SEO copywriting and the problems with ’search’

I’ve just posted an article on Buzzwords’ main website (see: buzzwords.ltd.uk/news_links.htm) which highlights the shaky ground on which the conventional wisdom of online ’search’ rests and how it relates to SEO and SEO copywriting.

Many people assume that the web pages which come top in a Google search are ’simply the best’, when in fact they are probably only the ‘best-optimised’. Of course, the search engines are working tirelessly to find an algorithm that delivers the ultimate search experience, while SEO types (including SEO copywriters) are working equally hard to manipulate their clients’ websites into pole position.

Whether the ultimate dream of matching round pegs with round holes will ever happen is doubtful.   Until then, clients looking for marketing success should embrace SEO and SEO copywriting with every dollar at their disposal!

Mike Beeson is ‘guest blogger’ at Huliq.com

The article below – nothing to do with copywriting – was Mike Beeson’s response to an invitation from huliq.com to provide a piece as a guest blogger.  This follows a successful article ‘SEO copywriting breaks down the doors of recession’ which scored almost 200 hits within 24 hours of publication.

 

‘UK banks over-dose on the noughties good-life’
 
The irony of the UK government being forced to nationalize at least some of its banks will not be lost on a news-weary public.  This is the same government that prided itself on setting up the ‘independent’ Monetary Policy Committee, overseen by the Bank of England.
 
It’s fair to say that the government’s hand has been forced by ‘events’.  Shoring up bank balance sheets with taxpayers’ funds was intended to start money flowing around the economy and thereby put an end to the credit crunch.
 
As we now know, the banks have used the cash to strengthen their own balance sheets and thus ensure their survival.  The hoped-for reality of boosting lending to businesses and home-buyers has not happened.
 
In the meantime, the ‘toxicity’ of bank assets has turned out to be much worse than was once feared.  Dire financial results have seen the markets give bank shares a pasting, thus further undermining bank valuations and credibility.
 
The clamour to nationalize the banks is intended to force them to start lending again and unclog the UK’s financial arteries.  The ‘hands-off’ approach of the UK government, however, will do little to reverse this impasse.
 
Although we’ll never know, the ‘tax credit’ policy of the Tory opposition party may yet have much to commend it.  For the moment, we have an economy following a determinedly downward spiral and a Prime Minister whose early fiscal initiatives have been lost amid the international economic turmoil.
 
Ultimately, the situation regarding banks in both the UK and the US is all part of an international meltdown.  Globalisation was the mantra to which we were all expected to sign up.  What those people in banking and politics forgot to tell us was that  – as with all things financial – the value of banks can go down as well as up.

SEO Copywriting – relevant results or quality content?

Buzzwords recently switched to a content managed website (CMS) to speed up the addition of new content.  To make sure new pages were indexed as soon as possible, the decision was taken to upload ’skeleton’ pages to start with and then add quality content later.  The initial pages comprised a relevant, robot-friendly URL, appropriate meta tags and some examples of previous work.  

Although some of these new pages were for low-competition, long-tail keywords, I’ve been amazed to see them feature on Page One of both Google and Yahoo.  This begs the question about the extent to which ranking is based on quality content, and how much depends on relevance.  (The other criterion of  ‘inbound links’ doesn’t apply to these all-new pages and can therefore be discounted from the equation.)

For those who search for a long-tail keyword (or something less than generic), there would seem to be little guarantee of quality content.  All they can hope for is that ‘relevance’ will ultimately deliver the quality content and information they need.  In the meantime, could this be seen as a flaw in the system of ’search’ that only I have noticed?  That’s highly unlikely, but it does suggest that care should be taken when interpreting the worth of top ranking search results pages (SERPS).

Buzzwords launches online copywriting packages

With the emphasis very much on SEO copywriting, Buzzwords has launched a range of online copywriting packages.  These should be of particular interest to SMEs and the budget-focused departments of larger companies.

The synergies which come from combining SEO copywriting with website copywriting and the link building activities which encompass online PR and article marketing make complete commercial sense. 

To approach all of these in a piecemeal way misses the point.  It may save money in the short term but, by ignoring the benefits of cross-referencing all these powerful skillsets, money is undoubtedly being left on the table.

Buzzwords’ online copywriting packages can be tailored to every client’s needs, with budgets being dictated by activity levels.  With online marketing becoming a mainstream activity, to ignore the benefits of SEO copywriting implicit in online copywriting packages is to leave a gaping hole in any company’s marketing strategy.