Question: What type of fool helps the competition with free advice and backlinks?

Answer: This type of fool.

Reading material for the 28% of UK copywriters that don't have the word "copywriter" in their title?
(Image courtesy of marciookabe)

This is the follow-up to the UK freelance copywriter homepages post. This time round, we’re dabbling in SEO in an effort to see:

• The words copywriters use in their page titles
• The words copywriters use in their descriptions
• Any correlation between rankings and page titles

We’re not talking links and social media presence. We’re looking at the basics.

(Note: I’m aware that to some copywriters the term SEO means Silly Effing Ollocks, or suchlike. However, for the purposes of this study, just think of it as search-friendliness. Or, if you prefer, search-cuddliness.)

So, why focus on page titles?

Page titles are the words that appear at the very top of your browser screen. Titles are also used as the main link text in search engine results pages.

Your title tells the search engines (and the user) what your page is about – much like a chapter heading. Or, in the case of your homepage, the whole book title.

As far as search engine optimisation goes, titles are still one of the most powerful on-page factors that you can control. In short, page titles matter.

Once again, the study looks at 258 copywriter sites.

Words in titles: the stats…

Length of titles

You can ramble on forever in your page title if you wish. However, Google and chums will cut you off at a certain point. Beyond that point, people won’t see it. And, in an effort to avoid copious page title spam, Google puts more weight on the earliest words in the title.

Yet, many copywriters have titles far longer than that – the longest being a whopping 442 characters. Happily, the average was 58 characters. But remember:

Length of descriptions

First off: keywords in descriptions won’t get you higher in the search rankings.

But, you’re writers, so you’ll understand this: The right words will encourage people to click on your listing in the search results. After all, it’s like a short ad for your services.

Again, you only have so much space to demonstrate your linguistic brilliance.

Many copywriters had significantly more than 160 characters. The longest was 1529 characters (phew). The average was a very sensible 167.

Let’s play with Wordle…

Here are the words copywriters use in their page titles – with all common English words removed. This is much as expected, with the emphasis on copy:

Now with all copy-related words + common words removed:

The locations used in titles:

Location-based SEO is a very useful thing. For starters, you’re covering more keywords and may attract more relevant searches. Predictably, UK was the most popular location reference, followed by London and Brighton (which backs up my previous post featuring copywriter locations).

Other services (related to copywriting):

Here’s what else I take away from this:

Copywriters who offer “SEO” or “web” writing services are more likely to be familiar with basic SEO techniques. Therefore the terms “SEO” and “Web” may be disproportionate to the amount of copywriter sites included. SEO samurai know how to give their title words the most prominence, after all. (Of course, SEO is also a very common copywriter secondary service.)

Now let’s talk about rankings…

Search ranking is not the One Ring to Rule Them All. It may not even be the Shirt of Elvish Mithril. However, ranking can make that tricky trip to Mordor just a tad easier. Make sense?

Lots of different factors influence search rankings – in particular the amount and quality of external links you have directed at your site. However, basic SEO starts with on-page factors including page titles. With this in mind, let’s look at rankings.

How were results calculated?

I searched the terms copywriter, copywriter uk and freelance copywriter in Google.co.uk
All were searched without quotation marks. In the case of the two-word phrases, the term had to be present in the title or description either broken or unbroken.

Note: Rankings correct @ 5th April 2010

The SEO people will tell you that keywords in descriptions don’t affect rankings. However, there’s a clear correlation between good descriptions and high rankings. Again, I think this is more likely because high-ranking sites usually have a bit of SEO savvy behind them (so the site owners are more likely to complete the meta description tag).

My personal opinion on the title and high ranking correlation is that it’s still hard to rank for a relatively competitive term without including that term in your page title.

Some easy SEO advice to take away from all this? Sort your titles out first. Think services, location and how likely someone is to search for a particular word. As for the rest of the results of this analysis…if you have any thoughts, please share them below.

(As an aside, Nick appears to be the most prominent copywriter name. Any Nicks care to comment?)

Phew. Curiosity has led to exhaustion.

I’ve been through 258 UK copywriter website homepages. Some fantastic sites out there. If you’re a UK freelance copywriter, then chances are you’re on this list.

Only 11% of Copywriters had a picture of themselves on the homepage (pic courtesy of cadfael1979)

But, my aim with this post isn’t to cast judgement on fellow copywriters – merely to offer an insight into:

• The words copywriters use to sell themselves on their homepages
• Where UK freelance copywriters are based
• What info they choose to share on the homepage (e.g. Twitter links, testimonials etc.)
• The gender split of UK copywriters

And a few other interesting stats.

How was the data gathered?

Copywriter sites were collated from Google, Freeindex, Dmoz and Twitter. Agencies (of more than a few people) were generally omitted.

The word “copywriter” was the defining search term. Results are a mix of advertising, direct marketing and general copywriters. Apologies if your site isn’t included – it may have slipped through the net! (N.B. Blogs with no static homepage were also left off the list.)

Let’s look at the total word counts…

Word counts ranged from the “fits on the back of a matchbox” to “barely fits on the side of a house”. (Navigation, copyright and T&C words weren’t included.) Here’s how it breaks down:

Seems like a fair average. Around 300 words should be enough for most copywriters to sell themselves. Some sites included a huge range of services. Many direct marketers opted for the classic long sales letter style (hence the highest count of over 4K words).

What information was shared on the homepage?

Predictably, blogs, client names and testimonials were a popular option. In fact, many of the sites I found easily via Google had blogs – backing up the accepted wisdom that blogging = good SEO.

Obviously, testimonial quotes and client names help establish credibility straight away (with a dash of social proof). Many of those sites that didn’t have quotes/clients on the homepage provided easy links to that info.

SEO copywriting was one of the most referenced secondary services/benefits (and sometimes the main focus of the site). Most DM and advertising copywriters didn’t mention it (what with the connotation of keyword-stilted language and all!)

Where do freelance copywriters live?

So, London’s drowning in the buggers. But note the concentration of copywriters in and around creative cities like Brighton, Bristol, Edinburgh, Leeds and Manchester. Looks to me like there are a few places severely under-represented by word pedlars. (Where are all the Northern Ireland freelance copywriters?)

(16 sites had indeterminate gender/location.)

The most popular words on a copywriter’s homepage

(All common English words removed.)

Copywriter, copywriting and copy were the most-used words (closely followed by business and marketing). No surprises there.

Common words removed except personal pronouns (I, you, we etc.):

As all good copywriters know, business communications should be about the reader, not about the writer. Hence the prevalence of “you”.

That’s not to say that We and I didn’t make rather prominent appearances. As a side point, a lot of freelancers (including myself) struggle with the question of me or us – am I an I or am I a we?

Note:

How about with copywriting, copy and copywriter removed?

Lots of practical copywriting words here:

• Sales
• Marketing
• Business
• Customers
• Clients
• Content

And finally…the most common descriptive words copywriters use for themselves

So there we go. A glimpse into the world of the copywriter homepage. What do you make of these stats? If people are interested, I might look more in detail at popular calls to action, and perhaps even page title tags in a future post.

As you can probably gather, this post took hours and hours to put together! Please retweet, share or link (particularly if you’re one of the sites listed) and add a comment below. Thanks!

Image courtesy of Fransesc Esteve

What should you pack into your web copywriter’s toolbox?

We’re not talking grammar guides and free-flow poetry here. These are web apps and software you can use to improve your web and SEO writing.

All have been useful to me over the years, though few are designed specifically for writers. Yet, if you use them in creative ways, they’re perfect for generating new topics, building more focused pages, organising your ideas – and generally writing better web content.

(By the way, if you notice a certain bias towards Google properties, that’s purely because they make some of the most useful stuff. Plus, if you’re writing with SEO in mind, Google is a good place to start!)

1. Wordle

Keyword density is one of the oldest myths in the SEO copywriting handbook. But, if you’re writing to get found online, it helps to see what terms stand out on your page. Wordle gives you a nifty image showing word prominence in a section of text. No percentages. No formulae. Just a nice, quick snapshot of your (or your competitor’s) content.

Just paste in a load of text, or enter a blog feed to get going.

What's on Gordon Brown's mind? Wordled conference speech.

2. Visual Thesaurus

A handy visual reference for those times when you’re struggling for the right word. Only a free trial here, but it’s inexpensive to sign up for longer access.

3. Adwords Keyword Research

Why should a web writer think about keyword research?

Well, wouldn’t you like to write posts that people are interested in? Wouldn’t you like your articles to be found by as many people as possible? Keyword research lets you find out whether people are asking a particular question of Google, then helps you decide on how to phrase your title.

It’s also another way to get ideas for new posts, articles and pages.

Enter a few keyword ideas in the main box. Select "Exact" from the Match Type drop-down. Then hit Get Keyword Ideas.

The top box will show close matches for the keyword ideas you entered. The lower box shows a range of related terms.

4. Evernote

Most writers are information junkies. Snippets of info here, stats there. One moment you’re reading a blog post, next minute you’re looking for images on Flickr. If that sounds like you, then you may find Evernote useful. Add notes, photos, URLs, phone snaps, screenshots – even handwriting – and have it sorted via a searchable, user-friendly interface.

Evernote: post-it avalanche no longer.

5. Springnote

Similar to Evernote, but with a wiki-style, social slant. Useful for writers who want to share their notes and ideas and attract comments and opinion.

6. Google Docs

Create documents online, then share info and collaborate. Great if you’re working on projects with designers, developers, marketing departments or other copywriters and need regular feedback.

The other bonus of using Google Docs is that it doesn’t add the phantom code and mysterious characters that Microsoft Word is sometimes guilty of.

7. Freemind

Working on a complicated article? Trying to tie together all your ideas for a client’s website copy? Brainstorming a few ideas for a new project?

Mind mapping is a great way to visually connect all of your ideas. Freemind is a downloadable application that lets you build your own mind maps.

8. Google Wonder Wheel

Another tool for visual thinkers.

You access the Wonder Wheel by searching any term in Google, then clicking the Show Options link underneath the search box.

Click the "Search Options" link beneath the search box.

Then, click the Wonder Wheel link in the left hand option menu (see the red arrow in the pic below). It”ll bring up a mind-map style diagram with related search terms and phrases. Keep clicking until you get bored!

Click the Wonder Wheel link as shown to start

Looking at the suggestions that arise from clicking write web content, you can already see a few potential content ideas, such as “Write Web Copy For a Busy Audience”. In fact, that’s me sorted for a future blog post right there!

9. Measure Your We-We

*chuckles at the back*

Now, now people. Settle down. This isn’t as puerile as it sounds. Futurenow have a neat customer focus calculator that allows you to see how much you’re droning on about yourself. And, as everyone who’s ever sat with a pub bore knows, the more you go on about yourself, the less interesting it is for the other person.

10. Firebug

Again, this isn’t designed for writers. Instead, it’s a web developer’s add-on for Firefox (and now with a Lite version that works for IE and other browsers). Do I sense eyes glazing over on those of you that aren’t tech fans?

However, if you’re an SEO copywriter, Firebug is an easy way to quickly analyse the elements of any web page. For example, if you want to know which is the H1 tag, just click the Firebug icon and hover over the appropriate text.

11. WordPress.com or WordPress.org

Hey, you’ve got to get your content out there somehow! We use WordPress to power Scribblemill. It’s an easy to use platform, it’s free – and used correctly it has fantastic SEO benefits. WordPress.com is for simple hosted blogging. WordPress.org allows you to download the software and run it on your own self-hosted domain (with your own URL, much like here at Scribblemill).

12. Twitter Search

Twitter lets you see what people are talking about in real time (and it’s no surprise that Google has started adding tweets to their search results). For the writer, it’s a great way to sniff around for hyper-relevant article ideas.

How about a post on the FA Cup?

Also worth noting trending topics for more inspiration.

13. Google Analytics

You need a website to use this one – and you need to install Analytics code. This free online software then offers a slew of useful stats, from how long someone spends on a page, to your most popular keywords.

There really are dozens of ways a canny copywriter can use Analytics results.

For example, if you find a particular page has a high bounce rate (i.e. people leaving soon after arriving), then you might want to work on improving the content. You can even get some new blog post ideas from looking at the various (and unexpected) terms people use to land on your site from the search engines.

14. Google Trends

Some keywords are popular on a seasonal basis (e.g. Christmas Trees, sun tan lotion, January Sales). Some keywords have a fleeting moment in the sun, then tail off when popularity wanes (e.g. Jedward).

Google Trends lets you plan your content depending on when a keyword is rising in popularity. (Of course, there are occasions when you might want to target phrases that are declining in popularity, but we’ll leave the strategy to you.)

15. Readability Test

If you’re trying to connect with the broadest possible audience, you need to make sure your writing is readable. That means using short, active sentences and words with few syllables.

This readability test works as a useful reminder if you’re straying too far into the land of verbosity, garrullousness and uneccessarily overcomplicated gramatical constructions. (Oh, alright. Waffling.)

16. Flickr

Not strictly a writing tool (unless you use the images to get inspiration for your content). However, if you’re writing blog posts, it’s worth considering just how much more appealing a page with a few well-chosen images is compared to a long, unbroken block of text.

17. Your Noggin

No tool is of any use if you don’t apply a bit of noggin.

(If you’re unfamiliar with the word, that’s your bonce, your nouse – your imagination.)

So, let me know if you have any tools you’d like to see on the list, or if you have any interesting ways of using the above. (We already use some of these in our SEO copywriting training courses, but we’re always interested to hear how writers adapt all kinds of tools for their own benefit!)