Search Engine Copywriting: Focus on One Topic  

First, let me say that I am not a professional search engine copywriter. I
don't offer search engine copywriting services. That said, I have been
writing for the web since 1997 and have learned a thing or two along the
way.

Perhaps the simplest of all the lessons I have learned is to keep my pages
simple. That is to say, whether I am thinking about my readers or about
Google, there is a huge advantage to keeping most of your pages confined to a single topic.

There are three approaches I take to the creation of a page, and each has
a significant impact on how high the listing for that page appears on
Google.

#1 - When I don't think about Google and cover multiple topics.

There are times when a page is put up simply for the benefit of my readers
and, for one reason or another, covers a number of different topics.

A simple example of this would be a page in the ExcessVoice newsletter
archives. I archive all issues, so visitors can browse their way through
previous articles and reviews.

From Google's point of view, these pages are very unfocused. A particular
newsletter might include an article on one subject, a review on another
and reader feedback on yet another. As a result, Google sees a mix of
unrelated topics, gives a digital shrug, and rewards me with a horrible
listing across a variety of keywords and phrases.

#2 - When I do think about Google and cover multiple topics.

Let's say I am reviewing a service of a fairly general nature. As an
example, we'll pick a site that offers a variety of marketing services for
companies online. My review may cover search engine optimization,
newsletters, buying AdWords, buying newsletter ads and banners.

In other words, by the nature of the services being offered, my review
tackles a number of different topics. However, I'd like to get some Google
traffic to that page, so I might even use WordTracker to find some good
key phrases. Then I'll include that phrase in the page title, meta tags
and in the headings and text.

Will that help me? Probably not. The problem is that Google will find my
key phrase, take a peek at my text for related phrases, but then find a
whole bunch of unrelated topics. The result? Page 10 on Google for my key
phrase.

#3 - When I hardly think of Google at all, but focus on just one topic.

This is when I deliberately confine my page to a single topic. Sometimes I
give very little, if any thought to keywords or Google. I simply write a
good page on a single topic. I write for the reader.

What happens? Quite naturally, I will find that my page title, meta tags,
headlines, subheads and text all include a logical key word or phrase, and
the text is filled, quite naturally, with related phrases.

Will this page do well on Google? That depends. If the topic is very
general, like 'advertising', then probably not. But if the topic is more
focused, within a smaller niche, like 'advertising in German ezines', then
I'll probably do very well indeed.

Concluding thoughts

A lot of the time, trying to get a high listing simply by packing in
keywords and phrases will do you very little good.

If I have learned one thing over the last few years, it is that if I want
a high listing, I need to do just one thing:

- Write a simple, focused page on a single, niche topic

On top of that, if you use WordTracker or a similar tool to find a
relevant and strong, high demand/low supply key phrase, you'll do even
better.


About the Author:

Nick Usborne is a copywriting specialist and publisher of ExcessVoice http://www.excessvoice.com , and the author of   Net Words , a compelling copywriting book that shows readers how to harness the power of the written word for the Web.

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