Copywriting Makeover
By Karon Thackston, Sat Dec 10th
by Karon Thackston © 2005 http://www.copywritingcourse.com
When it comes to search engine optimization, copywriting plays abig role. You want to have excellent copy that appeals to bothyour visitors and the engines in order to create pages that willrank highly. However, sometimes there can be potential problemswith fitting copy into certain types of sites. Due to spaceconstraints, page layout requirements or other issues, some siteowners hesitate to include SEO copy thinking it will detractfrom the visitor's experience. It won't if you do it right!
Gigmasters.com is a database site that allows visitors to searchfor any number of entertainment options then book them directlyfrom the site. They segmented their target audience by theevents visitors would book entertainment for (i.e., weddingentertainment, birthday party entertainment, etc.) Pages werethen created for each entertainment type.
The Problems
Gigmasters.com wasn't ranking highly for its keyphrases on anumber of pages. In fact, for the page we're focusing on in thisarticle (see the original copy here:http://www.copywritingcourse.com/gigmasters-original-wedding.pdf), Gigmasters.com wasn't ranking in the top 50.
The page desperately needed more copy. The concern was thatvisitors would be distracted by the addition of more text. Afterall, customers who come to a site to book entertainment aregoing to focus on the information in each performer's bio… notthe copy on the category page, right? As we found out, this wasnot at all true.
In addition to quantity (word count), the page also neededquality. The one paragraph of copy that was on the page wasrough and sounded
awkward.
The Solutions
Writing copy that appeals to the site visitors and the searchengines should be the goal of every SEO copywriter. You neverwant to sacrifice one for the other. However, I knew that addinga long block of copy right in the middle of the page would notbe using good judgment. Good thing nobody ever said all yourcopy had to be in one place!
By breaking the copy up and adding short blips under eachsection of the page, we were able to include enough text tosupport the chosen keyphrases. At the same time, we were able tohelp visitors make the best choices for their weddingentertainment.
The Rewrite
For this particular page, the target customer was someone inneed of wedding entertainment. The visitor might be a bride orthe mother of a bride looking for a wedding band (a weddingmusic band, that is), a DJ or some other form of weddingreception music. Most often the site visitor was a bride,however.
I never want to include copy strictly for SEO purposes ifpossible. The copy should always have a dual purpose: to helpthe visitor and to boost rankings. To accomplish this withGigmasters.com, the introductory paragraph of copy spokedirectly to the bride-to-be. It gave her the feeling thatGigmasters.com understood how important the music for herwedding and reception are.
Under each music classification, the bride was given ideas orsuggestions. Statements like, "The gentle melodies played by aharpist or flutist during the prelude to your ceremony can addan air of distinction" and " Do you want your guests to dance?Consider a Latin band or swing band to pick up the beat"prompted visitors to think through their selections and evaluateall their options before deciding.
Each section of copy used at least one primary keyphrase toboost support of those terms with the engines. The copy wascarefully written so as not to sound forced or stiff whenincluding search terms.
The Results
You can view the updated copy here:http://www.copywritingcourse.com/gigmasters-updated-wedding.pdf.What happened after the changes? Within just a few weeks thepage began to rise in rankings dramatically! Currently, the pagehas great rankings with various engines for various keyphrases -several in the top 10 with Google and Yahoo.
And conversions? They are holding steady if not increased someaccording to site partner Kevin Kinyon, further proving thatsearch engine copywriting can be helpful to real people, too.
About the author:Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impressesthe engines and your visitors athttp://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to also check outKaron’s latest e-report “How To Increase Keyword Saturation(Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” athttp://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
