Search engine marketing consultation services for small to medium-size businesses.
Customer Focus
"Am I into the mind of the searcher?"
Website structure and content is focused on the customer, the targeted audiences. Need to write and design the site using the words that our audience uses. The site must satisfy the target audience's needs, not the egos of an artist, a copywriter, or a group of programmers, or a search engine marketer (SEM).
We want to enter the mind of the searcher. We need to understand the searcher's intent and create a site based on that intent.
We need to check our egos at the door and focus on the mind of the searcher. The goal is to understand the searcher's intent and create a site based on that intent. So, it’s audience first and appealing specifically to a niche interest.
When writing Web copy, we need to dialogue in an appropriate tone and format for the right audience. Some of the most interesting content will have more appeal if it speaks to your audience in terms like: you can, you might, you will, yours, your and you’re INSTEAD of we, ours, we’re, we will, we can, etc. This is extremely important when working on sales related copy.
Write your dialogue for your specific audiences. Different sections of the site will have different audiences as we include all the different target markets. In other words, how the content reads to a bride will be quite different than how the content reads on a page written to be of interest to ornithologists, for example. It’s important to relate to your specific readers in a way so they can relate to you
Focusing on one particular theme/focus on each of your Web pages is crucial to the success of that page
When writing new content for your Web site, focus on your target audience and what they want to see when they visit your site. What type of information are they looking for? What do they want to learn when they visit your site?
When writing copy for users and search engines use Descriptive phrases not Generic. For example don’t say ”our product” when we can say “our digital photo album software”….
According to some usability professionals, there are seven types of Web pages. Others claim there are 11. Regardless of the number, it's important to understand different types of Web pages do exist. How you write, design, optimize, and promote a Web page depends on the page type.
Some Web page types:
- Home page
- Category/gallery page
- Product page
- Form page
- News/media page
- Services page
- Advertising (landing) page
- Search/search results page
- Shopping cart page
- Credibility page
Here is an interesting article by John Alexander, www.searchengineworkshops.com
What kind of information goes into creating an information rich high performance page?
Invariably this question often comes up when I am teaching one of our live hands-on workshops. People need to understand that this is wide open to all the discoveries you make while researching your target audiences behavior. How you can meet the audience's needs exactly, is only limited to "your imagination" and the most effective way to present the information you know they are looking for, back too them. You want to give them what they "really want" as opposed to what you "think" they want and do this right up front.
The focus is on creating genuinely "useful content" for your ideal target audience of "potential customers" who happen to be already out there searching for you.
Not only is this what your visitors want, it's also the key to success for search engine acceptance. You will never run in to trouble with search engines by offering lots of original, quality content that is interesting, useful and of high value, to your online readers.
In brief, key to success for attracting your target audience, is doing quality research on your target audiences searching behavior and learning to identify their needs and what they are searching for and then, giving them what it is that they really want.
Okay, so what kind of information might a information rich page really contain? That will depend on what "your research" reveals of course, but here are about 20 rough ideas just to get you started thinking in this fashion.
20 Ideas for High Performance Information Rich pages:
Your high performance, information rich pages might be any of the following (but not limited just to these either):
1. A Questions and Answers information rich FAQ page.
2. An introductory story related to the appropriate Web site theme (something that is compelling or educational on topic).
3. Interesting and original statistics which you have discovered through your research, are in high demand by your audience.
4. An interesting interview with someone (make it exclusive and original). People love to read about other peoples experiences and or opinions and views.
5. It might be a page loaded with various product reviews with an emphasis on benefits of each in comparrison.
6. It could be a theme related feature article or story.
7. It could be a detailed tutorial loaded with valuable "How to" or "instructional" advice.
8. Your information page might even be a biography about someone's life that people are looking for detail on. Of course it should relate to the topical interest of your site's theme.
9. Your pages might something with a current events or newsworthy or hard news angle. Your audience is probably looking for interesting news if you take time to study what they are searching for.
10. Your information rich pages might want to contain detailed historical information that your audience is seeking.
11. There may be room for the use of information pages that use some humor or emotional content that is still of good value.
12. Would there be value to having a questionnaire which asks your audience a series of important questions. Remember that like real life, most Web based businesses are about building rapport and relationships.
13. You could build an index to a whole library of similarly themed topics and all though your articles would all be similar in theme, each individual information rich page would contain useful and diverse subject matter. Remember high value to your readers but all original (and no duplication in content).
14. What about an information rich page offering an entryway into a useful, interactive section like a message board perhaps detailing terms of use for the message board.
15. It might be a page containing an interesting advice column on your chosen theme. Just old fashioned "good reading" which offers your readers advice or solutions to their challenges.
16. Your information page might be a reference page loaded with interesting, inspirational or famous quotes quite popular with all types of personalities.
17. Your pages might contain a related territorial map (yes images can be used most effectively with text)
18. It might be a sales letter but remember the emphasis is on quality content and originality. Things like detailed product reviews or content that emphasized some value added layout.
19. It could be a community related page with important localized community information. Tremendous value for Web sites that are looking for region specific traffic.
20. It could be any of the above suggestions with a seasonal angle relating to Christmas, Halloween, Easter, or something else appropriate to the Web content within your main theme.
