It seems to be a single-sided debate. When you mention keyword use, all thoughts normally go to the search engines. Copywriting, however, is more about your human visitors than it is the engines. In fact, even the mainstay of SEO copywriting (keywords) is based on a need to spur visitors along as they work through the information on your site. If you want truly effective SEO copy, you’ll take time to learn that keyword use goes beyond the search engines.

Let’s go offline for a moment. Go get your telephone book. If you were going to conduct a search for, say, an office desk, how would you go about it? You’d look in the Yellow Pages^TM under office furniture. Next you’d drill through the ads in search of ads that specifically mentioned “desks” or perhaps the particular kind of desk you want.

SEO for Newspapers?
When looking through the inserts that come with your Sunday newspaper, your eye would be especially drawn to office supply flyers that featured the word “desks” or a picture of desks. Why? Because you’ve got desks on the brain right now. You’re going to be especially sensitive to that word because that’s the current need you’re trying to fill.

The same, exact thing applies when someone searches online. Keywords started out because human Internet searchers typed them into the search engines, not because the search engines selected the terms. The same holds true today. You don’t just make up keywords. You use services and programs that allow you to research the exact phrases human beings are typing to Google, Yahoo! and other engines. When you incorporate those words and phrases into your website copy, you’re doing way more than attempting to boost your rankings; you’re also helping to navigate the site visitor from the search engine to the right page of your site.

If you’re the owner of the office supply store we’ve been talking about and you want to create a newspaper ad to sell a new line of desks you carry, what do you think might appear in the headline? The word “desk” or perhaps the phrase “office desks.” Why would you do that? There are no search engines to optimize for in the newspaper industry. You’ll include those keywords because it makes sense to do so. You’ll include them because they are descriptive of what you’re selling. You’ll include them because it will attract the readers’ attention and draw them to your store. That’s not search engine optimization; it’s just good marketing.

Lead, Don’t Shove
The same applies when writing copy for your site. There’s more than one reason to include keywords in your copy. The primary one is not the engines, it’s your site visitors. Strategic keyword placement helps guide your visitors to the information, products or services they are looking for. Don’t shove keywords in everywhere you think you can possibly fit them. Instead, use keywords to lead your visitors in the right direction.

Even if there were no such thing as search engine optimization, your copy would almost certainly still contain keywords. It only makes sense to have keywords in the headline, so visitors will know what the page is about. Sub-heads? Sure thing! People scan more than they read, so having keywords in sub-heads is a great idea. And in the body copy? You bet! After all, it’s pretty hard to sell desks without actually using the word “desk.” Since there are school desks and computer desks and many other desks, you’ll want to make it clear that your sale is for “office desks.” That, too, only makes sense.

As you can see, keyword inclusion has been going on far longer than the Internet has existed. It’s been an important part of copywriting since marketing was invented. When you create a copywriting plan for your site pages, think through which keywords you should use and where the most effective places to position those keywords would be. Then develop your SEO copy with a goal of directing your visitors to the right information. When you do, you’ll naturally optimize for the search engines at the same time.

Copyright 2006, Karon Thackston, All Rights Reserved

Why is search engine ranking so important?

Recent studies have proven that search engine optimisation generates a better return on investment than any other conventional form of marketing. Web promotion provides a better return than television, radio, direct mail, print ads, and trade shows.

Over 55% of all Internet purchases begin with a search engine. Today’s top search engines receive hundreds of millions of searches per day. If your web site is not appearing within the first two pages of these results, you are missing thousands of qualified leads.

Having a top ranking in a major search engine is like having a full page ad in the Yellow Pages in every major city of the world. Our clients see incredible growth in their sales as a result of being moved to the top of the search engines.

How do search engine listings compare to banner ads, bulk email or affiliate programs?

A study conducted by NPD Group, a research group specializing in consumer purchasing and behavior, tested the impact of search listings, bulk email, and affiliate programs across a variety of target markets. In every situation, search engine listings came out on top.

“ Consumers are 12 times more likely to purchase your products or services after finding your web site through a search engine than all other programs combined�. NPD Group.

What about those who claim to “Submit your Web Site to Over 3500 Search Engines” ?

Not only are these “submitting only” services a total waste of your money but they can actually hurt your rankings.

These companies typically promise to submit your web site to thousands of search engines on a monthly schedule for a cost of anywhere between £10 to £149 with no guarantee of generating any top rankings. They don’t guarantee results because search engine submission is not enough.

There are less than 20 major search engines in the United States. Automated submission is a form of spam to the major search engines. They often detect and reject web sites submitted this way. This is why we submit your site manually to the engines that require manual submission.

THE RESUBMISSION MYTH: Some companies will tell you that it’s very important to resubmit each month. A few years ago this technique had some merit but now it can lead to your domain being flagged as spam. You should never resubmit to an engine unless your listing has dropped out.

What exactly does Callender Creates do for me?

We optimise your web site to rank in the top pages of the major search engines for your desired keyword phrases. We specially fine-tune your pages to exactly match the criteria of the biggest search engines based on the latest search engine intelligence.

Next, we manually submit your site to each major search engine. We then track each submission to make sure each search engine indexed your site and send you detailed ranking reports to show you exactly where you are positioned in the major engines. Each promotion includes two ranking reports: one initial report and one 3 months after submission.

We also help you with an online marketing strategy, we will share valuable tips and techniques that will increase the profitability of your business and ensure you avoid costly mistakes that cause others to lose time and money. You will receive advice, tested techniques, insider secrets, and professional consultation.

How long does this take? Will I see results right away?

It is not possible to say for sure how long it will take specific engines like Yahoo! or Google to approve and index your site. It could happen as soon as 2-3 weeks.

Each search engine indexes web sites at a different rate. As a general rule, you must allow at least 3 months for the meta search engines to fully index your site. Some engines take longer but it’s worth the wait.

You might want to consider taking advantage of one of our monthly maintenance packages as an additional service, though. This keeps your site up-to-date so you can keep SERP rankings.

If I decide that I don’t want to do business with you anymore do I lose all my search engine positions?

Absolutely not. We are one of the few Optimisation companies that place your optimized pages in your possession. Your search engine optimized pages that got your rankings are yours to keep.

How do I choose good keywords?

Good question. Targeting the right keywords is critical to your success. After extensive discussion and brainstorming, we will help you find the right keywords using professional keyword research tools. We have an entire page dedicated to helping you choose the right keywords.

What exactly is “WordTracker,” and why is it so important?

WordTracker is the best way to find the most effective keywords related to your business. You can enter a keyword phrase and it will provide an analysis for ideal keywords phrases and a competitive analysis.