We spend a lot of time here at SEO-e thinking about web copywriting and website content development without ever mentioning grammar…well this post is intended to make up for lost time.
As a professional web copywriter, I often find minor mistakes when editing a piece. No big deal – in the rush of trying to prepare a magnificent article or blog post, I’m often in a race to get my thoughts down before my brain turns to other things.
You may be thinking that grammar in the online environment isn’t too important. After all, there are little grammar rules here and there, like beginning a sentence with “and” that we can ignore. Sometimes bending the rules makes our copy flow much better than it would otherwise.
But that doesn’t mean it’s okay to completely ignore grammar rules.
The first reason should be obvious – bad grammar makes you look unprofessional. Many readers probably have a basic understanding of English grammar. Using “there” when you should use “their” is a common mistake that’s easy to pick up on.
Most of us probably haven’t been in an English class in many years. Especially writing professionally, it’s easy to forget about good grammar. After all, I don’t exactly think about why a comma should go somewhere, I just know it does.
Nevertheless, it can be helpful to take a few minutes to review basic English grammar. DON’T RELY ON SPELLCHECK AND GRAMMAR SUGGESTIONS IN MICROSOFT WORD OR OTHER WORD PROCESSORS. For one, they are often wrong and it’s better to know yourself anyway.
One resource I have found to be very user-friendly and easy to understand is The Blue Book of Grammar and Punctuation from Jane Straus. Her site has some great tips and sample quizzes you can take to assess your skills. And you can even sign-up to have her newsletter delivered right to your inbox.
Another resource we use to ensure proper grammar, etc. is the Chicago Manual of Style, which is by far the most extensive resource. If you’re mainly focusing on press releases, the Associated Press Stylebook is a great resource to ensure your press releases are correctly formatted.
Pay attention to your formatting and grammar. While one or two minor mistakes isn’t anything to get worried about, you need to ensure that content you put on your site is by and large grammatically correct.
When thinking about duplicate content, we generally only consider written content. Is what you are posting on your website original? Simply copying and pasting something from somewhere else is a big mistake- that much is obvious.
But something you may not consider to be duplicate content may be considered such by search engines like Google, Yahoo! and Bing. You see, they’re trying to return diverse content to their users …they have a vested interest in ensuring what they display on page 1 is helpful and diverse for their users.
That is what you have to consider – what do search engines consider duplicate? Not doing so could spell disaster for your site’s rankings. Site penalties can occur if a site is simply structured the same way for instance.
Continue reading for 6 not so obvious types of duplicate content to ensure you are not penalized for such an infraction.
1. Two websites share the same structure and content
Two websites having the same structure (i.e. same three column template) and the same content on a single page or site wide with the same linking scheme is prone to trouble. This is by far the most extreme example of duplicate content but the easiest to identify.
2. Identical structure with paraphrased content
Another scenario where two sites have an identical structure but the content is not 100% identical. Copywriters and content developers may see this as a grey area. But Google has a zero tolerance policy on this issue…content from one site simply cannot be a rehashed version of the same thing from another site.
3. Identical structure with similar content
In structural terms, it’s pretty clear two sites are identical. In this situation, the content on each site still has too close a resemblance. If it appears the content is managed in a similar fashion and presented in the same scope, the site(s) may be penalized.
4. Partially identical structure with similar content
While it may seem like splitting hairs, Google is very meticulous. Site A and Site B may only have a few pages that are identical but if the content between the two sites is sufficiently similar, they may take action and not index one of the sites.
5. Identical structure with reminiscent content
In this scenario, both sites have a similar structure and linking scheme while the content is relatively similar. Some content developers may think simply using a Thesaurus to change a few words may avoid detection but the search engines can spot this kind of move.
6. Unique structure with pieced together content
Two sites may have their own unique site structure and linking scheme but their content is simply scraped together from different sources the writer found. Search engines will flag this as duplicate content and act accordingly.
Image, videos and other document formats are sometimes ignored by the search engines since most don’t have the capability to spot duplicate forms of these types of content. They sometimes attempt to remove duplications based on file size, image size and file name however. Therefore in the future, it will be important you think about this as technology continues to evolve.
It should be obvious that simply copying and pasting content to your site is not only dishonest, it is robbing the original creator of that piece without due credit and compensation. But these other scenarios where search engines may flag your site are just as important. While you may not think your site is a duplication of another, what the search engines see is really what matters.
A lot of our conversation about content development centers around landing pages, articles, blogs and other informative features of a website. It is fair to say that content is king…without valuable informative content, online shoppers probably will not even find your site and if they do, they will quickly leave as it will offer them nothing.
Writing home pages however is much different than writing general content. Not only does it have to draw someone in, it also has to support the second level pages that contain all of this informative content we speak of.
Continue reading to learn how a top copywriter Nick Usborne approaches homepages. Nick has had an exceptional copywriting career and offers many invaluable tips to maximizing the benefits of website copywriting.
1. Use your main homepage headline to highlight your site’s underlying value proposition
Someone coming to your site for the first time has a purpose – they are looking for something that you may offer. Therefore, your main headline has to communicate the value of your site and the products and services you offer along with gently explaining why your site is better than others in a similar niche.
This isn’t an easy thing to accomplish and gets more difficult if you try to do too much with your headline.
Therefore, you need to stay focused on the primary reasons behind why someone would be interested in what you offer and communicate that in a concise, easy-to-understand way.
2. Use sub-headings and short introductory text to clarify and expand your headline
Not every online business can communicate all they offer in ten words or less. It’s best to keep your headline short then use short intro text directly beneath it to further clarify and expand your message.
Be sure this intro text immediately follows your headline. Basically, be conscious of eye-patterns and how someone scans your webpage. Do not make them search for this statement.
3. Help site visitors find what they’re looking for
Unless you offer only one product or service, your homepage has to help someone find what they’re looking for in your secondary level pages. If 80% of your visitors only look at three or four different products, then include links to those secondary level pages in your homepage copy.
Use navigation links to provide access to all parts of your site but also include extra links to those areas of your site that are most popular.
4. Make first-time visitors feel comfortable and confident
Unless you are a nationally recognized brand, new visitors to your site are going to be naturally skeptical. They need reassurance that you can be trusted.
There are many ways to do this – including a third-party logo from the Better Business Bureau is one example.
But your headline and homepage copy also has to be written in a tone that’s inviting and belays their fears. Homepages are rarely sales pages – save that for the secondary pages. So do not include sales language in your homepage…simply write in a clear, honest manner.
Make your customers feel like you’re the mom & pop store down the street that cares about their problem and wants to offer a solution.
While these guidelines are not the only elements to writing a good homepage, they are the most important. Like Nick, we try to write homepages in a clear, concise manner. We use homepages to help visitors learn what the site is about and find what they’re looking for without too much trouble.
So what are the most important aspects of copywriting – the things that motivate someone to hit the “buy” button? Is it the headline, bullet points, benefits or testimonials from other users?
Part of being successful at copywriting is finding that “hungry market” – those people looking for a certain solution to their problem who cannot find one. You could write the best sales copy or content in the world or have one of the superstars do it for you and it won’t matter; you will be dead in the water unless you appeal to that “hungry market.”
So how do you find that “hungry market?”
Most conventional sources point to keyword research, which is very useful in determining terms to use in your copy. Some keyword research tools can teach you how to find a market, find out who they are and what they want…but focusing solely on this misses a key point.
More importantly, in addition to these attributes, you need to find out how they want it. To be successful at copywriting, you not only need to know the right market but have the right offer with the right message delivered in the right way.
Keyword research simply cannot ensure you deliver a message in the right way.
So to write effective copy, you need to ask and answer the following three questions according to copywriting pro David Garfinkel:
Who is your market?
What is their problem?
And how do they talk about it?
The third question is key – which is the one most writers ignore.
Keyword research is like a recipe, a list of ingredients. However, you need to use the ingredients in a certain order and amount for the dish to turn out right. Keyword lists are simply the ingredients – misusing or leaving out an “ingredient” can ruin your dish, or copy in this instance.
Optimizing press releases for the search engines can give your website a big boost in traffic and profits – if it’s formatted and presented correctly.
Press releases don’t need to be exclusively about big news events at your company only but rather serve as a vehicle to notify the public of recent developments at your company like a product launch or change in staffing.
Continue reading for 7 steps you can employ to generate a surge in traffic for your website with a press release optimized for the search engines.
1. Keep it short
Keep your press release short and to the point, generally between 400 and 500 words. Most news sites will not accept a press release that’s long winded. Press releases should serve as a brief synopsis of the topic at hand that includes a link to where the reader can learn more.
2. Write it yourself
If you feel comfortable writing and English is your first language, you can write it yourself without much difficulty. Just follow some successful examples as a guide on formatting, etc. Reading tips about structure and format can help but it won’t match what looking at one in the flesh will do. If you’re not comfortable writing it yourself, consider hiring a firm that specializes in online copywriting or a freelancer.
3. Write a headline that grabs attention
Headlines serve as a preview for the reader, foreshadowing what the press release is about. Therefore, it’s important the headline grabs the reader’s interest so they will continue reading. After all, it’s well known in the copywriting world that many people do not actually read things online word for word.
Titles are also a great opportunity to place strong keywords that will draw the attention of search engines.
4. Get the reader hooked in the first sentence(s)
You have a narrow window of opportunity to draw the reader into reading the rest of your press release. Keep it simple in the beginning by simply stating what you’re going to talk about and why it should be important to them. But beware of using too many adjectives and adopting a sales tone as press releases are actually news stories. Editors and news services will ignore your press release and it will receive no exposure if it is too sales-y.
And strategically place keywords throughout the body of your press release to garner more attention from the search engines.
5. Be accurate with your statements
Be sure that information you include in your press release is factual and verifiable. Erroneous information will harm your credibility, perhaps permanently damaging your credibility. Therefore, facts should be presented in a clear and concise manner and be easily verifiable by the reader.
6. Make your press release stand out from the rest
Press releases don’t have to be completely boring. There are ways you can format it to appeal to more readers and the search engines. Finding a hook to make the reader desire more information will accelerate the progress of your press release.
7. Distribute your press release to different outlets
There are many outlets to distribute your press release besides posting it on your website. To get the most traffic and profits from your PR, you need to spread it around. There’s no telling how far a press release can go once it’s viral. Check out our articles on free and paid press release distribution in our search engine optimization knowledge center for more.
Social networking sites like StumbleUpon, Digg and Twitter are great ways to let the world know about your company’s news. Link to the PR or post it on these kinds of sites too for additional traffic.
A constant stream of well prepared, optimized press releases can be a boon to your site’s rankings and traffic. Harnessing these steps when you’re preparing a press release will help you maximize your online marketing potential.
We’ve probably made scant mention of it here before but it’s an important concept to understand on its own, and that is proper keyword density.
In 2003, Google did a major update to its ranking algorithms. SEOs refer to this as the “Florida update,” as it marks the day when search engine optimization became difficult. Before November ’03, SEOs would simply say you should liberally use keyword phrases on your pages. The Florida update changed all of this.
Now, web pages that use keywords too aggressively are filtered out of search results altogether (Matt Cutts explains a little more in the video below)
“Over-optimization” describes over-use of keywords in your site’s copy. Not only does excessive keyword use get your site filtered out of search results, it makes your copy look unprofessional to readers. Most people who see a web page with the same phrase in every sentence won’t take it too seriously.
Instead, modify keywords and use variations of your main phrase in your site’s copy. Four ways you could accomplish this include: singular vs. plural forms of keywords, use synonyms, add relevant modifiers and change the order of the words.
There are tools available to help you find different variations of the same keyword phrase. Take advantage of these tools from Quintura, Google and/or Bing to research different ways you can phrase keywords.
There’s also a very easy way to locate extra keyword phrases and that is when you are typing your main phrase into Google, search suggestions appear below the input bar. You can diversify your keyword phrases with these suggestions for a quick solution.
Either way, do not over-optimize, that is use the same keyword phrase on a page too many times. Your readers will pick up on it and your site will get in trouble with the search engines. While we can’t tell you a magic number, read your copy as if you’re an outsider. You should be able to tell pretty easily what’s too much and what isn’t.
A big part of optimizing websites for the search engines involves content. Not only does keyword-rich content attract the attention of search engines, online readers and shoppers seek informative resources to aid in their purchasing decisions.
Therefore, online content is an invaluable part of both marketing online and search engine optimization. So what’s the difference between writing standard sales letters, essays and other items versus writing online?
First is the mindset – online readers skim pages looking for the information they need. Hard copy readers are generally more leisure in their reading, spending more time on each page. In a fundamental way, each type of reader interacts with the piece in much different ways.
Remember receiving direct mail pieces in your snail mail box? What the envelope said and who it was from was a big factor in determining whether you opened it up and read it.
Online copy on the other hand has other factors at work – like the title. First, readers look at a title and if it entices them enough, they’ll continue reading. Next, Google focuses on the first 65 characters looking for keywords. Therefore, online copy has to have both a title that draws a reader’s interest and contains keywords for Google to index.
Continuing into the body, online copywriters have to consider different elements than traditional sales letters and other hard copy mediums don’t. Keyword density and calls to action are just a couple. Also, online writers should consider shorter paragraphs, bullet points and other ways to format the document’s layout to make reading easy, especially for blogs.
And online copy is generally much shorter – a typical article is around 600-800 words, typical blog posts range anywhere from 200 to 500 words. So, a call to action including keywords (not too many keywords though as this is a red flag to search engines and readers) has to be done in a much smaller space.
Keep these things in mind when writing for online mediums…and remember it’s much different than hard copy mediums. Articles, blogs and even press releases have to factor in these kinds of issues in order for them to achieve maximum success.
As you know – especially if you’ve read us in the past – web copywriting and content are one of the main pillars to successfully marketing your products and services online.
Thus, it’s invaluable to learn good web copywriting skills or hire someone (either full-time or freelance) that’s good at the craft.
Web copywriting is an art but has some key elements that can help you learn that art. While it takes time to master the art of web copywriting, there are some fundamentals you can learn to continually improve your craft. Continue reading for the 5 basic elements of good web copywriting.
Your Headline
Web surfers generally move very fast – many will simply read a title/headline and use that to determine whether they will read more. It’s all about drawing their interest to continue reading.
The title of this post for instance “5 Basic Elements of Good Web Copywriting” is simple to understand and helps solve a problem. People looking for tips on web copywriting certainly will look forward to reading more.
Introductory Copy
Copy in your introductory paragraph(s) need to reinforce the title/headline. It must maintain one’s interest to continue reading. The intro paragraph for this post for example expands a little on the importance of good web copywriting skills in marketing your business online, which leads us too…
Benefits
Web copywriting would be remiss without mentioning benefits – or how your product/service solves a problem for the reader. Remember, with inbound marketing like you see online, it’s more likely someone who makes their way to your website is looking for what you offer. Therefore, they don’t want to hear about how your product is better than the rest but rather what benefits your product brings and how it solves a real world problem for them.
Call to Action
Perhaps one the most important elements of good web copywriting – a call to action that tells the reader what to do next. It would be sad if you were successful in piquing one’s interest all the way through your home or landing page just for them to give up and leave because they don’t know what to do.
Phrases like “Click here to order now” or “continue reading to learn more” – things like that – are what you want to include in any sales type environment. Especially in a blog like this or an informational article, a call to action is also suitable at the end of your intro.
Assurances
Last but not least, prospects will not become customers in larger numbers if there aren’t any assurances that you’re legitimate. Things you can do to make buyers feel more comfortable include: displaying a secure server logo, your picture, your contact information and/or a guarantee. This reinforces that your site, business, products and services are legitimate and makes prospects more comfortable that they are not wasting their hard earned money.
These 5 elements are some of the basics of mastering the art of good web copywriting but it’s a continual learning process.
Having a successful content and information oriented website means it has to be organized in a way that’s easy for users to navigate. This not only improves your conversion rate but your site’s rankings in the search engines as well.
It’s all too common for sites to have a lot of content – articles, blogs, video clips, photos, etc. – that’s totally disorganized and cluttered with noises, ads. Suffice it to say this would not lead to a good experience for any user. Without good user experience, no amount of optimization will help your site’s rankings.
So how can I be sure my site’s information architecture is the best it can be to lure in the most visitors and make the most conversions?
Understanding how people search online is the first step to developing good information architecture. When searching online, we want content that’s fast and simple and in small chunks…we like to stay on task. Google knows this so to have high rankings, create sites using keywords you know people respond well to. You can integrate head and long tail keywords to tap into the main terms people use when looking for what you’re offering.
Having too many links to off-site pages especially messes with a site’s information architecture. Having too much scattered and loosely connected information causes the site/page to lose its core message.
Accommodating your users is the number 1 goal of your website’s content. For it to work to your maximum advantage, it has to be setup in a way that doesn’t inhibit user friendliness or the search engine’s ability to crawl it.
Search engines look closely at user-friendliness when ranking websites. And especially since Google may begin factoring site speed into their ranking algorithm, flashy sites undoubtedly will suffer in terms of their ranking and conversion.
SEO keyword phrases are one of the main factors in ensuring your site ranks well in the search engines. But in a generic sense, you’re limited in the amount keywords can appear on a page without the copy looking ridiculous and getting you in trouble with the search engines.
Fortunately, there are techniques you can employ to increase the amount of keywords in your copy which can boost your site’s rankings without your readers even noticing it.
Customers searching online for the types of products or services you offer are using these words, so having a strong presence for your phrases is an important step in bringing in high-quality traffic for your site.
Continue reading for 11 steps you can use to increase keyword saturation without destroying the flow of your copy.
1. Break keywords up into different sentences and/or paragraphs
2. Form quotes from “personal” key phrases
3. Develop more effective bulleted lists
4. Break copy into sections
5. Offer a “more information” link
6. Include “opposite” key phrases
7. Consider “stop” words in choppy phrases
8. Create keyword specific pages
9. Combine key phrases
10. Add words
11. Use keyword phrases in testimonials
For more detail and some examples, read our newest article in the search engine optimization knowledge center at SEO Advantage today and begin using these techniques to easily boost your site’s rankings.
Recent announcement of licensing deals between social media sites Facebook and Twitter and search engines Bing and Google took the online marketing world by storm…indexing and ranking public data on these social networking sties means a new avenue to organically grow your rankings.
These two forms of online marketing are no longer mutually exclusive from one another.
A lot of online marketing firms will urge you to create a Facebook profile or start a Twitter account for your small business. However, you need to stop and ask yourself why. Are they simply trying these as tactics to get an angle in the search engines?
As we’ve discussed here before and what any honest SEO will tell you, unique and valuable content is required for social media to be a successful marketing vehicle. High search engine rankings may be a short-term benefit (if you manage to get there) of simple keyword-rich content.
This won’t matter too much – in the long-term, online shoppers will look at your products and services as simply another sales pitch they’ve heard a 1000 times.
What makes content valuable? That’s for your audience to decide. Their needs and pain points may not be the same as yours so that’s why it’s important to diligently research your target audience. Ultimately, they have to decide if your product will solve their problem.
And content isn’t just text…videos, audio/podcasts and even graphics that show the user how to use your product and how it works is helpful too.
Consumers who use social media are much more discerning than traditional avenues…traditional advertising practices simply won’t work. Content needs to have value to the reader if there’s any hope you will close sales. Take some time to listen and research social media communities to see what your target audience is thinking before investing a lot of time in creating content.
And you will know pretty quick if your audience finds what you have is useful to them or not.
Ever wonder how some people marketing online get all those readers and subscribers to their blogs, e-zines, white papers or articles? Feel like you have to fight to get just a couple of people to read your posts?
It’s tempting to think it’s just luck but playing the victim never got anyone anywhere. They’re either doing something you’re not, or something you are but much better.
Read on for some ideas on how to change that (it’s interesting how this Copyblogger post compares this to dating and life)
Listen before opening your mouth
It’s a well-known online marketing axiom that SEO writing content needs to provide as much information as possible to potential customers. Especially in today’s environment, consumers need reassurance your product or service can be a solution to their problem.
People aren’t going to line up to just learn about you and your product.
Think about this – two guys walk in a bar and spot an attractive woman having a drink.
The first guy walks up to the woman and begins telling her about his successful job, padded bank accounts, nice car and house. He assumes because of this she’ll just be anxious to go out with him.
Guy number 2 sits down at the bar and overhears a conversation between the woman and a bartender about her difficulty in finding a good Italian place. When the conversation breaks, the guy eases on in and says “Excuse me, but I couldn’t help overhearing about your bad experience with some of the local Italian restaurants. Have you tried Nero’s? It’s really excellent.”
Who do you think got a date with the lady?
Rather than blabbing about himself, guy number 2 started a conversation around a shared interest. He was able to easily capture the woman’s interest and go from there.
Look to other website copywriting pros for ideas but don’t copy them
You have to develop your own style…simply copying the style of some veteran website copywriter isn’t going to work. Generic copywriting techniques can be useful if they’re malleable to your market so it’s better to harness these skills into your own style, not copy them.
We’ve all heard those cheesy pickup lines: “If I could rearrange the alphabet, I would put U and I together” or “Are you an angel? I think I just died and went to heaven.” Now these may have worked for some guy somewhere but probably isn’t going to be too effective in getting a date.
The same idea is applicable to your website copywriting. Just peppering your copy with flattering talk may sound funny and cute to someone, but it doesn’t mean they’re going to jump on the bandwagon.
Stop talking to yourself
If your blog gets a few visitors a day, you can’t expect posting the same kind of content will draw anymore readers. You need to get out and meet some new people and get them interested in your blog.
Let’s say you move to a new town and want to throw a party at your place. Simply sitting at your apartment or condo and shouting that you’re having a party isn’t going to get people to drop by. Instead, going to the next condo or neighborhood association meeting and mingling with your new neighbors is a much better way. You can get to know them a little bit and then invite them over Friday evening for drinks.
The same concept is in play with your blog – join LinkedIn and get active in social networking. Provide thoughtful comments and develop relationships with other bloggers. Write a guest post for a similar blog.
These are just a few tips you can employ to enhance your SEO copywriting and content marketing to get a more loyal, and numerous, following.
Especially in a down economy like we’ve had for some time now, consumers are very cautious when shopping for products and services. They want all the information they can get before they buy so retailers who provide this information enjoy significant advantages over those who don’t.
One valuable source of information is a product’s description – investing the time and resources to generate your own unique product descriptions can yield higher conversions and differentiate you from the competition.
1. Unique product descriptions gain more visibility in the search engines
Products from your site appearing in organic search results like Google is a wonderful benefit of customizing your product descriptions. Organic search engine listings can bring valuable traffic directly to your product pages without the per-click cost of paid search.
Duplicate content is a red flag to a search engine – using a generic product description from the manufacturer like other retailers will mean your products will not appear when someone enters those keywords into a Google search.
2. Shoppers will be more likely to buy
As a web copywriter, I can tell you that most manufacturer product descriptions are pretty bland. Studies show that online shoppers are reluctant to buy from sites that don’t provide enough information to answer their questions. Unique product descriptions boost your site’s credibility – consumers are more likely to trust and do business with a site that includes well researched and thorough information about their products.
3. Create greater brand equity for your store
Using product descriptions provided by a variety of manufacturers whose products you sell can make your site’s copy seem inconsistent and incomplete. Investing in unique product descriptions means you can tailor the tone of those descriptions to your own store brand, providing a seamless voice for your customers wherever they may be on your site. (And building better rapport and loyalty at the same time)
While it takes a significant investment to write unique product descriptions, the long-term benefits well outweigh the costs through higher search engine visibility, conversions and brand equity. Online retailers who recognize this position themselves well to survive and thrive in today’s online marketplace.
Learn more about how writing unique product descriptions can greatly benefit your online business in this SEO knowledge center article today.
A few weeks ago we reported on new guidelines emanating from the Federal Trade Commission regarding bloggers and testimonials – first, and regretfully, our reporting on the story wasn’t complete as the initial news reports we came across only addressed one part of the new rules from the FTC.
(Catch up on that part of the story on our SEO blog post from October 7th – we sincerely apologize for only including half the story at first.)
There’s been a lot of buzz around the blogosphere by search engine optimization and web copywriting pros as to the impact of the FTC’s new rules…suffice it to say that much of it has been over blown.
But December 1st, the effective date for the new rules, is fast approaching so we need to try and understand what the FTC is doing and how we can deal with it. To my relief, veteran web copywriter Michel Fortin gives us some good guidance on what this means for your website copy and how it can actually be a net benefit in the long run – however, I need to briefly explain the new rules first.
Since 1980, advertisers could describe unusual results by simply including this simple quote in small print at the bottom – “results not typical”. However, advertisers featuring a testimonial from a consumer who conveys his/her experience as typical when that’s not the case will now have to disclose the results a consumer can generally expect.
Michel uses the example of a marketing program in his blog post.
Say someone purchases this program and immediately starts making $5000 per week. If they do a testimonial proclaiming this fact, they are not lying per se. It may be true they made that kind of money using this program. But a testimonial of that nature usually fails to include the circumstances, or unique situation, that made that kind of income possible.
This person may have been a veteran marketer who had a RolodexTM full of contacts and been in business for many years…a newbie will probably not, initially anyway, make that kind of money using this program. Beginning December 1st, the testimonial will have to ensure people know this from the onset.
We’ve all heard the saying “lying by omission” – well that’s the general principle in play here. In essence the FTC is trying to ensure people come away having reasonable and realistic expectations. To quote Michel, the “…truth is no longer good enough.”
Starting on 12/1 you will need to provide a clear understanding of how and under what circumstances results were achieved. Blanket disclaimers will no longer work.
So how can an SEO copywriter comply with these new rules?
How would it be possible to change all of my testimonials so they comply with the new rules? Michel suggests converting testimonials into case studies. And heck, it may prove to be more valuable to your bottom line in the end.
Case studies give a testimonial more meaning – you have more room to provide context of a particular consumer’s experience. Case studies allow a potential customer to consider all angles so they can realistically judge whether your product/service meets their needs and expectations.
And stay calm, there’s no need to freak out over all this. The FTC is being gracious enough to allow a warning for a first offense so if your stuff is not in compliance, you will have the opportunity to fix it without incurring a fine.
Read Michel’s post on the matter, but remember, what he offers and what we’re offering here isn’t legal advice. Consult with an Internet attorney to fully understand what the new laws and regulations mean. For a more legal perspective, read this handy guide from attorney Mike Young.
And the sample scenarios from the FTC can help you understand the new guidelines much easier than simply reading the guidelines themselves.
Check back soon with the SEO blog for more information regarding the other aspect of the FTC ruling we reported on earlier this month.
Well it’s been quite awhile since we’ve reported top 10 search terms – June 16th in fact. Don’t know if data just hadn’t been compiled by Hitwise or not posted on Search Engine Watch.
Either way, we now have keyword data for August…these lists can be quite useful in finding keywords to integrate into your web copy to help build search engine rankings.
Categories Hitwise publishes data for are the same – IT and Internet, Automotive Manufacturers, Movies, Net Communities and Chat, Food and Beverage Brands and Manufacturers, Pharmaceutical and Medical Products, Blogs and Personal Websites, Broadcast Media, Shopping Rewards and Directories and finally, Travel Destinations and Accommodations.
The term “cash for clunkers” continued its rise in August, accounting for 2.36% of searches in the automotive category. In the social media area, Facebook continued its climb while MySpace continued to fall, which may explain the decline in traffic to their site. Since the Cash for Clunkers program is over, I imagine that term will drop off the list for September.
Hitwise collects keyword data by analyzing how 25 million Internet users across the globe interact with over 1 million websites in 160 industries. Data is collected anonymously through partnerships with different Internet service providers in accordance with all local, state, federal and international privacy laws.
We apologize for the delay in posting this data. Keyword data for July can be found at Hitwise as well. Check back with the search engine optimization blog regularly for important announcements like this and up-to-date tips on how to optimize your site for the search engines.
We publish posts each Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
As we all know, content is one of the driving forces to not only build rankings in the search engines but captivate visitors and turn more of them into paying customers.
But what constitutes remarkable content?
You may be asking “What makes content on my website more useful in accomplishing the two-pronged goal outlined above?”
Yesterday I had the opportunity to watch a webinar that gave some great insights into SEO copywriting and elements your copy needs to effectively make content “remarkable”
Read on to see the 10 attributes your copy needs to be remarkable.
1. Helpful – Rather than closing sales, does your copy help someone? In this age of information overload, helpful content goes much farther than simple sales jargon.
2. Timely – Does your content relate to your target audience? Be certain topics you include on your site address issues that are relevant to your target market/audience.
3. Interruptive – Does your content contain a captivating element that grabs a person’s attention and maintains their interest?
4. Entertaining – Does your content have a novel and enjoyable tone and aspect to it, like reading a story?
5. Shareable – Would someone who reads your content want to forward it or post it on a social networking site?
6. Progressive – Does your copy contain a call to action or outline the next step to take?
7. Versatile – Can your content be leveraged in media channels other than the Internet like TV, radio and newspapers?
8. Crowd-sourced – Does your content have a community or cooperative spirit to it? Does it make someone feel they are or can be a part of something?
9. Efficient – More concise copy is much more effective…lists like this one can be extremely effective for instance.
10. Integrated – Does your copy fit with existing and future materials on your website?
This is just a basic outline of elements your copy needs to be remarkable. Take 30 minutes or so and watch this informative webinar from Tippit to learn more about the methodology of creating content that works.
Developing unique content is surely a necessity and challenge for building rankings in the search engines and by extension, developing a following.
Search engines look for and reward unique content – not because they want to make us SEO copywriters miserable but because they want to find the most valuable information for their users.
And the search engines are very good at identifying unique content. They will be able to easily determine what’s legitimate and what isn’t.
Below are three major classifications of unique content.
1. Editorial content
These are things like blogs and articles – anything that is written by a human. Examples of this is our SEO blog and SEO knowledge center. This is ideal for small sites trying to corner a certain niche. You can either generate this yourself or hire a SEO copywriter to research and write it.
2. Machine-built content
Examples of this include sites like Expedia and Bing travel – basically things like hotel reviews or unique data regarding a product or service. The sites take data sources and produce automated content. Real estate sites like Zillo.com are great examples. Payscale.com and Salary.com are great examples in the job search/HR area.
3. User-generated content
Is just that, content generated by site visitors. It’s extremely difficult to harness but can be very valuable if it’s done right. You have to first build a community of followers and then have incentives for them to produce content. Sites like Wikipedia, Digg and YouTube are just a few examples.
In the end, it pays to have a strategy in place before you begin generating content. Sit down and figure out which content type is best for what you’re trying to build and the business you’re trying to leverage. It is possible to use a combination of all three.
Watch this video from Rand Fish at SEOMoz to learn more.
While it may not include every single element that goes into search engine optimization, I think his blog post goes a long way toward explaining many of the things that should be addressed in the structure and content of a web site as it’s being optimized.
Note that this refers to “on-page optimization”, which does not cover the elements also thought to be necessary by many such as linking structure, trust/authority of the host domain, registration and hosting data, external link text, traffic and CTR data, social graph metrics, etc.
The Perfectly Optimized Page, Courtesy of SEOMoz.org
An important issue for any web copywriter to keep on top of is the audience you’re writing too. Copy on a webpage has to speak to the customer and motivate them to take the next step, usually by either signing up for a service or purchasing a product.
But too often, someone producing content for a website doesn’t consider this and only focuses on achieving high search engine rankings. Read the following statement from this FutureNow post:
“We specialize in custom ties, custom bow ties, bowtie / cummerbund / handkerchief sets, custom cufflinks, matching gift boxes, women ’s scarves, and much more. We can custom make your neckwear any way you desire. We have both standard ties and clip on ties as well as extra long ties for your custom ties. We even have custom ties for boys as young as 6 months. Our products are great for corporations, organizations, churches, choirs, schools, uniforms, athletic teams, fraternities, formal and special events, and many more.”
Whoever wrote this decided to write this unique value proposition in what’s called a “we-we” format. It is apparently stuffed with keywords to drive rankings for this site to the top.
First, this type of copy can get you in trouble with Google. Even if the site made it to the top of Google’s rankings, it most likely would not stay there long. Even if it did, it would hardly matter since this statement really only speaks to itself, not to any prospective customers.
FutureNow has a free We We Calculator you can try out to see if copy on your page focuses too much on yourself and not your customers. For the page that includes the above statement, it only included 3 customer-focused words for a pathetic customer focus rate of 37.5% while its self focus rate is 62.5%.
Perhaps this is why the site is not bringing in customers.
Check out your site and make sure you’re speaking to your customers and not excessively talking about yourself. Most of us don’t care for people who endlessly talk about themselves. We should expect the same from the websites we choose to visit as well.
While bumming around watching TV before retiring last Monday evening the 13th, I caught a story on ABC’s Nightline program profiling a copywriter in New York City who specializes in real estate listings.
As a web copywriter, the piece especially drew my interest and was interesting to see how someone with the right talents can thrive in an industry that has been on a continuous slide for two years. The copywriter ABC profiled wrote listings for some of New York’s most appealing and high dollar properties. Several real estate brokers found her services quite useful in moving properties in this depressed market.
But to my uttermost frustration I cannot find the video online anymore. Initially, I wanted to imbed it in this post but ABC only posts select stories on YouTube. Now, it’s not even on their main site!
So I’m afraid I can’t write anymore about this person because I never wrote her name down.
This problem is a good illustration of our post from July 6th regarding the proposal to ban linking to original online content without permission. Apparently, ABC is highly selective of the stories they want to share. I suspect they would support something like this proposal many of the corporate mainstream media organizations like AP and Reuters seem to.
If I were able to imbed that video and share it with everyone here, you would be able to continue on to ABC’s site and view other video clips and stories. It would provide more exposure for their website and stories.
It’s unfortunate ABC doesn’t seem to understand the value of bloggers and how they actually boost their site traffic by linking to original content. I really wanted to share this story more than I was able. While it is loosely affiliated with SEO, it illustrates the real world value of well-written ads and content.
While keywords are not the only factor to consider when optimizing your site for the search engines, there are vital places within your website where keywords make the difference between page 1 and page 3 or 4 rankings in Google.
A survey by Marketing Experiments concludes that 68% of web searchers click search results on page 1 only.
So if your web pages appear in page 2 or farther down, you are missing out on the biggest chunk of prospective online customers – who find what they are looking for online by entering keyword phrases into Google.
Four areas in your web pages and site in general where keywords make a difference are:
Site Content -Not only does content on your site need to contain keywords, it must also speak to your target audience and motivate them act…we spend a lot of time here at the search engine optimization e-blog thinking about this.
Meta Content - It’s easy to think they can all be the same, but meta tags and content need to be different for each page on your site, and contain keywords you’re targeting for that page.
URL’s – Keyword placement in the site address or URL is another high-impact spot, especially for Microsoft’s new search engine Bing.
Inbound Links – Clickable links along with their description is another spot where keywords can make the difference between reaching page 1 ranking or not.
Watch this free one-hour presentation from Marketing Experiments to learn more about keywords and optimizing your website for the search engines.
As you will see, keywords are NOT the only factor to conversions…design of your pages is the other half of the online marketing puzzle. They may find your site but if it isn’t easy to use, you will lose out on a lot of potential clients.
Needless to say, I was quite shocked when I learned of the untimely death of hit TV pitchman Billy Mays.
Anyone who is a regular viewer of cable TV undoubtedly knows of his legendary “Hi Billy Mays here…” and the compelling prose and presentation. Even if you didn’t buy the product, you came away with a strong first impression.
It’s easy to mock Mays; Lord knows I was replaying that legendary intro in my head when I heard he had passed. But Mays has sold countless buckets of OxiClean and other products that made him and the products’ inventors a lot of money in $14.99 and $19.99 increments.
There are many lessons we can learn from Billy Mays to build effective search campaigns that build your brand and drives action.
Branding
Almost in a Pavlovian sense, you immediately knew what was coming once Mays’ commercial hit the airwaves. Everything moves together to say “something useful and cheap is on its way!”
In a similar fashion, be sure your search presence matches your branding efforts in language, tone and content. Always include your brand name in both meta tags and PPC ads and evaluate whether you should include visual elements like “official site” to indicate to visitors your site as the source of your brand.
Solve a Problem
While we can’t remove a fruit juice stain from a white shirt like Billy can, search engine marketing allows you to target potential customers closely. It’s easier to match customers through PPC ads linking to highly targeted landing pages.
And even though you do not have control over page selection for a given keyword in organic search, content can be developed and organized in a way to deliver highly segmented keyword searchers to the exact page they need.
Show Value for Their Click
Another reason offers from Mays were so compelling was that he usually didn’t pitch anything that cost more than $20 and included a buy one get one free or offer for an additional item at no charge.
Not every product out there can fit into that mold but you should clearly indicate the advantage – quality, durability, cost, etc. – your product has over others.
Use a Call to Action
Last and certainly not least is to include a call to action in your PPC ads and website content. Once you have their attention, draw them to take the next step by visiting your site further or clicking a “buy”, “join” or “get” link.
Read this Search Engine Watch article for a more in-depth look at the legacy of Billy Mays and how methods he used to sell millions of products over the airwaves are applicable to both PPC and SEO.
Which do you think is better…having one large site with everything, or five individual niche sites?
A recent case study from search marketer Carrie Hill at Search Engine Watch illustrates it’s okay to have several niche sites as long as you follow certain tricks and techniques.
Her client was a gentleman who had 1 flagship site and about 6 niche sites – he was frustrated with his poor rankings for the niche sites in Google.
After some research, Carrie first concluded his sites contained a large amount of duplicate content. Also, they link together contextually, all sites are hosted on the same server and niche sites send you to the flagship site for more information and vice versa in some instances.
All of this spells disaster for obtaining high Google rankings for the niche sites. Even more problematic for this guy, they ALL ranked pretty well in Yahoo! so throwing them out and waiting for Google would be painful.
So what did Carrie do?
First, she evaluated the content on all the sites and found much of it to be duplicated. There’s a tool called CopyScape that checks for duplicate content on different sites. Content duplication across domains is a big issue with Google, which would explain why the niche sites didn’t rank well. Carrie recommended content be changed on the flagship site to be very different from the niche sites.
Next, if there are two niche sites covering the same subject narrow it to one and have great content there.
Besides content, web hosting is another factor that can affect niche sites and rankings. If you’re using shared hosting and linking your sites together, you need to move each site to dedicated hosting. Shared hosting is traceable and Google will know you own all of those sites.
So having multiple sites isn’t a bad thing as long as they’re set up properly. Read more about niche sites and SEO in this Search Engine Watch article.
It seems these days social media is greatest thing since sliced bread…online marketers tout how Twitter and Facebook are not only useful, but a necessary component of your Internet presence.
In fact, social media can be deadly to your business and is over-hyped at best. Not that it’s useless, but too many seem to be relying on it for their online marketing these days. As I’ve said here, social media can be a wonderful tool but it shouldn’t be the focus of your efforts.
Focus on your website and take care of the only place that matters. A few minutes ago, I watched this video by Loren Feldman…he does use profanity and blunt language but if you have 15 minutes, I invite you to watch it.
At the end of the day, consistent blogging and content posting to your site will in due time develop a strong following…numbers of “friends” or visitors isn’t so important as the quality of those friends. Same is true in life – the number of friends you have isn’t a measure of the quality of those relationships.
But social media certainly isn’t dead or useless. Actually, blogging has improved since micro-blogging tools like Twitter didn’t exist five years ago. I can attest to this since many blogs I see these days are at least marginally professional and not senseless ramblings of someone looking for attention.
Now people just looking to share random thoughts about a hobby or whatever can put it on their Twitter or Facebook profile and get comments, sometimes in mere minutes, from friends, etc.
See the video, it’s quite the classic. Don’t be discouraged, building a following takes time. But in the end, the relationships will be much deeper than simply amassing thousands of friends on a social network.
Well, the 4th of July for this year is behind us…celebrating America’s 233rd birthday has been great but now it’s back to work!
A follow up of sorts to previous posts on the matter – conservative jurist Richard Posner of the seventh circuit court of appeals is proposing a ban on linking to online content without permission.
Not only would this action have dire consequences in the SEO copywriting world, it would dramatically change long-standing rules of fair use. As you may know, fair use allows for the reproduction of short excerpts of copyrighted material for the purpose of commentary, reporting, etc.
Alas, what we do daily here at the SEO-e blog.
Posner has a reputation of being a brilliant and provocative thinker, characterized as “the most mercilessly seditious legal theorist of his generation” by a 2001 New Yorker profile. His 2003 landmark decision in the case McKevitt v. Pallasch stripped first amendment protections for journalists from having to reveal confidential sources.
Consequence of this decision was made quite public in 2005 when New York Times reporter Judith Miller was jailed for 85 days for not revealing her source in the infamous CIA leak case.
In terms of copyright, Posner seems to be willfully ignorant to how bloggers actually drive traffic to original source sites like AP and Reuters, resulting in more eyes seeing their content and advertising. In a 2005 essay, he wrote “the bloggers are parasitical on the conventional media”.
Fortunately, Posner cannot enact his views through the bench – amending the Copyright law requires an act of Congress along with President Obama’s signature.
But traditional newspaper outlets across the country are beating their chests loudly to get something passed. And when something affects corporate interests in terms of copyrights, Congress has been known to act with great alarm.
We’ll continue to monitor the situation here at the search engine optimization e-blog. Stay in the loop on any legislative proposals here and if necessary, be prepared to call your congressman to keep the Internet open and “free” – a familiar theme from this past weekend’s festivities.
When you hear short or long, you think of the length of something right?
These terms worked well in the old days of copywriting – a sales letter’s content could be easily described as either long or short.
But websites are much different since hyperlinks break the flow of web copy. People, and I’m no exception, rarely read entire web pages in a sequential fashion – they scan content for relevant information and move from one page to another through links that interest them.
So in the context of web copywriting, short vs. long means more like minimal or pared down vs. expansive and content rich.
More crucial than simply long or short is whether your copy/content answers potential customers’ questions and concerns. Studies show that well over one-half of potential customers do not convert because the site’s content fails to do just that.
That’s why “long” copy web pages have better sales conversions than minimal or “short” copy – they do a much better job of completely answering customers’ concerns.
And answering questions isn’t limited to just copy…they are also answerable through video, audio, customer reviews, blogs, forums, etc.
Think of it this way – sites who do not answer visitors’ questions through content and hyperlinks run the risk of falling into the “used-car salesman” trap and do nothing but frustrate prospects and force them to look elsewhere.
Focus more on putting yourself into your customer’s shoes – copy on a page can be short if it includes hyperlinks to more information and/or addresses their concerns. Each individual can learn as little or as much as they need or want before purchasing your product or subscribing to your service.
Learn more about short vs. long in the context of SEO copywriting in this informative article from GrokDotCom.
Researching keywords is the first and most vital thing to do when optimizing your site for the search engines. It used to be so simple…easily assemble a keyword basket that did the job from the now defunct Overture Keyword Tool.
But in the age of data overload, there are multiple tools that are a part of any SEOs radar include WordTracker, Keyword Discovery and Google AdWords. And there are even niche keyword tools, even ones that track social media marketing as well.
A savvy SEO today for instance can take top keyword data from SpyFu, copy it into WordTracker Lateral Thesaurus and AdWords External Keyword tool, then sort the data to find where the low cost-per-click average intersects with higher search frequency…keywords fitting this profile then become a valuable component of a SEO campaign.
This Search Engine Watch article includes a checklist for using multiple datasets for keyword research. These different tools and datasets are best used in creative combinations, the article says.
The important point is to think beyond traditional frequency-based keyword research when building baskets…consider data from WordTracker’s Thesarus and Buzz Pocket Mining. Evaluate conversion metrics, search analytics and achievable SEO to get the best keyword data.
Some in the business have been suggesting Microsoft’s new search engine Bing may offer better keyword research tools, especially in finding the most up-to-date keyword data.
In terms of providing the most current trends in search queries, Bing’s keyword research tool, xRank, outperforms Google Trends according to Eric Schonfeld of TechCrunch. Keywords that online marketers identify from this data are an important component in a company’s search engine optimization campaign.
With the exception of the most popular ones, Google Trends has a three-day lag time – but xRank displays current information for that day says Schonfeld.
Take this past weekend’s U.S. Open for instance…xRank is showing a spike in search queries for golfer Ricky Barnes for yesterday. Google Trends on the other hand has no data for yesterday.
“This may not be a major feature, but it shows a weakness in Google’s armor,” commented Schonfeld.
In its second week, 12.1% of Internet searches were on Bing…that’s up from 9.1% in the week prior to their launch according to comScore.
Blogs are a great mechanism in achieving high search engine rankings – an informal way to connect with potential customers and develop a following for your products and services. But how do you grow a blog without resorting to paid advertising?
Of course, the over-simplified explanation is to add interesting content on a regular basis – some professional bloggers say daily but weekly is good enough to develop a following according to veteran copywriter and web marketer Michael Fortin in his article “How I Grow My Blog Organically Using These 5 Steps”.
Other than email signatures, Michael doesn’t advertise his blog…he continuously builds subscribers and generates revenue through sponsored links on his page for his own products or ones he’s affiliated with – revenue is a byproduct of his efforts, not the main focus of the blog or its content.
Hire a publicist or distribute extensive blog posts or articles to editors, directories, ezines, other blogs and even offline magazines. Allowing others to reprint, syndicate or otherwise redistribute is a great way to develop a following – other publications and resources can easily modify your article or post to fit their target audience, like I’m doing here.
At Google, researching keywords for SEO copywriting has gotten a bit easier thanks to their improved feature, Searches related to.
When starting your keyword research, enter some general terms into Google that come to mind – then, look toward the bottom of the search engine results page for their suggestions of related search terms others are using to find related information.
For example, if you’re a pool/hot tub supplier, type in “hot tub supplies”, which is probably a good general keyword…Google then posts a box at the bottom of the page telling you the most popular related queries searchers are using. In this case, that includes “hot tub spa parts”, “hot tub covers”, “jacuzzi tub parts”, “spa hot tub accessories” and so on.
Why is Google doing this? Well, just making things easier for searchers…Google noticed searchers would refine their search queries with related keywords…so, to produce more relevant results for them, Google started displaying keyword modifiers and related keywords as suggestions – features that allow you to create web copy that can be found by a wider audience and rank higher.
If you’re not encompassing a wide range of keywords, Google may rank your page lower than a related one that does, provided all other factors are equal.
So, conduct some of your keyword research with this nifty tool…and plan to work these suggestions into site content. You also may find these suggestions will warrant creating additional pages and content altogether.
