Creating Love at First Sight with your SEO Copy – The Final Chapter: Body Beautiful
In our SEO Blog Part One we talked about laying the groundwork for an SEO revamp. We talked about brainstorming, setting your station apart and developing stronger, more genuine traits. We discussed what it takes to get noticed. We encouraged you to clear the ground around you and create a niche that’s genuine and personal. In ourSEO Blog Part Two we explored the art of creating copy that is both persuasive and discoverable … words that help listeners feel like they’re being “cared for” rather than “catered to”.
THE FINAL CHAPTER: SEO META DESCRIPTION & COPY
Now we begin the final chapter. You’ve laid the foundation and created a fabulous title. Now you’re ready to create the meta-description and body … inviting and greeting hungry sheep who are seeking new pastures, and causing them fall in love with your webpage.
START WITH WHAT YOU PROMISED, NOT WITH CONFUSION
Notice we said your webpage. They don’t want pop-up windows or ads which interrupt their thought-flow and hostage their CPU’s. Confused and frustrated people won’t stick around. They won’t come back and they won’t tune in. They’ve read your headline promising green grass. When they click on your website, what do they seek? GREEN GRASS.
They want what you’ve promised. So meet their expectations, right off the bat. Match your landing copy to your ad copy. It’s friendlier to search engines, and it’s more cohesive to your seeker. If your headline says “24-7 Commercial-Free Christian Radio. All Your Favorite Music, Worship and Hymns”, then your webpage should greet them with “Welcome to Commercial-Free Christian Radio! Your Favorite Music, Worship and Hymns, 24-7.”That way, your visitors know they’ve entered the right house. If your welcome copy doesn’t match your headlines, there’s a disconnect. People click, expecting to find one thing. Instead they find another.
God is not the author of confusion. “For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints …” 1 Corinthians 14:33
MUTUAL AGREEMENT – SHAKE HANDS
Your audience should internally agree (resonate) with everything you write in this initial greeting. Good copy will steer and guide your reader’s focus down to the desired result. Their desires then become harmonious with the very thing you want them to do.
Think of it as a funnel. You start with the wide, broad attraction, funnel the focus into what you promised, deliver the promise, and then require them to make their move. The “move” should be simple. In other words, a simple submit-email-and-click gives them access to you for free.
There should be a FREE. Even if the subscription is only free for one month, it should be free. Emotionally, both teaching and music are associated with freedom … freedom from despair and freedom from sin. People love the word FREE; they love the idea of being FREE, so feel free to use it!
STOP THEM IN THEIR TRACKS
Here are some important tips when creating heart-stopping Meta description and body:
- Name dropping, striking words and eyebrow raising copy, along with a sense of urgency will stop your potential audience in their tracks. There’s nothing wrong with mentioning the name of Jesus, Casting Crowns, Charles Stanley or anyone else you think will attract your desired audience’s attention.
- Make sure your copy is both descriptive and persuasive.
- Make sure your keywords are in the Meta description.
- It’s okay to ask a question. “TIRED OF BAD NEWS? SWITCH TO GOOD NEWS.”
- Provoke curiosity. Lead them into the funnel with an irresistible reveal.
- Include language that identifies with her spiritual and emotional needs.
- Use out-of-the-box powerful phrases like “HEAR THE LOVE – HEARTFELT HITS THAT HEAL.”
TECHNICAL STUFF
There are many, many aspects to SEO writing. It is a marriage between the creative and the technical … with a little strategy thrown in.
Here are technical bullet points to consider:
- Length: Approximately 512 pixels if possible
- Keywords: Your most crucial keywords should go towards the front of the title tag with least important bringing up the rear.
- Confusion: Does your copy accurately describe the content?
- Cannibalization: Are your title tags unique to each page? Is only one page on the site optimized for a given keyword? Your answer should be YES to both.
- Stuffing: Are you repeating the same word over and over? Don’t do it.
- The Showstopper: Use powerful words, emotions, sensationalism and urgency
SUMMER LOVE: FALL IN LOVE WITH WORDS
There is untold power in human language. It’s so powerful in fact, that God Himself had to step in and confuse our language at the Tower of Babel. Otherwise, as He observed in Genesis 11:6, there would be no limit to what we as humans could accomplish.
Now we speak different languages. There are barriers. But if your goal is to unselfishly spread His hope, joy, knowledge and peace to a lost and dying world, He will guide you to get your message across.
In the end, you have to be in love with words. You have to love shuffling them around. When creating effective copy, make sure your heart is one of joy, curiosity and awe.
May more and more people fall in love with your webpage, your station, and with Jesus Christ!