Building the Arc from Search to Site

Even the best content can’t start selling until someone “sets foot” on the site. You need something more than site content; you need SEO content. Search and content are inextricably linked in a cause and effect equation. One strategy knows how to work algorithms to obtain traffic. The other serves tea and sticky buns so visitors will tarry awhile. With a full array of compelling, changing, super-charged SEO content permeating every nook and cranny of your website, the search is satisfied.

Checks Aren’t the Only Thing That Shouldn’t Bounce

Without even knowing the definition, you can probably guess that high bounce rates are undesirable. It’s the time it takes a viewer to land on a site, look around, assess and split. (Sounds like me at an estate sale.) There’s even a term called stickiness for content that keeps the ball rolling, not bouncing.

The Huffington Post is considered one of the most popular news sources out there. Let’s look at just a few ways this heavily trafficked site reels in and retains readers.

For starters, they just changed their name to HuffPost. Snazzier, jazzier, catchier, less huffing, more posting.

Their designers use can’t-miss, colorburst banners to tout “Trending” and “Top Videos.” Department names include the conventional Politics, Business and Entertainment but also creative tags like Green, Impact and Voices. Off to one side is a blinking Interactive “Tip Line” for story leads.

Perhaps the biggest draw of all is not the kinetic layout but the provocative subjects like “More Men Are Getting Botox,” “$400 Jeans Covered in Fake Mud,” or ”The Truth About People with Leprosy.” Do you put that much thought into what your readers want? Are you taking risks with content to engage and entertain? Maybe you should.

Consider some of the elements of stickiness:

• Value
• Substance
• Unique
• Useful
• Graphic
• Colorful
• Risky
• Creative

How do so many people know about the HuffPost? Who told them? What are they looking for? News…gossip… politics…leprosy updates? That’s the million dollar marketing question.

At some time readers probably searched for one of those terms (even leprosy.) With the help of some analytics, the happy Huffers researched all those words, and they became keywords used throughout the posts.

So question answered. Just anticipate the search terms and create content that contains those keywords.

May We Have a Word?

Writing website content that partners with search engine optimization involves observing, then owning the language your customer is using when they search, down to the exact word(s). If the general public suddenly started calling air conditioners “chilly blowers,” and you sell air conditioners, you want to start calling them chilly blowers, too. Maybe not in front of your buddies, but at least once on your website.

Think of it like being in the waiting room at the doctor’s office. Suddenly the nurse opens the door and says, “Mr. Torres?” Isn’t it great you have the name Torres at that moment in time? You get to go in and see the doctor and everyone else has to keep waiting. Without that name, you’d still be reading back issues of People.

Now that’s an oversimplification, for sure. But very illustrative. You need to have the name (keyword) that is being called (searched). People can’t change their names, but companies have plenty of leeway when experimenting with keywords.

Where in the World are My Keywords?

Every business content writer knows if you want to generate traffic through search, do extensive keyword research ahead of time. You’ll find lists of words where a certain amount of search volume already exists. Find ones that relate to your industry and tailor content to incorporate them.

Some words are highly desirable (think Auto Insurance) and this creates keyword competition. They’re so often searched, if everyone claimed them, in theory everyone would rank first in their category, but obviously that’s not possible. Only one company can rank 1st for any given keyword.

What’s SEO Gold and Has a Long Tail?

Without getting into a lot of detail just yet, let me introduce the idea of long-tail keywords. This is the CYA strategy of search. An example of a longtail keyword for this article is “need a content writer.” (See how I sneaked that one in?) For another example, if you sell doorknobs, you’re not alone. Even if you are the Doorknob King of south Jersey, you still have Home Depot to contend with. Here’s where the longtail keyword comes in. Drill down to something the big box stores might not go after. Something you can own that they don’t want to mess with. In this case, The King better have a subset of long-tail keywords like “handlesets” and “single dummy” somewhere in his castle.

Google keeps track of everything. They’ll share those frequently searched words so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel, or the doorknob, as it were.

Steer Clear of Keyword Overkill

Website content writers weren’t always adept at working in keywords at a balanced or even grammatically-graceful pace. When they were told “the more the merrier,” there was a time when you might see eCommerce copy for a blue sweater that sounded something like this:

Sweet Blue Sweater
This blue sweater is colored blue over every part of the sweater. Knit sweater of blue hue has zip front and blue-sweater look front and back. For blue sweater aficionados everywhere, this is the blue sweater for you. True blue sweater……..28.00

Too much? That’s why it’s good to have a list of words and phrases you can rotate, including long-tail keywords. Repeat each word you want to be found at least once for every hundred words of content, but preferably not in the same paragraph. You don’t want to gag Google!

If you’d like to pump up your website prose with effective keywords for maximum searchability, give us a call. As one of the top content writing companies, we make it our business to know what search engines are searching for!