Spotlight on Search Interview with Heather Lloyd-Martin of SuccessWorks

A lot of buzz in the SEO community lately has been focused on the value of creating compelling content as if it's a new idea. Writing web site copy that satisfies both search engines and users is nothing new to Heather Lloyd-Martin. She's been a proponent since mid to late nineties. I first came across Heather's copywriting wisdom a long time ago when it was more common to be explaining what the Internet was to potential clients, let alone Internet marketing. Since then, Heather has been a very influential force in educating search marketers on the value of copywriting for the web, for seo and most importantly, for conversions. If you've been to search conferences, Heather is easy to spot. She's either speaking or you can just pick out the most friendly, positive person in the room. I am fortunate to volunteer with Heather on the What are the typical challenges you most often encounter on search engine optimization writing projects? I see a lot of super-scary keyphrase-stuffed copy with no benefit statements - and absolutely no conversion flow. Sometimes, the text doesn't even have links to a purchase page. But it would have lots and lots of keyphrases. There's also the challenge of a client insisting that they have a main "money keyphrase," and they want all their optimization around making that term #1. When that happens, I explain the "keyword long tail," and help them set up tracking so they can get some real data. Jen Laycock wrote a What do you think about some SEOs that emphasize things like keyword density and latent semantic indexing, etc? Do those concepts really apply to good web copywriting? I think that some understanding of LSI and keyword density is a smart thing to have - there are some great research papers on LSI that provide fantastic information. Having said that, copywriting is a creative endeavor designed to make a company's product or service compelling. Yes, it's important to know how the search engines work - crucial, in fact. But "writing to sell" is more than just understanding LSI and sticking words into the text. It's using the right words that resonate with your target market. It's getting inside your prospect's head and creating text that converts - while still keeping a keyphrase focus. It's about getting people to take action - now. It's a unique skill to be able to write copy that is compelling to readers and at the same time employs a keyword strategy. Bob Bly recently wrote an article in DM News, "You've written an e-book on Search Marketing Council of the DMA, you speak often at industry conferences and you run a consulting business. When do you sleep? What motivates you to be so active in the industry? Sleep, sleepwhat's that? Seriously, I love what I do, and I love having a variety of things *to* do. Speaking and travel are such treats for me. Yes, it can be a pain to be on the road a lot - especially during "back to back" conference time. But being on stage is almost like "play time" - even if it takes days of preparation and I stress out like crazy before stepping on stage. And conferences are always very fun. My DMA work is part of "giving back" to the industry. I work with them because I feel that I have a responsibility to educate folks about best practices and help people understand how search fits into their marketing mix. Granted, working with the DMA and other folks on the SEMC is fun, and the DMA has provided me with some great opportunities and a chance to try out some new skills. But "fun" mixed with "giving back" is a very cool combination. And my clients are wonderful folks. I'm truly blessed to be working with the people I work with. The DMA Search Engine Marketing Council (SEMC) which was previously the Association of Interactive Marketing (AIM) has some ambitious objectives. What is the key mission of the SEMC? Our key mission is to be the primary search marketing resource for the direct marketing community. It wasn't that long ago when the Direct Marketing Association was only running one - maybe two - search marketing panels during a three-day conference. Now, each conference has multiple search marketing panels, plus site labs. We're educating the marketing community about search, as well as writing best practice guides and producing Webinars for the general community. Other things are in the works, too. It's exciting to see. Dina Freeman from SearchingforProfit.com, Kevin Lee from PositionTech have been loyal friends and colleagues since the AIM days - and have spent their free time working on the Council. They have really helped the SEMC grow into what it is today - and we're still growing! Every time I see you, you're a very happy camper. Do you ever get grumpy? Oh, yeah. You bet. I'm a writer, so by nature I can be incredibly mercurial. At the same time, my mood "set point" tends to be set fairly high. Fortunately, I can shake off grumpy moods fairly quickly and gain perspective. Life is too short to stay cranky for long periods of time. And drinking lots of chai tea lattes helps, too. Lee Odden is President and Founder of Online Marketing Blog offering daily news, interviews and best practices.