~~~Writing for the Search Engines~~~
From: Melissa Lesh
I very much enjoy reading your newsletter and have found that it has
answered my numerous questions! But the question that I have is more
of a political nature. Recently, I suggested to my client that they
look to add content to their home page for better optimization.
Currently, they just have graphics, no text, nothing. I've already
gone through and added alt tags, changed their title, keywords and
description. When I made this suggestion to her, she forwarded my
message along to her site maintenance person.
I received a message last week from the site manager stating that they
would not want to compromise the integrity of the home page, since
this is where they introduce themselves. She feels that meta tags
would be enough and that the keywords are broad enough that their site
"will show up just fine." But what she doesn't realize is that her
terms are specific to her product, but broad in terms of how many
times they are searched. And, she doesn't think that by adding
relevant keyword rich text to the home page will have any effect on the
ranking of their site. How should I handle this with my brand
manager? Should I push my point or leave it at meta tags?
Thanks in advance for your help!
Melissa Lesh
~~~Heather's Response~~~
Hi, Melissa-
What a dilemma!
It sounds like you know what the site needs (long-term, cost-effective
optimization) - but your clients are fighting you every step of the
way. As you know, there are some obvious flaws in your client's
process:
1. Beware of going for *very* broad keyphrases. In fact, for
keyphrases to be truly effective, they need to be researched and
*very* specific to the content. Although it may seem right to optimize
for "widgets" when you own a widget site, specific phrases (like
computer desk widgets) are a better bet. What your client is risking
is the infamous "optimizing for the wrong words" scenario - and their
site could be buried in the search engines. You (or your client) can
read more about this in last week's Rank Write.
2. Meta keyword tags are nice, but they are NOT the key to a
successful optimization. In fact, the search engines are mostly
searching for relevant, keyword-rich copy - not just the coding
(although proper coding and submission is highly crucial). For more
information about this, check out Jill's article, "The Meta Keyword
Tag".
3. If they have graphics and no text on their home page, they're really
hindering their chances for a successful optimization. Hindering so
badly that I'm pretty pessimistic at what their results could be. As
we've mentioned before, the search engines can't read graphics or a
Flash page - they need to see content-rich text. If you don't include
strong HTML text, your site is basically "ignored" by the engines.
There are some workarounds, but it's more beneficial to have real
words on a page.
Not to mention, their prospects will NOT be able to immediately grasp
the benefits and "what's in it for them" with a graphics site. Two
past issues that address this concept are:
Rank Write issue 016 and, Rank Write issue 014
Try educating the client a little (and send them to our site, if
needed) and see if that helps. If the client won't budge and won't
approve a viable alternative, I would warn them *in writing* that you
can't guarantee a darn thing. After all, you're doing what you can -
it's the client that's tying your hands.
Thanks for your question! Keep those online questions coming!
Heather
~~~Jill's unsolicited 2 cents~~~
Heather's done a great job of reviewing the obvious flaws in your
client's plan. She's also pointed you to some great resource links
for reinforcement. This is a classic case of a client hiring an
expert, and then thinking they know better. I've ranted about this
before in my article:
"Let Your Trusted Experts Do Their Job!". If we had a dime for every time we heard, "But can't we just change our Meta tags?" from a client, we could retire to Amsterdam today! (Yes...we liked Amsterdam *that* much!)
My feeling is that it's YOUR job to make it absolutely clear to your
client that in all likelihood, their site will not be found in the
engines without any text on the page. Period. You can certainly
tell them that you'll do whatever they want, as they're paying the
bills, but that they're probably throwing their money down the drain.
Unfortunately, as slow as the engines are right now, it will be many
months before you will get to gloat and say, "I told you so" to them!
That said, you do have a few other options that you may want to
present to the client:
1. A directory submittal only. Since the directories don't spider
through sites, it's not as crucial to have text on the page where
directories are concerned. Beware, however; many directory editors
are looking for good content, and the site *might* not be added if
it's simply a Flash presentation or other LUG (large useless graphic).
There's also the problem Heather mentioned above: No copy means no
marketing benefits and no calls to action, which usually translates
into no clicks further into the site. This is not really *your*
problem, but it is surely going to be your client's problem.
2. Optimize inner pages. Take some of the product or services pages,
do the copywriting "thang" to them, and optimize them accordingly.
An "About Us" page also works well for this purpose. If they don't
currently have one of these, this is a great opportunity to create one
from scratch. For best results, be sure that all of these inner
pages are visibly linked from the main page of the site and are a true
part of the site, not just gateway pages. Inner pages aren't always
given as much weight as main pages, but if done correctly, they can
definitely get high rankings. For this site, this may be your only
viable alternative.
Good luck! It sounds as if you'll need it!
- 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!
