| Did you know that we have left the Age of the | | | | and if possible, use your keywords here as |
| Information Economy behind and are now well | | | | well.The items we've discussed above comprise |
| into the Age of the Attention Economy? What | | | | the mechanical aspects of SEO rhetoric for your |
| does this mean? It means that if you rely upon | | | | site. Now let's talk about textual rhetoric.Textual |
| the Internet to conduct your business, the age of | | | | RhetoricThe all-important, coveted visitors to your |
| putting up a web site and getting instant results | | | | site are always just a click away from moving on |
| are long gone. Now you must clamor for the | | | | to some other site they find more interesting, so |
| attention of web surfers, your prospective | | | | you have to try and keep them with you until |
| visitors and customers, who are lured by the | | | | you accomplish your rhetorical goal! Wow, there's |
| frantic actions of the billions of pages currently | | | | a term of academic gobbledy gook. Seriously, if |
| indexed on the web. To give you some | | | | you go back to our definition of rhetoric, it is to |
| perspective, Google alone indexes over 7 billion | | | | persuade or convince someone to accept your |
| pages. Therefore, to survive means to grab | | | | argument. Well, your argument is whatever the |
| people's attention and you do that by using good | | | | objectives are for your site. Are you attempting |
| digital rhetorical skills.Now there's a scary word - | | | | to sell something? Get leads? Pass on information? |
| rhetoric. In my case, rhetoric was a terms the | | | | Deflect telephone calls away from your customer |
| nuns used to throw around in regards to the | | | | service department? The first step in creating |
| essays we wrote in English class. You know, the | | | | good web site rhetoric is to define your purpose |
| reading, writing, and rhetoric thing? Go back now | | | | as specifically as possible.Now the question |
| to first year high school English; remember the | | | | becomes, who is your user? Do you have |
| purpose of an essay? It is to grab your reader's | | | | demographic data: age, schooling level, location, |
| attention and persuade her to adopt your point of | | | | job, hair color? Find out as much as you can |
| view, to agree with your argument. And that is | | | | about who your web site is geared to: if you sell |
| what rhetoric is all about: rhetoric can be defined | | | | men's work pants, then your audience is going to |
| as the art of persuasion: of using words, either | | | | be mostly male, over age 18, blue collar, located in |
| verbal or written, to catch attention and persuade | | | | anywhere, USA, middle class, etc. So, with these |
| readers to think, do, or believe what you want | | | | two pieces of data: your purpose (to sell |
| them to think, do or believe.Mechanical | | | | workpants) and a description of your target |
| RhetoricNow let's apply this concept to search | | | | audience, you're ready to rock and roll in crafting |
| engine optimization. The first challenge is to grab | | | | your web site text.Let's look at some general |
| your readers' attention. How do you do that? One | | | | rules for web text that apply to all readers. First, |
| big way you do that is by ranking high in the | | | | the screen carries approximately 1/3 the amount |
| search engines, because then, when a user enters | | | | of information and text that an 8 ½ x 11 |
| a relevant keyword term, your site will come up | | | | inch piece of paper holds. Second, people don't like |
| as one of the (hopefully) top 10 web sites!Okay, | | | | to read text in long paragraphs on the screen; |
| so working backward, how do you rank high? | | | | they prefer short paragraphs and sentences, |
| First, you fill your site with good, solid, well-written | | | | bullets, headers, and graphics (but don't put text in |
| content. You offer value to visitors. The search | | | | the graphics because the search engines can't |
| engines measure your content and score it | | | | read it). Also, reading speed is decreased by 30 |
| according to its value to users. In other words, | | | | %. Third, avoid scrolling: a good rule of thumb is |
| you use the skills of good rhetoric, which includes | | | | 250 - 300 words per screen. Fourth, write in a |
| the skillful, artful, and meaningful use of | | | | style that is clear, concise, and easily scanned. |
| words.Second, you select keywords that your | | | | Fifth, use your keywords, but use them |
| users are most likely to use to search for what | | | | accurately and with relevance.Okay, so now back |
| you offer on your site. The trick here is to select | | | | to your purpose: make it obvious and clear what |
| keywords that are likely to be used, but that | | | | you want your readers to do - your rhetorical |
| won't draw a big number of web sites in a | | | | point! Here are some possibilities of what you |
| keyword search. Here's where you need to work | | | | might want them to do: |
| with an SEO expert, or employ the use of special | | | | Call |
| keyword software.Third, you have a lot of quality | | | | Check order status |
| sites that link to your site. These links are viewed | | | | Download free software |
| as "votes" for your web site, and the "better" the | | | | Find information |
| site in the search engines' eyes, the higher the | | | | Give feedback |
| value assigned to your site. The search engines | | | | Join |
| look at the quality of the content on sites linking | | | | Purchase a product or service |
| to yours, as well as their relevance to your | | | | Request something |
| site.Fourth, you need to design your site in a | | | | Then, make it easy for them to get to: |
| search-engine friendly way. How do you do that? | | | | How they purchase by credit card |
| First, don't use Flash. You know those sites that | | | | Any forms they need |
| have that introductory page where it says "Click | | | | Your contact information: email, phone, address, |
| to skip?" Well, the search engine crawler may not | | | | etc. |
| get beyond that page and therefore may not | | | | So, there you have it, some stuff you can put in |
| index your web site. Also, avoid using JavaScript. | | | | your arsenal to get started. Remember: having a |
| Same thing there, the search engines get lost in | | | | successful web site means doing some advance |
| the complex code it generates and that's the end | | | | planning and following guidelines that have been |
| of their crawl on your site. Second, make sure all | | | | proven to work. So, get out there, work hard, |
| your internal links are working, and make them | | | | and go get 'em!!Mary Anne Donovan is both a |
| text links that contain your keywords. Third, if | | | | scholar and a practitioner, a balance that "gives |
| you use image maps or pull down menus for | | | | me the best of both worlds: the theory behind |
| navigation, make sure you also have textual | | | | digital communications and the hands-on |
| navigation on the same page. Fourth, pay careful | | | | experience to know what really works and what |
| attention to the content of your Title tag, | | | | doesn't." She is in her tenth year as a professor |
| Description tag, Header tags, and body text. As | | | | of technical writing and business communications |
| for your Keyword tag, Google doesn't even look | | | | while at the same time serves as Vice President |
| at it, but make sure you still have it contain all | | | | and Director of U.S. Operations for SEO Literacy |
| your site's important keywords. Also, make sure | | | | Consultants, Inc., a search engine optimization |
| you use your keywords in each of these in a | | | | consulting and training company. Mary Anne has |
| relevant, normal way. Some webmasters make | | | | worked with computers since they first came out |
| the mistake of loading these tags with keywords | | | | of the closet and into more general application, |
| in a manipulative, phony way: the search engines | | | | starting with computerized quality control systems |
| can see right through this tactic and will penalize | | | | for Kodak photographic and printing processes |
| your site accordingly. Also, in your body text, | | | | and now with the fine points of SEO theory and |
| bullets, italics, and bold are weighted more heavily, | | | | application. |