Described as a fast-talking, fiery redhead, Heather Lloyd-Martin is a 20-year marketing veteran, a recognized author and considered the pioneer of SEO copywriting. Recognized worldwide as a first-generation search marketing expert, she has been training corporate in-house SEO copywriters and creating revenue-driving Web site content campaigns via her consultancy, SuccessWorks.
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Yesterday, the marketing coordinator for a well-known catalog site contacted me about SEO copywriting services.
"Our product pages aren't ranking," she said. "We heard we should 'add keyphrases to our copy,' but we're afraid that keyphrases will make the copy sound spammy."
Ah, yes, the old "keyphrases are bad" myth. If this was expressed in a mathematical equation, it would look something like this:
Keyphrases + Content = Bad Copy That Doesn't Convert
And that's just not true. In fact, adding keyphrases into site copy can do more than help the page position in the search engines (although that, by itself, is a huge benefit). Good SEO copywriting is seamless. It's powerful. And yes—despite those pesky keyphrases—it can help conversions. I discussed this quite a bit in a previous post called, "SEO Copywriting Is Dead. Long Live SEO Copywriting," on my site's blog.
Unfortunately, scads of catalog marketers are missing out on search engine rankings. Rather than realizing that a Web site is a completely different medium (requiring a different approach), they instead upload their print catalogs' text and images without changing a word of copy. Then, when they check their search engine rankings, they're convinced that "this SEO stuff doesn't work." When told they have to change their copy to make this "SEO stuff work," they jump back in alarm: "Why should we change our copy when we already spent a lot of money writing it for our catalog?"
Um, because you wrote it for your catalog ... not for an online environment. Those are two different marketing avenues. People don't have to search for your products when they have your catalog in their hand, they can just flip to a page. But if you want folks to find your pages in the search engines, you'll need to play the search engine game ... and play it well.
But heck, don't take my word for it. Let's take a peek at a "traditional" brick-and-mortar site that does it right: Brookstone.
Brookstone is a master at creating value-added, intelligent content that also happens to be keyphrase rich. Its product pages are written from scratch, with keyphrases skillfully woven into the body copy. User-generated product reviews help encourage conversions (people feel more comfortable about making a buying decision when they can read what other people like and don't like about a product). Brookstone includes a well-produced product video. Heck, even its product names like "Tranquil Moments Sleep Sound Therapy System" and "Fold-A-Way Rowing Machine" contain keyphrases.
Does it work? Heck, yes. Brookstone's "Fold-A-Way Rowing Machine" page is positioning in Google's top 10. As is its "Sleep Sound Therapy System" page.
And go figure ... the site copy can't be considered "spammy" in the least.
Some takeaways to consider with your own catalog/e-commerce site are:
At the end of the day, catalog sites can definitely benefit from smart SEO copywriting techniques. Not only do SEO copywriting strategies help your pages position better in the engines, the additional, in-depth information gives your prospects the information they want (which, ultimately, encourages conversions). Everyone wins.
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