Posts Tagged ‘B2C marketing’
Monday, July 26th, 2010
Pages within a website and across the Internet are connected through links. You have links on your website to navigate from one page to the next. You also have links to other sites you think your readers will find interesting. And finally, other sites will link to yours, providing Internet users one more way to find you.
While all three of these are important and impact search engine rankings in some way, the last type has the largest by far…which coincidentally, is the hardest links to control.
Basically speaking, the search engines’ concept is as follows: if high-quality sites are linking to yours, then your site must be pretty important and therefore, will be more inclined to show it higher in their results…you in effect receive “link juice” from other sites that link to you.
But it’s not enough to just get a couple of links and then sit still. Search engines like Google look at link patterns to your site as they build over time, not just a one-time snapshot.
So, building the right links in a consistent fashion can payoff tremendously – that much is clear. But how do I go about building strong inbound links without getting myself in trouble? Getting on Google’s blacklist isn’t much fun and hard to recover from.
Continue reading for one of the ways you can build high-quality links to your site naturally and check back again in a week for part II of our quick little link building how-to.
Variety is the spice of life – and links too!
There are all sorts of link farming schemes out there you can buy into – which is probably the first reason you should run away. This practice is known as reciprocal linking – you exchange links with other sites who will turn around and link to you on a mass scale…Google and others are on to this!
The key to successful link building is to cultivate a good mix of links over time.
Having 100 links with the same anchor-text doesn’t look natural to anyone, including search engines. When links come naturally, some may use your business name while others may use some kind of descriptive phrase for the anchor-text…they vary.
If anchor-text is the same for all links pointing to your site, it will be signal to the search engines that your links are being generated artificially, not naturally.
And consider the pages people are linking to and try to mix that up too…don’t have them all going to your homepage. Try to drive links to specific product pages, your blog, your press room, your articles and more. This will help get them ranking as well.
Also, you will want to try and influence the title tag for incoming links if any have one. If you can, you will want variety in the link text and title for links pointing to your site…again, it’s about growing your links in a natural way, not simply slapping a bunch of homogenous links up there and walking away.
Variety in your links is perhaps the most critical component of successful link building. Don’t have them all coming from the same place to the same place and so on.
Check back with us next Monday for part II of our quick little link building guide and even learn how you can easily find out which sites are linking to you.
In the mean time, take the above steps to ensure what links you do acquire don’t get you in any trouble and give you the most bang for your buck.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, bing, ecommerce, google, link building, organic search, PageRank, search engine optimization, Yahoo!
Posted in Articles, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010
Writing persuasive copy that isn’t filled with hype is a common challenge for web copywriters. It takes some talent to thread that needle effectively. You want your copy to be persuasive but not filled with so much hype that it turns people away.
If it is filled with a lot of hype, the customer could experience buyers’ remorse and have ill-feeling toward you (the seller).
Marketing online is more than just making a quick sale…it’s about building your reputation as much as anything. If your website gets the reputation of having too much hype, people will know and either leave your site quickly or not visit at all.
So how can I create persuasive copy that doesn’t contain too much hype?
Many of these copywriting tips have proven their worth in terms of consistent conversions and sales. Continue reading for 3 quick steps you can use to create persuasive copy without resorting to hype.
Focus on your readers, not your products and services
Be sure your copy is focused on your readers and solving their problems. Focusing on how great your products and services are will only make you seem less than sincere. If someone lands on your site, they either clicked an ad or a link on a search engine results page or some other site. They came to you so you can assume they know what they’re looking for and why.
Therefore, focus on the readers to capture their attention and move them through the buying process.
Draw readers’ attention with a great headline
We’ve discussed before how headlines are one of the most important elements in a landing page or online article. If it doesn’t grab a reader’s attention quickly, they will move off your site quicker than you can blink!
Your headline needs to do two things – it needs to ‘catch’ the readers’ attention and it needs to be relevant to the sales copy. To fulfill both of these conditions of an effective headline, place an ‘emotional trigger’ in the headline to keep people’s interest. Focus on the problem your readers have and the solution your products/services offer rather than resorting to hype.
Quickly make your point and provide a ‘call-to-action’
Without resorting to promotional pitches, quickly tell people what your product can do for them. People are not concerned about your business but their situation, which is why they’re searching online for a solution to their problem.
Therefore, that’s why it’s important to speak about them and their problem rather than your products. And do it quickly and provide instructions on what to do next. Most people’s attention spans are quite short and they won’t spend a lot of time trying to figure out what they should do next.
Additionally, your sentences and paragraphs should be quick and to the point…one, you don’t want to lose readers’ interest by taking forever to get to the point and two, you don’t want to intimidate readers with large chunks of text. Therefore, keep your paragraphs short and to the point (5 lines max.)
Harnessing these 3 steps will go a long way to ensuring your copy is persuasive without the hype that’s so common in many websites and marketing materials. Today’s shoppers are more meticulous than ever…they won’t spend much time on a site that spends all its time talking about itself.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, ecommerce, Online Marketing, SEO copywriting, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Friday, July 16th, 2010
In the last couple of years, Facebook has taken the social media marketing world by storm. Many well-known brands and small businesses have begun using Facebook in earnest to market their businesses online.
In fact, many organizations are directing their users to their Facebook page instead of their actual sites because of its built-in social interactivity.
Many of our online experiences though still start through search – whether on Google, Bing or Facebook. If we’re looking for information or searching for a solution to a problem, we generally go and ask very broad questions and use broad terms to try and narrow down what we’re looking for.
Continue reading for some tips from Manoj Jasra at Search Engine Guide on how you can boost your Facebook page to the top of the search engines results page.
Number of Followers – The more followers your Facebook page has, the more back links…the more links you have, the more authoritative your page seems.
Fresh Content – Like regular web pages, the fresher your content is (wall posts, pictures, comments, etc.), the more frequently the spiders will crawl your site.
Include relevant content – Only post content on your Facebook page that helps improve its overall theme.
Keyword-rich URL – Be sure your Facebook URL contains keywords searchers use to find your products and services online.
Number of “Shares” or “Likes” – Having more “shares” and “Likes” will also boost your Facebook page to the top of the results. This shows your page is so compelling that people couldn’t simply look at it and move on, they had to share it.
Social media applications like Facebook and Twitter are increasingly important in effectively marketing your small business online. Going forward, any SEO or online marketer must factor these social networks into their marketing strategy.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, Facebook, organic search, social media
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Wednesday, July 14th, 2010
Building trust is a tried and true method of drawing in new customers and keeping them. You want to create content for your site that helps build this trust – not simply pepper your copy with keywords to get the search engines’ attention.
Saying the same thing over and over again may work in politics but when you’re marketing your small business online, it appears fake to prospective customers. Most who come across content like this immediately leave a website as they are seeing right through the angle the site is trying to play…if not consciously realizing it, site visitors will feel something just doesn’t seem right about the site so they leave.
Besides helping build links and SEO rankings, good content builds trust with site visitors. Continue reading for four ways you can build trust with prospective customer with your site’s content.
1. Do not hype anything
Hype is still a favorite tactic of low-level marketers. We’ve all seen hype time and again – in commercials, on billboards and in magazines. We’ve become accustomed to it. But the Internet is still relatively new and useful for many things – research, business, shopping and more. People have a much lower tolerance for hype in the online world.
Substantiate all claims. Don’t say you’re “#1” or “the best” unless you can back that up through a third-party. Simply claiming you’re the best because you want it to be true isn’t enough…people find unsubstantiated claims very suspicious.
2. Be genuine, like a friend
Great copy that sells generally reads like a conversation between friends. Writing in a conversational tone that helps the reader solve their problem goes a long way toward building trust. Since online shoppers cannot meet the seller in the flesh, they get extremely suspicious and leave if your content is bland and boring.
Also, don’t spend much time telling outlandish stories or make claims that appear too good to be true…be able to backup claims with third-party verification.
3. Don’t use hidden text that’s hard to find
In the infancy of SEO, webmasters used to write content and make it the same color as their background to hide it from readers. The keyword-rich content got the attention of the search engines at first but no real person would spend much time on the site. You can still “hide” content like that but there’s a right way and a wrong way to do it.
It’s okay to employ hidden content to make your page more usable as long as the reader can easily find it with a simple click of a mouse. But hiding content to make it more difficult for readers to find is wrong.
Before using hidden text though, ask yourself is it valuable? If it is, then your visitors need to be able to read it. If not, then it probably shouldn’t go on the site anyway.
4. Include negative reviews
Another powerful way to gain trust in your site’s content is to include negative reviews of your products. Only including positive reviews will only serve to turn people off…you can lose credibility pretty quickly. Negative reviews help because they give the reader a better-rounded picture of what they’re purchasing. They also help readers determine how the positive attributes of your products outweigh the bad.
Courtesy of SearchEngineGuide.com
Your site’s content is where you make your impression on potential customers. Therefore, it needs to build trust if you want site visitors to purchase your products or use your services. Make sure you’re giving your site visitors a good first impression and not simply creating a jumbled mess of keyword optimized content.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, ecommerce, Online Marketing, SEO copywriting
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Monday, July 12th, 2010
Writing effective product/service landing pages accomplishes several necessary objectives when marketing your small business online. Not only does the keyword-rich page need to grab the attention of search engine spiders, it also needs to maintain a reader’s interest and motivate them to continue.
You don’t want to give away too much but you do want to draw their interest enough so they will click on that link to learn more or buy.
Creating copy that simultaneously achieves both of those objectives is the needle you need to thread to effectively harness the Internet to grow your small business.
So when you’re writing landing pages for your website, consider the following 5 tips to maximize their value on both ends…that is serve as good search engine fodder on one end and an effective marketing message on the other.
Write attention grabbing, eye-catching headlines
Headlines are the best opportunity you have to really grab your reader’s attention…if it doesn’t, they will most likely leave the page. You will want to include a primary keyword that will grab both your both your reader’s and the search engine’s attention.
Include call-to-action often
Next, you need to include a call-to-action that instructs visitors on what to do next. Generic forms of this are “Click here to learn more” and other quick anecdotes but those have shown to not work as well as more unique calls-to-action like “…start increasing your online presence and find more customers by contacting search engine marketers at SEO Advantage today to learn more.
Read 3 Elements of a Good Call-to-Action to learn more.
Like our example, you should also include a keyword phrase for your link in this call-to-action statement for additional search engine benefits. Include at least 2 calls-to-action for a short landing page and 3-5 for longer ones.
Directly address the customer
In your main copy, address the customer as “you” and “your” rather than saying “we,” “us” and “our.” Let the customer know what your company and its products/services and do for them. This relaxes the customer too…making them feel like they’re talking to a friend.
Directly deliver the message
When you’re writing landing pages and other content for marketing your small business online try to think about your copy as a business tool and not an art form. You’re trying to persuade readers to take action, not feel good about your ability to express yourself.
Keep content closely written
Whether your landing page is short (500 words or less) or longer, keep the context of the page tightly knit. Meaning, don’t get sidetracked by including extraneous facts and benefits of your products or services. There’s much debate amongst copywriters on an effective length for a landing page but no matter which one you choose, keep the subject matter within certain parameters.
Accomplishing both SEO and marketing goals through your landing pages and other content will maximize the value of your site for both you and your customers. Not only will search engines reward you for compelling, keyword-rich content, those who find you will be reassured that your products/services can address their needs.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, ecommerce, keyword research, Online Marketing, organic search, search engine optimization, SEO copywriting, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Wednesday, June 30th, 2010
Web copywriting doesn’t simply involve placing keywords in strategic spots and leaving it alone. And it isn’t just compelling, unique content that informs prospective customers either.
A call-to-action is just as necessary an element of web copywriting as your keywords and message…simply writing your message without instructing the reader on what to do next will hinder your potential for getting new customers.
Call-to-actions have to be strategically placed throughout your copy (landing pages, solicitation emails, etc.) in order for you to move visitors from one phase of the buying process to the next. If they have to look for how to contact you, how to download that white paper or how to purchase your product, they will most likely get very frustrated and leave.
Continue reading to learn some good call-to-action strategies you can employ in your marketing emails and landing pages to ensure you move prospects through your site effectively. (Notice the call to action there.)
Position call-to-action above the scroll
You don’t want people to have to scroll down to the bottom to see the call-to-action…we’re an impatient lot so place a call-to-action (i.e. contact, order or download) in a prominent location at the top of your page. Different Internet ready devices layout things differently so factor that into your decisions.
Include several call-to-actions throughout your copy to give visitors multiple opportunities to take the next step…keep your words consistent though so you don’t confuse anyone. And in considering the layout, position your call-to-actions directly in your reader’s visual path.
Choose your words carefully
The tone and words you choose for your call-to-action are vital since you’re essentially asking someone to take another step. Incorporate powerful words in your call-to-action to prompt the reader to act and make them feel good about what they’re doing.
Be sure the words you choose create the effect you’re looking for…consider them from your reader’s point of view. And while words are important, the format of your call-to-action is important as well. Evo, an online outdoor outfitter, tested a couple of different calls-to-action with a recent marketing campaign. Would “15% off” or “$50 off” be a more powerful message…they found $50 off worked better even though it was roughly the same amount off the original price.
Make your words appear prominently
Once you have those powerful words down, you have to figure out how to draw attention to them. You may have a great call-to-action in words but if no one can find it, then you’re not going to get very far.
Think about how your call-to-action appears to your readers…should it be an image, a button or an anchor-text link? Take a look at this button vs. text link experiment from Aweber for ideas.
Remember, your call-to-action needs to be unique since your brand, industry, purpose and audience are all different. Considering that, these tips may not even work for you but they are a good place to start.
Need experienced help in developing your site’s infrastructure, content and even calls-to-action? Contact web copywriters at SEO Advantage today for a premier evaluation of your website, business and goals.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, Online Marketing, SEO copywriting
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Monday, June 28th, 2010
In our periodic look at what’s happening on a regulatory level, two bills are currently working their way through Congress that could potentially affect webmasters and online marketers…making yourself aware of any new requirements is important for effectively managing a small business online.
Ignorance of the law is no excuse for the authorities so it’s important we’re all on guard so we don’t find ourselves in any trouble.
Privacy bill could mean increased disclosure requirements, privacy protections
One idea floating around Congress that’s seeing traction is an Internet consumer privacy bill being proposed by Rep. Rick Boucher (D-VA), chair of the House Energy & Commerce Subcommittee on Communications, Technology & the Internet.
Rep. Boucher’s bill is more of a privacy bill for consumers. Its main target is online advertisers who target consumers through behavioral advertising. Many online advertisers – including Facebook with their new ‘like’ features – examine behavior patterns online to target advertising to relevant parties, which in turn increases conversions.
Behavioral technology tracks a user’s searches, how long the stay on a page and even the sites they visit. Data is then taken by advertisers to establish behavior patterns and online demographics.
Web advertisers fear this bill will require web users to opt-in, causing them to lose an important tool in how they target potential customers. However, Rep. Boucher says he supports an opt-out option where web users can choose whether they want their information shared or not.
“If I were [a publisher or advertiser], I would want Internet users to have a sense that their experience is more secure, that they know what information is collected about them, and they be given much more control. They will be more trusting of electronic commerce. . . .it’s good for business,” says the representative from Virginia.
Whatever happens, there will certainly be increased regulation like new disclosure requirements and legal forms indicating how a site tracks data and uses it.
Financial Reform Bill grants new powers to FTC
Tucked inside the financial reform bill passed by the House last November was a provision expanding the Federal Trade Commission’s powers to allow them to impose civil penalties on companies engaging in “unfair” or “deceptive” trade practices.
Since the mid-1970’s, the agency had to hear public testimony and a congressional review had to occur before any penalties could be imposed on the business. With this new power, the agency will basically decide for itself with no public scrutiny what constitutes unfair advertising practices.
Ad industry groups fear this could lead to the FTC acting as an “unelected legislature,” basically giving it free rein over regulating Internet commerce.
The financial reform bill is currently being debated between the two chambers. The House passed its version late last year and the Senate this past April. Both chambers are reconciling their differences, which will need to pass. President Obama has indicated he will sign the bill when it arrives on his desk.
This bill seems more dangerous than Rep. Boucher’s privacy bill since it directly expands an agency’s enforcement authority.
Appointees to the FTC are chosen by the President so vesting this much authority in a centralized executive authority could be dangerous from a checks and balances perspective.
Boucher’s privacy bill is understandable in a big way but it will certainly add new requirements for webmasters and SEO marketers. The combination of the two could be a double whammy for any of us marketing our businesses online.
Stay tuned…
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, blogs, ecommerce, Facebook, Online Marketing, small business
Posted in Forum Watch, Online Marketing | No Comments »
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Especially for blogs, finding the right voice is critical to success…without it, very few people will read past the first paragraph. If your content has the right voice, people won’t be able to stay away. You may be the most knowledgeable person out there regarding your niche but all that knowledge won’t make up for it if you don’t have the right ‘voice’ to go along with it.
What is voice, exactly? And how can you make it shine through your blog?
In the context of writing, no one can literally hear you…but, they can ‘hear’ you through the words you use and how you use them.
Your English teacher in high school likely didn’t spend much time discussing the voice and who can blame them…it’s a messy, abstract venture that few instructors embark on.
Fortunately, we have a list of four ways you can use to find your ideal writing voice from Joy Tanksley, a middle school English teacher and philosopher. Employing these tips can help you transform your writing from a static compilation of words to an electrifying piece that lights fires in the minds of your readers.
Continue reading for four methods you can use to find your ideal writing voice and take your writing to a higher level.
Get into the flow
Sit down each day or fairly regularly and just write. Don’t worry about grammar or accuracy, just let the words flow…you will be surprised at how good your writing is in these bursts of activity. By focusing on quantity rather than quality, you get a natural and authentic piece…something with a voice attached to it.
Write like you talk
Another way is to write like you talk. Take some prior writings and read them out loud. Does it sound like you? If not, take a tape recorder and simply talk your compositions for a while. Take your recording and transcribe what you said and whammo, you will have some great voice-rich snippets to integrate into your final product.
Forget grammar conventions (…at least at first)
When you were taught about writing in school, you probably learned all of the rules that go along with it. Yes, writing does involve communicating a message so to that end, standard grammar conventions are important. In many instances though, these conventions hinder our ability to create a realistic voice for our writing.
Rather than spending too much time worrying about grammar, start out by pretending the writing conventions do not exist. And when you’re editing your piece, base your decisions on what best communicates your message and not on what satisfies all the proper rules.
If it will enhance the flow of your piece and give it voice, it’s okay to play around with the rules a little bit.
Write about what you know
Many web copywriters try to write about the latest, trendy topics. This may seem like a winner but in reality, if it’s not near and dear to your heart, it will have no voice. Instead, strive for authenticity over popularity…or as Dolly Parton says, “Figure who you are; then do it on purpose.” In other words, don’t try to sound like anyone or anything except who you are.
Harnessing tips like these can help you go beyond simple content creation to satisfy the ever hungry search engines…creating compelling content with the right voice can not only get you to the top of the search engines, it can get you more conversions as well.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, grammar, SEO copywriting, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Friday, June 18th, 2010
We’re always on the lookout for cutting edge SEO and online marketing techniques. Some things we find we test on our own sites to see how well they work before recommending them to clients.
Some techniques are more SEO related and “behind the scenes” (coding, tags, etc.) but other techniques are more in the layout of a page, its tone and how we communicate important things to know…our new press room page is an experiment to see how creating a more holistic press room can help site visitors – specifically editors, bloggers and journalists – find information more easily.
In fact, even if you never plan to issue any press releases, it’s important you have one place where people like this can learn more about your company and what you do…reaching out to journalists and bloggers is another way to help you get noticed by search engines and prospective customers.
In the past, most pressrooms simply listed a company’s news press releases. However, having a better understanding of what editors and bloggers are looking for in a pressroom allows you to build a more complete resource.
In fact, a main pressroom page can simply serve as a hub where you can link out to not only your press releases but knowledge center resources, blogs, case studies, testimonials and more as shown by this handy flowchart.
Check out SEO Advantage’s new pressroom and our guest blog post on SEO Site Reference for more insights on turning your pressroom into a powerful online marketing resource.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, Online Marketing, press release optimization, Site Architecture, small business, web design
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Monday, June 7th, 2010
New procedures at Facebook got webmasters and SEOs asking whether they should add the new “like” button from Facebook to their pages. We began noticing the change from “Become a fan” to “Like” in early May following the social network’s announcement in late April regarding this and other changes designed to expand their influence on the Internet.
However, as an online marketer, your chief concern will be the “like” button. If you haven’t done so already, you should at least include this function on your homepage and other important areas of your site.
As we mentioned when announcing these changes, the “like” button has the potential to radically change how data is connected online. With this new feature, users will be able to share sites with their friends whether they’re on Facebook or not. Simply clicking the button will connect their online identity with the page they’re viewing. It will also create a data record that advertisers and people in the user’s social network will be able to access.
When you place a “like” button on your website, you’re basically connecting your website to the social network. Different from Google’s algorithmic approach that’s completely impersonal, Facebook’s new model makes exploring the web a more “personalized experience.”
There are two ways you can add a “like” button from Facebook to your site:
1. I-frame code method
Can be generated on the Facebook developer site…content within the I-frame is hosted by Facebook so the social network will be able to tell if the person is logged in or not. If the user is logged in, they will be able to see which of their friends have “liked” the page.
If they are not logged in, they will be prompted to login or join Facebook.
2. JavaScript version also available
Like the I-frame code, the JavaScript version is also available on the Facebook developer site. It’s much like the other method except that it allows you to see profile pictures of your friends who “like” the same page more easily. Users can also comment on the links they like. Their “like” and personalized comment will be added to their status update.
Regardless of which way you ultimately choose, adding a “like” button to your website will make it easier for customers, friends and fans to connect with you and share your services online. This reason alone makes adding a “like” button to your web pages a top priority.
Tags: B2C marketing, ecommerce, Facebook, Online Marketing, social media
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Friday, June 4th, 2010
Sometimes we just need to get things done quickly…or are feeling lazy…whatever the case, a lot of times we simply refer to our favorite keyword research tools, grab a few phrases that look good and put those into our content.
We figure phrases with strong demand give us good enough insight into what our prospects are trying to find, learn, do or purchase.
But a lot of the time, customers don’t even know what they need to find when they begin searching. They will type some distant phrase into Google and see what comes up, perhaps hoping they will find more descriptive language about what they’re looking for.
Anyone who has searched for things online can understand this after a couple moments of reflection. How many times have you searched for something then found another term that better describes what you were looking for? A lot it’s safe to say.
With that in mind, think about some keywords you may see in your research tool that may not have much demand. Step away from all the research tools for a moment and think about what you would search for if you had no knowledge of what you offer – all you know is that you have a problem that somehow needs addressing.
What terms would you use?
Take these, and integrate them into your copy along with others. While you don’t want to target too many keyword phrases in your copy, many phrases you can target will simply be add-ons to ones that are more in demand. Therefore, Google will pick up the main one along with the extended version – not diluting keyword impact for ranking purposes.
Remember, it’s not all about pleasing the hungry Google bots that love keyword rich content that’s unique and relevant. Success largely depends on gaining a deep understanding of who your customers are down to the most basic levels.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, ecommerce, keyword research, Online Marketing
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | 1 Comment »
Wednesday, May 26th, 2010
Before we engage in any important endeavor, it pays to ask questions to determine the correct course of action. Obtaining as much information as possible is a crucial step in succeeding at anything – optimizing your website for the search engines is no different.
However, it can be difficult to know what the right questions are in the first place. If you have limited SEO and online marketing experience, this can be especially problematic…you may know a few general questions but may not even be aware of other issues that could affect your position in the search engines and ultimately the number of conversions your site gets.
Continue reading for a list of 61 questions you need answers for before embarking on an SEO campaign. Questions are broken into two categories – questions you need answered if you in-source SEO and ones you need answers for if you outsource to another firm.
We’ll only include the questions here since there are so many but you can find out more about these questions by visiting Search Engine Guide’s article on the matter and clicking on the link for each question they list.
Questions if you’re planning to do your SEO/online marketing in-house
- Do I do it myself?
- Do I have the time?
- What is my time worth?
- Is my time better spent on other things?
- Do I have the knowledge and skills to do it right?
- Do I have the time to stay up-to-date in critical knowledge?
- What if I really screw up the site?
- Is this something I really want to do along with my regular work?
- Will this take me away from my family?
- Is this worth the cost of NOT hiring or outsourcing?
- Will this diminish my capabilities at being effective at my primary job?
- Do I sub out part of it and do the rest myself?
- Do I delegate in-house or use sub-contractors?
- What parts do I do myself?
- What work can be given to other person(s)?
- How do I ensure that all the sub-contractors are working in unison together?
- How do I know who to blame if my search marketing or optimization doesn’t work?
- Do I hire someone to do it?
- Do I pay someone to learn search marketing on the job?
- Do I have the resources to teach or pay someone to learn the craft?
- Will I have to pay for additional resources such as conferences, books, etc.?
- What if someone learns it and leaves?
- What if I can’t find someone capable of learning the craft?
- What if they screw up my site or get me thrown out of the search engines?
- Do I hire someone with experience?
- How much is that going to cost me?
- How do I know they can do what they claim?
- Will they have all the skills necessary?
- Will I have to pay additional dollars as they sub-contract out specialty work?
- How much will I have to pay to keep their knowledge current?
- Will they expect to attend all the major SEO trade shows?
- What if the SEO engages in “black hat” activities that screw up my site or get me thrown out of the search engines?
Questions if you plan to outsource your search marketing
- Do I hire a firm or a consultant?
- Do I hire a SEM consultant?
- Can a consultant do everything I need or do I have to do it myself?
- Will a consultant have all the skills necessary to complete the job?
- Will the consultant sub work out to other consultants?
- Will I be forced to pay additional fees for these sub-contractors?
- Will a consultant spend enough quality time on my account?
- Will I be able to get a hold of a consultant when I need them during business hours?
- Do I hire and SEM firm?
- Will a firm have qualified people working on my account?
- Will a firm have too many clients to give me quality time?
- Does the size of the firm matter to me?
- Is the firm a “ranking factory” or will they be sure to pay attention to my needs?
- How responsive will my search marketing firm be with my concerns?
- Will my calls and emails get answered?
- How much should search marketing cost?
- What should be included in my campaign?
- What should not be included in my campaign?
- What will my payment plan be?
- Will I get the return on my investment?
- How soon should I expect to see results?
- What kind of results should I expect?
- Will I have to give up too much control of my site?
- Am I willing to give out sensitive site access information?
- Will I implement recommendations as they are provided?
- Can I veto recommendations and still expect results?
- Will I be expected to do anything?
- How much will I have to be involved?
- How much will I be allowed to be involved?
Having answers to these types of questions can go a long way in preventing roadblocks in your SEO campaign. If you encounter a problem and don’t have clear answers to your questions, you could expect delay and maybe even worse.
Get all the information you can get your hands on before signing any contracts or investing a lot of time and money. SEO campaigns can work, but you have to do them right to succeed.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, Online Marketing, organic search, search engine optimization
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day | 2 Comments »
Monday, May 24th, 2010
SEO Advantage, a premier search engine optimization firm based in Tampa, Florida and owner of this blog is pleased to announce the launch of a new exclusive directory service exclusively for alpaca owners and breeders. Partnering with the Alpaca Owners and Breeders Association, SEO Advantage developed a one-stop, low cost resource for alpaca owners and breeders to showcase their animals and products.
Besides serving as a directory to draw in potential buyers, alpaca farmers will be able to employ our company’s expertise in SEO, web design and copywriting to build a website or maximize the value of an already existing one.
Our company is quite experienced in offering search enhanced directories for specific industries…besides alpacas, which we’ve worked with for nearly 10 years, we also offer these low cost marketing alternatives for the legal, real estate and medical industries.
This new AOBA directory is a giant leap forward in the development of our alpaca directory services, coupling the power of a national industry trade organization with cutting edge SEO and online marketing techniques.
The new AOBA/SEO directory offers very affordable options for burgeoning alpaca owners and breeders to advertise their stocks…ranchers can join AOBA (for a nominal fee), gain access to the site and choose a subscription level based on their needs – ranging from 10 listings per year for $160 up to 150 listings for $875 per year.
Besides a dedicated page directory listing that appears in the AOBA directory and major search engines like Google and Yahoo!, ranchers can also take advantage of affordable packages for building a dedicated website of their own.
Making the investments in a website can help alpaca owners and breeders grow their operations and generate additional revenues.
We invite you to take a look at our new alpaca directory at AOBAalpacas.com and see how search enhanced directories and web properties can help alpaca ranchers dominate their industry on the web.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, Online Marketing, organic search, search engine optimization, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Advantage | No Comments »
Friday, May 21st, 2010
Writing websites isn’t all about keywords and the search engines. Yes, your site’s copy and the keywords contained within it help you get to the top of the search engines…but this certainly isn’t the only thing an SEO copywriter must worry about.
Getting people to your site is only half the battle – you need to keep them there and guide them to the ultimate destination – making a call, purchasing a product…whatever metric you use for success.
Many great websites offering great products experience difficulty mainly because their copy isn’t designed to motivate customer’s to act. Of course I’m talking about that part of your copy that’s intended to close the sale – or the final step in the inbound marketing funnel.
In the end, your headline is the make or break part of any sales page. If the headline doesn’t entice someone to go further, then it won’t really matter what you’re offering and how good it is. While it doesn’t make the sale on its own, it certainly plays a pivotal part in setting someone up for the sale.
Here are three tips you can use to make a great headline.
1. Identify the problem you’re solving and who your target market is
The more you target your market, the more effective your copy can be. It usually doesn’t take long to identify your market in broad terms but narrowing it down allows you to address their specific problem, creating a relationship between you (or your copy) and the potential customer…the more you relate to a customer, the better your chances of closing the sale.
2. Include words your target market feels comfortable with
Once you have identified your target market and their problem, you’re in a better position to write your headline in a way that speaks to them. This is vital…you want them to feel you’re writing directly to them and that you’re not simply regurgitating a generic message that’s applicable to everyone but resonates with no one. Everyone likes to feel loved and that it’s about them.
3. Tell them how you can solve their problem and include benefits
Often times, your headline will focus on how your product solves the target market’s particular problem. Initially, people are interested in benefits, not features. Seeing what your product does for them will maintain their interest to continue reading and ultimately buy your product in many instances.
One more important thing to remember – many sites often use their headlines to make outrageous claims about their product. It’s okay to pump yourself up this way provided the claim sounds believable and is verifiable.
Web copywriting isn’t simply writing some copy that has targeted keywords sprinkled throughout it…mastering the art of persuasion with your writing is the ultimate challenge, and ultimate satisfaction of copywriting. Think of your ‘sales’ pages as being like the salesman in a store that’s speaking face-to-face with prospective customers.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, ecommerce, SEO copywriting, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Monday, May 17th, 2010
We’re often asked by online marketing clients and others to help choose a domain name for their site.
From a strict SEO perspective, there is indeed a debate as to whether the domain name affects rankings in the search engines. In addition to this, we also think about how it will impact the user’s experience – from the first impression it creates when it’s first noticed to how easily people remember it.
While there are several things to consider when choosing a new domain name, your web address should meet the following 4 criteria.
1. Easy to remember
Your domain should be as descriptive of your business as possible so it helps explains to newcomers what your business is about. This includes the order of words as well as the words themselves.
2. Easy to spell
Try to avoid words people may have difficulty spelling. This will save you headaches when trying to give your web address over the phone and help avoid typos from people typing it in directly or in any press coverage.
3. Contains keywords (industry, location, etc.)
While it’s debated as to whether there are any SEO benefits to be had in your domain name, all things equal, it may help. Use hyphens to separate words so search engines can recognize them (seo-advantage.com vs. seoadvantage.com). If you do this, be sure you purchase both domains so you can redirect folks who don’t use the hyphen and not lose out on their traffic.
4. Brief
What’s a good length for a URL? That depends but you shouldn’t sacrifice the other elements just so you can have a short URL. Your initials will make the URL brief but it won’t carry much benefit otherwise…but don’t make it so long and full of keywords that it’s hard to remember and difficult to enter in.
Remember, you need to think about how this URL will look on your business cards, brochures and other marketing materials as well.
The domain name you ultimately choose for your business will be influenced by your business’ name and situation. If your company is well known or its name meets the criteria above, use it since you will want to build your brand in that regard. Keep in mind that you can purchase several domain names that you think people may try and type in to find you.
Some final advice – get some impressions from friends and colleagues before settling on a new domain name. You never know what a second, third or fifth set of eyes can pick up on!
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, keyword research, Online Marketing, search engine optimization, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, Site Architecture, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 28th, 2010
Many websites today contain lots of information on helping visitors educate themselves and answer questions without making contact. These sites though are increasingly complex…and with all the features jam packed into today’s websites, it can be difficult for visitors to even ascertain if the site has what they need, much less how to find it.
This is the central reason why installing a “site search” function on your website is a necessary investment for making your website a dependable lead generating tool.
Below are 7 advantages you can expect to see from installing a “site search” function on your website.
1. Satisfies customer’s “I want now” attitude
Time is money no doubt and many people who encounter a confusing site with lots of content won’t stick around long to dig through it. A site search gives someone the opportunity to quickly enter keyword phrases on what they’re looking for rather than sift through what they see as a confusing navigational structure.
2. Helps make your site more “customer-centric”
Successful websites must cater to a wide-range of Internet users – knowledge seekers, prospects, buyers and long-term customers. Site search helps you do this since it helps knowledge seekers find information on your site more easily…in essence, site search helps you transform your site from a “one size fits all” to a more “customer-centric” approach.
3. Appeals to the “searcher” type site visitor
People are different and prefer different ways of finding things. If someone uses a Google search to find you, they are more likely to rush to the search box to find information within your site.
4. Obtain valuable marketing data
With the right analytic tools, you can gather data from your site search function that gives you valuable information on who visits your site and how they navigate around it – their desires, intent and behavior. You can see exactly which pages they looked for and found and which ones they read and which ones prompted them to leave the site…this information can be tremendously helpful when planning your marketing strategy.
5. Site search provides insight into usability issues
Saving usage data and click path from real users through your site search function allows you to easily locate where users had difficulty, giving you clues as to places you need to update or expand. Adding typical searched on phrases can help you and your copywriters learn about who is using your site and plan content accordingly.
6. Get new product ideas
Looking at user’s searches can also help you identify new products. If a large number of customers search for something you don’t yet offer, you may want to consider offering a product that fills that void – especially if your site is already bringing in traffic for it.
7. Learn new keywords
Site search may also help you find keywords you weren’t aware, allowing you the opportunity to work those into your content. You may have pages you think are relevant to a specific topic that is missing the words people actually use to look for it. This information can help you refine your content and reach a wider audience.
To be successful online, you need to be mindful on new ways people are using to find and disseminate information online. Those looking to evolve their websites according to user demands could use a good site search function on their sites.
We recommend starting with Google custom search, which is readily adaptable to your needs.
Tags: analytics, B2B marketing, B2C marketing, keyword research, Online Marketing, Site Architecture, site search
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Site Architecture, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Friday, April 23rd, 2010
Potential online customers look for reassurance that your products or services will meet their needs – one way they do this is through testimonials. They want to know what others think of their experience before purchasing, signing up or booking.
So it’s no surprise that sites like Yelp.com have sprung up to meet this demand…and if you’re a B2B firm, you may be faced with providing another form of a testimonial – references.
Providing customer testimonials on your own site is a great way to keep prospects engaged within your site.
Continue reading for 8 tips on how you can best integrate testimonials into your website and/or blog…these tips were provided to a web site promoting cabin rentals in Georgia but are applicable to a wide range of industries.
1. Leave testimonial in original text
Testimonials have a lot more credibility if they’re left in the writer’s original text. Of course you will want to edit it if it has a lot of typos or any profanity but the testimonial will be much more believable if you leave it in its original text.
2. Include person’s full name and other relevant data
To make the testimonial as meaningful and credible as possible, include the person’s full name, company, job position or location and age. Doing so makes the testimonial transparent to the reader – meaning they will trust it more.
3. Post small snippets in main site to support message
To make testimonials more meaningful, take relevant snippets and include them within your main site’s copy or on the side. Let’s take the rental cabin company for example. If you have a paragraph professing how much fun your cabins are for kids, include a testimonial supporting that fact somewhere nearby.
4. Create a dedicated testimonials page
Have a separate page where you include all testimonials in full in addition to using bits and pieces in your site like tip #3. Include a link entitled “see what others are saying here” after each snippet peppered through your site so visitors can easily access the full testimonials page.
5. Bold important parts of testimonials, points you want to get across
Bold parts of sentences to draw the reader’s eye to main points you want them to come away with – especially on long versions or on your dedicated page. Since most of us scan text online, we will notice bold face text. This will help customers understand what you want them to even if they don’t read the full testimonial.
6. Include testimonials in your blog too
While you have to be creative in the context you use testimonials, including them in your blog presents a great opportunity. You could perhaps include a section – “Customer Stories” – where you could provide a brief intro that would be interesting to someone checking out your services. You can then link to the full testimonial page on your site.
7. Encourage testimonials at each interaction with customers
If a customer expresses something nice about you, ask if they would be willing to allow you to use their words as a testimonial on your site. If you have any reviews on Yelp.com or other review sites, migrate them over to your site as well.
8. Encourage the use of pictures and videos
Give your testimonials an even bigger boost by including a picture or video from the customer. You can include the photo or video next to their testimonial and send them a link once it’s live so they can share it with family and friends.
Testimonials can sure be a fun part of online reputation management, providing you with kind words that you’re doing the right thing and motivating you to keep striving for the best.
As a side, remember there are rules governing the use of testimonials – now you must clearly disclose any material connections (like providing compensation for the testimonial) along with being transparent when a testimonial depicts results that are not typical.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, blogs, Online Marketing, small business, testimonials
Posted in Articles, Online Marketing, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Wednesday, April 21st, 2010
Are you a small business owner on a tight budget, looking for professional copywriting? This guest article by Denise McGill outlines a few things to consider. Following her advice, you may be able to enlist the help of a talented copywriter for less than you might think. There’s a lot to be said for making your copywriter’s life easier! Thanks for the article, Denise!
Tips for Business Owners to Get the Most for their Copywriting Dollar
By Denise McGill
www.mcgillcopywriting.com
Is the present economy stretching your budget to the limit? As a business owner, you may find yourself putting projects on hold because financial resources are limited. Projects such as writing a sales promotion to generate new leads or updating web content often get placed on the back burner…when now is the time to promote your business. Engaging, sales-generating copy gets your company noticed and increases sales.
According to the Census Bureau and Small Business Administration, well over half of private (non-farm) industry is made up of small businesses. Forget Fortune 500 companies…small business owners have a lot to offer!
To get the most for your copywriting dollar, here are some suggestions to develop a working relationship with a copywriter on your budget.
1. Know what you would like to achieve and be upfront about your budget. Vague ideas or too many ideas dilute the process (and end up costing you money as the copywriter spends valuable time trying to pin down the main idea). Give specifics to the copywriter. Are you looking to rewrite and freshen your web copy, create a flyer to generate sales leads or write a press release to announce an exciting new product?
2. Provide the copywriter with company material that will make their job easier. Things like company profile, previous sales letters and brochures provide insight into your company. Also, let the writer know who your target audience is. Do you primarily sell to upscale retirees or outdoor enthusiasts?
3. Do some of the work yourself. You want the copywriter to spend his time writing. After all, that is what you are paying them for. Business owners can help cut their copywriting costs in areas such as research, providing spec sheets for product descriptions, gathering their own testimonials, etc.
4. Get it in writing. Put the agreed upon fee and details of the copywriting project in writing – even if it is a simple email. This avoids misunderstandings and complications half way through the project. (For example: Write one press release and one 2-page sales letter, create 50 product descriptions, write one 4-page newsletter, etc for $XXX)
To gain exposure or generate more sales for your business, seek a writer that is willing to work with you and grow with your business. Provide them with the necessary materials and project specifics to succeed. Rewrites due to miscommunication is costly for both parties.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, keyword research, Online Marketing, SEO copywriting, small business
Posted in Articles, Online Marketing, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Monday, April 19th, 2010
Many of us in the business of online marketing spend the bulk of our time racing to the top of a search engine results page for a particular keyword phrase…the very term “search engine optimization” invokes the idea that search engines should be the sole focus of your online marketing efforts.
But should it be all search engines all the time?
While the idea of this post is taking a somewhat critical tone toward search engine optimization, I’m not telling you to forget about all of the other tips you find here in our SEO knowledge center and elsewhere. However, you have to eventually ask yourself why you’re spending time and money marketing your business online. Too often, we get caught in the trap of thinking that our websites are the end rather than the means.
I’m sure I’ve mentioned before on here but I’m mentioning it again – making sure your web pages are “search-friendly” isn’t the only criteria to successfully marketing your business online. Rather, the most important part is to understand the type of content your customers are looking for and to provide it.
Think about your business for a minute – how many customers out there have no idea what you do or why they would ever need you?
Suppose you’re an estate planner on Long Island just outside New York. Your answer may be “yes” to the preceding questions since searchers consistently find your site by using “estate planner long island” or “estate planner nassau county” as their search terms.
But what about terms searchers may use before they even know what an “estate planner” is (or whatever it is you do)?
Could there be another cache of potential customers using “elder care trust” or “Medicaid asset protection”? Chances are you may be missing out on an extraordinary edge over your competitors.
Continue to compete with your competitors using generic keywords for your industry/location but branch out a little bit with more general keyword phrases that can help customers learn that what you offer is what they need – you might capture a lead before they even know to specifically search for an estate planner for example.
In the end, don’t simply copy what your competitors do and expect that to work well for you. Optimizing your site for the same exact words they do can’t possibly work for all of you. Differentiate yourself by thinking more broadly about what your customers need.
If you start optimizing content and messaging to what your customers really need rather than solely focusing on the search engines, you’re putting yourself in a good position to accomplish what you’re really looking for – an increase in the bottom line.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, google, keyword research, Online Marketing, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Friday, April 16th, 2010
For the most part, corporate websites are pretty static that end up becoming drain that doesn’t deliver good value to visitors and prospective customers. As social networking continues to grow, having a “social” feel to your website becomes more important.
One of the biggest advantages of social networking – it’s the biggest and best word-of-mouth advertising medium you could ever ask for. Unfortunately, many websites still do not provide the capacity to share web pages and instead rely solely on testimonials, quotes and videos.
As more and more web users become “social” online and interact with their friends, you will need to factor this into your online marketing strategy. Many people look to their friends for insights and advice when they’re purchasing something – whether it’s online or in a traditional retail environment.
Continue reading for 4 ways you can make your website more social.
More interactive product reviews
Take a page from Amazon or Best Buy’s playbook, even if you’re a B2B company that sells your products through a distributor – make it simple for customers to provide reviews of the products they purchase. Replace your plain old testimonials with review functionality on product pages. Customers can help you sell by putting insights about your product right next to information you provide.
Encourage commenting
Give site visitors a sense of ownership and show that you care about their needs and concerns by allowing people to comment and share ideas. This can be as simple as allowing comments on your corporate blog to creating custom forums. Dell has a great one called Idea Storm where they gather feedback for future product development.
Allow customers to curate content
Developing, posting and maintaining a full website of engaging content can be quite the challenge. It’s time consuming and/or very costly to do. Save on this expense some and make your site social at the same time by allowing customers to submit industry related content they generate themselves or find elsewhere online. Allowing customers to do this means you’re providing improved thought leadership along with increasing brand recognition.
Make your own social network
If your site already requires customers to login to place orders or get technical support, why not make it more social? Amazon is one company that does this very well – coming about as close to their own social network as possible. Customers can login and find forums, product reviews and more. Making your “customer only” areas more social will help transition this part of your site from a place people only come when required to one where customers find real value.
As social networking becomes a bigger part of marketing online, those who implement things like this will find themselves ahead of the curve in regard to their search engine rankings – ultimately leading to more on-site activity and quality sales leads.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, Online Marketing, social media
Posted in Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Friday, April 9th, 2010
As a web copywriter, I spend the bulk of my time trying to phrase information in a way that’s appealing to people who encounter it. But there’s one thing that many of us copywriters fail to acknowledge – good design helps support content.
If a site seems drab and visually unappealing, it’s to be expected that a person’s time on that page will be very short. That wonderful article or landing page you labored over for hours sits languishing online like a fish out of water.
Now if you’re exclusively a content developer like me, you don’t have to know all the ins and outs of good design. What you do have to understand are some basic fundamentals of what works and what doesn’t so you can be sure that great content you develop shines to its full potential. And knowing it helps when you’re working with a web designer either on your own team or with another company.
Continue reading for some good general guidelines of organization, formatting and designing your web pages. These tips were part of a whitepaper entitled Best Practices for Conversion: The New Engagement Funnel in 7 Steps.
1. Scrutinize your competition
Go through your competitor’s web pages and look at their copy and layout. Document places you feel stumped and then compare this page with yours. Revise or eliminate sections to make yours better.
2. Place most critical page elements within the first 300 pixels
According to usability research from many sources, over half of site visitors do not look “below the fold.” Therefore, get right to the point and keep your value proposition within your screen’s first view.
3. Keep your layout simple
Increase reader comprehension by using a one-column format with ample margins and white space. Limit paragraphs to five lines…dense copy discourages reading. Simple layouts are also more conducive to search engine crawlers and in turn, rankings.
4. Be obvious and use standard usage conventions
Site visitors shouldn’t have to think very much to understand your message and how to use your page. Be clear when describing links and use a standard underline format when linking to another page, like your shopping cart for example.
5. Make sure your page loads quickly
If a page isn’t loading quickly, most visitors will get frustrated and leave – and the more ‘junk’ you have on a page, the longer it will take to load. You should strive for no more than 8 seconds on a dial-up connection (yes, there are many people who still use dial-up to get online.)
Learn more about these and other elements to consider when designing your landing pages. Remember, your landing page is potentially the last place your visitors will see before purchasing. If your goal is lead generation, it’s step 2 in the process. It doesn’t matter if there are only a couple steps or many in your marketing funnel, your landing page needs to excite visitors and build confidence in your products/services and company.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, graphic design, SEO copywriting, Site Architecture, web design
Posted in SEO Technology, Site Architecture, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Monday, March 29th, 2010
Inevitably in the life time of a website, you’re going to have pages that are no longer relevant. Perhaps the information is simply outdated or you don’t offer that particular product or service anymore.
What’s a webmaster to do in this instance?
If you’ve spent any time online, there’s no doubt that you have encountered a webpage saying “Error 404” or something like that. Whether a URL was typed in wrong or you were simply looking for something that didn’t exist anymore, a 404 error message indicates to you and the search engines that this page no longer exists.
Having a lot of 404 redirects isn’t necessarily a bad thing in the eyes of Google and other search engines…however, 404 redirects should be setup in a way that’s inviting to the reader and encourages them to stay on your site.
According to Google employee John Mu, 404 redirects are not a problem for the search engine, especially if the page helps a user find related information within the site.
With respect to site visitors and conversions, static 404 redirects are very uninviting, breaking the conversion process much of the time. Let’s say you sell power tools and someone is looking for a particular model band saw but the product is obsolete and is no longer manufactured. If that prospective buyer finds a link to their preferred saw on your site clicks the link and comes to a static page that says “Error 404” and nothing else, they will most likely go elsewhere to find their saw.
Static 404 pages are also a problem for search engine spiders since they find pages on your site through following links. If there are no links on a 404 page, it will not know where to go.
Five must haves for a 404 redirect page include:
- An apology for the error (even if the visitor is at-fault)
- A search box that’s prominently displayed
- A link to your site map
- A link to your home page
- Links to other main areas on your site
The above example could include a picture of a carpenter who’s frustrated that he can’t find a tool he needs on a job, adding some humor and empathy to the customer’s predicament.
If you’re 404 redirect pages are static, spruce them up by including a template of your site along with some of the elements mentioned above.
The point is – do not have static 404 redirect pages. They could cost you dearly both in terms of search engine rankings and conversions.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, google, Online Marketing, search engine optimization, Site Architecture
Posted in Forum Watch, Online Marketing, SEO Technology, Site Architecture, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Friday, March 26th, 2010
We’ve discussed before the power of ‘anchor-text links,’ or text that includes a link to another page on your site that has further information on a topic, product or service. The anchor-text you use can have a tremendous impact on your rankings.
But too many sites out there still rely on “click-here” or “more…” or other simple phrases centered on the same thing. How many times have you seen the phrase “Click here for more information” on a website – not very inviting is it?
For many companies, “click-here” or “more information” is perhaps the most widely used text on their site. Besides the uninviting tone of those phrases, companies who use them are missing out on a lot of ranking opportunities.
This New Jersey Transit Authority site is a perfect example – at the end of each paragraph seen below, they have a “more info” link directing potential passengers to the service’s transit schedule. Instead, it would be better if they drop the “more info” altogether and integrate the link into the copy – such as:
Memorial Day Schedule Information
Memorial Day Weekend bus and rail schedule information is now available!
Not only does this link take advantage of internal link structure to increase keyword exposure, it gives the reader a better idea of where they’re going.
So be aware of how you’re linking out to other sites and to other pages within your site. Avoid common phrases like “click here,” etc. Continuing to use those phrases means you will be missing out on great ranking opportunities – not to mention, the confusion your visitors are likely to experience.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, link building, search engine optimization, SEO copywriting
Posted in Forum Watch, Site Architecture, Tip of the Day | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 24th, 2010
Conveying important features and benefits with minimal words is one of the hardest things to do in the copywriting field. Today guest blogger Denise McGill contributes an article demonstrating how she helps clients create engaging product descriptions for ecommerce websites and product catalogs. The often limited space for this medium together with the reading habits of online shoppers mean your copy has to work really hard to capture and engage its audience. Read on to see her advice…
By Denise McGill
Catalog copy descriptions can pull consumers in and make them beg for more or can bore and leave consumers disgruntled, suspect of your motives and unsatisfied. All copy, especially catalog copy (due to limited space), must begin with a compelling opening statement that makes the reader want to move to the next sentence and on to the next until before they know it – the consumer is engaged in your copy. Miss a link somewhere and you lose your audience.
In this article, I have listed two ways to create an experience for the consumer. One way to pull a potential customer into the world of your product is by letting the consumer visualize himself using or enjoying the product. In other words:
Create an experience…
To do this, heighten a consumer’s anticipation and help them envision a product that delivers a desirable experience. Let them visualize the atmosphere you are trying to create for the reader. For example, a line of copy that begins with:
Enjoy bistro style dining in your own home…
immediately has potential buyers engaged in a cozy atmosphere at an intimate table setting surrounded by good friends. Continue with your copy to complete the “feel good” experience for the consumer. In addition, make sure features of the item are listed in your copy and the benefit to the buyer those features will bring.
Here is another example of creating an exhilarating experience for an outdoor enthusiast:
Imagine kayaking the crystal waters of North America…
The consumer imagines himself on a hot summer day, escaping the stresses of daily life to kayak down a lazy river.
Along the same lines of creating an experience is to:
Spark a good memory….
Or better yet, create a new one! The example used here may bring back pleasant childhood memories of gathering around the table with family for a Saturday night game of checkers. Or it could spark the desire for a young family to start a new tradition of togetherness. Let your catalog copy promote positive images in the reader’s mind as in this example:
Invite family and friends to an afternoon of board games around this hardwood table for some old fashioned fun…
So how do you go about creating an experience for a potential customer? Choose an emotion that you would like your buyer to feel. It can be pride, happiness, sense of peace or tranquility, exhilaration, hopefulness, etc. These positive emotions can be a powerful motivator for the consumer. A word of caution; however, make sure your descriptions do not over exaggerate the capabilities of the product. Keep your copy credible. Promise the moon and your descriptions lose validity.
Denise McGill is a freelance copywriter specializing in catalog and web product description, copy makeovers, landing pages, promotional materials, and more. Visit her website at http://mcgillcopywriting.com for more information on giving your business the competitive edge.
And of course SEO Advantage also offers website optimization for ecommerce sites, to help that engaging copy on each individual product page rank high in natural search results!
Tags: B2C marketing, ecommerce, Online Marketing, SEO copywriting, small business
Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Monday, March 22nd, 2010
To put it simply, do you write web pages for people who simply glance at it or do you write for those who sit down and read what you have word by word?
I have to admit, much of the time I fall into the skimmer category when reading websites. Considering the sheer magnitude of the Internet, it’s best from a time perspective to scan over an article’s important points. If it seems there is value in reading word for word, only then do I really get into it.
In short, you have to write your web pages for skimmers and scanners. Numerous heat map studies show that the majority of web surfers simply read the first few lines of a page’s copy.
When writing copy, you should ask yourself “If visitors read just the first few words of each copy element on the page, will they find the page relevant and interesting?” For most, the answer is no since they generally include a lot of ‘fluff’ in their headlines and intro copy.
Consider the following example from veteran copywriter Nick Usborne:
“Discover a powerful tool to help you get organized. XYZ Software helps you get more done”
Skimmers will most likely miss the point with this…it’s too long with too much fluff. To communicate the message better, use “Get more done with XYZ Software” instead.
No need to fret if you can’t communicate what you need to in five or six words…break it up instead. Add captions under pictures, use sub-headings and other means of breaking up your message. Reserve your main heading for your main point, like the example above.
Tags: B2B marketing, B2C marketing, Online Marketing, SEO copywriting
Posted in Online Marketing, Tip of the Day, Writing for search engines | No Comments »
Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010
Facebook is by far the largest social networking utility with over 400 million active users worldwide. As far as social networking, especially if you’re a B2C company like an e-retailer or storefront operation, Facebook is the prime social network to focus your efforts on.
It can be a great place to build your brand online and interact with your customers. But many businesses try Facebook just to give up amid frustration and seeming failure.
Following these 8 steps can help make Facebook a worthy investment of your time and resources, helping your build customers and revenues in the long run.
1. Have your own unique brand image for your profile
If you’ve been on Facebook for fun, you know everyone has their own picture of them self. But when you’re marketing your business, it may not look too appealing to just see a picture of you and/or your staff. Create something unique that will look interesting to someone, especially if it’s only a thumbnail size picture.
2. Post relevant interesting content
It’s one of the basics on any online marketing or SEO effort. Interesting, relevant content is required to keep people coming back. Simply post relevant content from other sites or link to custom content on your own site. Petty self promotion isn’t going to work too well in this environment.
3. Participate in the conversation
Utilities like Facebook are meant to be interactive. Participate in discussions on relevant topics or comment on someone else’s postings. Find every opportunity to start a discussion.
4. Increase interaction by adding apps
App devices on Facebook provide an entertainment value for your visitors. And if they invite their friends, you could potentially have a bigger pool of visitors learning about your Facebook profile and business. Pizza Hut put this to good use by creating an app to order a pizza through the utility – but an app can be anything from a game to special discounts. Check out AllFacebook.com Leader Board for ideas.
5. Direct new visitors to a custom page
Facebook automatically sends traffic to your wall, which can be uninviting. They do however let you use any page for your Facebook homepage. Create a custom page for new visitors instead and have an inviting place for people to learn about you. And change it periodically…like Skittles’ Mob the Rainbow entry page, which changes every month.
6. Post tags of your fans in photos and videos
This takes a little effort but include your fans in photos and videos. You could perhaps run a contest and ask fans to submit a picture of them with your product. After posting the picture, you can “tag” them, which their friends will see on their update
7. Create customized “tabs” on your Facebook page
Many large companies who use Facebook to their advantage have custom tabs at the top of their profile, which further personalizes your profile. You can use these tabs when introducing a new product or embedding a new poll or announcing an event, like the Threadless t-shirt company, who allows fans to vote on new design, comment and even buy their shirts directly through Facebook.
8. Consider Facebook ads to jump start your profile
It may be worth the investment to purchase some advertising on Facebook to give your profile the initial jump it needs. Getting subscribers to anything is a slow process in the early stages. Facebook ads generate qualified traffic by refining its subscribers by keyword, demographics and category, putting your profile in front of millions of people.
We can’t all have the millions of Facebook fans like Starbucks or Coca-Cola. But it is possible, using these 8 steps, to harness the power of Facebook effectively and draw in a large number of fans. According to Sysomos, over 77% of companies with a fan page have less than a 1000 fans.
Make your Facebook profile the best in your industry by considering these 8 steps.
Tags: B2C marketing, Facebook, Online Marketing, social media
Posted in Articles, Online Marketing | No Comments »
