Successful SEO copywriting tips for catalog marketers
by Heather Lloyd-Martin
Catalog marketers face a unique situation: Every page means potential profit. Print catalogers have known this for some time, relying on talented copywriters to pen persuasive prose that gains qualified leads or eventual sales.
Unfortunately, what works in a print catalog (short product descriptions with multiple items featured per page), will not help a company gain online positioning in the spidering search engines (like Google and MSN shopping using Inktomi results). The good news is that the same copywriters who create compelling catalog copy can master the SEO copywriting art - and you'll see higher page rankings.
Once your marketing staff learns SEO copywriting preferred practices, your copywriters will produce text with a double-duty emphasis - a seductive call to action plus stellar search engine positioning. It's simply modifying your copywriter's existing process and learning how search engines work.
B2B or B2C catalogs - both can win!
Traditionally, B2C catalog marketers have seized the online space, knowing that search marketing lets them reach customers at every stage of the buying cycle. However, B2B catalogs can also benefit from search engine optimization techniques. For instance, if a company searches for a particular product, such as "decanter centrifuges," top search engine positioning builds branding recognition, possibly placing the B2B company on the vendor "short list." Businesses need solutions just like individuals - and B2B catalog optimization allows your solutions to be featured at the exact time your future customers are searching for the exact product you offer.
To simplify catalog SEO strategy, remember that you are reaching at least two distinct markets: Customers who are ready to purchase now and customers who are gathering information. Developing a content development strategy that satisfies both masters will help you drive additional targeted traffic at every phase of the purchasing process.
One page does it all: Construct informative landing page copy for organic and pay-per-click search
Proper SEO copywriting techniques for catalog marketers have another distinct advantage: Any creative written for top Google positions will also excellently perform as a pay-per-click landing page. This eliminates the need for marketing departments to create small "mini-me" sites (a small, direct-response site other than the main catalog site) advertising a particular product. Furthermore, it is common to see well-optimized sites appear in the top-ten spidering results - and a pay-per-click ad reinforces the brand and the product. Your company gains dual branding on the search engine results page - plus the landing page is written for conversions.
Optimizing product pages for the spidering engines provides your department the ultimate SEO power. Your product pages will position well - plus, any work you do integrates well into your existing pay-per-click campaign.
Let's examine the content optimization steps catalog marketers and copywriters can take for stellar positions and conversions:
Laser-focus your keyphrase choices
Your customers use search phrases to find your products - and statistically, some search phrases are more searched upon than others. The key is to determine exactly what phrases your customers type into the search box - and determine exactly how they search. Broad and specific keyphrases reach customers in different phases of the buying cycle. Once the marketing department understands user behavior and the psychology of search, this knowledge can be honed for search engine benefit.
Some searchers are close to making a purchase, know exactly what they want, and will search on highly specific phrases. For instance, one lingerie catalog site owner mentioned that their site logs showed that women almost exclusively searched for lingerie names and stock numbers. Once they found their items (under searches like "ethereal half slip 8710"), they were ready and motivated to buy. Women were able to do their search, click thru to a specific product page and immediately make a purchase. Search marketing helped this company reach women who were extremely motivated to learn about a particular product.
Utilizing specific keyphrases within the body text helped propel her catalog pages to the top. Instead of relying solely on the product's marketing copy and uploading that to the site, the text was tweaked for positioning and conversions. On each product, the brand name, product name and item number (if applicable) were proximinately displayed within the body text.
However, what about customers who may not have an item number - or who are in an earlier stage of the buying process? General keyphrases provide searchers an SEO road map, helping them narrow their search or gain new information. Examples of general keyphrases are "women's half slips" (rather than the specific "ethereal half slip 8710"), "import auto parts" (rather than "FastCar body kit CX-3459") or "decanter centrifuge" (rather than "Alfa decanter centrifuge 34X1"). Although these customers may not be ready to make an immediate purchase, your search engine presence alerts them to your site - and tempts them to click thru to gather additional information.
The best sites have a mixture of general and specific keyphrases that capture buyers in all phases of the cycle. Industry research tools like WordTracker will help your staff determine the best keyphrases for your site and will indicate how your customers search.
SEO Copywriting Preferred Practice: Include 2-3 specific keyphrases per page, and repeat your keyphrases at least three times each (more for your main keyphrases). This should be a mixture of both general and specific phrases.
Short, stubby copy typically won't position well
The spidering search engines (like Google and Inktomi) key on text for their ranking determinations. If your page text is a mere 50 words, the search engines may not consider your site as relevant as your competitor's - and your site may suffer basement-level positions. Furthermore, SEO Copywriting Preferred practices dictates inclusion of each keyphrase at least three times. If you suffer from short, stubby text, your keyphrases will stand out like a sore thumb - and your conversions will suffer.
Consider also that prospects are entering your site through individual product pages - not just your home page. These prospects may have no idea what your company benefits are, what incentives you offer (like free shipping) and what differentiates you from the competition. If your pages are short and benefit-free, you lose two crucial advantages:
- Short text - especially for competitive keyphrases - typically does not position well.
- If your landing page does not educate your customer about your main benefits and provide complete product information, you are losing an opportunity to educate your new prospect and help gain their trust.
Need another reason for your marketing department to embrace pages with a longer word count? Your customers, especially for larger-ticket purchases, require information before they will make a purchase or contact you for information. If they do not learn what they need to know, frustration sets in. And that can interfere with site profits. According to Jared Spool from User Interface Engineering:
"Not only do customers that pogo-stick (clicking back and forth from the product list to individual product pages) purchase less, but they have a less-favorable experience shopping on your site as well. The key is to provide sufficient product information to your customers at the time they need it."
Content-rich pages tend to position better in engines than their short, stubby counterparts. And, if written correctly, neither usability nor readability is sacrificed.
SEO Copywriting Preferred Practice: Write around 225-250 words for each product page. If you have a very competitive keyphrase, write towards the upper end of that range, and consider overlapping that keyphrase on another page.
Create unique Titles for each page
Imagine the marketing horror: A copywriter spent much time and effort creating keyphrase-rich copy, only to find that the text doesn't position well. If you spent time researching your keyphrases and weaving them into your copy - your Titles can probably use some work.
Unfortunately, this is a common problem with catalog sites.
The Title element does double SEO duty. Search engine spiders consider them a highly important coding element and they index words in the Title to determine relevancy. However, Titles are also crucial to the conversion process, as well. The words in your Title are what are displayed in search engine results as the clickable link (and is also the blue bar above every Web page). If your Title does not contain keyphrases - and fails to be compelling - you run the risk of losing positions or conversions.
Look at your company's Titles. Do they say things like "HOME page - XYZ corporation?" Are they all the same? Since every page on your site has a separate focus, every page should also have unique Titles, as well.
Think of Titles like headlines. What would you rather click on? -
Best Radar Detectors and laser early warning systems - 60% off
Or. . .
RadarChicks.com HOME - detectors, radar, laser, early warning systems
Keyphrase-rich compelling Titles will help you position - and get the click from motivated prospects.
SEO Copywriting Preferred Practice for catalog sites: Each page should have a unique Title, reflecting the keyphrases utilized for the page. Write around 50-75 characters and make the Title as compelling and keyphrase-rich as possible.
Creating keyphrase-rich content for catalog pages will help each page gain higher positioning and ROI. With just a little education, your copywriters will be kicking out keyphrase-rich copy in no time - and you'll see top positions and sizzling conversions.
Originally published in the Association of Interactive Marketing's SEMC Council's 2003 book "Search Marketing Demystified"
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