A semantic technique for SEO copywriters

Question: Who is Michael Martinez?
Answer: Michael Martinez is Director of Search Strategies for Visible Technologies, Inc. (doing business as 1st Query) in Seattle, WA. In this capacity Michael Martinez writes the SEO Theory blog, discussing search engine optimization analysis, technique, metrics, and industry standards. Michael Martinez is formally trained in Computer Science and Data Processing Technology, with more than 25 years’ experience in designing and maintaining business applications and programming tools. Michael Martinez is also a published author whose books on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and Middle-earth have been cited by numerous publications, news media, and Web sites.

Yada, yada, yada.

There are a lot of theories behind the field of semantic search and indexing. Most of those theories have not been discussed by the search engine optimization community. Most of those theories have nothing to do with latent semantic indexing, but the SEO community was — up until only a few months ago — somewhat mesmerized by LSI and “latent semantic indexing”. Today, I think, most credible SEOs would scoff at the idea of promoting themselves as using LSI techniques (in fact, only a search engine can use LSI so any SEO firm or consultant who claims to use LSI techniques is making a very bold claim).

Nonetheless, we have collectively seen the search technology industry make small steps toward producing true semantic search capabilities. Even the major search engines now employ context-sensitive algorithms that may populate their search results with diverse content, or they may suggest alternative queries.

There is nothing magical about semantic search. It’s a proposed tool or approach that has yet to prove itself. In fact, semantic search is probably NOT the core technology of the future but it should become more useful and valuable as resources and technologies are expanded and refined. Semantic search is a poor method for discovery, and many queries are still discovery-based queries. Of course, in 5 years people may use random semantically-strange queries to engage in a discovery process we cannot utilize today.

Still, when you look at what a search engine optimization specialist is supposed to achieve for clients (or himself), you have to look at conversion rates and return on investment. The return on investment for semantic copy construction has to be measured (by today’s standards) in terms of improved conversion rates.

For the content specialist the semantic construction process begins with keyword research. You find what people are searching for and then figure out how to write copy that is natural and relevant to those queries and which also provides a compelling call to action. Unfortunately, query patterns change — especially if people tire of seeing the same copy over and over again. Content can indeed become stale if it is too informative and practices too little engagement.

That is, although consumers use most of their search time for research rather than engagement, eventually they reach the point where they actually want to engage — they want to buy something. Your conversion rate might not look so good if you track all the people who use your site to research and then buy your products somewhere else. That’s the classic merchant-affiliate scenario. I create the products, write the copy, and someone else makes the sale, diminishing my return on investment.

The PPC specialists in the audience may see where I am going with this line of thought: you need more than one type of copy. Being the resource is well and good. It may get you links and people may talk about you but that doesn’t guarantee that people will execute their conversions on your F.A.Q. page. So what if you embedded an order form on the page? They know it’s a F.A.Q., not a product page. They want to make the purchase, not scroll through 30 paragraphs of questions and answers.

On the other hand, the question-and-answer motif can help you close the sale (and squeeze a few more iterations of your keywords into your on-page copy). You may find value in creating micro-FAQ sections for your product pages that answer critical purchase-time questions. Think about how you search when you yourself are ready to make an online purchase. What conveniences and guarantees do you hope to find?

Those of you who want to devalue your terms of service pages could benefit from the micro-FAQ methodology because you’ll answer important questions right there on the page (but make sure your attorney says that’s an acceptable substitute before you use “rel=’nofollow’” on your privacy policy and terms of service pages).

Designing page copy to answer questions helps to shape the visitor’s state of mind. Take my name, for example. According to Google Adwords’ tool, nearly 20,000 people search for “michael martinez” every month. They are not all looking for me. There are other guys out there sharing my name space who actually have achieved some Web visibility. Does it serve my own best interest for me to be selfish and pretend that whomever finds my sites is really looking for me? Should I not prequalify my visitors by telling people who I am so that they know I am NOT the Michael Martinez they went to high school with?

There is a question behind every query. That question can often be boiled down to a form of who, what, where, when, why, and/or how. If you have read any press release tutorials those descriptive basics should sound familiar. In fact, a well-written press release answers all of those questions implicitly, but good semantic copy should answer questions both implicitly and explicitly.

That is, people are indeed searching for “michael martinez seo”. But people also search for “michael martinez [city name]“, “michael martinez [profession]“, and “michael martinez [some other type of qualifier]” (I have to admit I don’t understand “join michael martinez”).

Which Michael Martinez are you searching for? Is it the Michael Martinez who dressed up in a costume for a convention (not me)? Is it the Michael Martinez who teaches at a university (not me)? Is it the Michael Martinez who sang “Brandy” (by Looking Glass) at a karaoke night? Yeah, that was me. Sorry.

Telling people which Michael Martinez you are (I’m speaking metaphorically for those of you who are not Michael Martinez) helps tremendously because everyone searching for “michael martinez” is looking for a specific Michael Martinez (except the people who are just curious about what they’ll find if they search on “michael martinez”).

Transform me into your product, your service, your company, your town, your organization, your trademark or concept — there is something unique about me that people associate with me. I may be the first grapple that introduces stability into the coupling dynamic. I may be the oldest soft drink on the planet. I may be a trivia question that you struggled to find the answer to when you were a kid.

I am you, all that is you, all that you produce and achieve. People want to know more about you but they won’t search for you the same way.

So you want to write copy that is relevant to as many different forms of the same question as possible. You want to write copy that is relevant to as many different questions as possible. And you want to write copy that is relevant to unasked questions that drive inspecific queries like “michael martinez”.

One way to develop this type of copywriting skill is to begin with questions and answers. Although it may seem overwhelming to think of writing six questions about every product in a 10,000-item inventory you can really simplify the task by picking random topics. You have to include the questions (or the queries) in your copy, but you also have to include the answers.

Furthermore, you cannot separate the questions from the answers. The more distance you put between them the less relevant they become to each other and to truly semantic queries. Semantic queries assume there is a relationship between the question and the answer. The search engine will look for copy that builds the relationship (but don’t expect simple Q-and-A formats to dominate semantic search).

You have to shape a strong context around your question-and-answer content. That is, the (implicit or explicit) Q-and-A paragraph should be accompanied by other text (and eventually contextually relevant links) that helps explain which question and answer the core paragraph includes.

If you’re not used to writing copy this way, don’t set the bar too high for youself to begin with. Although your goal is to write multiple blocks of copy that are naturally inter-related, it’s okay to begin with obvious straight-foward Q-and-A blocks of text. It’s also okay to write drab, mundane descriptive blocks of text about the obvious Q-and-A blocks of text. Once you become comfortable with asking and answering the right questions you can work on evolving your technique (the more you practice writing, the better you’ll become).

Your end goal won’t necessarily be to instinctively write bullet point lists for everything. In fact, that would not work well. Your copy has to flow with the searchers’ expectations. They’ll want explicit detailed hard-core answers for some questions and they’ll want high-level brief overviews for other questions. They’ll want opinions, they’ll want facts, they’ll want assurances and guarantees, they’ll want emergency situation information, and they’ll want to know who else shares their interest.

You have to broaden your keyword research beyond the most popular 2- and 3-word expressions in your industry. You have to become very familiar with what queries people use for site search (on YOUR site, not someone else’s). You have to understand that the most important copy on your pages is not the “click here to give me money” anchor text, it’s the information that people are seeking.

Sometimes they just want to know where to click to give you money. You just have to be sure that your page shows up first when they run that query. Better yet, be there waiting for them when they make the decision to buy rather than trust your luck to the search engines.

It’s all about providing the right answers to the right questions, even when no one asks an obvious question.