The best of the search engine optimization companies, when creating on-site content, develop text which is balanced between two types of viewers; the search engine spiders and visitors to the site. This balanced approach is absolutely necessary, as any content that is written without it risks losing one or both sides of this combined audience. In terms of the content presented on each page of the site, it is vitally important to remember that its objective is to quickly capture and ultimately convert visitors. The following activities can work to opposite effect, alienating visitors who click the back button and then never come back.
1) Overloading page content with keywords and keyphrases – Page content which is overloaded with keywords provides for a disjointed reading flow and a generally unpleasant user experience. Poorly written content also decreases a site’s professionalism and credibility in the eyes of visitors, making it less likely that they will stay on the site and eventually make a purchase. Cramming excess keywords in the copy doesn’t really even work with the search engines either. While slightly more effective at a time in the past, the sophistication of search engine spiders allows them to see this practice for what it is; a sloppily done grab for visitors.
2) Taking a guess on the best keywords and keyphrases for your product and/or services – Guessing on what keywords are going to prove to be relevant to your potential consumers isn’t necessary or advisable. Keyword research, as done by an experienced search engine optimization consultant, can define which keywords will provide maximum return by resonating with visitors which drives them to, and keeps them on, a website.
3) Catering to search traffic using awkward keyphrases – Much of what drives visitors away from a site relates to user experience, meaning that if they’re having a bad experience, they’re likely look elsewhere. Piecing together awkward keyphrases to generate search traffic is just another way to present poorly written content that will deliver a dismal return and send visitors packing. Even if the strategy works to drive some traffic, visitors most likely take a dim view of it once it is seen in context.
4) Catering to search traffic using misspelled keywords – Using misspelled words in the page content to drive traffic typically does more harm than good because visitors won’t know that the errors are intentional. They are much more likely to assume that the site has been assembled by amateurs that haven’t heard about “Spell Check” yet. Additionally, spelling errors will diminish any branding, trust building, or credibility efforts.
5) Using keyphrases in the same manner throughout the text – Repeating keyphrases throughout the content in the same way is a sure way to convince a visitor that the content was written by a third grader. For example, if the keyphrase is “little orange cars”, starting multiple sentences with “Little orange cars are…” isn’t going to capture your visitor. An SEO company can usually come up with many different ways to put the keyphrases in context while maintaining the flow of the content.
6) Ignoring your sales process while writing copy – Page content must both capture and convert visitors. While there may be some visitors that are so eager to buy that they will do anything to get a product or service, most visitors are not going to be quite that eager. For the vast majority, a site must have a process that leads visitors toward conversion in as simple a manner as possible. A major part of the on-site optimization, as done by successful SEO companies, is intended to build a clear path for the visitor from landing to conversion.
7) Taking a shotgun approach to your keywords – Shot gunning every keyword into all content has a much better chance of confusing visitors than converting them. The problem with taking a shotgun approach is that most visitors arrive at a site looking for assurance that they have come to the right place and that getting what they want will be relatively easy. If their search related content and keywords are not easy to find they will most likely assume that what they’re looking for isn’t there or that it’s too hard to find. The content on the landing page for the visitor should instead be very closely related to the search terms that brought the visitor in the first place to let them know immediately that they are in the right place.
Setting up a site with high quality content that captures and converts visitors can be much more difficult to execute than it sounds. For this simple reason, it’s often advantageous the hire a professional search engine optimization company to handle the complexities of on and off-site SEO. One such company is The Gervais Group, a team which has specialized in search engine optimization strategies since 2001. For more information, please visit www.gervaisgroupllc.com or call (770) 529 2262.
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