written (not just in
the way it's coded) then you're losing out on customers - big
time.

3. Optimising keywords that no-one is searching for.
Your company may pride itself on its great service, but it's
pointless to optimise 'great service' or anything along those
lines, as no-one will be searching for it. (In fact it can be
positively counter-productive, as some search engines treat
'service' as a stop word and mark down accordingly.) You can
find a free search engine query tool at www.overture.com, or you
can pay for a more detailed and comprehensive one at
www.wordtracker.com. These will tell you which terms have been
searched for recently and how often.

4. Optimising keywords that everyone is searching for.
You need to be specific in what you optimise. If you're selling
jewelry (or 'jewellery', as it's spelled in the UK), then it's
no use simply optimising for the word 'jewelry'. Be more
specific. Even phrases like 'antique jewelry' or 'beaded
jewelry' are searched for many thousands of times a month. Find
out what people are searching for and see what you're up against
by going to a couple of search engines and entering those terms.
If your competitors are all optimising for a specific term, it's
probably best to avoid it if you can find an alternative that
will still bring in the traffic.

4. Alternate spellings and endings. Think laterally,
think creatively, think how others would spell or term
something. Are you going to optimise for 'jewelry' or
'jewellery' - or both? How about 'website' or 'web site'? - both
versions are common. And so on. Don't try and cover all the
bases - but do try and check them against what's being searched
for and how many times and in what context you'll find that
keyword on the internet. That way you're more likely to make the
best choices.

5. Keyword density. The general rule of thumb is to try
and get them in headings or subheads, and early on in the copy.
Two to five times overall on a page, with an absolute maximum of
three different keywords per page is what to aim for. Some
pundits recommend keyword density of up to 5%. This is almost
certainly too much, and some search engines will actually
penalise you for it.

6. Clumsy use of keywords. Beware of your copy becoming
awkward if you try and repeat your keywords too often:

"If you're looking for wonderful widgets, this is the best
place for wonderful widgets. Our wonderful widgets are better
than any other wonderful widgets you've heard of..."

Copy like that puts off anyone reading your website. And
nowadays, when keywords are crowded in like that, it's putting
off the search engines as well.

7. The amount of text. Opinions vary as to exactly how
long a page should be. Your homepage should be no longer than
around 250 - 300 words, but you can easily double that if needs
be for other pages. All pages should have clear headings,
subheads, and short paragraphs. A page could be as little as 100
words. What it won't be, if it's optimised correctly, is a
single paragraph of 30 -50 words.

8. Missing the extras. Text links within your site and
anchor text pointing to it are important elements of search
engine optimisation copywriting. Text links between pages in
your site make it easier for search engine spiders to travel
across the whole site. You should therefore always look to
include them within your site, unless your site is too complex
for it to be practicable, in which case your site needs a
hierarchical structure. Anchor text is the visible text in a
hyperlink - as in the following:

"Effective href="http://ideaswise.com/website_copywriter.html/">search
engine optimisation copywriting is essential for
getting the most out of your website."

Of course, the anchor text that helps your site up the rankings
is actually on a hyperlink from an outside site - but good
anchor text is text that's written in the right way, with the
correct keyword. So get your copywriter to suggest anchor text
with which outside sites can link to yours.

9. Doorway pages that aren't proper pages. Doorway pages
are - or were - simply pages within your site that were
optimised so that very often they were the first pages that
visitors reached. However, the phrase 'doorway page' nowadays
tends to refer a page that has very little to do with a site,
but is merely optimised for a couple of key phrases and aims to
immediately redirect the visitor to the site proper. There's
nothing wrong with optimising several pages on your site - in
fact it's generally an excellent idea, as it allows you to cover
many keywords. Just make sure that each optimised page has
original content, is a genuine part of your site, and is shown
on your sitemap.

10. Resting on your laurels. This is perhaps the most
common failing of all. A properly optimised site should get you
up near the top of the rankings. But you'll need to keep working
on it if you want to stay there. Every day around 7 million
items - documents, pages whatever - are added to the internet.
Your competitors are going to be choosing keywords and
optimising websites of their own. One way to develop and keep
high rankings is with relevant links. Another is by adding
original content, such as articles or newsletters - so keep your
copywriter busy.

About the author:
Peter Wise is a freelance advertising copywriter, website
copywriter and SEO copywriter based in London, UK. He also
writes direct mail, brochures, newsletter articles and press
releases. You can reach him at +44 (0) 7767 687524. For further
information, please visit href="http://ideaswise.com/">http://ideaswise.com/