You Can’t Get to Work if You Don’t Get Found!
How Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Copywriting Can Help
Is there anything worse than waiting for the phone to ring? Or for that important e-mail to show up in your inbox? Or for someone to use that fancy contact form on your website?
You’ve done the work to establish your business. You have a website. You have cool products. You provide one-of-a-kind services. You’re an expert in your field—maybe the expert in your field….
So why isn’t anyone calling?
You’ve heard that old question: “If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound?” How about this one: “If a business opens in the woods and no one is there to find it, does it make a difference?” My answer is “No” (at least to the second question—the first one’s too philosophical for me).
No, you can’t do your thing (whatever your thing is) unless you get found by the people you need to hire you.
How do you go about doing that? That’s where SEO copywriting comes in.
What is SEO?
Search engine optimization (SEO) is simply a set of strategies that work together to get your website to rank higher in search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo! And let’s face it, your ideal clients (district administrators, building principals, curriculum consultants, conference planners, etc.) probably use a search engine as their first step when trying to find the “just right” presenter for their needs.
So, the question is, when they do their search, are they going to find you? Maybe, maybe not. But your chances are a lot higher if you employ a few proven strategies.
Get Specific
The first step is to get laser-focused on who you are and what niche you serve. You can’t be all things to all people, and your business will never be found unless you can set your consulting business apart from all the others.
Here’s a quick example. Let’s say you use the phrase “educational consultant” multiple times throughout your website in prominent places. The search engines algorithms are going to pick up on that and compare your site to others with that phrase. Guess what? There’s a lot of competition for that phrase…I mean a LOT!
In fact, I just Googled “educational consultant” and Google returned 1,170,000,000 results. Yes, that’s 1.17 billion. Now, I’m no mathematician, but I’d say your chances of reaching page one of the results for “educational consultant” are pretty low.
But let’s say your specialty is literacy instruction. What if you use the phrase “writing consultant” throughout your site? If someone searches for “writing consultant,” Google will return 259,000,000 results. That’s better, but still very broad. What if you use the phrase “reading consultant”? Google will return 207,000,000 results.
But what if what you really do is teach teachers how to integrate reading, writing, and speaking skills in their instruction so that the different skills reinforce each other, all while saving instructional time? So, let’s say you use “integrated literacy consultant” in key places throughout your site. And let’s say one of your ideal clients out there searches for that phrase. What’s she going to find? Google will return 7,610,000 results. Much better!
Of course, that’s still a lot of results, but once you get the numbers down into this range, you have a fighting chance to reach the top page or two on the search engines—that is, if you combine this narrower focus with the following two strategies.
Identify the Best Keywords
Now, you wouldn’t want to attempt the strategy above (getting more specific) in a vacuum. You need to inform that strategy with research into what search terms people are actually using online.
That’s where the next strategy comes into play. There are a number of great tools out there for identifying how many people are searching for particular words and phrases each month. I like to use multiple tools when searching for the best keywords for my clients, because I want to be armed with the best information.
So, to continue with our example from above, let’s say you’re thinking about getting more specific with the wording you use on your website, and you’ve decided that you need to be saying “integrated literacy consultant” instead of “educational consultant,” “writing consultant,” or “reading consultant.”
That line of thinking is a good start. But guess what? When you use a keyword search tool to investigate what phrases people are actually searching for, you find out that virtually no one is searching for “integrated literacy consultant” online. Sure, there’s not a lot of competition for that term, but there’s also little to no demand.
Armed with this information, you can refine your search. It turns out 2,400 people per month are searching for a related, but somewhat dated term, “balanced literacy.” Now, maybe you don’t want to be lumped in with the people who are still selling “balanced literacy.” But then again, those people are being found, while you, if you insist on using “integrated literacy consultant,” or even “integrated literacy,” might not get found.
So, what to do? If I were counseling you, I’d tell you to optimize your site to be found by those people searching for “balanced literacy,” and then go on to differentiate what you do from the rest of the balanced literacy crowd, which would be the time to introduce the term “integrated literacy consultant” to your clients as a better description of what you do. That way, you get found by a good number of people, and then you show those people how you’re unique. The best of both worlds. Now, that’s a winning strategy!
Write Website Copy that Incorporates those Keywords
OK, let’s say you’ve done steps one and two, above. Great! But you’re still not done.
Now you actually have to make sure that your site uses the best-performing, on-target keywords you’ve identified. And you can’t just throw those keywords in everywhere. That will sound awkward and may get you into trouble with the search engines (this is sometimes called “keyword stuffing” and is considered spammy).
No, you need to have copy on your site that uses your best keywords in a natural way to highlight who you are and why you’re the best choice for your ideal client.
DIY…or Let Me Do It for You?
So, that’s the three-step method for moving your website up in the search rankings. The only question now is, are you going to do it yourself or have someone else (like me) do it for you?
If you have the time and the research and writing skills to follow the process outlined above, go for it! You’ll save yourself some money, and you’ll have the satisfaction of knowing you did it all by yourself.
But if you don’t have the time or inclination to do the keyword research, or if you’re a little iffy about your web writing skills, maybe you could use a little help.
That’s where I come in. I’ll consult with you to learn what your area of expertise is and explore ways to differentiate you from the crowd, and then I’ll employ the three-step process outlined above to identify and use the best keywords to optimize your website so you get found by your ideal clients.
If you’d like my help, there’s just one more thing to do. Head over to the Contact page and use your preferred method to get in touch. I’m waiting to hear from you!
