|
|
|
6 Ways to Leverage Technical Articles
Technology vendors often contribute bylined articles to trade journals. The articles are great exposure for these companies but they don't come cheap – the trades rarely pay for these articles but the vendors spend time and resources to assign...
How to Succeed as a Writer
As a professional copywriter, I'm often asked by aspiring
copywriters what they need to do to succeed. Most of their
questions center around writing ability. They want to know how
to find out if they have the talent to succeed, or if there's...
Some FAQs for Aspiring Copywriters
I get an email at least once a week from aspiring copywriters seeking advice on how to get a foothold in the industry. It's obviously a popular topic, so I thought I'd put some of the more common questions and answers on paper in the hopes that it...
The $12,500 Copywriting Formula
Have you heard of Brian Keith Voiles? Probably not, but if you have eyes you've seen his ad campaigns and you probably even bought products that he created ad campaigns for. Would you like to have the formula he gets paid $12,500 to put into use...
Writing Newsletters – Tricks of the Trade
Follow 10 simple rules of thumb, and you’ll soon be writing great newsletters and reaping the rewards. Company newsletters can be an amazingly successful marketing technique. Whether you want to up-sell or cross-sell, establish your brand or...
|
|
| |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Your Site Map: Spider Food or Just A Light Snack?
by Karon Thackston © 2005
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
Mechanical spiders have to eat. In fact, they usually have bigger appetites than the real-life spiders you squish under your shoe. What spiders am I talking about? The automated programs sent out by search engines to review and index websites. These "spiders" (sometimes called "bots") are looking for a reason to list your site within the database of their particular search engine. It's hard work roaming around the 'Net non-stop, and these little guys need some nourishment from time-to-time. In fact, when spiders find some hearty "spider food" (a.k.a. a site map with some meat to it), they sit down to stay a while. That's a good thing!
You've probably seen many site maps. The standard ones look like the example below with each phrase being linked to the page of the same (or similar) name.
=====================
Home
About Us
Shipping Rates
Products
>> Small Appliances
------- Microwave Ovens
------- Can Openers
>> Dinnerware
------- Platters
------- Serving Bowls
Contact Us
Privacy Policy
=====================
Site maps are deemed "spider food" because they can be the perfect place for search engine spiders and bots to crawl your site. Because a site map has links to every page of your site (and those link names or page descriptions often include keywords), it is extremely easy for the search engine spider to access each publicly accessible area with no obstacles and relate it to a given subject matter. (For example, a page labeled "microwave ovens" is most likely about microwave ovens.)
Some site owners think that's enough. They think a page with keyword-rich titles and links is plenty for a hungry little spider to munch on. Not hardly! That's not a meal… it's just a light snack.
Give Spiders A Tasty Treat
If you really want to fill the spiders' bellies, you'll want to take your site map page to the max with a descriptive site map (as I like to call them). Descriptive site maps go beyond the simple list of links to pages. These special versions of the traditional maps also include a short, keyword-rich description of each page. The text only needs to be a sentence or two in length. An example is below. This is certainly not the only way to layout
or design your site map. Get creative and use columns, bullets or other formatting to make it look the way you like. (The links would remain the same as in the previous example.)
=====================
HOME - Home page for XYZ Depot, a home accessories outlet.
ABOUT US - Account of how XYZ Depot became the world's largest home accessories outlet.
SHIPPING RATES - Shipping rates and delivery times.
PRODUCTS - Complete listing of home accessories offered.
>> SMALL APPLIANCES - Exciting selection of small appliances to save you time in the kitchen.
------- MICROWAVE OVENS – Top-of-the-line microwave ovens from brands you trust.
=====================
Descriptive site maps work well in attracting and satisfying spiders because they include naturally occurring keywords. They also place keywords in the vicinity of a link that points to the associated page. Add these advantages to those that already exist, including:
·having links in the body copy of the page
·overcoming complex navigation such as DHTML or Java
·lending quick access to pages located several layers deep within the site
·assisting with usability for visitors (especially disabled visitors)
·and others
and you have prepared a huge feast for the search engine spiders that is almost guaranteed to entice those hungry little critters to crawl through every available page of your site.
Does every site need a site map? It certainly wouldn't hurt. Sites with less than 20 pages or sites where most or all the pages have links directly from the home page generally don't "need" a site map, per se. However, practically every site of every size can reap benefits from including a map on their site.
If you're creating a site map for your site, don't stop with the basics. With just a little added effort, you'll have a four-course meal to serve the spiders that will keep them happy and satisfied and that will help get you exceptional rankings.
About the Author
Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to also check out Karon’s latest e-report “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
|
|
|
|
|
| Copywriting . Net |
| Copywriting . Net. The Internet's copywriting service center for Web and print marketing communications. |
| www.copywriting.net |
|
| Copywriting - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
| As search-engine algorithms get smarter every day, this Search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting is more and more about writing for human visitors as ... |
| en.wikipedia.org |
|
| Copywriting - SEO Copywriting - Learn copywriting |
| Copywriting .com has just changed hands and will open its doors again in a few weeks. If you'd like to be notified when we launch, please send an email to: ... |
| www.copywriting.com |
|
| Copywriting 101 | Copyblogger |
| Copywriting 101 Tutorial Copywriting is one of the most essential ... Subscribe to Copyblogger to learn more about copywriting and online marketing. ... |
| www.copyblogger.com |
|
| The Copywriting Site - Free information, tips, and tricks on ... |
| The Copywriting Site: Here you get free information tips and tricks on copywriting that sells. - Marketing Writing. |
| noriainternational.com |
|
| Copywriting courses. Become a copywriter. |
| Copywriting courses for copywriters; plus tips on buying copy and hiring a copywriter. |
| www.inst.org |
|
| Advertising & Online Copywriting, Search Engine Copywriting ... |
| Advertising copywriting and search engine copywriting that impresses your visitors and the engines. |
| www.marketingwords.com |
|
| Free tutorials on copywriting, web content, advertising, internet ... |
| How to dramatically improve response from your Advertising, Internet marketing, Direct Mail and Web pages with powerful copywriting. |
| www.adcopywriting.com |
|
| Copywriting: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with copywriting on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
|
| Advertising Copywriter, Website Copywriter, SEO Copywriter ... |
| Need a copywriter who can really grasp your business? Copywriting for websites, SEO, ads, brochures, articles... Elegant, no-fuss copywriting that really ... |
| www.divinewrite.com |
|
| Copywriting |
| Every advertising medium is different. And so is copywriting for each element. Business owners can find out what to look for when hiring a copywriter. |
| advertising.about.com |
|
| Copywriting Secrets - Master Copywriter - Killer Copy Writing |
| FREE E-Course Reveals The Latest Kick-Ass Copywriting Secrets You've Gotta Know! ... "Now You Can Grab The Latest No-BS Advanced Copywriting Secrets That ... |
| www.websiteconversionexpert.com |
|
| Text Wizard® Copywriting - UK freelance copywriter, scriptwriter ... |
| Plain English with fizz: copywriting that stays on brand and on your mind. UK copywriter. |
| www.textwizard.com |
|
| Getting Real: Copywriting is interface design - Signal vs. Noise ... |
| Copywriting isn’t something to be left to the guy on your team who writes long ... So, I’m considering adding copywriting to my list of responsibilities, ... |
| www.37signals.com |
|
| Amazon.com: Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words ... |
| Amazon.com: Persuasive Online Copywriting: How to Take Your Words to the Bank: Books: Bryan Eisenberg,Jeffrey Eisenberg,Lisa T. Davis by Bryan Eisenberg ... |
| www.amazon.com |
|
| Michele PW |
| Watch your business soar when you put the power of great copywriting, results-driven marketing solutions and amazing creativity to work for your business. |
| www.writingusa.com |
|
| Pages tagged with "copywriting" on del.icio.us |
| Good Copywriting: A blog about copywriting on the web ... Copywriting tips for online marketing success from Copyblogger · save this. copywriting blog ... |
| del.icio.us |
|
| Online Copywriting: Subscribe to the Excess Voice Newsletter |
| Online Copywriting: Nick Usborne's Excess Voice newsletter includes dozens of articles and a comprehensive list of resources and reviews for writers of ... |
| www.excessvoice.com |
|
| Linda Westphal, Freelance Advertising Copywriter |
| Experienced copywriter for direct marketing articles, and advertising tips. Citrus Heights, California. |
| www.lindawestphal.com |
|
| Copywriting: Projects on Elance |
| Copywriting, Between $250 and $500, 7, 11/29/2006 1:45 AM ... Copywriting, Prefer not to disclose, 0, 12/1/2006 2:41 PM, 6 d, 22 h+, Authentication Status ... |
| www.elance.com |
|
|