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Content Writing For the Web

admin — Fri, 02 Jul 2010 01:49:44 +0000

Content writing for the web is a great deal different than writing for any offline source. For a variety of reasons, web site visitors tend to read slower online, read less information before moving on and, most importantly, move on very quickly if a post or article does not get to the point quickly.

With this in mind, web content typically needs to be about 50% shorter than if it were to be written offline. However, simply writing less information is not the way to solve the Internet print problem. There are many techniques that you can use to capture your reader’s attention and keep it for long enough to sell your product or service. Good content writers will make sure that the writing keeps the writer engaged, and also sell to the reader at the same time.

Content Writing Tips – Lean Prose

Whenever you write an article or post, remember that the average Internet reader will only read 20% of it. This may tempt you to use repetition in your writing to ensure that you get your point across. However, this is almost never a solution. By adhering to the following basic content writing for the web tips, you can create lean prose that will be attractive to your readers:

Avoid the use of creative or clever language. Stick to facts and make your point quickly.

Try to express one main idea every paragraph.

Do not exaggerate claims. Stick to useful information without too many adverbs or hyperbole.
Try highlighting text to bring out major keywords and make scanning easier for your readers.
Use an inverted pyramid style. Start with your most important point or section and work your way down.

Using the Time You Have With the Reader Effectively

As most Internet readers will move on quickly if they are not getting the information that they want, you have to make every word of your content work to peak the reader’s interest. In general, you have about ten seconds (or about 100 words) to secure the reader’s attention. This means that you should avoid long winded introductions that prevent you from starting to give the reader solid information.

In total, you have about 55 seconds (or about 500 words) to give the reader an overall understanding of the product, service or company that you are representing. If you use an inverted pyramid style, this should pose little problem. Unless you are writing an authority article or post that goes in depth into a topic, it is best to split broader topics into smaller and more centered approaches than to create a long and unfocused article.

Content writing for the web is often a difficult task because you are fighting against the amount of time that the reader will be able to spend with you. As long as you have an interesting and valuable subject and express your views or facts in short sentences and paragraphs, you will be able to hope that the reader will spend enough time reading your content to get the overall point of your product or service and take advantage of your offering.

Corry Cummings is the owner of Content Customs, a content creation company that specializes in high quality web content writing services. He also runs a blog over at Content Customs, which is managed and written by one of the head writers of the company.

Why Google Is Killing Traffic for Smaller Websites

admin — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 03:14:04 +0000

Google updates its algorithm more than once a day on average and last month they tweaked their algorithm so that many smaller sites lost a significant amount of longtail traffic. Most people report this figure to be around the 30% mark.

The million Dollar question: Why has Google decided to remove a lot of longtail traffic from smaller sites and where has it gone?

I run an SEO company and in my opinion, Google had / has a glaring hole its algorithm, this allowed websites with an element of trust and an accumulation of PageRank to rank for hundreds of thousands or even millions of longtail words based purely on the inherent strength of a website. Once people realised they could put junk content and get a gargantuan amount of free traffic, it opened the floodgates to publishers creating multi-million pages websites with very low grade content, mainly written by “writing factories” that are filled with people that are barely literate, let alone speak English as a first language. Aaron Wall has spoken about this in-depth and had given countless examples on his SEOBook blog.

This “hole” still exists but Google has had to take steps to combat what can only be described as “content spam”. The reason Google has had to step on it is to keep its results clean, if it doesn’t normal consumers who don’t understand SEO or search engines may lose a little faith in Google delivering relevant results.

The shift in traffic has gone from many sites with some trust to fewer sites with higher levels of trust and authority. I believe that this will become even more pronounced in the coming years, with authority trusted sites harbouring most of the short-tail as they already do and then all the long-tail traffic too. Google figures that sites with “mega trust” must publish what can be construed as high quality content and they want those sites to appear in the SERPS for most of the queries.

So what do you do if you’re a small to medium sizes publisher? Well, the answer is to become a trusted publisher so that Google graces you with its Mana. Obviously, this means creating ubre high quality sites with niche and original ideas so that other trusted sources link to you. I think that you will have to embrace every media available online in the future to stand a good chance of creating something successful. This includes, SEO, PPC, Social Media, Local SEO, Video etc, I believe that each avenue will become less profitable and you’ll need to adopt the additional streams to really excel.

Christopher Angus is an SEO expert who runs a bespoke digital marketing agency / SEO company in the Cotswolds, United Kingdom. In addition to his extensive SEO knowledge, Christopher specialises in social media marketing, viral marketing, pay-per-click management and Web site design. Rated the 26th Most Influential Marketer in the World in 2009, Christopher’s portfolio includes a range of high-profile companies within the travel, finance and gaming industries.

Do you feel that the widespread and blanket use of nofollow tags is devaluing Google’s search algorithms? Examples such as Wikipedia, where ALL external links are nofollow. Does Wikipedia mean nothing to Google’s algorithms? Do Google take into account quality factors from nofollowed links when the links come from the well established authority websites, such as Wikipedia?

AdvanceMe interview is up

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:07:07 +0000

Check out my interview for AdvanceMe, the Business Cash Advance industry leader.

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My Second Guestpost at SmallBizTrends

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 02:45:46 +0000

It’s about mistakes that small businesses make online.

Hope you like it.

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The Best Way to Attract Search Engines to Your Copy

admin — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 02:07:15 +0000

This might come as a shock to you, but the best way for most small businesses to attract the search engines might be to ignore them. That’s right – I said it.

In a world dominated by trying to pull in the search engines, one of the best things most people can do for their web copy is to forget about the search engines entirely. Just stop trying so hard to make your web content fit into that magic Willy Wonka formula.

As an SEO Copywriter, you might think I am crazy to say something like that. Blasphemy! “Wait a minute,” you say with suspicion. “Isn’t it all about keywords, and repeating the keywords in specific order, and counting how many words are on the page, and making sure the proper H1 and H2 tags are used, and making some keywords bold, and using bullets in a specific place…”

And on and on and on.

The many “professional” tricks of SEO copywriting could fill a worthless eBook or ten. Everything from how many characters you have in a page to exactly how many keywords make the right number to have in the meta tag. Let’s not forget my personal favorite sham of all time: Measuring keyword density as a percentage, and making that percentage the primary measure of the page’s value. Yuck! I actually used to have to do this for some very well known brand names. Really dumb.

Welcome to the Machine

Search engine bots don’t “read” your page: they break it down into things they can easily quantify. Things like keyword density. It is math. Density is easy to measure, so a machine can do it – it can both write and read it. Quality is not so easy to define and contain, and machines will forever struggle to interpret or create nuance.

Machines, like search engines, enjoy math because it always makes sense – zeroes and ones. It is steady and dependable. It can be controlled. It can be measured with percentages. It is a part of SEO, for sure.

But just like in school, there is always going to be someone better at math than you – making the “SEO” part of SEO copywriting a pretty competitive place to be, to say the least. Believe me, there are some math experts filling the search engine results, and they will always be a few steps ahead of you.

Good writing is often the opposite of math. It can and should be delightfully unpredictable. It keys in on passions and is sometimes measured by connection. It is also usually a more attainable goal for most web-writers-to-be.

Keyword repetition will almost always seem forced –because it usually is forced. Using multiple keywords to impress the machines will not often result in copy that is going to retain the interest of the humans. The bored humans will leave, quickly. And all of the machines in the world cannot replace the value of the humans plugging-in to your website. When you are all about the engines, you simply have to keep relying on them more than your message. While it works for some this way, it is a colossal fail for most people’s efforts.

So when you are writing only to impress or trick the search bots, most people will lose. Doing it well takes years of constant practice, and the rules change by the day. And there are always people better at that kind of math than you. Some do it with huge machines so you have to be better at math than a machine to win. Sorry.

But all is not lost…there is still an easy way to come out on top: you earn it.

Writing for the Human Engines

Since most people want their web copy to work for the long haul, they are much better off trying to create something real for their customers than pouring verbs into a cauldron bubbling with some New Coke formula sure to bring them to the #1 page in Google this time.

For now, leave the keywords to the cauldrons, the machines and the experts. Become an expert on your business – on the services and products that make you the purple cow. If you promote your business honestly and with an eye trained on bringing more value to the user, I PROMISE you, your site will work well in the search engines. And I never promise anything, that is how sure of this I am.

When you create something of value, people talk about it. They forward it. Link to it. Become involved with it. In their involvement, your keywords (and so many more) will occur – trust me. It is the true nature of organic web building, and social media finally makes it pretty easy. On-page strength (the keywords you stuff in there) is only one small piece of the puzzle in how SEO works. A page with tons of keywords in it can lose to a page that is better aligned with links, and it happens all the time. So focus your content on quality, not keywords.

All it takes is the right idea to spark a conversation. This will trigger SEO power that can be brought into your website. (Notice I didn’t say keywords once)

Bottom Line

The bottom line is if you are just starting on the web and want to write pages that will do well in the search engines, you shouldn’t try to learn how to write for search engines. Yep, said it again.

Instead, learn how to write pages that connect with people: turn an ability to answer their needs into your direction. Be adept and fluent in what makes you great, learning to openly communicate (in strategic and carefully chosen platforms) the things that set you apart in a noisy marketplace.

If you become a good writer, learning the mechanical parts of SEO copywriting are a great way to focus some energy to be sure. Learning how to blend in the targeted keywords so they don’t disrupt the flow of a page is not rocket science, but it does take considerable time and study. And it only makes a logical next step, once you have first learned to connect with an audience.

I repeat: Get your message straight first. Focus on writing something that answers a need and strikes a chord. Stand out from the pile. Earn trust. Build relationships, and offer a platform for discussion. Feed the people what they need. This is the basic foundation for long term success.

Then you can worry about learning how to better feed the machines.

Marty Lamers owns a Freelance SEO Copywriting company named Articulayers. Since 2001, Articulayers has been fixing the world, one word at a time. For more information, visit: http://www.articulayers.com

Does using a class or an id in a header tag:
text
instead of using plain headers:
text
interfere with the way search engines see and understand headings?

Perception Of SEO Industry According To Google Suggest

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 04:19:28 +0000

We are in a sad place when it comes to perception.

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SEO predictions for this year

admin — Sun, 17 Jan 2010 20:36:50 +0000

It seems that everybody and their dog wants to predict what’s going to happen in search this year. This made me to compile a list of those prediction posts so I can make my own list of biggest prediction blunders when this year is over. Or to proclaim a prophet or two.

John Battelle started the practice of “prediction posts” six years ago, and has been fairly accurate so far.

For 2010, Battelle predicted the end of US dominance on the web, a paradigm shift at Google, a privacy debacle, deterioration of traditional search results and so on.

SEO and Internet marketing experts made quite a number of predictions for 2010.

Local SEO predictions by Andrew Shotland
Andrew predicts the emergence of Open Source Yellow Pages, Google’s complete domination of local search, a dramatic increase in small business search engine optimization budgets and some other interesting stuff that I mostly agree with.

SEOMoz Predictions
Rand feels that Yahoo’s Site Explorer will disappear along with real time search in blended results (to some extent), and that SEO budgets will dramatically increase.

Vertical Measures prediction collection
Featuring 10 Internet marketers predicting various trends in all verticals of search.

I will come back to this when the year ends.

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7 Business Lessons I Learned From Google

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 19:42:45 +0000

Another guest post by Ines

When I say Google, what is the first thing that pops into your mind? The best search engine? Or Fortune Magazine’s #1 Best Place to Work? Maybe both?

Here’s a story about a small research project started by two PhD students at Stanford University in California. What they did and how they did it changed the Internet forever. Read 7 business lessons I learned from Google and how you can learn, too.

1. Do What You Love And Believe In

I bet this sounds like a cliche, but if you spend your day doing something you don’t like (or even worse, hate), then you will most probably never succeed. It might be hard to find the job that interests you, and that you’re good at. But this will be worth your time. Some people think that the best way to do this is to go to school and educate yourself, no matter how long it takes. Some people think that college is a waste of time.

Education is important, but not as important as your passion, willingness to learn and eagerness to grow. Find something that you love, that brings you a lot of joy. Spend every day learning more, improving yourself and your skills. In order to do that, you have to find something you love, something you’re passionate about.

2. Do Something Remarkable

These days, it’s not enough to do something. You have to do something that will change people’s lives, make it easier, solve a problem.

Don’t do something because the money is good – success, along with financial stability, will come along once you create and develop the best product and/or service.

A good service and/or a product has to be unique, remarkable, it has to be like Google.

Google is simple to use, fast and gives the most accurate results. It doesn’t tolerate spam and their users appreciate that.

Sergey and Larry figured out the best way to serve the most accurate and relevant results – a site with most backlinks from reputable site has to be the most important one. It was important to create a search engine that was smart, and not easily manipulated.

They did it. It was and still is remarkable.

3. It’s Better To Grow Slowly And Stay Than Grow Fast And Crash

In the late 1990′s, there were a lot of dot-com companies. The investors were crazy about them, the market was growing. Many of these companies only had an idea, never a good business model. Even though most of them raised a substantial amount of money, they never made it for two reasons:

- All that money and success got into people’s heads and they went crazy with it. Instead of investing in more capital so the

company grows, many dot-com owners spent insane amounts of money on things they never needed. Irresponsible spending

brought many companies down to their knees and they never stood up. Investors wanted to see something for their money,

but the lack of good business plan destroyed any chance these companies ever had.

- Two words: Dot.com crash.

Google was spending money on building the most powerful machine capacity to serve its expanding search engine. They invested in their knowledge, their skills. Even though there was no profit, Brinn and Page never gave up. They were smart with their money and didn’t get discouraged by a fast grow other companies experienced.

4. Figure Out The Best Business Model

You have to have a great business model. Idea is not enough anymore. What business model would be best for your company?

For Google, business was not first thought on their mind. They wanted to improve search results and user experience.

Page and Brinn, very young yet very wise, knew that success and money was going to follow if they managed to solve this problem. They were right.

Think about your company. Think about a business model that would best suit your needs. But don’t let the money be your ultimate guide.

5. Don’t Do Evil

It’s important to do good things with your company. Don’t build your success on other people’s misery. If you sell snake oil, don’t

forget that your rise will be short lived.

Help people, help your community. Help your customers. It will come back to you.

6. Customers Always Come First

Do you treat your customers with respect? Do you value their business?

Google’s first job is to satisfy the user. When someone types in a query in Google’s searchbox, in a split of a second they will be

presented with hundreds, thousands and millions of results relevant to their query.

Google’s goal is always improving their search experience, bettering their results and serving only relevant content. If this goal was

replaced with another one, their market share would decrease.

7. Treat Employees With Respect

How do you treat your employees? Do you value their opinion? Is it important for you to keep them happy and productive?

Google is Fortune Magazine’s #1 Best Place to Work. It’s because they treat their employees with respect, give them tools to grow and succeed.

Your employees are your family.

So, what can I say in the end?

Google invested in their own growth. Money was spent on things needed for the company to grow and succeed, not the opposite. It never saw any profit in the first few years, but Sergey and Larry believed in their passion and their product. They strive to make the best search engine, an engine that was unbiased and helpful.

User experience is very important and they spend a lot of money, time and effort into improving that and finding solutions to any

problems that may arise.

The employees love working there.

But, Google isn’t perfect. There’s a lot of criticism out there regarding issues such as intellectual property, Internet privacy,

and censorship.

Sergey, Larry and Eric Schmidt will have to find the solution to the problems that arise almost daily. But, judging from everything

we’ve seen so far, I have no doubts that they will make it.

Learn from Google. Improve yourself, your company and your products.

Dos And Don’ts Of Google Local

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:56:14 +0000

Guest post by my fiancee.

Local search is expanding. According to Google, 73% of all online activity is local – with this number constantly growing. Naturally, you want your business to benefit from Google local search. Read through our list of “Dos And Don’ts” to learn how to create a great Google local listing, and at the same time avoid the common mistakes that might threaten your online local presence.

DO Read Guidelines About Google Local Business Listings

There is a number of resourceful articles and posts that will help you to better understand the importance of great listings.
I wrote a guide about it, too.
It’s crucial to read them because you will have better knowledge of how to bring your business closer to prospective customers.

DON’T Underestimate The Importance Of Local Search

Studies shows that a large percentage of population researches online only to buy offline (ROBO effect).
Local search is very important. As I already said above, 73% of all online activity is local. Prospective customers will go online and look for your business. You have to have a great, up-to-date listing with accurate information in order to benefit from local search.
Don’t just create a listing and forget about it. Make sure to track all your progress, see what keywords better convert, where your customers come from etc. You will learn a lot by listening to them.

DO Make Sure All Your Business Information Is Accurate Across The Web

Google uses third-party data providers to gather all information about your business to “improve the search results”. Make sure that all your information is accurate across the web – your phone numbers, your address etc. Any inconsistencies can kill your local campaign.
Information provided on your Google local listing has to match the data Google finds across the web.

DON’T Skip Steps

As much as you might think that filling out the “Hours Of Operation” field might waste of time, think about your prospective customers.
Would they like to know this information? Of course the answer is yes! Fill out all the fields – you can always return and make changes, but in the end, make sure that no steps were skipped.
By doing this, you’re not only making your listing stand out, but you’re also helping your conversion rates go up. It’s a win-win situation.

DO Include Pictures And Videos In Your Local Listing

Videos and pictures can seem irrelevant to some, but they can play a big role in making your Google local listing unique, trust-worthy and successful. Adding pictures (up to 10 in Google local listings) and videos (up to 5 in Google local listings) will help your conversion rates, too. Show off your logo, your building, captivate the unique environment of your working space. Be creative and watch your local presence hit through the roof!

DON’T Mis-Categorize Your Listing

Categories are very important. Submitting your listing to the wrong category can really hurt your business. You can create up to 5 categories including the predefined ones and your keyword research has to be done before the process of categorization. Don’t spam – keyword stuffing is never a good idea. Always keep your categories short, but very descriptive.

DO Build Reviews

Reviews are going to make or break your business. If your listing is well optimized and easily found on the web, most often than not customers are going to share their experience regarding your products and/or services. First advice is: never build false reviews. It’s not ethical and eventually it will hurt your business.
If you want positive reviews, obvious advice is to always go above and beyond, because just giving customers what they want is expected.
Offer great service, be friendly, help them solve problems. Make sure your products are worth their time and money.
Ask your customers to review your business. Tell them to share their opinion and comments online.

This is a test post

admin — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 01:36:04 +0000

Test

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