Recently I was asked to explain the difference between SEO (search engine optimization) in general and SEO Copywriting for the pet industry… and why it matters so much.
There are a number of things that SEO means for any web site, including pet web sites, and copywriting is just one of them. I’ll try to explain concisely:
SEO is anything related to helping websites achieve decent rankings and traffic via organic search (not paid search results). If your pet web site is not being found in search engines, you’re missing huge opportunities for sales. Any of the following factors could be the problem:
- The way a website is coded (the programming method matters)
- Does it use Flash or Giant graphics (which Google may not be able to read and Apple iPad won’t support)
- Does it use a CMS (content management system)? Some CMS programs don’t allow keywords in the URL; they use code numbers for each page URL
- Does it have quality links from other reputable websites?
- How long has it been around (extra points for being around a while); or is it dated (no fresh content for a few years or even abandoned)?
- Is it using keywords in an ethical manner… or just stuffing them into code and pages?
- Is it just an advertising link-bait site?
- Are the pages accessible; easy to use?
- And other factors that matter to search engines
SEO copywriting is the ethical craft of weaving targeted keywords into relevant, useful website content that turns your site visitors into customers (ideally). So this means successful pet websites follow this content strategy:
- Understanding the target audience and how your website can help them
- Researching the most relevant and competitive keywords for that audience and solution
- Looking at the competition and who ranks high now in organic search in Google, Bing, etc.
- Differentiating your website to stand out from the competition
- Writing great content that will attract and delight the target audience (customer-focused copywriting)
- Weaving keywords into the content, in an ethical manner that sounds natural within the content
- Also adding optimized, inviting page titles, meta descriptions and alt. tags (for images) that appeal to the target audience when displayed in the SERPs (search engine results pages)
These are the “5 Pillars of SEO” – an industry guideline:
- Keywords first: which are the best for each page
- Keywords used ethically in page URLs (each web page domain name/address) if possible
- Keywords used in inviting page titles (title tag in code)
- Keywords used in really great/useful content: appearing ethically in the “power positions”: headlines, subheads, bullets, internal links
- Keywords used in external links (hypertext phrases) that drive traffic to the website (from quality websites, such as Businessweek and other popular or authoritative sites)”
SEO Copywriting is what I do to help pet websites attract customers via search engines. I also check with your web developer/designer to see if the other aspects of your site are helping or hindering your search engine results. Just let me know if you need any help!
Until next time,
Here’s to a prosperous website!
Pam Foster
PetCopywriter.com
