Write Well, Sell Well

Those involved in creating gateway pages often tell me that advocating the use of search engine-friendly text is an oversimplification. They claim keyword-rich copy that gets results with search engines is too involved to hold a visitor's attention.

In my opinion, this is simply not true.

Good marketing copy can be written that reads well, encourages visitors to act, and, at the same time, uses keyword phrases. As Heather Martin points out in her workz.com article 5 Steps to Better Search Engine Rankings, search engines love copy that's at least 250 words long, uses keyword phrases (not just individual keywords), and focuses on the two or three most relevant keywords.

Copy should also be included on the home page and should maintain a persuasive flow, encouraging customers to purchase your product or service.

I can't stress enough how crucial keyword-rich copy is to search engine success.

Flash in the Pan

Many companies want high rankings yet refuse to forfeit graphics and Flash animation in favor of more keyword-rich copy. Companies spend a lot of money creating graphics and Flash presentations in the belief that visitors want to watch exciting animation before finding out what a site's about. Or maybe site owners think it makes their business appear to be on the cutting edge of technology.

But stop and think. The ultimate goal of most commercial Web sites is to sell a product or a service. When you see a Flash presentation on a site, does that make you want to purchase their products or use their services?

Sure, you might be impressed the first time, but on subsequent visits you'll find the flashy stuff is a waste of time. And if you're on a dial-up modem, you probably won't wait around to see it anyway.

Common sense tells me most people would rather see clear, concise information about the types of products or services offered right on the main page of the site they're visiting.

Straight Talk

Companies willing to simplify the pages of their Web sites can own long-term high rankings. But you don't have to take my word for it. Besides pleasing your visitors and your marketing department, using a common-sense approach to search engine optimization has an added benefit — it pleases the search engine officials.

Thousands of new sites are created every day, and officials have trouble keeping up with submissions. Forcing them to index extra gateway pages only compounds the problem, much as e-mail spam strains the resources of Internet service providers. As AltaVista's new FAQ for Webmasters advises:

"Spend your energy and money making your pages as useful as possible to your target audience. The quality of your site is an important ranking factor! Part of improving the quality of your site is thinking about what your audience wants, and the terms your audience might use to search. Write your text so your pages are better matches for specific queries."

And that, my friends, is straight from the horse's mouth.

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