Category Archives: SEO copywriter

Google’s Blog Ranking Criteria Revealed: Part I . . .

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Posted by admin on May 4, 2009 – 6:33 am
Filed under RSS Feed, SEO copywriter, blogging, increase site traffic

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Similar to when the popular kids in high school got to choose their team members in gym class, Google Blogsearch leaves the weaklings and so-called losers behind. If your blog isn’t popular, it won’t be part of the elite blog group that is ranked by Google. In other words, your blog won’t be on page one of Google Blogsearch. It will be on page 570—or worse.

If you want to rank high on Google Blogsearch, it’s time to start playing Google’s game. It’s all about popularity when it comes to ranking high, and there are a lot of factors that determine your degree of popularity. But, how does one become so admired? You must prove to Google that your blog is high quality.
• Approach popular, like-minded bloggers, and ask if you could be a guest blogger: Google looks highly upon blogs mentioned on other blogs because it illustrates that your blog provides intellectual material that ignites curiosity and discussion in the online community. Aside from other blogs, if Google finds your blog’s URL on emails, chats, and social bookmarking sites, Google considers this a positive indicator that your blog is high quality.

• Attach the RSS feed widget to your blog: RSS feed stands for Really Simple Syndication, which is a file containing a brief amount of information—a headline and synopsis—and a link to the full content on the blog. Voluntary subscribers to specific blog RSS feed will receive this information through their RSS readers. Google can detect if your blog is high quality based on how many people subscribe to your blog’s RSS feed. In addition, Google can detect how many people visit your blog from their RSS readers and how many times they click through your blog. And, don’t try to trick Google by subscribing to your own blog numerous times. Google’s mind readers have already devised a way to detect this type of blog fraud!

The Economic Downturn Is No Excuse to Forget About Online Marketing

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Posted by admin on April 29, 2009 – 8:28 am
Filed under SEO copywriter, attract clients, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, online advertising, online marketing

The above video is an interview with Jack Flanagan of comScore at the SES conference expo on March 24,2009 in New York. The video provides excellent tips on how to market your business online during this turbulent economy.

The Secret to Strategically Placing Online Articles

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Posted by admin on April 22, 2009 – 12:46 pm
Filed under Marketing Strategy, SEO copywriter, article marketing, attract clients, ezines, ghostwriting, grow your business, increase online sales, online articles

The top 5 online article platforms:
1) Article directories

2) Other blogs

3) Publishing sites

4) Social media sites

5) Bookmarking sites 

Once you have an article completed, submit it to a reputable article directory. One great thing about these directories is that your article has the ability to be read by thousands. Usually directories allow people to reprint your article, providing they give you the credit and they help with inbound links.

Most directories have a bio box, which allows you to include your web address and a brief bio about your company or a call to action. A specific call to action with your website link is the most effective way to get the reader to visit your site. As with asking for inbound links, you need to use caution when choosing an online directory.

There are general directories, which allow you to categorize your article topic and add your article keywords. There are also niche directories. Some reputable directories are ezinearticles.com, GoArticles, Article Dashboard, and Buzzle.

Two other article marketing platforms, which go hand in hand, are someone else’s blog or a publishing site.

When approaching popular bloggers and online publications to feature your article on their site, it’s important to strategically craft your pitch. Tell the blogger or online publication editor why your article would be beneficial to readers and, therefore, improve the readership on his / her blog or publication. Provide several article options and illustrate the benefit readers will receive if the blogger or publication were to use your article on his / her site.

The fourth and fifth article marketing platforms go hand in hand, as well. Posting your article on social media sites and bookmarking sites are both excellent ways to increase SEO and online exposure.

Social media websites are an important online vehicle for increasing SEO. There are many social media websites where you can post your article and link it to your company profile. Facebook, Twitter, Stumbleupon, MySpace, and discussion forums are just a few places worth checking out. Facebook for example, allows you to create a company page with your mission statement, basic information, photos, events, video, a place to put your logo, and an area where your blog is fed directly onto the page every time you add a new post. You can also post articles on discussion boards, in the link section, and in recent news sections.

Google Introduces Google Friend Connect API

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Posted by admin on April 6, 2009 – 7:21 am
Filed under Gain Brand Loyalty, Marketing Tip, SEO, SEO copywriter, attract clients, blogging, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, online marketing, social networking

Google has recently launched its new Google Friend Connect API, which works the same way many social media sites do. Just like social media sites, Google Friend Connect (GFC) is an excellent tool for companies to use to drive targeted site traffic and grow a successful business online.

This free online marketing tool works with blogs and discussion forums to build a niche-oriented online community on that specific blog / forum. GFC plug-ins are now available on Wordpress, allowing you to add a more interactive and social aspect to your blog.

Using effective SEO techniques to drive traffic to your blog is the first step. The next step is to build a loyal group of readers and allow them to interact on your blog more than ever before. If you use the GFC tool correctly, you can build strong and long-lasting relationships with customers, drive targeted traffic to your website, build readership, and allow visitors to have an entertaining experience on your blog.

How Does GFC Work?

• Allows visitors to sign in to the GFC aspect of your blog using their personal Google, Yahoo, OpenID, or AOL AIM account and make friends, share media, comment, and invite friends from their other social networking sites to visit your blog.

• Permits visitors to become members of the blog and create a profile or upload an existing profile from a social media site they’re a member of.    

• Offers entertaining social features that engage visitors more and encourage them to visit your website and continue to visit your blog. 

All of GFC’s features allow you to build your own niche-oriented online community centered on your blog. This community will consist of people interested in your industry expertise and business. The growth is viral and is an excellent time investment if you want to build a successful business online.

Nest Realty in the News and on TV

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Posted by admin on March 24, 2009 – 7:57 am
Filed under SEO copywriter, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, marketing in bad economy, professional web design, website copywriter

Since launching their fantastic site in February 2009, our client Nest Realty has gained a large amount of positive publicity around the Internet, real estate world, and on the local news. Here’s an excerpt of what the propertylight.com blog had to say about Nest’s message:

“Immediate impact homepage. The impact of the Nest Group homepage hits you as soon as the webpage loads. This website is not just a boring list of property. This website has content above and beyond a picture of a house with a price. It engages you immediately and makes you want to explore. You might not be from Charlottesville Virginia but suddenly you find yourself wanting to know more about this community and what is on offer.”

As you can imagine, we’re thrilled and honored that we had the opportunity to work with Jonathan Kaufman of Nest Realty Group to develop a clear, result-driven message on their gorgeous website.

To read more on what propertylight.com had to say about Nest Realty Group, visit propertylight.com.

Nest was ALSO featured on NBC 29 on March 23 for their fantastic real estate marketing campaign. View the video here.

Hills of Africa Travel Launches New Website: Case Study

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Posted by admin on March 20, 2009 – 6:49 am
Filed under SEO copywriter, increase site traffic, professional web design, update webcopy, web copy, website copywriter

Michelle Salater Writing & Editorial, LLC, is so excited to announce the launch of Hills of Africa Travel’s new website. We headed up the creative content direction and wrote the web copy while Sunni Chapman of Bella Fiori Art & Design worked her design magic.

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Below is an interview with owners Meredith Hill and Sandy Salle.

Why did you decide to bring on a copywriter?

Before hiring you, our website was more of a brochure and not doing what it needed to do to attract target customers and increase sales. The message was muddled in too much copy. And the copy did nothing to excite and draw in the viewer. Because Meredith and I are so involved in our daily operations and with building our company, it was extremely hard for us to see clearly and create a clear business message—one that spoke to viewers and one that created an experience for them. We needed a professional web copywriter to create an awesome story about Hills of Africa Travel and about what we do. We also needed someone with exceptional SEO knowledge.

How do you think this decision has affected the success of your business online?

We’ve seen a huge increase in customer attraction and even better leads from the website. Hiring Michelle to write our web copy has been the best investment we’ve made in our business. Now, our website is not only optimized for SEO purposes, but our web copy is also exciting and encourages visitors to browse the site and to contact us. Michelle went above and beyond, offering suggestions on design, how we could convert more visitors using photos and video, and even offering advice on content for our new blog and advice on press releases and Social Media.

What are the top three benefits of working with my company? And why?

• It saved us a ton of time and energy. We were able to focus our energy on the other aspects of our business and on our clients.

• We knew we were working with the right person to get the job done the way we wanted – Michelle understands our target market and our business goals, and she has done everything possible to make sure she knows everything about our business.

• Whenever we need advice on other aspects of our business, Michelle is there.  We regard Michelle as a partner in our business, and from the client attraction we’ve seen from copywriting work on our website, it’s clear that she’s on our side.  What better partnership is there?

5 Ways Blogs Increase SEO

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Posted by admin on March 15, 2009 – 9:18 am
Filed under SEO, SEO copywriter, attract clients, blogging, blogging for business, increase online sales, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, marketing in bad economy

Click the play button to listen to the blog post or, if you prefer, read the post below.

Increasing targeted traffic to your website can cost a small fortune, but it doesn’t have to if you know the right tips, tools, and strategies to get a significant amount of targeted traffic. All it will cost you is your time. The more comfortable you become with these tools, the less time and effort you’ll spend on the blog.

One of the best ways to drive traffic to your website is through a blog. Blogs significantly help your SEO efforts because search engines love updated, fresh content.

Creating a blog is free and is an excellent way to attract thousands of potential customers to your website, increase your search engine rankings, and boost company credibility. A constantly updated blog is a great way to build a loyal readership group. It allows you to establish yourself as an expert in your field by providing visitors with tips, industry news, and information they can use in their own business. It’s also a great place to showcase news relevant to your company and post case studies, testimonials, or awards you’ve received. It’s also an excellent vehicle to let the public know about community service your company is involved in.

There are 5 major ways blogs can increase SEO:

• Search engines love keyword-rich, updated content. 

• Search engines rank you on how many inbound links you have, and blogs are a great way to link back to your site. The more links you have from reputable websites, the higher your page will rank because the search engines will view your site as one of high importance.

• Keywords work on your blog the same way they do on your website. You want to utilize keywords your target market will likely use on search engines and incorporate those into your blogs.

• If you post your blog on social bookmarking sites, it provides a link and gets you exposure.

• Recycling your past blog posts in future articles that are submitted to other online platforms further increases inbound links, exposure, and higher page rankings.

Be Found on the Web: Five Steps to Optimize Your Website

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Posted by admin on February 24, 2009 – 8:19 pm
Filed under Marketing Strategy, SEO, SEO copywriter, increase online sales, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, marketing in bad economy, online marketing, web traffic

You can have a beautiful website with a clear business message. You can have a growing email list and an ezine that people love to read. But if you aren’t working to up your search engine rankings, all your hard work won’t get you found on the internet. 

If you want to grow your online presence and compete on the world wide web, it is imperative to optimize your website. It isn’t hard. And you don’t have to be tech savvy. All you need is the understanding of how it works and the tools to know how to do it.    

Here are five key steps to organically optimize your website:

Step One: Determine key phrases or keywords that potential website visitors will type into a search engine to find you. Remember, your target phrases must describe what your web page is about. One of the best ways to determine your target keywords is to ask people how they would search for you. Ask your current clients, colleagues, friends, and family. You can also use one of the many keyword tools.

Step Two: Analyze your competition. In the world of SEO, your competition isn’t who you might think it is because you’re working on a page level, not the entire site. The best way to determine competition using the same keywords as you, is to get on Google or Yahoo and type in your keywords and phrases. See what comes up and make note of the competition. Click on all the links on the first search engine result page and make a note of where and how that site uses their keywords. 

Step Three: Incorporate keywords and phrases into your web copy. Make sure your copy reads organically, or naturally. If it reads as if keywords have been stuffed into every single sentence, you need to rewrite it. Overstuffing won’t help you motivate visitors to call you or buy from you. And it might get you into trouble with the search engines and hurt your rankings. Also, including your main key phrases and keywords in the title of your page and in subheads helps with SEO.

Step Four: Get those links! Search engines love links. You’ve probably heard the term backlinks. Backlinks are external links from other web sites and blogs that link to the site in question. The more like-minded, quality sites that link to you, the more the search engine thinks your site keywords are important and will rank the keywords higher. In a nutshell, links are vital to your website if you want to rank high in the search engines. Search engines place a higher value on one-way links as opposed to reciprocal links. 

Step Five: List your website on directories. Directory listings are vital to your online visibility and should be a top priority for your online marketing strategy. Directory submissions provide inbound links to your site. These links help your search engine rankings. The more inbound links you have, the better your placement in the search engines. Submitting your link to relevant directories is a great way to maximize your SEO efforts.

Connecting to Your Target Market Through Your Website

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Posted by admin on February 21, 2009 – 4:15 pm
Filed under SEO copywriter, increase online sales, increase site traffic, marketing in bad economy, professional web design, video marketing

As a web copy writer, I have the pleasure of working with some of the best web design firms in the nation and have grown to know more and more about the design and development process. But I am no expert.

So I asked web designer Eric Jennings, owner of Studio Blur, if he would answer a few questions for my readers. Thankfully, he agreed. Eric and I have worked on three projects together and recently completed a website for Handsome Properties. He’s a pleasure to work with, and I am grateful to him for taking time to be interviewed.

What are some misconceptions companies have about building a website?

I see a number of companies that don’t realize creating a website is an ongoing process and a site needs constant attention and updates. Many think the web is a magic solution where they put up a site and the money rolls in.

I also see companies that either don’t understand their target audience or they have no idea who their target audience is. They want a website with a certain function or a certain look and feel that they want, instead of what the viewer wants. That happens more often than not, although there are clients who fully understand that information and can focus on the goals of the site. I’ve had a number of situations where we build a site and the client does not understand the target. After a few months of trial by fire, we can define the audience and adjust the site to meet the audience’s expectations. It is always an education process for every client. The most successful projects are always the ones where the client knows their audience and can take viewer feedback to make the site a successful experience.

What can a company do before contacting a designer to better understand their target market?

Research any current data they have on customer purchasing. Determine exactly how people currently find them. Research their competition, not to copy, but to find out how they are placed in their industry. When the research is complete, collect data, and then put together a refined marketing campaign to build your site.

To what extent does the site design factor into speaking to a company’s target market?

Designing the focus of the site is critical. You can have a generic design, in which you hope to persuade a customer to purchase, or you can have a focused site that drives the customer to purchase. A focused site has a navigation plan where you control how the viewer uses your site. You can lead visitors to the areas that are considered high-value content while also keeping navigation simple.

You want the viewer to be able to see your product or service immediately without having to make them work to find it. Many sites fail at this—they have a generic site that contains no call-to-action methods. The viewer comes to the site, half the battle is won. Then they leave because the message or focus of the site is not clear.

Design is very important, but subjective. The successful site is the one where the design supports the function of the site—not where the design overpowers the function. An ugly design that clearly defines the mission of the site can always be more successful than a beautiful design that has no purpose or goal. Amazon.com is not a beautiful design, but the design pushes the function of the site and executes the goals of the site, which, of course, is to drive revenue up.

You touched on navigation. How important is that to the site as a whole?

Navigation is extremely important. You never want to make a viewer have to guess how to find something on your site. If possible, you should remove the find search option out of the site completely. Everything should flow and be represented in a manner where the user can navigate through the site immediately.

Video is becoming a more prevalent way to draw in the target market. How are you using video to raise conversion rates and increase site traffic?

We are starting to focus on this area because it gives a new platform to demo the product or service a client offers. This can give the user an almost hands-on experience.

With available services like You Tube, Facebook, etc., video does not have to be of the highest quality. Video allows a viewer to engage whatever product, service, or idea you want to present. It can present an emotional response to encourage a purchase or a contact method.

If you have a product and you only have a photo of that product, then you may generate some interest. If you have a video of that product in action, then you are actually giving a demo and that could greatly increase the conversion rate from viewer to purchaser.

What are some common mistakes companies make with their websites and how can they remedy this?

The number one mistake is not spending the money, the time, and the research it takes to develop a successful site. Your website is not a magic component of the business, but it can be the most powerful one. Again, if you do not have a clear idea of your audience, do your research, and listen to your current clients. This way you will have the data to build a site to meet the user’s expectations.

The second mistake I see companies making is not updating their current website. The site should be a venture that is always monitored and updated with fresh content. It needs to be tweaked to accommodate viewer feedback and changes in the marketplace. If you build a site and then never tend to it, you will fail.

I think the most common mistake is building a site that the owner of the company wants with no foundation. You must remove your personal desires and build for the viewing audience and what they want to see.

What advice would you give a start-up company who cannot afford right now to have a professional website designed?

There is no valid excuse to not have a presence on the web. It’s important, now more than ever. My advice is to find a way to afford at least a focused single page or microsite to represent your company. It’s not ideal, but if you at least have a single page with a list of services and contact information, you will have some sort of online presence and can build on that. It is more common than not for a viewer to look up your company online before they approach you, and if they can’t find you on the web, that can be lost revenue.

Who is your ideal client?

A company that has an understanding of their business and the market they are targeting. I work with clients who have a defined goal – to increase traffic, increase sales, increase exposure for their services, etc. They realize creating a site is an extension of their business, and, more times than not, it is the first representation of their company that a potential client will see.

About Studio Blur

Studio Blur focuses on site development, whether a new start-up website or a redesign. The firm also has a strong commitment to customer service and to help clients succeed with their web endeavors. Visit their site at www.studioblur.com.

Branding Your Company Online: What Message Are You Sending Online Viewers?

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Posted by admin on February 16, 2009 – 5:09 pm
Filed under SEO, SEO copywriter, client attraction, increase online sales, increase site traffic, market in economic crisis, marketing in bad economy, online marketing, target market, update webcopy

Are you concerned about how customers perceive your brand image online? Perhaps your website currently isn’t a strong branding tool for you. If not, it should be.

Many businesses find that their message isn’t clear, effective, and targeted to their correct market. It can be extremely difficult for businesses to project an accurate message, encompassing a combination of their company’s products, beliefs, mission, and goals. The message is a mixture of several key elements, including effectively placing keywords to increase SEO, which makes the task of projecting company image quite precise and complicated.

Crafting your brand image online is an extremely important client attraction tool. With a result-driven business message, your targeted website visitors will understand the language and tone of the web copy, and the client will feel a stronger connection to your brand. Once this bond is established, the customers will be more inclined to take action and purchase from you.

The customer wants to feel compatible with all your company stands for. For example, if your brand image is high-end, a high-end client will be attracted and comfortable with this image and, in turn, will want to buy from you.

Since fashioning a company message online is both complex and important, it would be highly beneficial for your company to hire a professional copywriter.

A professional copywriter:

·         Interviews the company to pull out key elements vital to the business message.

·         Recognizes the company image and puts this image into the written word—the message.

·         Creates well-crafted copy that speaks the language of the target market.

·         Strategically places keywords to increase SEO.

·         Facilitates a connection between the brand image and the client through the use of a creative tone in the copy.

If you’re uncomfortable with the message you’re sending potential customers online, it’s time to change this message and solidify a strong brand image.