copywriter
13th January 2006, 01:03 PM
I get asked this questions a lot. "What's the #1 mistake new SEO copywriters make?" The answer is: not writing for their target audience. But the #2 mistake is more annoying (and more harmful) than the #1 mistake, so let's talk about it, shall we? :p
What happens is, someone wants to write SEO copy so they find a keyphrase they like and set out to use it. Then, they take every instance of a generic term in their copy (let's just say, "cruise") and replace it with their newly found keyphrase ("Caribbean cruise vacation" for our example). So what we end up with is this:
When planning your next Caribbean cruise vacation, be sure to check out the special Caribbean cruise vacation deals we have on our site. No other Caribbean cruise vacation site offers the variety of Caribbean cruise vacation packages we offer. You'll never want to book a Caribbean cruise vacation again until you check with our professional Caribbean cruise vacation agents. Reserve your cabin today!
Oh give me a break! That sounds awful! And the people reading the copy will think you had way too much caffine when you wrote it. ;)
If someone walked into your travel agency and asked what you did, is that what you would say to them? Then why have it in your copy?
That's not SEO copywriting. That's keyword stuffing.
Here's a couple of tips.
1) If your keyphrase is not a good replacement for a generic term, don't use it as one.
2) Don't assume you have to replace every instance of a generic term with a keyphrase... you don't.
3) Keyword density is almost a non-issue. It *used* to be a measure of some importance, but it hasn't been in some time.
4) Focus on writing in as natural a style as you can. Don't stuff keyphrases in at every turn. It has to sound logical to your visitors or they'll think a 12-year old wrote the copy :)
5) Break up keyphrases. You can have punctuation or line breaks between the words in your keyphrase and you can also use each word separately. (I don't use the words separately as an exclusive practice, but rather I do it in addition to using the keyphrase as a whole.)
Above all, write for your visitors - not the engines - and you'll have greater success.
What happens is, someone wants to write SEO copy so they find a keyphrase they like and set out to use it. Then, they take every instance of a generic term in their copy (let's just say, "cruise") and replace it with their newly found keyphrase ("Caribbean cruise vacation" for our example). So what we end up with is this:
When planning your next Caribbean cruise vacation, be sure to check out the special Caribbean cruise vacation deals we have on our site. No other Caribbean cruise vacation site offers the variety of Caribbean cruise vacation packages we offer. You'll never want to book a Caribbean cruise vacation again until you check with our professional Caribbean cruise vacation agents. Reserve your cabin today!
Oh give me a break! That sounds awful! And the people reading the copy will think you had way too much caffine when you wrote it. ;)
If someone walked into your travel agency and asked what you did, is that what you would say to them? Then why have it in your copy?
That's not SEO copywriting. That's keyword stuffing.
Here's a couple of tips.
1) If your keyphrase is not a good replacement for a generic term, don't use it as one.
2) Don't assume you have to replace every instance of a generic term with a keyphrase... you don't.
3) Keyword density is almost a non-issue. It *used* to be a measure of some importance, but it hasn't been in some time.
4) Focus on writing in as natural a style as you can. Don't stuff keyphrases in at every turn. It has to sound logical to your visitors or they'll think a 12-year old wrote the copy :)
5) Break up keyphrases. You can have punctuation or line breaks between the words in your keyphrase and you can also use each word separately. (I don't use the words separately as an exclusive practice, but rather I do it in addition to using the keyphrase as a whole.)
Above all, write for your visitors - not the engines - and you'll have greater success.