Web copywriting course - a case study on search engine optimisation

Search engine copywriting is full of lots of rules. (My "web copywriter Scotland" post gives you an idea). There's lots to know - from how many times you repeat a keyword to getting links to your site and choosing your keywords in the first place.

So I thought I'd share some results from one of my own pages - on web copywriting courses.

These are real, live workshops - built from scratch for each and every client. In other words, we're not peddling ebooks or distance learning courses. And there lies the first problem - my research tells me I need to get found by people searching for "web copywriting course" and similar phrases. But with all this competition, it could be tough.

So here's what I did:

1. Worked hard to build a list of key phrases (like "web copywriting course") that I can prove people are searching for
2. Asked some clients what phrases they'd use to find a course
3. Whittled down the list to just three key phrases per page of my website
4. Wrote a clear and descriptive page title which uses these key phrases
5. Wrote a meta description which tells the reader what to expect when they click from a search engine results page through to my site
6. Used the key phrases as close to the top of the page's body copy as possible
7. Used key phrases in the sub-headings and links
8. Made sure the site's internal links were named to include the key words

OK - so there's a bit more to it than that. But this list of eight tasks has pretty much gotten my web copywriting course page to the top of Google. And it's brought in three new clients for the courses in June alone - not to mention a stream of good quality prospects looking to book courses in July and August.

The trick now? Not to get too cocky - and to keep working at it.

Clients ahoy

Gosh. It's been ages since the last blog update. The reason? It's the old "lots of copy, not a lot of writer" equation - which I'm tackling by hiring another copywriter.

(Since you ask, the recruitment drive is going well. I've talked to some fascinating people, and I'm keeping the application process open until the end of July.)

On the new business front, I've picked up a client in the States - a very posh ecommerce site with a great tone of voice. My task? To make it even better. Eeek.

I've also picked up a big public sector website in Scotland, as well as brochure work for a massive manufacturing company. Then there's the alternative fuel website and the three web copywriting courses I'm booked in to deliver before the end of June.

The moral? Well, as usual, there isn't one. But what's really interesting is how much of this work has come though the Blackad website - as opposed to referrals. If it keeps going like this, I won't just be hiring one new copywriter. I'll be hiring an army of them.