Monday Copywriting Tip #47: Search Engine Optimization? Big Mistake.

Why would you write for a search engine? When was the last time a search engine purchased one of your products, or signed up for a newsletter, or donated to your cause?

You have to write for your human visitors.

And yes, you absolutely have to understand how those human visitors use search engines.

Search engines themselves have no preference for one web site page over another. They simply try to serve their users by interpreting the user's keywords and delivering the most useful and relevant page results.

Your focus shouldn't be on pleasing the search engines, it should be on pleasing the search engines users.

This means understanding your audience of potential visitors, understanding what they want and are looking for, and how they are likely to express that want within the two or three words they enter into a search box.

No easy task. But you're better off spending time pleasing your visitors than you trying to please the search engines. (What does a pleased search engine do? Smile?)

More web copywriting tips here...