- A strong, enticing headline is
the single element of your Web copy you cannot live without.
Studies show the right headline can increase response to an
offer exponentially - and, only one in five people get beyond
the headline to read the rest of the text.
- Write for Your Readers
Readers of Web copy (in English) most often start in the upper
right hand corner, drop their eyes toward the bottom of the page
and then ascend to the upper left. The order in which they read
is:
1. Headline
2. Sub Headlines
3. Price (or order link)
4. Actual Body Text
Speaking of reading, this
crossed my virtual desk the other day:
Aoccdrnig to a recheashcr at an Elingsh
uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a
wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat
ltteer is at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a toatl mses and
you can sitll raed it wouthit a porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae we do
not raed ervey lteter by it slef but the wrod as a wlohe.
I was amazed at how quickly I read the
paragraph despite the spelling errors. |
Format and Layout
- Short copy blocks will serve
you well, highlighted by bullet points, keyword-rich links and
sub headlines.
- Multiple, specific sub headlines
create immediate context when a visitor is exploring your site.
Make sure they can always see at least one headline on the
screen. Like magazine index headlines, they are summaries of
what is to come.
Keyword-Rich Copy and
Theme Indexing
- Determine what keywords or key
phrase your entire site is about -- try to use a key phrase
people would use often on the search engines. To pick heavily
searched, popular key phrases try WordTracker: http://www.wordtracker.com
- Write your entire site around this key
phrase for powerful "theme indexing," a
process used by search engines to determine an entire site's
primary theme.
- Theme indexing search engines include
Alta Vista, Google, Excite, Lycos and WebCrawler. Each in their
own unique way evaluates your site using your page titles, META
keywords, the description tag, page headlines, general content
and links. This means your key phrase must be present in each.
- The oft touted program WebPosition has an
excellent page maker and analyzer to help you make
pages that conform to the major search engine's ranking
requirements.
Word Placement on the Page
- Search engines read from the top
of the page down in the HTML code, or roughly from the upper
left to the lower right of your visible text. Therefore, it's in
your best interest to use a keyword-rich phrase in the upper
left corner of your Web page.
- Use your primary key phrase in
the first 25 words on your page.
- Use keyword-rich hyperlinks.
- Seek a balance of 3 to 7 percent
keyword-density. You can check this before you submit your pages
with the free Keyword Density Analyzer: http://www.keyworddensity.com
- Better yet, check your top competitors
for an exact read on what specific search engines are really
looking for. (Be Careful in doing this though. Some of your
competitors may be using "cloaked" pages. (More on
this in an upcoming chapter)
Give your
visitors a reason to return.
-
Contests
are a sure-fire method of generating return visitors.
-
Changing
content. Keep your content up to date and varied. Do
not rest on your laurels and forget your opening page.
-
Use your
mailing list. (You Do have one, don't you?) Use it to
send notices of discount offers and specials.
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