I’m not kidding. You can explain basic SEO copywriting rules in less than 5 minutes, if you connect with knowledge that is already present.
I work for a big publisher. My colleagues are typically young, smart, woman, and yes, beautiful. They are very good at what they do, but have no (or little) technical background. That’s all right, but of course I have to get the message across. I won’t reach that by showing off my knowledge of HTML.
The best way to explain stuff, is to try to find out what your target audience already knows, and use that to connect your knowledge to theirs. So what do all journalists, editors, and professional bloggers know that we can use?
The 5Ws
Every journalist knows the principle of the 5Ws : Who, What, Where, When, Why, and How. Et voila: there you have your most important keywords.
Tell them to use these in the first couple of sentences of the article, but also in the description and metatitle. This is the most technical part: to show where in the backoffice the meta-description and metatitle are used, and where you can see them in Google.
If someone asks WHY to use the 5W’s, and not for instance a snappy headline, then simply tell them that that is not what people are looking for in Google (back it up with data if necessary).
The inverted pyramid
Traditional journalism is all about the inverted pyramid: put the most important content on top, and less important info at the bottom.
That however, sucks both for SEO and for web copywriting. People don’t read (only) the first sentences. They scan, and then decide what (and if) to read.
The way to write for that kind of reading, is to NOT use the inverted pyramid, but to put the important content (the 5W’s) throughout the article: in the beginning, middle, and end. It helps if this repetition varies: use a text, a list, an image, a subheading, etc.
Synonyms
Good writers use synonyms. It makes their writing more lively, and less boring. It’s also a good way to use more keywords. It makes sure that keyword density doesn’t get too high and the LSI part of SEO copywriting is covered also.
That’s it. These three principles of journalism work fine to explain SEO copywriting. It’s good for the audience to know that writing for Google does not conflict with good writing in general, and also that they were taught well at school and can use that knowledge for SEO copywriting.
And as always, I’m really curious about the way you tackle this, so leave a comment :)
September 15th, 2009 at 9:46 am
some people make a lot of money just by telling this..
September 15th, 2009 at 10:13 am
Good to see you writing here again, Ramon.
And you continue with the level I am used from you, nice article!
In my experience it works well to make it really simple sometimes. For example give each department their list of most important keywords.
September 15th, 2009 at 3:06 pm
@Huub i wish that were true. Unfortunately, there’s a lot more to it, hence the ‘under 5 minutes’ version ;)
September 15th, 2009 at 3:16 pm
@Huub – even more mindboggling: some people pay a lot of money to have this told to them.
September 15th, 2009 at 3:19 pm
@Berkes rest assured: I can tell you things about SEO in 5 minutes even you don’t know either ;)
September 15th, 2009 at 3:36 pm
It’s nice to see though that the general idea is: ‘hey, that SEO copywriting stuff is dead easy!’ -> mission accomplished :)
September 15th, 2009 at 4:33 pm
I didn’t say SEO copywriting is always this easy, I did say some companies earn a lot of money by telling this much (with a lot of bullshit around it)in long and expensive seminars
September 15th, 2009 at 4:52 pm
@Huub: aight, and they don’t tell it as clearly and eloquent as I do of course ;) (which implies my seminars would be rightfully worth that much)
September 15th, 2009 at 4:59 pm
I’m surprised no one made a comment about the pic though. This woman is gorgeous!
September 15th, 2009 at 5:25 pm
@admin – Wich is my point too. I have seen workshops where people were only told to use the google toolbar and evaluate the little number with the green bar.
Surprised that companies hire nitwits to tell them stuff they could have found out by merely paying a little more attention and reading some articles now and again.
But hey. I am a Drupal trainer and this is what I do: tell people stuff they could have found out themselves too….
September 15th, 2009 at 5:31 pm
@Berkes @Huub, sorry guys i misinterpret you :(
Yeah I guess there is a lot of BS told about this. EVERY workshop I have to tell ppl not to look at stuff like keyword density, pagerank, and hidden texts.
But that’s allright, at least for me and my income.
September 15th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
@Eduard Blacquiere – yes, i used that too. Lately I arrange a brainstorm, so the editors can build that list together, while we discuss the topics of the site and at the meantime use tools like wordtracker/google ks etc to have some insights about traffic estimations. They learn more, and it saves me some time :)
September 16th, 2009 at 10:48 am
It’s only 5 minutes and what’s been told to non-tech gals, as an example, is a great way of explaining the highlights of SEO copywriting although everyone knows there’s much more to that.
I might have added,”…, but don’t stuff your copy with keywords!” as well.
September 16th, 2009 at 4:08 pm
Nice post.
A friend of mine resorted to the phrase ‘I work at the internets’ to introduce his line of work. I tend to ramble about keywords and Google Insights. Each to their own.
October 15th, 2009 at 12:38 pm
why 5 minutes ramon?! When a beautiful woman is listening to you, isnt it worth the effort of taking your time explaining the beginning of the web, the rise of Google, pros and cons of pagerank sculpting, etc. when you do not have the time i’d be happy to help you out!
October 15th, 2009 at 1:04 pm
@Simme, yes knowledge of HTML (How To Meet Ladies) is very useful. It takes a lot of time to explain everything but it definitely makes my time in pubs way more convenient ;)
October 19th, 2009 at 3:47 pm
All that I can say SEO copywriting and woman’s beauty are two absolutely friendly conceptions. So it is time to try.
November 6th, 2009 at 4:12 am
First of all I think Google is placing even more emphasis on original content than ever. Not to mention editorial links, all content based, being the best.
I focus on using my keyword in the title, first paragraph and last paragraph.
I use articles and press releases a lot for links and targeted traffic