Website Search Engine Optimisation - The Importance Of Content & Copy A Beginners Guide by Brian Cotsen

Ok you've taken time to research your target market, find out the words they use to look for goods & services like yours, those keywords & search terms.

You've taken the time to choose a good domain name, write a well optimised 'Title' & 'Description' tag and get everything ready to build your web pages.

Now it's time to put pen to paper... or is that finger tips to keyboard and start writing the all important 'Content' or 'Copy' for your web pages and website.

It's time to focus on the most important element of Search Engine Optimisation... 'Content'.

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Why does everyone say 'Content is King'?

Ask yourself a simple question, or two questions to be exact:

• Why do people search the internet?
• What is it that Search Engines aim to achieve?

You may be thinking that these two questions are both obvious and far too general to have any specific relevance on the subject of Search Engine Optimisation... but read on.

 

Why do people search the internet?

• Looking for love?
• Looking for advice?
• Looking for great games to play?
• Looking for a bargain?

 

The fact is that when internet users go to one of the Search Engines they are 'Looking' for something.

They choose the Search Engines as their first port of call to find things because Search Engines offer a very efficient and quick solution to their request.

And remember that everyone seems to be in a hurry when they are searching on the internet.

 

What is it that Search Engines aim to achieve?

Search Engines developed as a way of helping internet users 'find' websites.

Although the big search engines like Google, Yahoo & MSN have diversified and developed what they offer, their main role continues to be a facility for internet users to 'search' for websites that have relevant information that they are looking for.

So I ask the question again.

What is it that Search Engines aim to achieve?

The answer

A quick and relevant return of results to any 'search enquiry' made of them.

You see the Search Engines want to keep their customers happy.

Who are their customers?

Not you, the website owner, but those time poor internet searchers looking for information, fast.

Search engines know that so long as they give those internet searchers a great experience, as often as they can, then their customers will come back again and again.

 

And why do they care about giving good results.

Simple... Money.

Search Engines make a lot of money from the sponsored ads that appear next to the search results, so they want to be sure that people continue to use their search engine every time someone is looking for information.

 

So what has all of this got to do with Search Engine Optimisation?

Lets quickly recap.

• Internet users are 'Looking' for stuff.
• Search Engines want to give those internet users the information that they are 'Looking' for.
• Search Engines need to understand what your web pages are all about so that they can return 'Relevant' results to those internet users to keep them happy and coming back.
• Internet users are using 'Search Terms' to find what they are 'Looking' for.
• Search Engines take the 'Search Term' that those internet users have entered into the search box, and try and match it to the web pages that they have in their log of millions of web pages.
• Search Engines need to understand 'What' your web pages are about so that they can return relevant results.
• Search Engines have read your 'Title' & 'Description' tags and now they want to see how these tags relate to the web page that they are attached to.

 

Basically your web page is like a triangle with the 'title tag' and the 'description tag' as two points and the third point in the 'content' on the web page itself.

Content is the third point of the SEO triangle of a web page

Your content, the words, pictures, audio and video are what your human visitors are on your website for.

The Search Engines send out their robot spiders to take a look at the content on your web pages and index it.

They do this by checking the density of the keywords you use in your 'Title' & 'Description' tags with those found on the page.

 

Keeping your words relevant is the key to good SEO of websites

Back to Abode Design.

Lets say that they have a web page dedicated to their Home Staging services.

They choose the text for the 'Title Tag' as "Home Staging Services In London & The South East"

The 'Description Tag' is "Abode Home Staging Services - Services & Advice on staging your home in London & The South East".

Now lets say that they wrote a lovely description of their services telling visitors all about their property makeovers and how they worked on several makeover shows on TV, but didn't once use the term 'Home Staging Services'.

From the Human point of view there wouldn't be any problem.

However from the Search Engine's point of view, because the search terms that were used in both the 'Title 'and 'Description' tags weren't used in the actual text content of the web page, then if anyone entered the words 'Home Staging Services' into the search box, the Search Engines wouldn't consider returning Adobe Design as one of the results.

If you are going to go to the trouble of researching the Keywords, Key Phrases and Search Terms that your target market are likely to use then if you don't use them in your content you are completely missing the point.

Using your keywords on the web page - How much is enough.

In the past web developers and some SEO have overly stuffed the web pages with their target keyword.

This has a negative effect for two reasons.

• Search engines notice if the density of keyword use is too high. Over about 10% of total content and the search engines may consider the content as spam and dismiss it all together.
• You should be designing for human readers. Your content should be easy to read and not unnaturally forced or obviously pumping certain keywords.

If your chosen keywords make up to around 5% of the density of the total text on the web page then your page will be recognised by the search engines as relevant for that search term.

Golden rule when creating web page content - Write for your human visitors

Some Free Keyword Density Analysers to try:

http://www.keyworddensity.com/

http://www.webjectives.com/keyword.htm

 

Lets continue our look at the factors that effect SEO by discussing how organising your files & folders effects Search Engine Optimisation.

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