Hang around web writing circles for any length of time, and the inevitable “write for search engines or write for people” debate comes up. It’s a bit strange, really.

Last time I checked, it’s people who use search engines, not some other life form. So you’re always writing for people.

Obviously, the debate stems from the fact that search engines are powered by computer algorithms. But as search engines have gotten smarter, writing that pleases people and satisfies spiders is not that far apart, if at all.

Let’s look at four factors that work well for SEO and see how well they cater to the needs of people.

1. Compelling Content

As we saw in Does SEO Copywriting Still Matter?, link attraction is the biggest aspect of today’s practice of search engine optimization. Google looks at the links pointing at your domain, and those pointing at particular pages, as votes of legitimacy. Taking it a step further, Google also takes into account the words people use when linking to you (anchor text) as a trusted signal of keyword relevance.

While it’s still possible to buy links (just don’t get caught), there’s no way to “trick” someone into linking to you. People link because there’s something in it for them in some way, and because something about your content compels them to do it. The smartest SEOs create content that’s remarkable because it’s valuable, controversial, funny, opinionated, engaging, enlightened, etc.

Because Google has tons of information thanks to AdWords, AdSense, Analytics, Google Reader, Tool Bar and Website Optimizer, some see search algorithms moving away from links and more to site usage data (how people actually interact with content). Whether that’s the case or not, content that people find compelling will continue to constitute the biggest factor in search engine optimization.

• Good for SEO? – Check
• Good for People? – Check

2. Content landing pages

One smart strategy for content marketing and anyone building an authority site is to create valuable content resources related to the most important topics you discuss. I call this cornerstone content, because it’s the fundamental information your site is built on.

An example of this on Copyblogger is Copywriting 101. You’ll notice that instead of a single post, I did a 10-part tutorial series and aggregated it on what’s known as a content landing page that’s clearly focused on the keyword “copywriting.”

This is a strong SEO strategy because I’m aggregating a bunch of content on one search optimized page. This directs the majority of links to that page instead of the individual parts, allows for easy cross-linking in future content, and prompts social bookmarking and sharing due to the scope of the resource.

But the real reason it works is because it’s people friendly. Given the usual scattered backward chronological nature of a blog, the page is highly usable and useful as a resource for people new to copywriting.

• Good for SEO? – Check
• Good for People? – Check

3. Speaking the language of the audience

Whether Google ever moves to usage data over links remains to be seen. But one song remains the same – Google must match up what a page is about with what people are searching for. Which means your words must match up with the way the people you hope to reach most like to talk about it.

Keyword research and the use of keyword phrases within content is the one area where some web writers and bloggers seem to push back, and I’ve never understood it. Anyone who’s not interested in understanding and mirroring the language used by their intended audience is simply not interested in being an effective communicator, search engine traffic or not.

As I’ve said, telling search engines that what you’re talking about is the same as what people are looking for is what SEO really is. But even if search engines didn’t deliver traffic at all, the ability to know and mirror the language of the audience is an amazing gift we’ve been given thanks to search data. Why not use it when people respond well to it?

• Good for SEO? – Check
• Good for People? – Check

4. Enhanced readability

What? Good SEO makes content more readable? Surely I’ve lost it on this one.

It’s true. When you implement the whole range of SEO best practices, you rank well with exceptionally reader-friendly content (and that’s why it got links in the first place). Keyword stuffing is not what Google wants. And neither do people.

Let me make a confession. I used this new WordPress search optimization service to evaluate the content landing pages that matter most to me, and I was shocked by what I discovered.

I had gone a tad overboard with my keyword frequency. Not by much, but a tad. That’s right, Mister “write-for-people-first” had not been getting it completely right.

I’m not embarrassed to admit that mistake if it helps you. So there.

When you approach SEO copywriting in a logical, informed fashion, your content isn’t keyword stuffed. It’s natural, and compelling, and artful.

• Good for SEO? – Check
• Good for People? – Check

What’s that?

You want to know more about that WordPress SEO service I used?

Apparently, I can’t slip anything by you.

Well, I’ll be talking about that new service very soon. Of course, Internet Marketing for Smart People subscribers will find out first, which is what we’ve always promised.

Stay tuned.

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Unglued Media. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

I’ve found it just doesn’t pay to crow too much about what I’ve accomplished.

Sure, I celebrate when things go well. But I’ve found that talking too much about my achievements leads not only to criticism, but to disappointment.

There’s always going to be someone who’s done more or worked harder. And until they carve my name into the side of the moon, I see no reason in puffing myself up. The minute you get a big head is the same minute that reality smacks you and you realize that you aren’t as cool as you think you are.

So self-adulation is something I try to stay away from. But self promotion? That’s a whole different story.

If you take a look at the most successful (or talked about) people in any field, you’ll almost always see someone incredibly talented in the art of self-promotion.

Robert Kiyosaki, author of the Rich Dad Poor Dad books, mentioned at one point that he’s a “bestselling author” and not a “best-writing author.” Dean Karnazes, known as “The Ultramarathon Man,” is not the best athlete in his field, but he is by far the best at self-promotion.

So what’s the difference?

The reason that self-promotion works and self-adulation doesn’t is because self-promotion is the art of spreading ideas, concepts, and a greater vision. Self-adulation is just the promotion of accomplishments, deeds that have already been done.

When you promote ideas, you give people something to cheer for. You give people a cause to support. People, in many ways, are selfish. They promote the things that make them feel good. Your accomplishments aren’t likely to make them feel good, but your ideas do.

Your ideas might inspire hope, thought, or action . . . but as a general rule, good ideas inspire something.

People promote Chris Brogan because he makes them feel good. His ideas inspire thought and that warm fuzzy feeling we all get when we make a sincere connection.

On the other hand, you and I aren’t going around bragging about how many books he’s sold or how many speeches he’s given. We don’t care about that because it’s the ideas that inspire . . . not the achievements.

How to create a self-promotion platform

1. The first step is to be confident. If you aren’t inspired by your actions or ideas, no one else will be either.

Look at Muhammad Ali, one of the greatest self-promoters in history. We loved him not just because he truly was “the greatest,” but also for his integrity and the boldness of his ideas.

If you think Ali’s success was only about his athletic ability, compare your feelings about Ali to your feelings about Mike Tyson. Tyson’s accomplishments were magnificent, but he never communicated a greater vision that made us cheer.

2. The next step is to start spreading your ideas. You can’t be wishy washy . . . you have to stand for something.

Make your vision as clear and as concise as possible. Brand yourself and your ideas as unique. (Remember, although few ideas are genuinely unique, your expression can be.) Seth Godin does this exceptionally well.

3. Once you have a platform, start your campaign. Use strong, descriptive language when explaining your ideas and plan of action. Build a tight and loyal community that believes in you, then inspire and empower them to take action.

Make it cool to be a fan, like Gary Vee did with his Vaynernation wristbands or like Lance Armstrong did with his yellow bracelets. Having a symbolic identifier like this is extremely powerful.

4. Lastly, don’t be afraid to talk about your ideas and spread the message. Just remember that it’s not about your world . . . it’s about how others can fit into it.

Creating buzz is essential, so reach out to power brokers and tell them why they should promote you. If they won’t, create power brokers from within. Build others up until they have the power to build you up. This last part is something that Oprah excels at, and it’s how she’s built a billion-dollar empire.

Your ideas need you

If you implement this plan successfully, you’ll probably take some flak. People might label you over-confident or cocky.

That’s good. Define yourself in such a way that people either love you or hate you.

There are fans out there for every self-promoter. Your task is to find them. That, and to make it easy for them to bring a friend.

Your ideas need you. If you have a vision, don’t let anyone stand in your way.

I know it sounds a bit “out there,” but I firmly believe that ideas are living things. They need you to get over your self-adulation, to get out there, and to fight for them. Are you ready?

About the Author: Nathan Hangen is the co-founder of Beyond Blogging, a resource that draws on some of the web’s most successful bloggers to tell you the truth about what it takes to get to their level. He writes about social entrepreneurship at NathanHangen.com.

When I first started Copyblogger in 2006, I was almost militantly against on-page search optimization. Seems strange, since I’d been a successful student of SEO since 2000.

It was because I saw all these people fretting over keywords like it’s 1999, and yet they had no links. Their content was weak. Their sites weren’t trusted.

You can’t optimize something that’s dead in the water. So my initial goal was to get people to focus on content that attracted attention and links first. Only then do you have something you can make better (that’s what optimize means, naturally).

Fours years later, it seems things have swung in the opposite direction for some. Social media “experts” maintain that SEO doesn’t matter because search traffic just “happens.”

Yes, search traffic “happens” if you produce unique content and don’t make it impossible to find. But the “right” search traffic doesn’t just happen, not unless you’re lucky (which simply means you don’t know what you’re doing).

This article is designed to help you know how to tell search engines what you’re talking about is the same as what people are looking for. That’s all SEO really is.

And yet . . .

I feel compelled to quickly discuss the things you need to focus on first. Rand Fishkin of SEOmoz gives us a quick list of the stuff that must come prior to on-page optimization, so I’ll repeat those here with my own commentary:

Accessibility – If search engines can’t see your content within the code, your page can’t be indexed and ranked. This is why Chris Pearson created the Thesis Theme for WordPress, and why he obsesses over making it better. Code matters.

Content – Now that the code structure is right, we come to what people actually want. Create great content and the people, sharing, and links will follow. And then you hit the bonus round: Google gives you even more goodness.

User Experience – The easier your site makes it to consume and share your content, the better you’ll end up doing SEO-wise. People don’t consume or share content that creates barriers, sometimes even if only a little.

Marketing – To paraphrase Rand on this one, spreading the word is often more important than being right, being honest, or being valuable. I like to say promoting your content is a virtuous necessity. Whatever works for you, but do get the word out.

Okay, now let’s move on to the five areas to focus on with your web page, blog post, online press release, whatever . . . they’re all the same in the eyes of Google.

Five SEO copywriting elements that matter

Before we get into this, let me share a few strategic considerations.

When I’m building an authority site, I don’t care about optimizing everything I write. I use a lot of metaphors and pop culture references instead of keywords to get people reading and linking to build the overall trust of the domain. Then when I want to rank well for something, like copywriting, or seo copywriting, or landing pages, my job is much easier.

If you’re a news blogger (or newspaper), things are different. You want to optimize everything as best as possible up front, then move on. Different strokes for different folks.

That said, here we go.

1. Title

Whether you optimize up-front or later, you at minimum need to know what keywords you’re targeting and include them in the title of your content. It’s generally accepted that the closer to the front of the title your keywords are, the better. But the key is that they appear in the title somewhere.

You’ll notice that the title of this post contains the keyword phrase “SEO copywriting,” but it’s positioned at the end of the title. That’s because I go with the more compelling headline first and foremost. But I can serve an alternate title in the title tag (which is the snippet of code Google actually pulls the title from) thanks to a post feature in Thesis (also available with the All in One SEO plugin for WordPress).

So, I can always enter a more search-optimized alternate title later, such as:

SEO Copywriting: The 5 Essential Elements

The emphasis on keywords in the title makes practical sense from a search engine standpoint. When people search for something, they’re going to want to see the language they used reflected back at them in the results. Nothing mysterious about that.

Having keywords in your title is also important when people link to you. When your keywords are there, people are more likely to link to you with the keywords in the anchor text. This is an important factor for Google to determine that a particular page is in fact about a particular subject.

You should try to keep the length of your title under 72 characters for search purposes. This will ensure the full title is visible in a search result, increasing the likelihood of a click-through.

2. Meta Description

SEO copywriting is not just about ranking. It’s also about the presentation of your content in a search engine. The meta description of your content will generally be the “snippet” copy for the search result below the title, which influences whether or not you get the click.

It’s debatable whether keywords in your meta description influence rank, but it doesn’t matter if they do or don’t. You want to lead off your meta description with the keyword phrase and succinctly summarize the page as a reassurance to the searcher that your content will satisfy what they’re looking for.

Try to keep the meta description under 165 characters so the full description is visible in the search result. Again, you can create a meta description in WordPress right in the posting area with Thesis or All in One SEO.

3. Content

Unique and frequently updated content makes search engines happy. But you know that part. For search optimization purposes (and just general reader-friendliness) your content should be tightly on-topic and centered on the subject matter of the desired keyword phrases.

It’s generally accepted that very brief content may have a harder time ranking over a page with more substantial content. So you’ll want to have a content body length of at least 300 words.

It might also help to bold the first occurrence of a keyword phrase, or include it in a bulleted list, but I usually don’t get hung up on that. It’s also debatable whether including keywords in subheads helps with ranking, but again, it doesn’t matter – subheads are simply a smart and natural place to include your keyword phrase, since that’s what the page is about.

Which brings us to . . .

4. Keyword Frequency

Keyword frequency is the number of times your targeted keywords appear on the page. Keyword density is the ratio of those keywords to the rest of the words on the page.

It’s generally accepted that keyword frequency impacts ranking (and that makes logical sense). Keyword density, as some sort of “golden” ratio, likely does not. But the only way to make sense of an appropriate frequency is via the ratio of those keywords to the rest of the content, so density is still a metric you need.

In other words, the only way to tell if your repetition of keywords is super or spammy is to measure that frequency against the overall length of the content. A keyword density greater than 5.5% could find you guilty of keyword stuffing, and your page could be penalized by Google.

You don’t need to mindlessly repeat keywords to optimize. In fact, if you do, you’re likely to achieve the opposite result.

5. Page Links

Linking is the fundamental basis of the web. Search engines want to know you’re sufficiently “connected” with other pages and content, so linking out to other pages matters when it comes to search engine optimization.

Here are some “rules of thumb” for linking based on generally accepted best practices:

• Link to relevant content fairly early in the body copy
• Link to relevant pages approximately every 120 words of content
• Link to relevant interior pages of your site or other sites
• Link with naturally relevant anchor text

Again, these are guidelines related to current best practices. Don’t get hung up on rules; focus on the intent behind what search engines are looking for – quality search results for people.

Yes, there’s other stuff . . .

There are other elements as well, such as URL structure and keywords, keywords in image alt files, tags and categories, and various other minutia (here’s a list of on-page elements and their varied importance). If you focus on the five areas above, however, you’re covering the vital elements of effective on-page optimization.

I know there are a lot of SEO ninjas out there who might be reading. What would you add as a vital on-page optimization element? Let us know in the comments.

Up next: Does Writing for People Work for SEO?

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Unglued Media. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

This is another addition to our ongoing series of tutorials and case studies on landing pages that work.

It occurred to me late last year, as I was readying yet another Landing Page Makeover, that the end of one year and the beginning of the next was a good time to do a “Where are they now?” post. So first things first, I went back and contacted all makeover participants from the very beginning of the series.

Of the more than 20 contacted, I learned that one is no longer in business, MagicPumpkinArt.com (Makeover #14) and two are in the midst of developing new products or revising their focus: TheLast10lbs.com (Makeover #4) and 4PsofPodcasting.com (Makeover #9).

The rest? Well, most did not respond to our request for follow-up details. (This is me sad ) But of those who did, I think you’ll find their answers interesting and their results encouraging. Here are the questions I posed:

1. Did you implement all/some/few or none of the recommendations made about your website?
2. If yes, did you see any tangible results — increased traffic, sign ups, conversions, sales? Were the results the same, better or worse after making the changes? Which changes produced the biggest results and why?
3. If no, what were the primary reasons? Was it a matter of time or cost to implement? Something else? Did you simply disagree with the recommendations? (Be honest, I can take it.)
4. Is there anything I could have done differently in preparing the makeover to be more useful to you, your business or your website?

And here are the responses I received (lightly edited for length):

From Carrie Kitze, EMKPress.com (Landing Page Makeover #6)

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We were poised to do a redesign when Roberta took a look at our site. Her suggestions were on point and helped us streamline and reorganize the site.

• We moved to a three column format and made more things clickable.
• Each product now has its own page and our resources are more organized for different types of readers to find. (It’s also just cleaner looking.)
• Our articles have been linked to by a variety of blogs/forums and when we note that an article has become popular to download, we cross sell products based on the demographics that are hitting that part of the site.

Results:

• We have seen a 50% increase in traffic to the site. Now more organized and informational, the site has given us more credibility in a cluttered landscape. We’ve seen an increase in article linking by adoption agencies and professionals, as well.

I would have liked to implement more recommendations but time and budget (mostly time since we are a small office) precluded us from doing more. Just re-reading her suggestions gives me additional ideas on tightening things up in the next few months as we add some additional resources.

Roberta’s suggestions were spot-on and many were easy to implement with measurable results.

From Kristen Galles, BookClubClassics.com (Marketing Plan Makeover #2 )

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I implemented every single suggestion. Her review sparked comments that led to a great discussion about the focus of my website, too.

Initially, when I first created BookClubClassics, I was most interested in selling customized book club discussion guides. However, after Roberta’s review, I realized that this would be a very time-consuming and inefficient way to make money. The guides required hours to create, and the availability of free discussion questions from publishers made my guides a “tough sell.” So, I stopped creating the guides and focused on increasing my readership instead.

Now I have time to create discussion questions (instead of full discussion guides) for those clubs who want guides with more substantial questions. These questions actually sell better than the full guides did!

In addition to Roberta’s general recommendations, her specific detail-oriented suggestions regarding the lay-out and presentation of my website were invaluable as well.

Results:

• Each month my readership continues to increase, as do my affiliate earnings.

From Daniel Horning, Marketing Director, HireAHelper.com (Landing Page Makeover #5)

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We implemented most of Roberta’s suggestions. Specifically:

• We added more content to our customer review system and added a link to “HireAHelper Protects You. Find out How.” with details about the customer’s transaction and our 100% refund policy.
• We added a list of customer reviews to the homepage, landing pages and trust elements. Our BBB logo is now in the top right hand corner of all our pages.
• Although Roberta felt that the term, “Day Labor” carries a bit of a negative connotation, we decided to keep it. However, we added more language using “General Help” and “Handyman” and that has helped.
• We applied the five-line max paragraph rule and white space recommendation to many of our pages. We also fixed misspellings and have a content review system in place in our office. Our logo is now clickable back to the homepage across the whole site.

Recommendations not implemented:

• We considered a new tagline but decided to stick with “Get Local Help. Cheap.” Adding anything to it would have diluted the importance of our 2 main points — local and cheap.
• We decided not to include specifics about our customer counts. However, we may revisit this suggestion to continue to boost and support customer confidence in the site, as well as add possible package plans.

Results:

• Our customers gained a clearer understanding of our service offerings, especially once they saw the customer reviews posted on the homepage/landing pages.
• It’s hard to track the impact that paragraph line counts and white space have on customers directly, but we definitely saw huge growth in the months after the recommendations both in an increase in visitors and an increase in how long they stayed on the site.
• We also saw an increase in the conversion rate to just above 6% the first month of 2008 and averaged around 4% throughout the rest of the year.
• The suggestions provided are still useful in our planning and development today.

From Nancy Owen Myers, Lunchsense.com (Landing Page Makeover #19)

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Roberta said:

Simplify the homepage!

I did rework the home page. It launches soon.

Choose one primary image that’s representative of everything else.

I used a whole family!

Choose one strong statement.

I went with — “It’s a big world! Better pack a lunch.” This and the whole family image convey that everyone can use this lunchbox.

Rework the navigation and rethink the color scheme.

I did a bunch of things simultaneously when this makeover went up — planned, scheduled, and undertook photography, started to work on new packaging, and reworked the website navigation, too.

Recommendations not implemented:

Test offers — free shipping, discounting, bundling.

I struggle with this as I’m philosophically opposed to “Buy this and get MORE! — but what if I don’t NEED more? That said, I do offer occasional percentage discounts and I can offer free shipping and such offers as appropriate. But I can’t run my biz on that.

Results:

• Overall, though, I think the recommendations were generally very good, and if nothing else I’m happier with my site.
• I often go in and tweak stuff in the website, and make sure I go through my site page by page every so often to make sure it all hangs together. Roberta’s makeover really helped me make that a priority.

(Roberta’s note — I’ll revisit with Nancy once her redesigned store is live.)

Roberta’s takeaways (and yours)

• You don’t have to make large, wholesale changes all at once, but do try and pick the elements that have the most potential for big impact, like testing headlines, adding additional calls to action, and editing content for better readability.
• Even small changes can make a difference — try testing text in your call to action links and buttons. You’d be amazed at the difference you’ll see between Buy Now, Join Now, or Find Out More Now.
• Push your value proposition forward while embracing your market reality. If there’s a lot of competition for your products/services, find what’s unique about yours — what only you can say — and get it out there. Be opening to reframing your goals as you learn more.

And lastly — Marketing is a process. Always be testing.

I do want to thank all the previous Maven Makeover participants who shared their findings with me (and those that didn’t, we know who you are.)

These brave souls subjected themselves to Roberta’s special brand of “tough marketing love” in a hugely popular public venue — and even paid for the privilege with a donation to Heifer International.

There’s a lot more to come in 2010 . . . so please stay tuned.

Additional note: As I was writing this post, news came in about the devastating earthquake in Haiti. If you’re a fan of my Maven Makeover series and have learned a little something along the way, please “pay it forward” and make a generous donation today to the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Here’s your chance to be the Copywriting Maven’s next landing page makeover!

Got a landing page that’s more poop than pop? Willing to share with Copyblogger readers? Prepared to put a little of your own “skin in the game” for a Maven Makeover? Then click on Maven’s Landing Page Makeover page for all the details.

I’m booked for gratis “Heifer” critiques until 4/1/10. If you’re interested in a private critique/makeover or other services, please email me directly.

About the Author: Roberta Rosenberg is The Copywriting Maven at MGP Direct, Inc. Find her @CopywriterMaven on Twitter.

If there’s any one thing that can be said about SEO with certainty, it’s that it manages to cause a lot of confusion.

For example, it seems like many people’s idea of SEO was formed 10 years ago, and hasn’t bothered to change with the times. Even an online veteran like Robert Scoble is completely clueless about modern best practices for search engine optimization.

So, before we go any further, let me answer the question posed by the headline . . .

Yes, SEO copywriting still matters.

Here’s why.

Search is still the biggest game in town

“Pick your survey, search remains one of the top activities on the Internet and has been for over a decade,” said search industry legend Danny Sullivan when I pinged him on Twitter. Danny pointed me to one such survey that shows search is the most common online activity after email, and that fact cuts across generations.

“People make billions of unique searches each month,” said SEO guru Aaron Wall via email, “and unlike Facebook flittering, those people are in focus mode.” In other words, compared with most Internet traffic, searchers are the most motivated people that hit your site.

If they’re looking for a product or service, there’s a good chance they’re looking to buy it. If they’re searching for information and your site provides it, you’ve got a great chance of converting that drive-by traffic into a long-term subscriber.

And of course if you’re a professional web writer, whether freelance or with an agency, this discussion is purely academic. You try telling the client not to care about Google traffic, and let me know how that goes.

So, search traffic is clearly important, as long as it’s targeted search traffic. Let’s look at the elements that constitute the modern practice of search engine optimization so we can attract those highly-focused visitors.

Off-page elements eat the biggest slice of SEO pie

Take a look at the image below, generously loaned to me by SEOmoz:

A quick review of the chart reveals that as far as SEO goes, what happens off your site matters more than what’s on it.

• 23.87% – The general trust and authority that your domain has is the largest indicator of SEO success. As Authority Rules makes clear, what works for search engines is what works with people as well.
• 22.33% – The number of links to a specific page matters a lot too… so think twice about link viability when your content is just out of the gate.
• 20.26% – The anchor text of external links matters because this is Google’s way of finding out what your page is about according to other people, not just you.

In other words, it’s like my favorite saying goes:

What people say about you is more important than what you say about yourself.

In this case, Google wants to know that people are linking to you, and the words they’re using (link anchor text), because that’s a more trusted relevance indicator. So yes . . . compelling content is always rule number one. But just like great content goes unnoticed without promotion, great content doesn’t rank well if you don’t make it clear what it’s supposed to rank for.

But how do we get people to notice our content so they can link to it? That’s where social media comes in. Blogging, social news sites, Twitter, Facebook – these are organic content distribution systems powered by your audience (and their friends).

It may come as a surprise that some of the brightest minds in social media are SEOs, and they’re completely on the up-and-up and non-shady. It’s just that they’re too busy getting things done to proclaim themselves social media experts or some other nonsense.

The huge influence of “off-page” factors on search optimization is why I wrote the SEO Copywriting 2.0 series 3 years ago. I updated it for 2010, but it is still directly on point, because it deals with fundamental aspects of strategic content development that don’t really change.

If you haven’t, check out SEO Copywriting 2.0 to get more out of the remainder of this series. An understanding of content development strategies is critical before going the “last mile” with on-page optimization.

SEO copy is the “last mile” to strong search rankings

Are you familiar with the “last mile” problem in the broadband industry? You can have thousands of miles of high speed fiber optics carrying loads of data cross country, but if the final connection to the customer’s home is aging copper or pokey coaxial, the benefit of the optical cables is lost.

Likewise, if you do everything right by building an authority site that Google trusts, but don’t tell Google that your page content matches what people are actually searching for, the targeted traffic benefit is lost. That’s what effective SEO copywriting does – it tells Google which words are the most relevant ones.

You don’t have to optimize on-page upfront. But you do have to begin with the ending in mind from a keyword standpoint, due to the importance of anchor text when people link. We’ll go more into that in part two of this series.

And if you ignore this SEO stuff? Sure, you’ll get plenty of untargeted “long tail” traffic otherwise, but what good does that really do you? Even with an advertising business model, irrelevant traffic bounces off your site quickly, leading to disgruntled advertisers who don’t renew. And if you’re selling something, you’re only burning bandwidth.

The beauty of building a reader-focused online presence based on valuable content is that you can do well even if Google hates you. But the irony is, if you actually follow that path, Google loves you.

Take advantage of that. It’s the critical last mile of a well-rounded online marketing strategy that makes a huge difference to your overall success.

Traffic must convert, or why bother?

Now we come to the big point. Everyone loves traffic – it’s addictive and strangely gratifying in its own right.

But traffic doesn’t pay the bills. It’s people who take the actions you need them to who do.

Going back to that confusion, many think that a search-optimized web page is some ugly keyword stuffed mess that sends people running for the hills on sight.

That’s not true. At least not when done well.

Danny Sullivan said it well at the close of our discussion:

“Unfortunately, too many assume that SEO means trying to trick search engines. It doesn’t. It simply means building a site that’s friendly to them.”

And that’s what we’ve been talking about here at Copyblogger for four years now (and helping at the code level with Thesis). Now let’s further explore on-page optimization specifics in this Simple SEO Copywriting series.

Coming up next:

• Five Areas to Focus On for Effective SEO Copywriting
• Does Writing for People Work for SEO?

About the Author: Brian Clark is founder of Copyblogger and CEO of Unglued Media. Get more from Brian on Twitter.

Those of you who subscribe to the Internet Marketing for Smart People email newsletter found out on Monday what Brian and I have been up to for the past few months.

We knew it would be cool, because, well, we designed it to be cool.

We wanted to build something people would really get value from.

But still, when we saw what people were doing inside after the first day, we all looked around at one another and pulled a Keanu.

Whoa.

Third Tribe Marketing has been active for just under two days now. What’s been happening so far?

• Artists and SEOs and copywriters and entrepreneurs of every stripe are all giving each other business advice, feedback, encouragement, and ideas.
• Nitty gritty conversations are springing up about promotional tactics, how to manage entrepreneurial stress, getting past roadblocks, finding our niches, and dozens of other topics.
• Chris Brogan and Laura Roeder have been helping a Triber see how he can measure social media ROI in the real world.
• A Triber mentioned frustration in putting the final graphic touches on his blog — and within a matter of minutes, another Triber stepped forward to lend her own resources and expertise. For free. Just because it felt like the right thing to do.
• One passionate Triber decided to pull together groups of “Niche Tribers,” who are already working to form cooperative bands to support and grow each other’s blogs and businesses.
• Tribers are arranging to meet up in Austin, London, Toronto . . . and more to come.

Here’s the coolest part for me:

We didn’t make this stuff happen

We provided a comfortable, user-friendly space. We’re providing educational seminars. We’re hosting Q&A sessions. And the four of us who founded the Third Tribe — Darren Rowse, Chris Brogan, Brian and I — are part of the conversation, answering questions and sharing our perspective. But that’s the key . . . we’re simply part of it.

The other part is the collection of entrepreneurs at all levels. Some of them are names you recognize, some are new to the game. But all of them are energized by the Third Tribe model of kumbaya respect and community combined with razor-sharp marketing strategy.

If you want to know more about how the tribe works and how you can get access for a very attractive price, here’s where you can find the details. (If nothing else, you’d be smart to go check out Brian’s copy approach — it’s prompted a huge discussion among members on its own).

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and a co-founder of Inside the Third Tribe.

The McGuffin has been a powerful storytelling device for a long time. It was Alfred Hitchcock who popularized both its use and the name that sounds like it should be on a dollar menu.

The McGuffin has a cool job: to keep the plot, character, or situation rolling along. It draws us into the story and drives the action. The McGuffin is often an object of high value, which everyone covets. It can be ambiguous, entirely undefined, generic, or left open to interpretation.

Remember the suitcase in “Pulp Fiction?” Classic McGuffin. Though it showed up a few times throughout the film, and was important enough to get a handful of people peppered with bullets, we never actually saw what was in the suitcase.

And consider “The Maltese Falcon,” one of the most famous McGuffins of all time. Though the falcon in question drives the entire story and moves us from scene to scene, we never actually see it at all.

That is what’s cool about the McGuffin. Its purpose is served so long as it moves the story along. In many stories, by the time we should be demanding to know what the McGuffin actually is, we have forgotten about it entirely. That’s because we’ve been deftly redirected to the author’s true purpose.

If the author executes the McGuffin well, you’ll barely notice the technique. And that’s how it should be.

How the McGuffin can make you money

Writing online to build your business means you are directing the story. Whether you want people to download your product, subscribe to your newsletter, or hire you for $250 an hour, you must drive them to that decision.

The McGuffin is the wind that will sail a prospect’s ship into your harbor. Your offer is the anchor.

There’s a good chance you’re already using the McGuffin without even realizing it.

While talking about your highly productive methods for moving mountains and getting things done, aren’t you really laying the stage for your new How to Move Mountains and Get Things Done! info product?

When you’re telling interesting stories about your life as a freelancer, aren’t you really showing how terrific an experience your customers are having?

(If not, you might want to think about changing that.)

The engaging stories about your topic are the McGuffin — the interesting, attention-focusing “grabber” that pulls your readers in.

But where they go once they’re there is up to you.

Handle with care

Many poorly written novels and films show the McGuffin can be horribly mishandled. If you misuse the McGuffin, you will leave your prospect feeling unsatisfied at best and betrayed at worst.

Don’t promise the beach and then drive to the desert just because there’s sand. It’s fine to shift gears after you’ve brought a reader in with your fascinating McGuffin. But the place you’re bringing your readers still needs to make sense, and to deliver an experience she wants.

If you surprise your prospect with a smile, you will likely keep her coming back for more. Startle her with disappointment and she will leave and never come back.

At its best, the McGuffin is a pleasure and can help the audience to enjoy the ride. I don’t hold it against Tarantino for never showing me what’s in the suitcase, any more than I’d hold it against Brian for letting me know about Thesis after I came here for some advice on my headlines.

I love “Pulp Fiction” more with every viewing, and my affection for Thesis deepens with every site my business builds.

I don’t mind the change in direction, because I’ve been led somewhere I want to go.

This story about the McGuffin is, of course, a McGuffin itself. My real intent? To show an interesting technique that both helps other writers and, of course, gathers more copywriting clients for my own business.

How about you? What curiosity-provoking, desire-inducing McGuffin could you be writing about on your blog that would drive your readers to take action? And once they’ve shown up, where will your copy take them next?

About the Author: Sean Platt writes direct response copy, as well as helping authors write, publish and promote their book. Follow him on Twitter.

Conversation in social media is supposed to be “open source,” right?

We’re supposed to gain energy and excitement from being open to the entire internet, to ideas that come to us from literally every corner of the globe.

But too often “social media” turns into a predictably closed circuit of the same people having the same conversation.

Finding your own tribe can be a wonderful thing. It can also make your blog unbearably boring.

The move from “wonderful” to “boring” happens when we fall into a pattern of always interacting with the same people, always talking about the same topics, and always reinforcing existing networks. There’s no growth, only stagnation.

I’ve seen this happen often with myself. I think that I’m growing and cultivating, but all I’m doing is reinforcing what’s already there.

So, here’s another idea.

If you’re an existing leader . . .

• Give someone else a chance to use your platform.
• Let a new voice guest post on your blog.
• Tell your network about an up-and-coming blogger.
• Bring a different perspective to the conversation.
• Introduce a new or relatively unknown participant to your circle.

If you’re not a leader yet (but you’re working on it) . . .

• Make an effort to bring in new ideas to the conversation. Be willing to talk about what no one else is.
• Push the boundaries of what’s expected in your field.
• Proactively connect with people outside your niche, or in overlapping niches. Sometimes the best ideas come from an intersection of unexpected opposites.
• Don’t just blindly follow established leaders. Actually make a conscious decision to follow them if you think they have value to offer. In other words, don’t follow someone just because everyone else does.
• Guest post for someone you don’t already know well. Bring your ideas to a totally new audience.

Awesome things can happen when we consciously branch out beyond our habitual circles of association.

Instead of just aligning with people with the same skills and strengths as us, we can seek out those with different talents that complement our strengths.

Instead of reinforcing the same patterns of conversations, we can move beyond our comfort zones and make more meaningful connections. We can find new and interesting ways of approaching tired problems.

Instead of reenacting the same mental synapses, we can actually diverge and possibly . . . just maybe . . . innovate.

Get remarkable by getting out of your comfort zone

Who knows, maybe a lawyer could teach you how to build a better case for selling your product. Perhaps a teacher could help you communicate better with the beginners in your audience. Maybe a politician could teach you how to better dodge questions and avoid dealing with real issues.

OK, just kidding with that last one.

When we make a conscious effort to continually bring in fresh ideas and voices, we grow. We break the patterns that we’ve created. We move beyond plateaus to higher ground.

We can only change the game when we change the rules we play by.

And if we do, then just maybe, we can create something that’s really new. And isn’t that what we live for?

About the Author: Jonathan Mead is a writer, martial artist and trafficker of truth. He recently released a free ebook called The Zero Hour Workweek, aimed at helping people find freedom from the 9 to 5.

Do you know this story?

A scorpion needs to cross the river. He asks a friendly-looking frog to carry him across.

“Do you think I’m stupid?” asks the frog. “You’re a scorpion. You’ll sting and kill me.”

“No I won’t,” says the scorpion. “That would be completely against my self interest. If I sting you, I’ll fall in the river and drown.”

The frog sees the sense in this and agrees to carry the scorpion across the river. Halfway across, the scorpion stings him.

“Why did you do that?” asks the dying frog.

“I’m a scorpion,” answers the drowning scorpion. “It’s my nature.”

Who are you asking to take you across the river?

This painful little story illustrates something we’ve all seen, but sometimes forget.

Lie down with dogs and you’ll get fleas. Do business with scorpions, and you’ll get stung.

For some reason, until recently, most practical information about how to succeed in online business has come from scorpions.

People who see prospective customers as prey to be hunted. People who teach unethical shortcuts. People who preach games and systems, not value and relationships.

Some of the scorpions have interesting things to say. Some of them are even brilliant. And many of them can teach you good techniques.

But they’re scorpions. And you don’t want to find yourself at their mercy when you’re halfway across the river.

Things are changing . . . fast

Have you noticed? Something fascinating is happening in the world of Internet marketing.

Maybe it’s the widespread adoption of social media that’s made the difference. When everyone can Facebook, Twitter, and blog, all of a sudden it’s very hard for the scorpions to pretend to be good guys. The shortcuts get revealed. The light gets turned on to show the little (and large) deceptions.

The flip side is, now it’s easier than ever for great stuff to get found. If you’re glorious, people start talking about you. Word of mouth becomes “word of click.” And the good guys start finishing first.

Copyblogger was an outlier from the beginning. Brian taught his readers how to combine direct response marketing (a tool that was too good to leave to the scorpions) with content and social media to deliver amazing value to potential customers.

And there were certainly others. Chris Brogan devoting himself to his audience for 11 years to create his “overnight success,” built on integrity and connection. Darren Rowse, unofficial Nicest Fellow in the Blogosphere, showing up tirelessly to create value for his readers and help them become “probloggers” in their own right.

The ranks started to swell. We’ve been lucky enough to have many of them write for us in the past year or two. Naomi Dunford. Dave Navarro. Chris Garrett. Johnny B. Truant. Laura Roeder. James Chartrand.

These are people who don’t choose to be (or hang out with) scorpions. People who went back to just offering real solutions, developing fantastic relationships with their customers, and building solid businesses around that.

The Third Tribe is coming

Almost a year ago, this “new” (actually old) way of doing business started to be known as the Third Tribe. We had no use for the scorpions, but we didn’t want to be the clueless frog, either. We wanted to make a good living and be decent people. And we rejected (ok, I’ll be honest, mocked) anyone who tried to tell us we couldn’t.

We knew better. We were doing it. And it was working – third tribe marketing is effective.

Brian and I instantly saw that this intersection was the future of Copyblogger. And, in fact, that it was the future for the smartest online entrepreneurs — the ones who wanted to build the most interesting, most profitable businesses.

So for the past few months, Brian and I, along with some clever co-conspirators, have been building something for you. A place for the Third Tribe to come together. To share ideas and inspiration. To educate ourselves about marketing and business techniques — effective techniques that respect our audiences and preserve our relationships. To grow farther and faster than any of us could alone.

If you’re already subscribed to the free Copyblogger newsletter, Internet Marketing for Smart People, you can relax. You’re going to be getting all of the details in the next few days.

If not, you may want to fix that now. Our newsletter readers will be the very first to hear about the new project, and have a chance to take advantage of a ludicrous sweet offer.

If you’re curious about it (or frankly, if you’d just like to take advantage of a free 20-lesson course on what smart Internet marketers are doing in 2010), click here to sign up for the newsletter. It’s free, it’s got good stuff, and it’s where you’ll be able to find out all about the new Third Tribe project.

About the Author: Sonia Simone is Senior Editor of Copyblogger and a co-founder of Inside the Third Tribe.

Many of you began blogging to get more business. I’m sorry to tell you that many of you are doing the exact opposite.

Your blog isn’t getting you more business — it’s actually sending business away.

How did that happen?

A blog is supposed to create more interest in what you do or what you sell. It’s supposed to bring you more credibility, more readers. It’s supposed to show off your expertise. All that should be great for business. Where did it all go wrong?

You forgot that you have a business first and a blog second.

What do you do for business?

You’d be shocked at how many blogs don’t have an answer to the question, “What do you do?” readily available. The blog itself has a clearly defined subject, lots of rockin’ content, and plenty of people commenting on posts.

That’s all great, but the whole point of having a business blog was to get people interested in the product or service you sell. And that information often isn’t easy to find. Sometimes, it isn’t anywhere to be seen.

It’s not in your tagline. It’s not in your About section. It’s not in a big shiny button where site visitors can’t possibly miss it.

You may have fifty million visitors a day. But if very few of them have any idea that your blog is there for more than providing them with free information and entertainment, your blog is ruining your business.

Let me restate the obvious: you are business blogging. That means your awesome content must be delivered in the context of your business goals.

Remind me again: what do you do?

Let’s say that some new guy shows up on your blog. Maybe he got the link from a friend on Twitter, or maybe he was just goofing around on Google. He reads your post. He likes it.

He leaves.

It’s simple: he got what he came for. He found your post and read it. He may also need the services you provide. In fact, there’s a very good chance he does, because he was looking for information within your expertise. If he showed up wanting to know about 10 ways to prevent a bad stain job, and you provide wood staining services, he may very well want to chuck the idea of doing it himself and hire you instead.

But he didn’t arrive at your blog looking for someone to hire. He came for the information. And he got it.

Very often, people don’t see what’s obvious to you. You know you’re blogging for business. You know that you’re for hire. But that site visitor? He doesn’t think of that at all. You have to put the idea in his head.

And a very, very good place to do that is at the end of that useful post he just read. Finish every single post with a little nudge toward hiring you. “If you’ve got a project too delicate for you to screw up, contact me today. I’ll quote you on a perfect, professional job — no screw-ups, guaranteed.”

Your readers come around for your advice and your insight, and that’s great for your blog. But if you don’t remind them regularly that you have something more to offer than just information, they won’t think of hiring or buying from you.

And that is really, really lousy for your business.

Go make sure your blog readers know what you do for business. Three times over.

About the Author: For more great tips and an insightful blog on freelancing, head on over to Men with Pens, where you’ll get all the success advice you need. And guess what? You can even hire the team to help you rock your business to success.