Let’s say you’re writing for a fan page dedicated to the growing, styling and maintenance of dundrearies, because, well, why wouldn’t you? Listen, it was the closest I could come to playing on the Something Something for Dummies book franchise and I thought it was clever, just humor me and let’s roll with it…

Edward Sothern's jaws giving birth to a... style?

OK, so you’re looking to grab more members – it’s the Worldwide Web after all, there has to be more than three of you on the planet, right? So, how do you draw these other tastefully be-bristled folks to you?

First, for the sake of this post anyway, ya’ gotta have a blog, which, quite honestly, I can’t imagine your dundreary site not having, as there has to be tons of new styling gels to test, monocle swap-meets, pretentious art house meetings to organize, political discussion, this thing should be buzzing. As we’ve discussed many times before, from a search engine optimization angle, this is the fresh content the engines adore, but they can’t do much for you if you aren’t using the right keywords in your writing. You need to find out how people are searching for your subject matter – what are they typing into the search engines when they want to know if sporting some extreme dundrearies can drown them? Is that even a common search? Let’s find out!

As with any good keyword hunt, I find it’s best to start with Google AdWords to sprinkle some seeds and see what sprouts up. I spotted AdWords “dundrearies” and “dundreary” and this is the best it could muster:

Hmmm, doesn't appear to be a popular search in Kansas City... or anywhere else.

Wow, that’s a little disappointing. Clearly, we’re dealing with a fairly niche lifestyle choice here, but hey, we have a better idea now of how people are searching for their information and which words carry the most strength. Starting with the keyword “dundrearies” we now have a breakdown of which of the *sigh* four words and phrases should be included the most in your future posts.

Armed with this knowledge be careful not to overdo it from here on out. A good guideline to follow is to not go over 5% keyword density in your writing because not only will the search engines start thinking you’re trying to manipulate them (they don’t like that), but your writing starts to look like crap. So, for example, lets say you’re putting together a feature on the best new pomade for styling your dundrearies into stylish curls and the word count is roughly 500 words. Multiply 500 by .05 (for my mathematically challenged brothers and sisters out there, that’s your 5%) and you come up with 25, which means you don’t want to go beyond stuffing 25 keywords into the entire piece. That’s a total by the way, I don’t mean for you to try that with each and every keyword, that could get messy.

Simply maintaining your blog gives you the opportunity to not only build on existing keywords, but if you check periodically you can also seamlessly plug in new keywords should they arise. And by doing a good job you show yourself as an authority on your subject matter, and provided you’re constantly researching and staying on top of your industry, then you really and truly are – right? Yes, imagine, the online leader in dundreary technology… dare to dream my friends.

Even though it’s pure speculation at this point, since Conan O’Brien fled from NBC’s The Tonight Show, some analysts such as Nick Bilton have suggested he move his act onto the web.  Sure, websites such as Hulu have clips of his previous shows, but Bilton`s suggestion does make sense for how much social media and juggernauts like You Tube have started their ascent over live television.  Conan is smart enough to know what his next venture will be, but if he were to hit the internet, his audience could have no limits.

Now let’s say he actually goes headfirst onto the web.  If you wanted to be an SEO copywriter for his website, let’s call it Who Cares What Time of the Day it is, It’s Conan!, your first priority would be keyword placement of this extremely long title.

Now you’ve gone to Wordtracker and started your keyword research.  What comes up?  Wordtracker gives you a blank look.  Just typing the beginning of the title will cause Google to go crazy and give you around 529,000 results with the title sporadically thrown around each result.  It’s allright, you’re just beginning the optimization process for the website.

Next, try It’s Conan! and see where that gets you.  Wordtracker again comes up looking as puzzled as before.  Google AdWords gives you a variety of “Conan the Barbarian” terms to go up against “Conan O’Brien” (A monthly search volume of 165,000 for each)–no help there either.

Now your left to go back to the producer of the show, most likely Conan himself, and timidly tell him you are unable to make the title fit and that he should think of another one that would be “search engine friendly”.  He laughs at you and tells you to go back to the drawing board with the original.  You go back to your office and defiantly think up something that would catch the eyes of Wordtracker and Google AdWords.

And then it hits you:  Yay, Conan! Now type it in Wordtracker and see your hard work pay off:  search result…1.  And the lone keyword reads:  “conan obrien yay boo beer”.  Not exactly your best avenue to promote the show, but at least you’re getting somewhere.  Trial and error eventually will give you the platform for which to spread the news of Conan’s new website.  Finding clever ways to utilize your keywords inside the brand without sacrificing the reader’s attention is one of many tools to excel at SEO.

If it makes you feel better, whatever title you give Conan’s new show, it would probably rise to the top 5 organic searches on Google in about an hour—besides writing for The Simpsons, Conan O’Brien has a rabid fan base.  It just never hurts to practice your Wordtracker and Google AdWords searches.

Websites are like movies in a way.  Great movies stand out because they have lasting aspects that stand the test of time.  Great websites stand out because they have tremendous leadership coupled with the tremendous output of its staff.   Sam Mendes is a well known director among Hollywood because he has time and again produced superior movies.  His classic, American Beauty, is for lack of a better word, a beauty.  Another stellar output was Road to Perdition in 2002.  Aside from the phenomenal talent that Sam Mendes possesses, one of the highlights to his movies revolves around the pinpoint precision of his cinematographer, the late Conrad L. Hall. 

 Conrad L. Hall has been rewarded for his cinematography wonders by being nominated by the Academy Awards 10 times (3 of them taken home).  Conrad L. Hall had a certain approach to each scene that was his own, sometimes leaving the lens still for an entire scene.  For over 37 years, modern cinema was gifted by his presence, a presence that if left out of Sam Mendes’ movies would have taken a little steam out of the end product. 

 How does this incorporate into websites?  Cinematography can just as easily translate to content writing for a website.  Practice, practice, practice!    Turn a hobby of writing poems and essays into a daily routine where you write whatever comes to mind.  Leave the editing portion of your work aside for just a second.  That will come after you have everything in place.  Amid the chaos of writing piece after piece you must never neglect reading other people’s work, online or print.  Absorb as much information as one human can withstand.  The more ideas and writing styles you have bouncing around inside your brain, the better you are at preventing the mind-numbing pitfalls of writer’s block.  Make a small investment into a pocket-sized notepad to carry around with you at all times.  This will safely lock away any public inspirations you feel while sitting at a coffee house, waiting in line at McDonald’s, running for shelter during a downpour and so on. 

 These are just a few tidbits on how to compliment pen to paper and form your own style of writing.  Master your method, read up, and when all is said and done, try even harder.  Be a Conrad L. Hall and help make a Sam Mendes out of your website.