Forums: Discussions for entrepreneurs and small business.

We have many people who`d like to do their own content writing, and their own SEO (search-engine optimization) writing as well. It`s not easy, but it`s certainly interesting!

The main thing is to understand that each page on your site should have a "theme." That`s the single "spin" on your product you want to highlight on that page. For example, say you`re selling candles.

One slant or theme on those candles is that they decorate the place. So "decoration" becomes part of a key phrase. Another spin is that they`re scented. "Scented candles" becomes another theme, on another page.

The idea is to capture as many versions of what someone might search for. Those are your different key phrases.

Now consider how many people search for "candle" but type in "candel?" Do you want them to miss your site because they can`t spell? True, Google may offer a warning, "Did you mean candle?" and someone might see it. Then again, they might not.

Now suppose you`re selling a "bed and breakfast." Or suppose you have something "hand made."

Do you write your SEO content only for "bed and breakfast?" What about "B&B?" You can definitely lose the dashes, so "bed-and-breakfast" becomes the same as without the dashes. But what about "bed & breakfast?" How about "B and B?"

And consider "hand made" versus "handmade." Both words are essentially acceptable to a search engine, but they`re very different in terms of results. Suppose someone makes a typo and looks for "hand maid" candles? That`s legitimate too, but you won`t be picked up unless you have those misspelled words on your site.

Now let`s think about "hand made" versus "made to order," "customized," "custom" (a different word), and "personalized."

The important thing about SEO writing isn`t that you have key phrases in your content, some number of times. It`s about matching on your pages, the *exact* words people are using when they type in a search query.

The problem is that these misspellings make your copy look unprofessional, and generally provide a sub-optimal experience for your human visitors. Not to mention the fact that search engines are run by relatively smart people, who understand this behavior, and will likely account for this type of gaming more and more (the "did you mean [correct spelling]" is just the beginning).

The best strategy is to write the best quality copy you can, while keeping your themes and keywords in mind, and sticking to high standards in proofing and delivery of said content.


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chuck fuller

I find that it`s not the typos ... it`s the odd order in which you put things into a search box vs. writing them on the page.

For example, you might write something as "dry kibble for dogs" in your content. But when people search on Google, they type in "dog food kibble dry". At that point ... those with bad writing are actually favored!

Yah, it`s not so much a really bad spelling issue, so much as a relatively acceptable way of writing. That, and Nikole`s point about the order in which people put things.

The main point, though, continues to be that SEO writing shouldn`t be the top priority of the site content. If people don`t like what`s written, it doesn`t matter if the site is way up there in the rankings. People may click the link, then leave right away because of the actual content.

I think that`s why some people are confused about Pay Per Click. Correct me if I am wrong, but if you want to advertise using PPC on, let`s say Google, can`t you use any term or phrase even if it`s not related to your industry? And why would you do that? A potential client asked me and I couldn`t explain it because I know those aren`t converted leads. For example, I have searched for something and clicked on the PPC link and I get turned off if the site doesn`t relate to EXACLTY what I searched for. It frustrtes me. So why do comapnies use this tatic?

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Make it count! My Passion: www.jdawgdesign.com - My Rush: www.wyliephotos.com

Nhgnikole, I totally can relate to what you are saying. When I proofed the 1st draft of my website, I saw the word `wholesale` 3 times in the 1st sentence... 3 times. I thought, "gee, this is a rather ridiculous sentence, we need to knock at least 1 of these `wholesale`s out." When I mentioned it to my website designer, it seems I was speaking English, & she was speaking "SEO".  We found a way to compromise.

While SEO wording is important, I also think it`s also important to sound logical & professional to the human reader. I mean if I lose credibility with someone who clicks on my site because it seems I can`t write a proper sentence (or spell a word incorrectly), then having the #1 spot on Google or Yahoo doesn`t really mean anything, right? I definitely look at other websites from a human point of view, not SEO :).

I just finished another example, where the SEO writing had to capture people interested in real estate.

Many people tend to spell it "realestate," so although it looks wrong to the rest of the world, what do you do for those folks? The solution was to put the SEO content down below the fold in a sort of secondary area on the page. We buried the "realestate" (3 occurrences) in 400 words, where "real estate" was the predominant spelling.

That`s a good idea, Craig....

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Make it count! My Passion: www.jdawgdesign.com - My Rush: www.wyliephotos.com

Interesting dilema - on one hand you want to have the so called "typos" in your text, since they can potentially get you 50% more traffic for frequent misspellings. On the other hand, if you have two variations of the same word in your text, as Chuck says, the whole thing will look poorly made and written in a rush. 

Ah...but that`s part of the Art of SEO writing. :-) Another option is the Alt-Text tags.