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.

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.

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!

Considering the time and resources it takes to create landing pages and articles, you may think optimizing for as many keywords as you can is the way to go.

Absolutely not!

To be clear, I’m not saying you should only have one or two words on your page and that’s it…you can’t simply have your keyword(s) with no supporting content to go with it.

However, your page needs to have one primary focus, one underlying concept. Optimizing your webpage for several keywords dilutes the impact of your copy which means you will have wasted your time rather than taking it slow and doing it right.

In many instances, you may have two words that mean exactly the same thing – take “certified public accountant” and “CPA” for example. Both essentially mean the same thing and conceivably either one will be used in an online search. But adding “tax accountant”, “tax services” and “income tax filing” to the same page will dilute your results and keep your rankings off page 1. While these concepts are related to one another, combining all of these keywords onto one page will only frustrate your efforts.

You shouldn’t think of web pages as a catch-all where you can optimize for several different concepts at once…doing so usually results in confusing the search engine and lowering your rankings.

Reading this is probably leading you to one conclusion – “I’m going to have to create a lot of landing pages!”

Quite true…and while it’s a long endeavor, it’s well worth it in the long run. Start out with the big keywords and work your way down. In due time, you will cover your target markets and have a better position in the search engines and well on your way to higher site visits and conversions.

Many SEO professionals in the past relied on providing simple visibility reports that detailed the rankings for particular keyword phrases in the top search engines – namely Google, Yahoo and Bing. While this data can provide some excellent illustration of a project’s success, it is possible that reporting of this nature can be misleading or irrelevant when considering things from a conversion/revenue perspective.

Continue reading to learn about 3 essential components your SEO report should have so your bosses or clients can have actionable insight into how their SEO campaigns are progressing…please note that each client is different so you may have to provide modified/customized reporting formats.

1. Executive Summary

This summary provides a quick overview of the SEO campaign’s performance and describes what activities were performed since the last report. This section can also provide other metrics that apply to the client’s particular situation.

2. Visibility Reporting

When starting an SEO project, you collect a list of keyword phrases you intend to target, giving you a baseline ranking report for positioning in the search engines. Progress is measure against this baseline ranking on an ongoing basis.

A good visibility report provides the baseline ranking, the prior report’s rankings and the current rankings for your chosen phrases. It’s important that people who look at your report understand these rankings represent a snapshot in time, as they may not actually match when the report is actually completed and delivered.

WARNING: Unethical SEOs can manipulate this type of information, targeting easy-to-rank for keywords and making it look like the client is farther along than they really are.

3. Analytics Reporting

Analytics should be the primary driver for any actionable data contained in an SEO report. Any number of key performance indicators can apply, including:

• Organic traffic (broken into branded and non-branded searches when possible)
• Organic conversion percentage
• Average order value
• Revenue per visit

There are many ways you can present this type of information but the most important thing to remember is that analytics data should drive ongoing strategy and adjustments to an ongoing SEO campaign.

Many have a tendency to think that search engine rankings for a particular set of keywords are all that matter but realistically, conversions are what matter so don’t forget to include this type of information in any SEO report you provide clients.

Simply tracking organic results is doing a big disservice to them.

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.

No reason for despair if this happens to you. Rather, look at it as a process of discovery as to why you’re site’s dropped…you may be surprised at what you find out.

Here’s a method you can use to aid in your quest of finding the source of your problem and getting right with Google…watch the video below for more details.

Are you sure it’s a penalty?

There’s a good chance that it’s not even a penalty per se but more of a technical issue. Maybe there’s a crawl problem or you forgot to include keywords in some of your content. Check and see if Google is indexing your pages by typing a keyword phrase, a colon then your web address (keyword:http://www.yoursite.com/) and see if they’re indexing your pages.

Try and identify whether you’re experiencing a rankings drop or a traffic drop…doing that will help you determine what you can do to fix the problem.

Are any links you have causing the problem?

Links are big part of building rankings in the search engines so it stands to reason something could go wrong and cause a drop in rankings or traffic. There are a couple of possible reasons for this.

The first is a more outright penalty for having links from sites that make it look kind of obvious that you’re employing spammy/black hat type practices. They frown upon this and you can consider it to be more of a direct penalty.

On the other hand, you have many sites linking to you that were acquired legitimately through Google’s eyes that may not be valued as much or not at all for whatever reason. Maybe they’re engaging in bad linking practices or another site linking to them is. Either way, the link value you were getting isn’t there anymore so it will be prudent to get rid of that link to try and remedy the problem.

Getting right with Google

Once you’ve identified the problem, now you need to get back on the right side with Google’s spam team. Getting back in is usually based on three factors:

1. Severity of the penalty or mistake
2. Is this the first time or is it a repeat problem?
3. Are you a brand name or little guy?

The more severe the error the tougher it will be getting back into Google. If you’ve engaged in any spammy/black hat practices for example you will have a harder time getting back in. First timers are given a little more leniency than repeat situations. And of course, size matters in this world so if you’re a big brand name site like Sony, Walmart, etc. you will have an easier time.

But if you’re a little guy and it’s the third time on a pretty bad penalty, you’re probably toast…you’re really at the mercy of the Google gods so the best thing to do is when you contact their spam team, be completely honest about any mistakes, etc. and what you discovered as your problem.

It’s possible they may ignore you and at some point, you will need to decide what to do. If you go a couple of months and you’re not getting anywhere with Google after you’ve discovered your problem, consider redirecting your site through a 301 redirect and starting over.

As you see, there are many reasons why you could be experiencing trouble with your Google rankings…watch the video for more details and other technical reasons as to why.

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.

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.

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:

1. Who is your market?
2. What is their problem?
3. 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.