Understanding search engine optimization and how it can make you a better writer
Erin Hallstrom-Erickson
Senior Digital Editor, Putman Media
ASBPE Chicago Bootcamp | April 20,
2012

 Technical definition: Optimizing website content and enhancing user experience in order to produce a high SERP position.
 Non-technical definition: Using tricks to improve your site’s odds of ranking high on
Google, Bing or Google.

 The majority of computer-literate people use search engines to research or learn about new topics, products, etc.
 An optimized site will ensure your site will be high on the list
 Most people stop their search after 2-3 pages in to a search.
 A high search engine rank = higher likelihood of traffic to your site.

 Your biggest competitor is Google .
 Yahoo and Bing are similarly popular
 Social sites like Facebook, Twitter, and
Pinterest are almost as popular for content searches

 Algorithm change rolled out February
2011 that penalized low quality sites
 Reportedly affected the rankings of almost 12 percent of all search results
 Impacts an entire site's ranking or specific section rather than just the individual pages on a site.
 Focuses on the date of a web page.
 Possible adverse affect on sites with a lot of
"evergreen content"

 SEO is similar to shopping at a large bookstore with thousands of books to choose from.
 Considerations for selecting your perfect book most likely will include keywords used and topical expertise.

 Why are keywords important? Search
Engine Queries
 The most optimized site containing the keywords being searched will rank highest on the search engine results page (SERP).
 The highest ranking site = most often clicked through by search engine users.

 For example: New Food Products

 How to optimize your site for keywords:
 Within Analytics, examine keywords that lead people to your site
 Don’t have access to your site’s analytics? Ask to receive a monthly report on the external/referral keywords and internal keywords
 Group like words or phrases into topic hubs
 Search Google, Yahoo, and Bing to see how you rank on your top 3-5 keywords/phrases

 Why 3-5 keywords/phrases?
 We can’t all be everything to everyone
 Hone in on what you’re known for to your visitors
 Continue to write your content based on what you know to be popular

 Understand the people you’re writing for
 What have your visitors responded well to in the past?
 Determine site’s list of most popular posts.
 Look for patterns; specifically topics that are shared by several of the posts.
 Going forward, for each post, determine what insight you can offer about one of those subjects.

 Your headlines should speak volumes about your page content
 What problem does this solve?
 Who is affected?
 Why does this matter?
 How will it help?

 Not everyone that comes to your website knows what your site is or why your site exists.
 Ensure visitors know what the content is about and who it is for


 Don’t leave out words in headlines or content that might seem redundant in your magazine
 Bad Example: New product development is the lifeblood of the industry. Challenges confronting manufacturers include investment in R&D during these turbulent times and length of time required to develop healthier products.
 Good Example: New product development is the lifeblood of the food industry. Challenges confronting food manufacturers include investment in research and development during these turbulent times and length of time required to develop healthier products.
 Watch your abbreviations
 Spell out abbreviations on first reference
 Spell out other abbreviated terms
 Assoc. > Association
 Food & Bev > Food and Beverage


 Use headlines and dek-heads that describe article’s content.
 Good Example:
 (Hed) 11 Steps to a Great Food Industry Job
 (Dek) FoodProcessing.com’s Job Board offers expert advice on resume blunders to avoid and can’t miss tips for finding the perfect job in the food industry .
 Bad Example:
 (Hed) The Cookie Crumbled!
 (Dek) We took a crack at these culinary wonders.

 [NUMBER] of [SOMETHING] about [SOMETHING]:
 Five Grammatical Errors that Make You Look Dumb
 10 Secrets to More Magnetic Copy
 7 Ways to Improve Your Writing… Right Now
 21 Ways to Create Compelling Content When You Don’t Have a
Clue
 What [SOMETHING] can teach you about [SOMETHING]:
 The Eminem Guide to Becoming a Writing and Marketing
Machine
 The Mad Men Guide to Changing the World With Words
 Aristotle’s Ancient Guide to Compelling Copy
 Why Split-Testing is Like Sex in High School
From: http://www.copyblogger.com/content-creation-formula/

 Headline lacks information
 What about Starbucks?
 How does this impact the audience?
Headline rewrite: Starbucks Entering Consumer Goods Territory

 Headline lacks information
 What is Abbott Nutrition building in Ohio?
 Who does it affect?
Headline rewrite: Abbott Nutrition To Build Aseptic Packaging Plant in
Ohio

Suggested Revisions?

 Include print headline
 Love the colon: Use it to set off headline with keyword-friendly intro

 Analytics (Omniture, Yahoo Analytics, Google Analytics)
 To see another site’s keywords, right click > View Page
Source
 Search Engine Watch ( http://searchenginewatch.com/ )
 Search Engine Roundtable
( http://www.seroundtable.com/ )
 The Official Google Blog ( http://googleblog.blogspot.com/ )
 SEO Chat ( http://www.seochat.com/ )
 ProBlogger ( http://www.problogger.net/ )
 CopyBlogger ( http://www.copyblogger.com/ )

Contact
E:/ erin.alissa@gmail.com
F:/ facebook.com/erinhallstromerickson
T:/ twitter.com/ehal76