Website copy: Why Being On The 2nd Page Of Google Is Good
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The ultimate and perfect website copy gets your web page ranking on the 1st page of Google...right? Not necessarily.
People are now being taught how to get on the 1st page of Google. While good website copy has achieved this in the past, now ‘trickery' means that the 1st page of Google is often crammed full of dubious website listings optimised for the key word or phrase for advertising, rather than a web page filled of the information being sought.
More and more I'm seeing typical 1st pages of Google full with the 5 listing types below:
1. Google AdWords:
What is it?
Pay per click advertising (businesses pay for the key word or phrase - is one of the main sources of revenue for Google). In some places, it's appearing at the top, right hand and now bottom of the page.
Potential searcher ‘disservice':
Aligns with the searchers key word or phrase but doesn't necessarily back it up with quality information in the website copy that the searcher is seeking.
2. Google Places listings:
What is it?
Free business listing from Google.
Potential searcher ‘disservice':
At times these listings are not owner verified, which begs the question of how valid the listing is, does the business still exist and is the information still relevant and/or correct?
3. Business Directories:
What are they?
Free or paid business listings.
Potential searcher ‘disservice':
Generally not a quick solution e.g. if there are 3 directories on the 1st page of Google, and each presents up to e.g. 15 listed businesses, searchers are looking at a minimum of 45 listings to choose from. Who has the time? And how difficult are they to differentiate (as each listing's website copy looks almost identical)?
4. Superior off-page optimised websites:
What are they?
Websites that utilise the power of having 100s or 1000s of back links, sometimes even low quality ones.
Potential searcher ‘disservice':
Back links don't necessarily guarantee that the website copy has quality information useful for the searcher.
5. Superior on-page optimised websites:
What are they?
Websites that use the key word or phrase being searched for multiple times in its website copy.
Potential searcher ‘advantage':
Although not completely guaranteed, these websites are generally what searchers seek, as good website copy provides a better chance of containing the information being sought.
Question:
How will Google+ branding pages work?
What sort of prominence will they receive and will they occupy substantial space and bump actual business websites off the 1st page of Google?
Conclusion:
Ultimately search engines are looking for website copy that matches the search. So will quality website copy now be landing businesses squarely on the 2nd page of Google?
Article author
About the Author
Kathryn Reid at Website Words leads website copywriters to write quality, compelling website copy.
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