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Search engine writing and copy testing
Talk about being torn between two lovers. Writing for search engines (otherwise known as seo copywriting, search engine writing, or search engine copywriting) is a tightrope-balancing act, forcing you to satisfy two very demanding masters:
- The search engines. (Otherwise known as the Masters of the Cyberspace Domain. Search engines make the rules - and if you want to succeed, you must obey their whims.);
- Your prospects. (Otherwise known as your future customers. If you ignore their needs, they may never return. No matter how high your ranking is.)
Feeling a little pressured? Relax.
Take a deep breath.
And remember...
What's good for the searcher is good for the search engines.
Writing for search engines and developing a search engine writing strategy can be learned and mastered. Just plan your keyphrase strategy (like we discussed in the previous chapter), follow some easy-to-implement search engine writing guidelines, and create informative click-thru conversion pages. Yes, there are some special advantages (and challenges) to this particular style. But once you learn the rules of the SEO copywriting road, you'll be cruising the search engine copywriting fast lane in no time.
Testing, testing. The challenges of search engine writing.
SEO copywriting has a challenging downside: The spidering process and peculiarities make copy testing darn near impossible.
Typically, email and banner ad copywriters test multiple text variations before they launch their main campaign. With this built-in safeguard, they can watch hits and track clicks, precisely measuring conversion data for every copy variation. By the end of the test, the search engine copywriter knows her text is targeted, successful and conversion friendly.
Unfortunately, this doesn't work with search engine writing. Multiple versions of the same page - even if it's just for testing purposes - is considered search engine spam. Search engine spiders record millions of pages each day, and every duplicate page drains their resources and compromises their relevancy.
Furthermore, unless you are participating in a paid inclusion program (like Inktomi's Search Submit, Alta Vista's Express Inclusion and Teoma's Site Submit) where your site is frequently spidered, you can't even "tweak" your copy without losing rankings. Remember, the search engines will spider your site anywhere from one week to one month (sometimes longer, depending on the engine). If your site keeps changing, the search engines will always be reindexing it - and your rankings will never have a chance to build. So, search engine copywriting has some particulars that make testing challenging - but still possible.
Tip: Change is not always good. If you want search engine success, you have to give your rankings a chance to build. Once you write spider-happy text, keep it on your site for at least three months. If your site is climbing the search engine charts and converting your clients, you know that your copy and code are winners.
If you enjoy the virtual security blanket of instant search engine feedback, paid inclusion is the way to go. In as fast as 48 hours (or longer, depending on the service) you'll instantly learn if your copy and coding are doing their jobs. For folks that want to tweak their search engine writing, paid inclusion gives you the best of both worlds - fast indexing, and instant testing.
Testing your search engine optimized copy on actual prospects is a bit tricky. Unless you can implement some internal testing procedures before you go live, you'll have to adopt a "wait and see" attitude for maximum search engine success. However, if you're testing-obsessed, there's still a strategy for you. Jim Banks, President of Web Diversity Unlimited, developed an innovative (and potentially profitable) strategy that uses PPC ads to fine tune keyphrases and headlines.