Wooing the SEO beast & gaining Google’s favor

“The terrible beast that no one may understand, came to my side and put down his head in love.” —Louise Bogan (1897–1970), U.S. poet

The importance search engine positioning in our daily lives is becoming more and more obvious. Just think about how many Google searches you’ve run today … or this past week … or this past month. And in all those searches, did you click to Page 2 once? With me, it happens, but it’s rare. I scan for the listing that is both clearly reputable and meets my needs (or price) and away I go.

That’s what happens when a person in Berkeley needs a carpet cleaner, or someone in San Francisco is selecting a recording studio. Appear at the top and your small business might not ultimately get the job — but it’s definitely going to get the first serious inquiry.

“How would you like to have the first listing in Google? … Well, how would you like to have the first seven listings in Google?” —Tom Petty, WSI

As a professional communicator, what stands out to me is that I don’t even know who’s out there typing a Google search that’s relevant to me. I can’t make a personal appeal — verbally telling that searcher all the reasons to go with me — unless I make it through that Google gatekeeper.

Then, you begin to wonder and start typing in your own Google search terms … featuring you! There’s no more helpless feeling than clicking through pages and pages of Google listings wondering where the heck you are … and why that lousy competitor is ranked so much higher than you. Well, as more and more of us are becoming aware, there’s an art and science to Google’s listing hierarchy — and a whole industry now devoted to the perfection of that practice: Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

My SEO research began with nine hours of Lynda.com training videos featuring a search engine optimization and marketing specialist. My SEO copywriting career later kicked into high gear when I forged a “power partnership” with a certified Internet consultant named Thomas Petty, who works with an SEO firm called WSI (”We simplify the Internet”). Tom is an SEO expert and educator, and the more I worked with him the more SEO savvy I became. When we work together, he does all the SEO research for a client and then I write the new SEO-style Web copy with the keyword phrases he provides based on that research.

Additionally, Google itself has become more transparent about its SEO guidelines.

I remember one exchange with Tom that really opened my eyes: He asked, “How would you like to have the first listing in Google?” I replied, “Of course.” Then, he said, “Well, how would you like to have the first seven listings in Google?” I was going to respond by saying, “You can do that?” when I realized that of course you can do that. It’s just about applying the same “white hat” practices to multiple Web pages.

I’m reverse-engineering copy … like a building contractor first installing the kitchen appliances on a vacant lot … and then putting in the foundation and erecting the house around the sink-with-granite-countertop and Sub-Zero refrigerator.

And going one step further, you can use different site landing pages to achieve the first Google listing in very different searches — searches that correspond with your different professional specialties. What does that mean? Well, say you’re a lawyer based in Oakland. You primarily focus on estate planning, but you also help people incorporate new businesses. Wouldn’t you want to be first in Google if someone types in “lawyer estate planning Oakland” … and … “lawyer business incorporation Oakland”? You can optimize different pages of a Web site to accomplish those two very different Google listing goals.

I could go on and on because the opportunities are so bountiful. And, let’s face it, I’m biased. The more SEO clients Tom has, the more SEO copywriting I get to do. And like I mentioned in my “Power of a Business Blog” post, writing for SEO is totally unique beast. Essentially, I’m reverse-engineering copy from the important keyword phrases, like a building contractor first installing the kitchen appliances on a vacant lot … and then putting in the foundation and erecting the house around the sink-with-granite-countertop and Sub-Zero refrigerator. (More simply put, it’s working backwards, or maybe upside-down.) Anyway, it’s different. And different is good when it comes to breaking up a workday.

So call or contact Tom and find out if SEO is the way to go for your Web site. He’s one heck of a nice guy, so even if you don’t move forward with anything, you’ll get a good conversation out of it.

Get a Webscan and comprehensive, 20-page report for $195 (discounted down from $350) at WSI by telling Tom that “Evan sent you.” Call (925) 245-0216 or e-mail Tom.

I love being a professional copywriter … but I love being a copy editor even more. As I say on the “about” page, I just love to play with words and work with clients to make stories, books and business materials better.

That being said, the vast majority of the work I do for businesses is generating Web and print copy from scratch. That certainly has its own creative rewards, but it tickles a different part of my brain than the part used for tightening and punching up existing copy. There’s a part of me that just “knows” when something needs fixing … and what that change should be. It doesn’t really process like “that’s a dangling modifier” or “that really needs a conjunctive adverb.” Instead, it’s just instinctual — just as when any of the many musicians in my family “just know” when a note is off or what lyrics are meant for a melody.

I was telling all this to my wife over the Thanksgiving holiday, and she gently suggested that “I do something about it” to increase the percentage of time I spend on proofreading and copy editing (as opposed to interviews and copywriting). What follows is my attempt at doing just that:

Introducing the Year-End Proofreading Rate Special

For the grotesquely low price of $89 (total), I will proofread any professional’s site* for grammar, punctuation, spelling, flow, meter, parallelism, punch and active/passive voice. You (or the colleague you refer) will be amazed at what a difference a little tightening and sprucing up can make. It will read and feel like new … or like the copy it was originally intended to be. Proofreading also eliminates all the little mistakes and misused words that undermine professional credibility. I rarely proofread a site without finding one or two of these tiny-yet-big blunders. Usually the business owner is bright and capable but has just read that Web copy too many times to notice the “little things.”

You’ll also receive a Recommendations Report highlighting “what works” and “what doesn’t” about your site (from a copywriting perspective) … along with my suggested Top 5 priorities for improvement. In the report I’ll provide all the contacts and resources you’d need to get those items accomplished.

I’m also open to the idea of extending this offer to print materials on a case-by-case basis. Just keep in mind that this is line editing; we’re not talking about major copy reconstruction or rewriting.

This offer is only good through Dec. 31, and I can only accept as many clients as my schedule permits. So, if you are even remotely interested (or know someone who would be interested), please contact me now so I can save a spot on the calendar.

I can be reached during office hours at 510-647-8529 or via e-mail. Like I said, I don’t usually do this kind of thing (or work at that kind of rate), so take advantage of it!

*Promotional rate covers the first 10 pages of any one Web site domain. Please call me at 510-647-8529 to discuss terms if your site(s) contain more pages than that.