There are many ways in which the already-familiar advertising strategies that may have been effective in print or other media don’t apply to online advertising. For this reason, when you first begin hiring content writers, you may have a difficult time understanding their reasoning.
Fortunately, when you hire an article writer, you get more than just a word-maker. They are here to empower you. When their suggestions and your expectations don’t gel, trust their experience but ask whatever questions you need in order to get the most out of your work together—it can make the difference between ending up in a corner office, or in a padded room!
Here are some of the most common sticking points that writers and new advertisers experience with keywords and content usage, and the reasoning behind best practices.
Too Much of a Good Thing
When advertisers first learn the importance of keywords, they are naturally eager to employ as many as possible.
For the reader, visiting a page written in this fashion feels like being in an elevator with someone who has just discovered perfume or cologne and uses them just as liberally. Our web-savvy public can smell spam a mile away, and nothing feels more like spam than repetition.
Search engines also think this tactic stinks. Overuse of keywords or “keyword stuffing” is frowned upon, and can actually harm your page ranking.
Keywords need to be used in ratios that indicate they are part of a site containing quality content in order to truly improve your page ranking.
One Trick Pony
Even after keyword ratios have been balanced, your content can end up being a single-note tune—the most relevant keyword, repeated. While this isn’t necessarily a harmful tactic, it is ineffective.
The secret here is to employ variations on your keyword or keyword phrase to diversify the appeal of your page to both readers and analytics.
If you hire article writers who are familiar with SEO, they should be able to research your product or service and provide content that incorporates a varied selection of relevant keywords to reach the widest audience possible.
What’s In a Name?
Another understandable desire many new advertisers have is to include “vanity” keywords in their strategy. Vanity keywords are those that identify your product or service by name. Although this seems natural (isn’t the whole point to “get your name out there”?), vanity keywords contribute very little to your advertising return.
Consider the intent of a user when they are searching for a product or service. If they are searching for you, by name, you’ve already reached them. You want your content to work to reach the potential readers who are looking for what you have to offer, but haven’t yet discovered your brand.
If a writer suggests swapping out vanity keywords for broader terms, know that they have your best interest at heart!
These are just a few of the ways that our first instincts may not always be the most effective for online advertising.
Fortunately, a good copywriter can enable you to understand and identify well-written content and keyword strategy now and in the future—extending their value well beyond the function of the few words you pay them to write.
Helena L is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
