~~~Successful Online Writing~~~
From: Gord Collins
What happens to the regular corporate copywriter when I really have to
be doing the writing? Do you talk to some of your clients about how
their marketing approach (site content) might have to be altered for
top SE performance? This is my next challenge.
Gord Collins
~~~Heather's Response~~~
Hi, Gord,
Your question "what happens to the regular corporate copywriter" is a
good one - and something we face with every new client.
About 99.9 percent of the time, we find that we'll have to rewrite the
copy for the search engines. As we discussed in Rank Write 018, it's not a good idea to just "edit" for keyphrases - especially on the home page.
However, these companies have spent thousands on their creative
materials, and cringe at hearing "rewrite." After all, their talented
writer spent time and energy (and probably faced about 100 committees)
just getting the darned copy approved. And suddenly they hear their
copy isn't "right?" Heck, that would frustrate me, too!
The truth is, "regular" copywriting is NOT the same as search engine
optimization writing. Just like any special niche, SEO writing has
some unique differences, including:
1. SEO writing is structured around well-researched keyphrases. What
this means is that the writer needs to include the necessary
keyphrases an adequate amount of times - without losing the marketing
flow. This is trickier than it seems (and I had my own problems when
I was learning).
2. SEO writing is longer than "conventional" copy. If you search the
Web, you'll find home page copy lengths from around 25 words up to a
big, huge scrolling page. Although all of us copywriters were
trained to "keep it short and simple," we've found that you'll need at
least 250 words for maximum search engine success. You can check out
more information on this in
Rank Write 017.
3. If you're not trained in SEO writing, it takes a while to catch on.
I firmly believe that any talented writer can easily learn how to
write for the search engines. However, does the average company want
their corporate writer "learning SEO" on their dime (and with their
site?). Usually not.
Now, telling clients this and making it fly is all in the approach.
We've found that the most successful way to deal with this situation
is by bringing the head copywriter or content manager into the process
from the beginning. When we explain that we're not invalidating
the work - we're merely tweaking it for the engines - a dialogue can
start pretty quickly. It's also important to mention that the company
(including the writer) has complete creative control (this REALLY
helps the writer to relax).
I don't think we've "lost" one client because of this issue. We may
have had to develop some workarounds that satisfy the search engines
and the client, but we can always find alternatives that work for
everybody. It may take a couple of conference calls until everyone
gets used to each other, but it's worth the effort!
Good luck - and let us know how it goes!
Thanks for your question! Keep those online writing questions coming!
Heather
~~~Jill's unsolicited 2 cents~~~
More and more, we are finding that simply knowing how optimize Web
sites for high rankings, is not the only skill necessary to succeed in
the SEO business. As with any business, so much of what we do these
days involves selling. First we have to "sell" the company on the
fact that we are the best and we know what we're doing. Then we have
to "sell" them on allowing us to use the tried and true methods we've
established for getting results. In many cases, by the time a client
comes to us, they've tried a variety of things with little or no luck,
and are ready to get the job done right. However, not everyone will
be convinced. When Heather and I work on a client's site, we want to
get them the best possible rankings. Therefore we insist that Heather
does the writing, period. Ultimately, it's up to the client to decide
if they are willing to go for it or not. This strategy may not work
for all SEO companies, however. You have to have a great copywriter
on staff who has a portfolio of professional writing that can be shown
to potential clients. If the writing is indeed terrific, then it's
not that hard of a sell.
Jill
~~~Send Us Your Questions~~~
If you have questions about online copywriting or search engine optimization (or both!), just zip us an email to questions@rankwrite.com. We've had some folks ask if their question
was "too basic" to be printed - and you don't have to worry about
that! There are no "stupid" search engine optimization or copywriting
questions, so ask away!
