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Webpage Writing : How to choose the words
that people use.
By Nicole
Bishop
As every good wordsmith will already know, words matter. If you're
marketing your services on the web, the words that matter most
are those that people looking for you on the web will be using.
Why? Because over 80% of people on the web use search engines
to find web-pages. Use the words they are using, and you stand
a chance of being found.
So, how do you find out whether people are looking for you and
what you do - and whether they are also using your finely chosen
words to do so?
Here's a quick and easy way:
By using one of the search engine keyword monitoring tools currently
available on the net, you can - within a matter of minutes - find
out which words your target audience is using, and (just as importantly)
which words it is NOT using.
WordTracker (http://www.wordtracker.com) - collects search results
from 24 major search engines. (There is a fee for this service,
though they will let you try it out once for free.)
The Overture tool - less comprehensive but still very useful -
monitors keyword searches typed into the Overture search engine.
(This one is free.) A few days ago I "brainstormed"
a selection of keywords with the free Overture tool:
http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/
The keywords I used, and the number of searches recorded for each,
are below:
Plumber - results: 3573 searches
Writer - results: 20930 searches
Commercial writer - results: 0 searches
Business writer - results: 451 searches
Technology journalist - results: 0 searches
Technical writer - results: 4288 searches
Copywriter - results: 1584 searches
Corporate writer - results: 64 searches
Corporate communication - results: 3051 searches
Marketing communication - results: 4305 searches
Public relations - results: 26274 searches
Educational writer - results: 0 searches
Instructional designer - results: 413 searches
Ghost writer - results: 5069 searches
Copyeditor - results: 88 searches
Journalist - results: 3856 searches
So, what is this telling me?
There are a lot more searches going on for "writers"
than there are for "plumbers". However, we all know
that more people use plumbers than use writers! So, if you're
a plumber, the web is probably not a good place to advertise your
services; if you're a writer, on the other hand, it probably is!
The point is a general one: Before spending the time and money
to advertise your services on the web, make sure that the web
is the right place to advertise the services you offer.
There are a lot of searches going on for "technical writers",
"ghostwriters", "marketing communications",
and "public relations", suggesting that there's a relatively
big market for services of these types online (and probably offline
also). So, if my services were related in any way to these, it
would be a good idea to write my web-page copy so it highlights
my expertise in these fields.
If I were a corporate writer, I'd be well advised to use the words
"communication', "marketing communication" and
"public relations", prominently somewhere on my web-page
- this may make a big difference to how well my services appeal,
and indeed to whether I am found at all on the web.
As a technology journalist, perhaps I should use the phrase "technical
writer" somewhere in describing my services - that way I
could tap into those 4288 searchers who are looking for a "technical
writer".
If I offered rewriting and copyediting services, I'd be well-advised
to use the word "ghostwriter" somewhere in the description
of my services - over 5000 searchers are looking for "ghostwriter",
versus 88 looking for "copyeditor".
As a specialist in educational writing, my first impulse may be
to describe myself as an "educational writer". However,
going on the search results above, calling myself an "instructional
designer" would give me a distinct advantage when marketing
my services on the web (413 searches for "instructional designer"
versus 0 searches for "educational writer").
Likewise - if I were trying to decide whether to use the phrase
"commercial writer" or the phrase "business writer":
it looks as though the latter is the one I should be going for
(0 searches versus 451 searches).
These examples should give you some idea of how these tools can
be used to fine-tune your web-page copy and increase its appeal
to your audience on the web. (Of course, to get the best and most
reliable results, you'd need to use the more comprehensive "Wordtracker"
tool -- and pay the fee.)
Take some time to research your online market before writing your
web-page copy. With the aid of these tools, it will be time productively
spent.
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© Nicole Bishop, 2002.
Nicole Bishop runs a web-site for professional freelance writers
and editors.
http://www.writerfind.com
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