Optimizing B2B landing pages for SEO can improve brand recall.

A client recently asked me why he should apply SEO copywriting techniques to a landing page when an email is driving visitors to the landing page instead of search.  Good point.  However, I think anything worth putting on the web is worth optimizing for search—particularly longtail keywords, which tend to have lower clicks, but higher conversions.  That said, I think the first priority when writing landing page content is landing page optimization—write copy that has continuity with the marcom elements that are driving visitors to the landing page.  For example, if you’re using email, then the subject line, call to action and overall message should be echoed on the landing page first and foremost.  Then as a secondary objective and where it makes sense, optimize for search. 
Why?…  message recall.  

B2B SEO Landing Page Example from the Mind of a B2B Copywriter

Let’s say you’re a B2B company specializing in network security applications.   You’re running a campaign targeting the mobile/device market. Though I recall seeing an ad in a trade journal or vaguely recall receiving an email, I can’t remember your specific name, so I turn to search.  I may search for network security for mobile devices or something similar.  If you’re landing page is optimized, chances are I’ll find you.

In the above example, the campaign keywords could serve both landing page optimization and search engine optimization.  Here’s a totally fake example to illustrate the point.  Let’s say the message is to convey to corporate IT folks that they can allow colleagues use their iPhones, smartphones and other devices besides Blackberries to connect to the corporate internet without compromising the security of the network.  The B2B copywriter writes the headline/subject line, Connect More… Worry Less.  With good targeting and wide distribution, it could make a memorable campaign-wide slogan.  But at a tactical level, the lack of keywords makes it less likely to drive search. So a good copywriter would ask whether or not there was a way to accomplish both—boost open rate and search results.  The answer lies in keywords. 

The copywriter’s next headline iteration includes the keywords “network security” More devices; less network security hassles.  It’s a better headline, but for search, typically it’s better to place keywords at the beginning of the headline.  So, if the headline still reads well, is persuasive, and encourages readers to open and click, then try an even greater search optimized version:  Network Security—more devices; less hassles.  The copywriter’s newest version headline is optimized for search, fits the 40-50 character count for an email subject line, and achieves the target message. 

The landing page should contain the same headline—enclosed in html H1 header tags, of course—and the subsequent landing page content should support the headline with keyword –rich copywriting and a strong call to action above the fold and below the fold.   Good copywriters should also consider writing a landing page url that includes campaign keywords and is memorable.  In the example above, an effective landing page URL could be www.fakecompany.com/network-security-more-devices-less-hassles. 

Optimize Landing Pages for Search without Compromising Conversion

Again I can’t emphasize enough that copywriters should always write email campaigns, PPC ads and landing pages with the objective of driving the desired outcome whether opens, clicks or conversions.  This is first and foremost when writing content.  However, good SEO copywriters are vigilant about writing content that’s relevant to the people searching for it.  That means knowing the keywords and using them persuasively and strategically.  Striking a balance between persuasive copy and optimized copy is the sweet spot for B2B copywriters.

What are your thoughts on SEO copywriting for landing pages?

PS  Any good post on landing pages should include a link to Ion Interactive, the landing page gurus.  Here’s a good  landing page technique for  B2B marketers targeting several industry verticals.

PPS And another good post by @level343 on the art of landing pages from Search Engine Journal.

I conducted a B2B SEO copywriting workshop for a multi-national group of copywriters and marcom professionals. When it comes to SEO, you may have similar marcom concerns, so here’s a brief summary of the day’s discussions.

SEO Copywriting for Multi-lingual Websites

We were learning how to write search optimized metadata. Most SEO consultants advise approximately 60-70 characters for meta title, 160-165 characters for the meta description and 250-1000 characters for the meta keyword tag (though most SEO pros say this tag is used less frequently, especially by Google).

Some of the copywriters wanted to know how search engines handle character counts for non-English metadata. This is a tough one, because there’s lot more to multi-lingual sites than converting metadata from English to the desired language. After discussion with a few marcom and SEO colleagues, plus doing a little research on my own, I learned that metadata character counts do not expand to compensate for non-English languages (or contract for character-based languages).  You can exceed the character counts, but the search engines will truncate what’s displayed in the title and on the search engine results page (SERP).

What’s important to note is that title and description tags must include the keywords for which you’re optimizing the page. PLUS, those keywords should appear as close to the beginning of the phrase as possible, regardless of language.  You may find this list of SEO copywriting tips helpful.

Here are additional SEO metadata resources:

• Webmaster World (forum)
• SEOmozBlog (#7 is interesting… longtail keywords and meta description)

Copywriting for Social Media Optimization

Not surprising, all the copywriters, marcom and corporate communications folks were interested in B2B social media. How does copywriting and communications, in general, change to address the various social media?

This could be a post by itself.  However, many SEO techniques and concepts still apply to social media copywriting and communications.  For example, keywords are equally as important in social media and use of keywords requires a similar strategy as on-page SEO.  So whether your blogging, uploading a YouTube video or commenting on someone else’s blog or Facebook page, the follow social media optimization techniques represent good practices:

• Post title (similar to meta title in on-page SEO):
  Usually around 60 characters and remember to included keywords as far at the beginning as makes good writing sense.  If you’re posting a Twitter tweet again use keywords and keep them as far to the beginning of the tweet as makes good writing sense.
• Blog excerpts and descriptions (these are similar to the meta description)
  Blog exerpts allow more words (approximately 125) and appear in RSS feeds to describe your post content).  Often this is the first paragraph in your blog, but it can also be different, although it must still be relevant.
  Blog descriptions are closer to the on-page SEO meta description tag and the content (approximately 160 characters) appears on the SERP.
• Categories and tags (the on-page SEO equivalent of the keyword meta tag):
  Absolutely include keyword-rich tags so that search engines and people know what your blog is all about.  Think of categories as chapters in a book.  Categories are more broad keyword terms.  Tags, on the otherhand are more specific and are similar to index entires in a book.  Tags can include category names plus more terms unique to your post.

B2B SEO copywriting and corporate communications

Some of the corporate communications folks were intrigued by SEO copywriting techniques but wanted to know how it may impact them.  This is a growing area in large enterprises who use tools like Microsoft SharePoint to collaborate with colleagues.

The term “Enterprise 2.0 describes the two-way communication that now exists with “Web 2.0.”  Colleagues in large enterprises often search for information with the hopes of leveraging the organizations existing talent and expertise.  How will they find you if your content isn’t optimized for search?  So in an Enterprise 2.0 environment, keyword-rich metadata applies as well.  Here are a few pointers:

• Give your files keyword-rich titles, descriptions, and tags.
  This applies to pdf files, word docs, excel spreadsheets, etc.  I know it takes a little more time, but it’s worth it if you can add value to your organization.  And if your colleagues can’t find your services, they tend to look outside of the organization and more easily find the same services because the content was optimized for search.
• When uploading image files, make sure you’ve named them using keywords and descriptions.
  For SharePoint users, add “alternate text” that includes keywords when you upload images.  Also, any files that are uploaded should include descriptions and titles that include keywords.
• Corporate communications example:
  Let’s say your department offers Environmental Remediation and Due Diligence (ER&DD) services and you’ve created a document highlighting recent cases.  Don’t save the file as ERDD Report 27.  Instead, title the report Environmental Health and Safety Risks:  New Case Study on Environmental Remediations at ABC Company sites.  If the report becomes a pdf file, include a brief excerpt that includes keywords. (Excerpts can be added by right clicking on a pdf file and selecting “properties,” then select “PDF” tab.)

Note that the above example assumes “Environmental Remediation and Due Diligence (ER&DD)” and “Environment Health & Safety” are keyword phrases on which colleagues may search.

So as corporate communicators, my belief is that we have as much responsibility to pull communications as we do to push, and helping colleagues find information they need is an important part of pull communications.

The discussion continues on my Facebook page under the “discussion” tab.

Checklist helps B2B SEO copywriters boost organic search results.

As a B2B copywriter, one of the biggest challenges of writing web content is writing effective engaging content while optimizing it for search.  For me, it’s easier to write the content with the reader in mind first and then optimize the content for search engines.  I use the following B2B copywriter’s seven-step checklist and tweak the content until it’s optimized for the reader and for search engines. 

If this seems a little cumbersome, don’t worry.  As you become more proficient at writing website content, you’ll automatically think “keywords and phrases” and integrated them more seamlessly. 

B2B Copywriter’s On-page SEO Checklist

1. Optimize the page for 3-5 keywords (on a 300- to 500-word web page)
2. Are the keywords in your page title and description?
3. Are the key keywords located up and to the left on the page?
4. Are the keywords located in a headline or subhead?
5. Are some of the keywords in a hyperlink?
6. Are some of the keywords in a bulleted list?
7. Do your images have keyword-rich captions and alt img tags?

More B2B SEO copywriting resources:

Keywords and keyword density Joan Damico’s Integrated Marcom Minute

Body Text: Where to Use Keywords for Better Search Results  by Bill Egan of Interleado

SEO Copywriting:  The five essential elements to focus on by Brian Clark of Copyblogger

B2B marcom managers solve the content conundrum with a social media workflow.

Content , links and trust are the currencies of the internet. Relevant, useful content provided on a regular basis across multiple social and online media helps build trust. This same content can also generate the links that boost search traffic, leads and sales.

Whether you’re a B2B marcom manager who’s taking on social media as a grass roots effort (you and one or two colleagues) or you’ve enlisted a team, content creation can be daunting, even meeting the bare minimum frequency. A blog alone takes a minimum of 12 posts per month, and it’s recommended that you have at least two months’ worth of blogs already in the queue to ease the pressure of developing content on demand. Like many B2B marcom managers who are beginning a social media program, you and your already burdened staff are responsible for creating most of the content in addition to your day jobs. Before you read any further, make sure you have a content marketing plan and a conversation calendar.

How to develop a B2B social media workflow

One of the biggest hurdles to social media adoption in B2B is adapting the B2B marcom workflow to allow for social media. For starters, you need to develop a sharing mindset and integrate it into your daily activities. Any media that you consume or develop has the potential to become “social media fodder” that can be finessed into a tweet, blog post or comment on someone else’s blog. For example, when you’re monitoring your news feeds, copy one or two articles/posts and quickly post them to your social media status updates or your Facebook fan page, and then bookmark them on Delicious or Digg them. Social bookmarks serve as a good reference for future blog posts and Twitter tweets.

Note: If you’re not monitoring the social sphere and you’re new to social media, start by setting up your listening posts. It will save you a lot of frustration and embarrassment later.

As you develop the social media workflow, you’ll need a repository for all the content you collect (The new buzzword for collect is “curate.”) You’ll also need a system for managing content. Your repository can be as simple as a “content” folder on your desktop and a Delicious social bookmarking account or a Digg account. There are many other social bookmarking sites; so sign up for one, and as you come across content, bookmark it.

Organize your desktop for social media success

Begin each day with a blank document on your desktop. Then, as ideas come to you, add them to the document. If your idea came from something online, remember to copy and paste the URL for future reference. The blank document approach also works well when an opportunity arises to comment on another blog. I find that you can write your comments more freely in the blank document, than the blog comment box. Plus, you can run spell check before copying and pasting your comment into the blog and do a character count to make sure your post is suitable for 140-character status updates. Remember, comments posted on other blogs often become good fodder for a blog post of your own. So save the document each day and revisit it for future blog posts.

Then, organize your browser to optimize time spent online. Save tabbed groups for the social media-related sites you visit such as productivity tools (mentioned below), your listening posts, bookmarking sites and your company’s social media venues.

Take advantage of the free productivity tools such as Hootsuite, Tweetdeck, and Seesmic which allow you to monitor your followers’ and your activity in the Twittersphere and on other social sites. These apps also allow you to schedule tweets as well as simultaneously update statuses on other social networks. Be careful with this one. The idea behind social media isn’t to batch and blast status updates, but to connect with real people real time. Although it’s perfectly acceptable to post what I call reference content—something that you read or saw that may benefit others in your community, but be mindful of the social idiosyncrasies of each community. For example, some posts are more suitable for Twitter, while others may be better for LinkedIn. Remember, not everyone has a Twitter account. So @replies and hashtags, although perfectly acceptable in a tweet, may appear confusing on another social media platform.

Effective B2B social media marketers are masters of time management

In the world of B2B social media, busy B2B marcom professionals must make every minute count. It helps if you think of time in smaller chunks. You may have five minutes before a meeting, which is plenty of time to post a tweet or two. While you were in the meeting , did any discussion spark an idea for a blog post or even a series of posts around a given topic? Make sure you capture those thoughts in your “content” document for future reference. An extra 15 minutes is enough time to outline a blog post. Then carve out a little more time to complete it and post it. Most B2B marcom departments have plenty of existing content that simply needs to be adapted to social media—usually that means shifting from a company focus to a community focus. There are numerous blog posts on the topic of repurposing content. I’ve listed a few below.

You’ll find that as you become more proficient at writing for social media and more comfortable with your workflow, you’ll become more efficient at managing social media, making it less of a burden for an already burdened marcom staff.

Here are a few tips culled from the advice of top bloggers and content creators that will help you overcome the B2B marcom content conundrum:

13 Ideas to Inspire your blog by Denise Wakeman

What’s your social media diet by Paul Dunay

Social Media Marketing Industry Report 2010 by Michael Seltzner answer the question, “How much time does social media take?”

Warning Signs You Might be a Blogcrastinator by Michelle Russell

The nutrition label lists the ingredients based on volume per package. Items appearing first on the ingredients list are most abundant in each serving. So if you’re looking for cereal that’s low in sugar, then you’ll want to make sure that sugar is low on the ingredient list or that it doesn’t appear at all.

This is where the nutrition label is like SEO copywriting. The keywords on which you’re optimizing your page should be the first few keywords in the meta title and description, as well as in alt image tags and on-page body copy… think up and to the left. This helps search engines determine relevancy of the search query to your web page. (There’s more to relevance than SEO copywriting, but it’s a necessary part of SEO.)

Take a step back, look at your copywriting and ask yourself the following questions:

• For what 3-5 keywords are you optimizing the page?
• Are those keywords located up and to the left on the page?
• Are those keywords located in a headline or subhead?
• Are some of those keywords in a hyperlink?
• Do your images have keyword-rich captions?

Your SEO copywriting is like the cereal box.  Think of the ingredients list as the meta data, which tells search engines what to look for. Make sure that your “ingredients” include the top 3-5 keywords on which you’re optimizing the page. The on-page content is like the front and back of the cereal box; make sure the on-page copy includes those same keywords in the places noted above.

Like a nutrition label, which tells you the percentage of fat and other things you probably shouldn’t have, keyword density tells you the percentage of copy that your keywords should comprise.  It basically lets search engines know that you’re actually writing real thoughts in sentences and not simply stuffing a bunch of keywords on a page to trick the search engine into thinking your content is relevant.

You can use tools such as keyworddensity.com and googlerankings.com, which scan your
page content and assign a density number. Most search marketers recommend a density of 3%-5% and some as high as 7% on a page of about 300-500 words.

When it comes to SEO copywriting, your on-page copywriting should connect with the meta data.  You don’t want to be the box of cereal that boasts low sugar when it’s the first ingredient on the nutrition label.

I received a message from a fellow group member in an online community the other day. It read like this (note: names/titles have been changed):

“My new white paper on XYZ – available to group members Feel free to download – don’t worry – no sales pitches!”

Call me crazy, but when someone says, “don’t worry, no sales pitch,” it’s usually a sales pitch, especially when it comes from a sales rep.

So I clicked on the link and it took me to a form which began with, “Dear Group Member,” and I was asked to complete 12 fields (yes… 12!) in order to download the white paper.

This “non sales pitch” broke just about every rule in B2B social media and direct response marketing.

• Social media is personal, and if you’re a member of the group, then address members by name. If it’s not possible, then it’s better to say nothing than “Dear Group Member.” Plus, if you held a webinar, then wouldn’t you have contact information from the registration?

• The “non sales pitch” put the writer first and not the reader. It opened with, “Here’s my xyz white paper.” Where’s the WIIFM (What’s in it for me)? Why should I download your whitepaper?
• Then the writer proceeded to tell me that he or she thought I would find the white paper relevant. Dude, you don’t even know my name, and yet you know that I would find the paper relevant? Hmmmmm…. the value of the white paper from my perspective is not clear, and therefore not relevant. Tell me it will get me a promotion, more business or save me time, and then, maybe I’ll find it relevant.
• Finally, if you’re a member of a group, then just give out the whitepaper as you promised at the webinar. No one should have to complete 12 fields unless you’re giving out something extraordinary, like cash. Plus, these are your fellow group members, and you met with them over a webinar. It should be more personal.

Bottom line: this was most definitely a sales pitch, and it didn’t need to be one.

There’s nothing wrong with sharing your white paper. But the approach wasn’t social media-friendly.

What should the writer have done?

• The solicitation headline should have read:
  “Learn how to improve your close rate and free up more time for sales calls. New white paper free for abc group members. (disclosure: from my recent webinar)”

• The landing page should have said:
  “Thanks for attending the yada yada webinar. If you couldn’t attend, here’s a copy of the white paper explaining how you can improve your close rate and free up more time for sales calls. Download now.

  For more information call (123) 333-2222 or tell us your name, company and email.
  Thanks again for attending,
  Social media-friendly sales rep.

  PS If you’re interested in following trends on xyz, subscribe to our RSS feed here.”

Unfortunately, I think that as more B2B marketers integrate social media into their marcom mix, we’re bound to see more missteps like the one just described. The best advice I was given upon entering the social media sphere was:
Listen first and put the community before your own needs. Social media is not a broadcast channel it’s a place to find and cultivate mutually beneficial relationships. And that takes time.

As a B2B copywriter and marcom consultant, keyword density is less important than good content that reads well. Density is something I do at the very end of writing content, as a precaution to make sure I haven’t gone beyond the 3-5% density.

My experience has been that when you focus on writing good content first, your keyword density naturally falls within the acceptable range. I use a twofold process when writing for websites and SEO. I first write the message and make sure that it reads well and resonates with the audience. Then, I look at where the keywords are located instead of density. Here’s a quick checklist:

• Are most of the keywords toward the top of the page?
• Are keywords located in H1-H3 header tags?
• Are keywords in the “alt img” text?
• Have I used keywords in anchor text?
• Have I placed keywords in bulleted lists?

Focusing on these techniques, more than keyword density, offers greater opportunity to boost natural search.

I was writing web content for a client and felt like I was writing blindly because I didn’t have a list of their top performing keywords. It turns out that the list is easy to generate. Search strategist, Benny Blum, explains how to generate a list of top performaing keywords in his article, How to Maximize the Impact of Your Top Performing Keywords.

Think about how much more effective your online copywriting can be when you know what your clients’ prospects are searching for. Every B2B marcom manager and copywriter should know their top performing keywords.

I had this discussion with an online marketing manager at a major consulting firm and she and I both agree that copywriters–with training in copywritng for SEO, of course–should write the meta title and description. They are in the best position to convey the relevance of the page to search engines. (Assuming that they’ve also written the page content.)

Good SEO copywriters know that copywriting for search is more than just incorporating relevant keywords and phrases in all the right places. Good SEO copy follows direct response marketing tenets of creating awareness, interest and a call to action. Doing that while incorporating keywords gives you killer content.

BTW… If you’re a copywriter or marcom manager who writes a lot of web content or even offline pieces, brush up on SEO, and learn how what you write can really influence whether or not your prospects and customers can find you. Here are some quick SEO copywriting tips from one of my previous blog posts. Or just type “SEO” into the search field of my Integrated Marcom Minute blog and get more tips on SEO for B2B copywriters. Good luck!

Good B2B copywriters make sure your content includes plenty of keywords. But what your copywriter may not know is that keywords, when used in overabundance, could actually hurt your natural search engine optimization (SEO) initiatives. Here’s why…

If a search crawler sees too many keywords, it could punish you in ranking because it thinks you’re engaged in “keyword stuffing”–a practice of adding repetitive keywords in the meta data or blending them into the background making them invisible to the viewer, but visible to search crawlers.

How much is too much? It depends on the number of keywords and the total number of words on the page–a.k.a. keyword density. Most experienced search marketers say that up to 7% density is ideal but 10% or more and you could hurt your organic or natural search ranking.

In reality, if your keyword density is 10% or greater, the content most likely won’t flow well and will read awkwardly at best. Try reading it out loud and see for yourself.

Some search marketers say that keyword density is old news and with today’s search algorithms, the only thing that keyword density analysis will do is help you understand on what keywords your site is optmized. You be the judge.

Learn more about keyword density and check your web pages using the free tools listed below.

Free Keyword Density Tools

• SEO Book
• SEO Chat
• Webconfs
• Ultimate SEO Tool
• Keyword Density