By Karon Thackston

It has become a fundamental principle of Internet marketing. When sending a prospect from some form of trigger (banner ad, pay-per-click ad, tweet, etc.) to the landing page, there must be continuity: the message must flow.

For example, when constructing pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns, there has to be continuity between the ad and the landing page. The use of the same keyphrases, copy that flows seamlessly from ad to landing page and other factors can make or break your campaign. If these elements aren't in place the disconnect your visitors will suffer will confuse them and send them packing.

Why then do we rarely see any consistency in these areas when writing search engine optimized (SEO) copy?

Create Links in a Chain

On most web pages the tag sets are scattered. Take note the next time you're surfing. You'll see title tags that are unrelated to the description tag, both of which are distant from the headline of the copy on the actual page, etc., etc., etc. There is no flow. Nothing exists to usher the prospect from one step to the next.

It should work just like links in a chain. One is directly connected to the next and so forth. The basis of writing organic SEO copy is developing and following the same topic from your visitor's first exposure to your site (the organic Google/Bing/Yahoo! listing title) to the call-to-action on the web page itself. It should - in essence - work exactly like the process when writing a paid ad/landing page combo.

Take it One Step at a Time

Create a plan before you write pages with optimized copy. Don't view it with tunnel vision; strictly from the standpoint of what's happening on the page. Take it one step at a time and walk the path your prospects will walk.

• Where will the site visitor come from? An organic search engine listing.

• What's the first exposure to your site? The title tag of the organic listing.

• If the title tag captures their attention, where will they look for more information? The description tag underneath the title tag.

• When they click to your web page, how will they know they are in the right place? The message (copy) and keyphrases will be carried through from the search engine results page (SERP) to the web page.

See how it works? With each glance, with each click, the visitor takes a new step toward conversion. That's because, just like with paid marketing campaigns, you've laid out a clear path for your prospects to follow rather than forcing them to navigate a rocky and confusing road.