Every website owner would like to have a top 10 or top 20 place in search engines. But very few website owners have ever asked themselves whether their site “deserves” to be in the top 20. If your site provides useful information, more quality content than the other competitors, then it “deserves” a top spot. However, if your site is thin on content then all the tricks in the world will not produce a top 20 listing. Here is a guide to creating the optimized copy that could boost your website’s ranking in the search engines.
1. Work backwards – When you are writing optimized copy for your website you have to start at the end! Do some research and find the most likely keywords and keyword phrases that Internet surfers would use to find a website such as yours. You probably already have an idea, but you can use the Overture Search Term Suggestion Tool or Wordtracker to find variations and combinations that you never thought of. Compile your keyword list and then get ready for the next step.
2. Write articles based on these keywords – Choose two keywords or keyword phrases for each article. Write a “how to” or instructive article based on these keywords. The article does not have to be a hard sell of your product, but rather should be written in the spirit of informing your audience. Write an outline of your article and then flesh it out with simple, easy to understand text. (for hints on writing see http://www.a1-optimization.com/article-writing-tips.htm )
3. Place your keywords strategically in the document – Before you start to wonder what is the magic formula of keyword placement, remember to be natural. Listen to a good public speaker and what do you hear? In the beginning the speaker announces what she is going to say, the she goes on to talk about the point reminding the listener what she has done. At the end of the speech she summarizes, again mentioning her main point. Write your article in this way and your main keyword will automatically be well distributed throughout your document. That is, place your keyword in the opening paragraph, repeat it again in the middle of the document as you deal with your main subject and again repeat it in your final paragraph.
4. Optimize your page for better search engine placement – If you have done step three properly your article is already well focused, and optimized, however there are still a few things to look out for. Place your keywords in the title tag and the description tag (located in the head portion of the document) of your html page. Your first headline should also include the main keyword, and if possible use an H1 tag. If your article is based on two keyword phrases, make a second sub headline further down the page mentioning the second keyword, and use an H2 tag if possible. If the H1 and H2 tags produce headlines that don’t look good, then modify the style sheet of your document to produce a headline with a smaller font size.
Use your main keywords in a text link, linking to another page on your website that has similar content. Finally, give your page a file name that uses your main keyword.
If you follow these steps you can easily create optimized copy for your website. By providing your web visitors with a large amount of solid content and well-organized information your site will truly deserve a top search engine placement.
Donald Nelson is a web-developer, social
worker and editor. He is the proprietor of A1-Optimization,
http://www.a1-optimization.com and provides search engine
optimization, copywriting, reciprocal linking and other web
promotion services.
