Content, With a Twist

theseogirl — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:23:28 +0000

Debra O. Mastaler says we need to change our linking attitude. She suggests employing more advanced SEO strategies than just buying links. Mastaler says link bait is a great incentive to get sites to add your link.

What’s link bait, you ask?

Link bait is writing content that has a slight twist or controversial angle that will entice people to read it. But what is an SEO Specialist to do if your client sells shoe insoles, or some other hardly exciting product people use but never give a second thought thought to?

Think about your audience. Who is your target audience? If you’re a cookware site targeting stay-at-home moms, write a press release or article about how certain substances found on pots and pans can make you sick. Just be sure it isn’t found on your site too!
Something to promote? Did you just get a site redesign or add a new product line? Write about it!
Off-Line Link Bait. Did Oprah just talk up the same brand of red high heels you sell on your site? Write a press release about it touting Oprah’s love for red heels, and why women everywhere should follow suit.
More than keywords. Always remember that content is more than keywords and search engine rankings. Think about the people you’re writing for – you might not want to use urban slang if you’re targeting housewives. Write in a web-friendly way, and keep it concise.
Use Social Bookmarking. Don’t wait for others to find your content, submit it to popular social bookmarking and news sites like digg.com, del.icio.us, sphinn, and Google News. Syndicate press releases through sites like PRWeb and PRNewsWire. Make sure your link bait gets into the right hands.

SEO Copywriting Tips and Tricks

theseogirl — Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:19:39 +0000

You might be a link building whiz kid or an SMO expert, but both search engines and visitors to your site want content. These SEO content writing tips and tricks won’t turn you into Shakespeare, but if you listen up they might just make writing a little easier.

Free Information
Think of content as your opportunity to provide “free information”. For example, pretend you have a site selling high heels. Be sure to have extensive product descriptions of each shoe, but also create articles. Write articles on proper foot care, what styles are in right now, and what kinds of shoes you’d wear to see mom or go to the club in.

Web-Friendly Copy
Notice how I broke this post up into small paragraphs with subheads in bold. Do the same in your SEO copy. It can be difficult to read online, but creating bulleted lists and including lots of white space will make your visitors love your site. Remember that content isn’t just for search engines. Having a high ranking site doesn’t take the place of happy customers.

Go With The Flow
Make sure your content flows. Read it outloud and see if it makes sense. Avoid run-on sentences and long paragraphs. Use spell-check and grab a dictionary. There’s no reason to use a “dollar” word where a “penny” word is just fine.

Meta what?
Search engines don’t reward meta tags like they used to, but it’s still helpful to add a meta-title, meta-keywords, and meta-description to your site. Writing your own meta-description gives you better control over the summary of your site that will display in the SERPs. Write unique meta tags for every page, or at least every section page, on your site.

HTML Knowledge
If you’re uploading the content yourself, be sure to have a working knowledge of HTML. You can download basic HTML editing software like Nvu for free.

Happy writing!

- your darling seo girl!

The SEO Girl » SEO Copywriting Tips

Content, With a Twist

SEO Copywriting Tips and Tricks