Writing text for the web, easy isn't it? Actually no, it's anything but easy! There are considerations you should think about when writing your text.
Firstly, depending on how big your site is, let's say it's ten pages. Then that's ten pages of things to write! Current advice is (and we'll go into this in more detail shortly) is that each page should have between 650 - 1000 words. Wow all of a sudden you've got up to 10 000 to write! It's like being back at school. Let's make no bones about it, it's going to take some time.
Ok, now that we've stated that, let's not go overboard. Go back to your site objectives, if you 're not looking for much search engine traffic then the quantity of text on your site isn't going to matter too much. Also, the text can be developed over time, it's not as though you've got to sit down and type out all the words in one go. Web pages are updated all the time. Write a little bit for each page to start with and add more as you write it. So it's not that bad is it?
Now comes the tricky bit if you're writing to attract visitors to your site via Google, Yahoo or the other search engines.
First of all whenever you are writing text for the web it has to make sense. Overall there are some rules of thumb we should look at and the most basic way in which search engines work. Leave aside everything to do with the coding of the site and concentrating on your text, the search engines will return sites which they deem are relevant to a users search request. A large proportion of this has to do with the text on your website.
For example is someone has searched for 'writing text for the web' Google and the other search engines will review sites and return the ones which it deems are most relevant for that enquiry. It stands to reason if that term appears in your text then your page will have something to do with that topic. Simple.
So as a rule of thumb when you are writing text for the web you should include at least four times that specific text string with which you want the search engines to return your site for.
A good example is this particular page. Along with the coding which has been done properly you will find the term 'writing text for the web' appears multiple times. These words area simply woven into the copy of the text and highlighted in bold which helps with the search engine rankings.
This raises a few questions. How do you know what people are searching for? How many websites are returned when the search is entered? How do you get this information?
First and foremost there is no point in writing something that someone will never ever read. It might be great copy, but if no one reads it then it's simply wasted. There are numerous sites that will help you with finding out search terms. One of the best ones out there is wordtracker have a look at there site and they will go into things in more detail. Tempest subscribe to Wordtracker and have access to their database which is an invaluable tool.
If you are looking for free option then we would recommend looking at Googles Adwords or Yahoo's Overture service they will give you indications although they aren't as advanced as Wordtracker
The results which Wordtracker and other sites produce for you are called keywords. These keywords are then used throughout your site and are used to drive traffic towards it. The pages that are written are sometimes called 'landing pages'.
All sounds good so far. The problem is that the keywords can be very difficult to get into your text whilst still making sense and making good copy. A great article on the subject can be found here Basically your text should appear just as it does in the search enquiry. For example 'web design Birmingham' should appear exactly as that at least four times in the copy. When you look at it, it appears quite simple, in actual fact it's very difficult. It isn't a normal way of writing and it takes some integrating (to see how we managed click to web design Birmingham) We would advise that you be creative as possible. Use the text in your headers, search engines love that! There will be ways to get it in, just think laterally and the text will read perfectly.
Try and steer clear of writing specifically for the engines. If you get people to your site then you don't want them clicking straight off because your site reads as gibberish!
From a web design companies point of view, getting the text from the client is one to the biggest headaches whilst designing the site. But at Tempest we understand and appreciate that getting the text right is an absolute must. We have our very own team of creative people who can take all of the hard work and headaches away from you. Our team of copywriters are amazing and can produce some tremendous results. If you don't enjoy sitting in front of a computer or suffer from writers block then this could be the answer.
We can't stress enough that getting the right keywords and getting it written well are two of the biggest factors in making your website a success. Call us today for more information and quick guide to how we can help you get the results that you really need.
Call us asap
01530 452322 |
