When to use branded vs Non-branded keywords

Understanding the difference between branded and non-branded keyword usage is imperative. Too many times clients insist that they want to optimize their pages for a product’s brand name, or for their company name. While I understand this instinctual urge, it’s my job to educate the client on how SEO works, and when to use branded and non-branded keywords on different pages.

Here’s an example:

For the sake of privacy, we’ll call this company XYZ Supplies. They sell POS supplies to small ma & pa shops across North America.

So let’s say Ma Baker needs to find cheaper cash register rolls because her current supplier is just too expensive. Where does she begin? Maybe she starts with a Google search, something like this:

How do I know she didn’t type in cash register rolls? Maybe she did. Then why did I choose to optimize XYZ Supplies’ cash register rolls category for “cash register tape”? I did my research – my keyword research – which told me there a more people, just like Ma Baker, searching for that keyword term.

As the SEO copywriter, I know that it’s important for me to identify the numerous keyword phrases that the client’s prospects will most likely use to find their products.

But here’s where things get sticky.

The client insists on optimizing all pages for their top-selling brand. They believe that the most important thing is to be #1 in Google for that product’s brand.

OK, I hear that. I approach this from two angles. The first being that if the company name (the brand) is in the domain (www.xyzsupplies.com) then chances are that they will automatically rank for the branded keyword XYZ Supplies. For example, the first listing on Google’s SERP for the keyword “cash register tape” is this:

The keyword doesn’t even show up in the Title or Description tags. The keyword-specific URL is a match, plain and simple, and this almost always wins the top placement in the SERPs.

The second way that I approach this is when the client insists on ranking for their best-selling product’s brand. For example, let’s say our fictitious client sells Red Widget brand of cash register tapes. Our client’s URL is www.xyzsupplies.com, and their best-selling brand is Red Widgets Tapes.

But Red Widgets Tapes has their own website, of course, at www.redwidgetstapes.com. They are a massive global supplier to thousands of companies like XYZ. Red Widgets is their brand. Is there any way XYZ can outrank Red Widgets for the keyword term “red widgets”? Doubt it. It’s just not a realistic goal.

Even if it was possible, one major issue still exists – it’s not what XYZ’s prospects are searching for online, so attempting to rank for that product’s brand is in vane. We did the research, and we know that their prospects are searching for “cash register tape.” And if that’s what they’re looking for, and that’s what XYZ wants to sell them, then that’s how we should be optimizing XYZ’s category pages.

Have questions about branded vs non-branded keyword research? Ask away, I’m here to help!

Cheers!

Aimee

Quality SEO Copywriter or Link Farm? You Choose.

Happy hump day!

So, it happened again this morning. I’m sitting on the train, commuting to the city and reading my email. I plugin my internet stick and prepare to reply to an email I feel very strongly about, and the next thing I know I’ve got a full blown blog post — not the response to the email I had originally intended.

So, the email I read started out something like this …

“We’ve been talking with this guy, he has a social media background is great with analytics. We really think he’d be an asset. Do you think we should hire him?”

So I open up the link in the email to find a link farm. Seriously? A link farm? Paid links, affiliate MLM options, really? This is “the guy” with this social media and analytics expertise I’m supposed to embrace? <Sigh…>

Here’s the thing. Buying links is never a technique I recommend to clients who want long-term results. {I can hear the clickity-clack of keyboards as angry link-builders crafting their strongly worded emails to me!} Save yourself the time and blood pressure spike, I’m not saying all links are evil. I’m saying that all links are not created equal.

In my opinion, paid links is a band-aid approach to low search engine rankings. If you have crappy rankings, you have bigger problems than a lack of crappy links. Paying for links has been known to give certain sites a quick boost their rankings. The problem is that those rankings are short-lived.

My second opinion is that paid links are a thing of the past, a pre-panda tactic. Search engines are getting smarter and they’re demanding better quality from sites overall.

The issue that I have with using paid links as an SEO technique is that even if (and that’s only IF)  a site gets to the top of the rankings, odds are it won’t convert/get the click-thru. That’s because there was never a strategy put in place to cover, which is really the most important part. What do I always say? “What good is a #1 ranking for 100 keywords if none of your pages are converting?”

Link farms build links — that’s it. They don’t create quality, relevant, useful content (c’mon, stop the clickity-clacking again). Quality SEO copywriters are NOT a dime a dozen. Finding one sort of reminds me of American Idol in that everyone thinks they can sing write. But the ones who win get results are the ones who have a healthy combination of raw talent and years of industry-specific training.

How do you find an SEO copywriter who will help you rank well and convert? I’ll explain in my next post … I’m about 3 minutes from Union Station and I need to pack up my gear and hike up the office!

Cheers,

Aimee

Scintillating … Sexy … Scandalous Titles

“I wrote unique titles for all my pages – how come my CTRs still suck?”

I’ve heard this a lot over the years and it can be very frustrating. The good news is that you can overcome this challenge fairly easily.

SEO best practices tell us that each web page should have a unique title tag. But that’s where most folks fall off, forgetting (or not knowing) that there are two pieces to the title tag puzzle. Uniqueness is part one. Part two is that titles need to be tantalizing, sizzling, sexy… they need to entice the readers attention so they can’t help but to click thru!

You see, because the title is displayed as the clickable hyperlink in the SERPs, it is your first opportunity for conversion. Yes, it needs to follow certain criteria in order to achieve high rankings in the SERPs, but as I always say, “What good are top rankings if no one is clicking them?”

Second only to quality content, the title of a page is the most crucial part of on-page SEO. Here are some quick tips to help you write sexier, more enticingly tantalizing titles:

• SERPs only have so much real estate to display text. To prevent your titles from being chopped off at the end, keep the length to 60 characters or less including spaces.
• Use your primary keyword(s) early on in the title. Not only does it help the search engines rank your pages according to keyword relevancy, it also helps users identify the page topic quickly.
• Write like you talk. Search engines are getting smarter, and they like it when you use everyday conversational language. That means NO keyword stuffing!
• Save branded elements for the end of the title. Telling users who you are is less important in a title than telling them what a page is about.
• Be creative. When you write catchy titles, you get attention, which leads to the conversion – the click thru.  How do you write creatively compelling titles?

Admittedly, it’s easier to be controversial, outrageous, and shocking in the B2C world than B2B.

Do you need to hire an SEO copywriter to write your titles? Maybe. Can you learn to write them yourself? Probably.

Give it a whirl! Sit back, relax your mind, and write some kick-ass titles.  Then send them in to the Open SEO Vault & I’ll take a peek, offer some advice, and we can all vote on a winner. No cash prize, but bragging rights are fun, too

Cheers!

Aimee