Search engine optimisation

Most of us have heard of the magic mountain – the search engine list – and we all want to be number one, or at least in the top ten.  In fact, being number 10 is actually better than being number 6 or 7 – people remember the first and last better than those in the middle!

Anyway – I digress – how do you get up that list?  You could engage one of the SEO experts, and, if you’re serious, that’s a great way to go.  However, you need to know what people search for when looking for what your business sells and use those words and the problems that people associate with them in your copy.

For instance, if you sell garden furniture why do people buy it?  It’s not so they have chairs in the garden – they can get them anywhere.  It might be to create an image, to make their garden attractive so that when their friends come round they see elegant surroundings and an implied lifestyle.  So that’s what your copy needs to tell them they’ll get.

If you sell personal coaching there are thousands of coaches out there – what makes you different?  What do you offer that others don’t?  Why have previous clients been happy to work with you?  Use all that in your copy.

If your search engine expert says that you need ‘these three words or phrases’ in your copy – and may also give you a list of other phrases to try to include – remember that getting people to the website is only half the equation.  The copy must keep them there – or the money you spend with SEO and pay per click will be wasted.

Write what your reader wants to know – and do your best to include the key words, but not at the expense of engaging the reader.