The simple truth is this: search engines read text and not much else. You absolutely, positively need to use text on the pages of your site that you want indexed and ranked highly. Not graphical text that you created in your fancy design software, but actual, visible body text. Not sure if your site uses graphical or body text? A good rule of thumb that I learnt from search engine guru Danny Sullivan is to try and highlight the text with your mouse. If you can drag your mouse over the text when viewing it in a browser, chances are this is body text and the search engines can read it.
Ok, so you've created your body copy and your site pages are loaded
with good old-fashioned text. But your job's not over! Now you need to get
targeted. Search engines aren't going to rank your web site about socks
highly if your body copy talks about foot sizes. You need to get specific.
If you sell socks, then for heaven's sake, make sure your site copy has
plenty of references to the word socks! At the risk of sounding like Dr
Seuss, if you want to be found for, big socks, small socks, cotton socks
and wool socks, then mention them all. Better still, sort your copy into
categories based on your products and services. If you sell blue socks AND
red socks, then have a page dedicated to each kind. This allows you to
target niche keywords within your copy and meet the relevancy guidelines
for logical search queries.
It sounds so obvious, but I'm constantly amused by the number of web
sites I see selling particular items without once making reference to
those items in their body copy. For example, there are thousands of sites
on the Internet promoting web site design services right? Next time you
see one, take a look at their body copy. You'll be surprised how often
you'll see flashy looking sites without a single mention of the phrase
"web site design" in their page copy. Instead they'll use fancy all
graphic pages or Flash movies. Or if they do use body text, it might
include cryptic jargonised language like "Internet Solutions" or "online
brand building".
What the heck does this tell a search engine about their business?
Absolutely nothing. Are these sites going to be considered a relevant
match for search queries about "web site design"? No way! The creators of
these sites might think they're being clever, but they are really missing
the boat entirely. What's the point of having a web site if you are going
to sabotage its ability to be found?
Anyway, back to you and your web site. So now you've added plenty of
text to your pages and the copy flows well for the reader. You've
researched your keywords and phrases using WordTracker or something
similar and now you're faced with the dilemma of integrating the keywords
into your carefully written copy. So how do you satisfy the search
engine's craving for keywords without interrupting the copy flow for the
reader? The answer is: very carefully.
Let's take a look at a practical example. We have a client that
specializes in luxury adventure travel. Before I optimized their site,
part of the home page copy read like this:
"We specialise in providing vacations for people who want a personal
service. We bring to our efforts a fanatical obsession with quality and
exclusivity. We also bring a freshness, an outward-going passion for
discovery which justifies our growing reputation as one of the world's top
travel providers. We can put together packages that include all adventure
activities, accommodation, transport and food".
Extensive WordTracker keyword research for the client had determined
that the home page should target the following key phrases:
· adventure travel
· best adventure vacations
· tailored travel
· overseas adventure travel
· luxury travel packages
So taking our original home page text, the challenge was to integrate
these keywords carefully and naturally so as not to disturb the logical
flow of the copy and lose the interest of the visitor. Here's how I did
it:
"We specialize in providing the best adventure vacations for people who
want a personal and tailored travel service. We bring to our efforts a
fanatical obsession with quality and exclusivity. We also bring a
freshness, an outward-going passion for discovery which justifies our
growing reputation as one of the world's top overseas adventure travel
providers. We can put together luxury travel packages that include all
adventure activities, accommodation, transport and food".
Note that the key phrase "overseas adventure travel" accommodates the
phrase "adventure travel" too. Voila! The search engines are happy because
the site contains text content relevant to related search queries, the
client is happy because we were able to integrate the keywords without
distracting the visitor and I'm happy because I know the site is going to
rank highly for the client's target search terms.
Now go and apply the same principles to your own site...
Copyright © Kalena Jordan 2002
About the Author
Article by Kalena Jordan, CEO of Web Rank.
Kalena wasone of thefirst search engine optimization experts in Australasia and is
well known and respected in the industry worldwide. For more of her
articles on search engine ranking and online marketing, please visit
http://www.high-search-engine-ranking.com