~~~Successful Online Writing~~~
From: Beth Black
My number one issue is this: Splitsville Online is unique. It's a gift
shop for people going through divorce. The fact that it's a hybrid in
a new niche has caused se problems. Most of our ranking in the se's
has been under the search term "Splitsville" despite the fact that
I've tried to place the word "divorce" numerous times on the homepage
and beyond. Of course, I understand that a word like "divorce" is
hugely popular, but that's where I need to be on top. (I've given up
any hope of winning the "Gift" keyword.) So...how do I win this game?
Help?
Beth Black
Mayor of Splitsville
http://www.splitsvilleonline.com
~~~Heather's Response~~~
Hi, Beth,
Good question!
First off, eliminate any notion that you're going to rank high for a
single keyWORD (especially a word as competitive as "divorce.") It's
just not going to happen. Your best bet is to optimize for certain
keyPHRASES (like "divorce support.") That way, you can still have
"divorce" as one of your main words, but you're also pairing it with
other words that can help you improve your rankings. For more
information on keywords vs. keyphrases, you can check out Rank Write
Issue 008 at: http://www.rankwrite.com/archives/issue008.txt
I would *highly* recommend that you carefully research your keyphrases
before you start writing. It may be possible that people don't really
search for "divorce gifts" or "separation gifts" (even if they may
want products just like yours!) Just a little research at the
beginning will help you strategize for quirks like this before you
optimize for the wrong words!
If people aren't searching for "divorce gifts," you can still drive
traffic to your site with a little creativity and flexibility. Learn
what phrases DO rank well and create special Web pages for those.
That is, if "divorce chat" and "divorce support" gets fantastic hits,
you could consider creating a divorce chat room, and optimizing for
those phrases.
As a side tip - the first paragraph on your home page and your main
headline must be absolutely brimming with good, well-researched
keyphrases. A lot of sites like to place their rotating product
sales, a personal "welcome" statement or special notices before their
"main" home page text, wanting this information to be the first thing
their customers notice. On first glance, this seems to make sense - you're
placing your most timely information on top. Unfortunately, it's the
first thing the search engines notice, too - and if the search engines
read, "join our new discussion list," when you want them to read,
"gifts for divorced people," you're hobbling your chances for a strong
ranking.
Thanks!
~~~Jill's unsolicited 2 cents~~~
Once again, Heather is right on the money! Stand alone stores on the
Internet simply do not work. They are impossible to get high rankings
in the search engines, and people are simply not interested in looking
for them or shopping at them. For a site that sells divorce gifts to
succeed, it would most definitely need to build up a community. Find
a way to be the best resource on the Internet for people getting
divorced. Your shopping area should be an adjunct to that, not the
main focus. If people are coming to you for divorce information and
support, there's a good chance they may also look around at your
products while they're there. You can't ask for a more highly
targeted audience than that! - Jill
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