SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites

By Karon Thackston © 2009

As a copywriter, I’d love to tell you that every site on the Web needs tons of copy. However, the simple truth is not all do. Many sites simply produce better sales when they use more graphics than words. Since search engines are hungry for text you simply have to use copy if you plan to get ranked high. Quite a dilemma, isn’t it?

So what do you do if you’re a graphic designer, if you own an ecommerce site, a stock photo site or if you have another site that needs more pictures than copy? Don’t despair. There are some strategies that can help you reach a happy medium satisfying both your visitors and the engines.

1. Use Descriptions – Place keyword-rich descriptions under each graphic on your pages. Just a sentence or two for each one can add up.

2. Break the Copy Into Sections – Instead of having all 250-350 words of copy in one place, break your copy into small sections. For example, place a headline and three sentences at the top of the page, a few words under your bottom navigation bar, and a short paragraph above your “Order Now” link. The engines will find the words regardless of where on the page they are, but your visitors won’t be overwhelmed by seeing all the copy in one place.

3. Don’t Neglect ALT Tags – Don’t abuse them, either! ALT tags (technically known as image alt attributes) are designed to give short descriptions of graphics on your page. They are read to those who can’t see well (when they use special text-to-speech software). Abusing ALT tags by stuffing them full of arbitrary keywords or extremely long descriptions is frowned upon by the engines. However, feel free to assign a short keyword phrase that describes each graphic you have.

4. Go Below the Fold – Copy can always be placed “below the fold.” This term is used to describe the section of your index page that is not visible when the page first loads. In order to see it, the visitor would have to scroll vertically. If you’ve designed your index page to be fully visible without scrolling, consider using the space below the design to insert your copy.

5. Use the Sidebar – If your site design uses a sidebar for the navigation links, use the empty space for short bits of copy. Even the statement “Order ________ Now” will give you one more instance of keyword placement.

6. Create Bulleted Lists – Many people don’t perceive lists as copy. For this reason, you can use bulleted lists (or numbered lists) where traditional “sentence” copy wouldn’t work. Tip: Instead of creating a list that reads:

We meet all your ____ needs by:

Create a list that reads like this:

At ABC Company, we offer you:

See the difference? More keywords in the same amount of copy.

If you use a little creativity, you can get enough keyword saturation in your copy without it cluttering up your site. This is sure to please both the search engines and your site visitors.

Copy not getting results? Let Karon provide targeted, SEO copywriting for you. Visit her site at http://www.marketingwords.com, or learn to write it yourself with Karon’s Step-by-Step Copywriting Course at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.

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9 Responses to “SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites”

  1. Tweets that mention SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites | Marketing Words Copywriting Blog -- Topsy.com - October 20th, 2009

    [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jill Whalen, karonthackston and Terry Van Horne, FollowToronto. FollowToronto said: Good advice with workarounds and examples! RT @karonthackston: SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites http://cli.gs/NqS81X [...]

  2. Patrick Murphy - October 21st, 2009

    Very good points, never really thought about the bulleted list before, thanks for that

  3. Karon - October 21st, 2009

    Thanks for stopping by, Patrick.

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    [...] Karon Thackston/Marketing Words: SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites [...]

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    [...] Karon Thackston/Marketing Words: SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites [...]

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    [...] Karon Thackston/Marketing Words: SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites [...]

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    [...] Karon Thackston/Marketing Words: SEO Copywriting Strategies for Graphic-Oriented Sites [...]

  8. SEO Wanna Be - November 3rd, 2009

    Hi your post is amazing, It’s incredible, I learned a lot about SEO and Man, this thing’s getting better and better as I learn more about internet marketing. Also as part of my ongoing mission to find the absolute best tools to make money, this is without a doubt at the top of my list. Everything happened so fast!

  9. Karon - November 4th, 2009

    Thanks for stopping by SEO. Glad you found the info helpful.

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