SEO Copywriting

Business has definitely slowed over the last couple of months.

A part of my business that has remained strong is search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting.

SEO is the process by which you increase the quantity and quality of visitors to your Website. The fact is, 85 percent of all initial Website visits originate from search engines. And, there are only two ways to appear on search engines: organically or via paid means.

Paid Search Engine Marketing
Paid search is a tactic such as paid inclusion or pay-per-click ad listings. The benefit – it works fast and effectively, getting your message in front of Web surfers who are in an acting context. The shortcomings of paid search – it can be expensive. Paid search is oftentimes recommended for opportunities that require immediate action, e.g., if it’s a seasonal sale of products or a timely political message.

Organic Search
Organic search is a process by which Web users find Websites having unpaid search engine listings. In essence, it is a merited search based on indexing pages using content and keyword relevance versus who paid more to end up at the top of the list. The benefits – people trust organic search as “earned” support for a Web site – and, it’s free. It has also been found that it is more effective when the person is involved in a considered purchase, e.g., choosing a consultant or purchasing a car. The main limitation to organic search is that while it may not cost money to appear toward the top, it does take time and expertise. It also takes time for a site to “gain traction” with search engines.

Which then, do you ask is better? The answer – much like any tactic when it comes to a marketing mix query – is both. The most powerful way to get your Website found is to use a mix of both organic and paid search tactics. Much like public relations and advertising, it is the mixing of the two disciplines which yield the best results – you just have to figure out the right percentages of each for your business.

And, of course there is no cookie-cutter solution. This is why many call upon public relations and marketing firms who help clients create a cost-efficient Internet marketing plan that can be continually monitored for guaranteed success.

How To...

When I was in PR and developing plans for a wide variety of companies I found a good chunk of the proactive marketing created was centered around a single concept -- the "how to."

When I worked with Gymboree one of our seasonal marketing outreach programs consisted of:

-- A video news release that was all about "How to Pack for a Family When on Vacation." We hired an expert on packing and developed a news piece where she gave tips to viewers on how to keep the headaches to a minimum on a family vacation by packing smartly.

-- A satellite media tour with the same expert. Basically we booked her on as many morning television shows as possible and via satellite, she conducted interviews with local newscasters giving tips on how to "pack without becoming a pack mule for your family."

-- A matte release that was in essence the same story but written in a news article style. It was put on a wire service for newspapers who needed help filling their paper with relevant stories for their readers.

When I worked with Amazon, our holiday pitch was focused on "how to budget for the holidays." We looked at a number of budget experts, e.g., Suze Orman (note: this was before she had a TV show and her rates were much more reasonable then) and then after choosing had her do a similar bit to the Gymboree one (SMT, VNR, etc.).

For JELD-WEN, the window and door company we wrote a bevy of different stories for editorial consideration from"how to chose the right windows," and "understanding different door materials," to "how a door can increase your home's value" and "beautifying your home with wood."

It's funny, after transitioning to the "other side," I find myself developing eerily similar pitches to when I was in PR.

So much of what we read are essentially a "how to" pieces.

It may seem like a simpleton marketing strategy, and many writers may "poo-poo" the idea of writing these but at the end of the day -- it may very well pay to master the "how to."