8/11/2008
You may be driving traffic away from your website
If you are a small business owner with a web presence, then trying to determine the most effective SEO (search engine optimization) techniques for your small business website is almost ALWAYS a top priority for you. Whether SEO is something you outsource or do for yourself, it is never easy to understand all the formulas and algorithms that the many search engines use to rank our web pages. One definite to consider, search engines like Google and Yahoo! are probably the best dictionaries in the world as the have their entire index of the web to use for a source of comparison and correction. This goes for grammar and proper writing format as well. What does this mean for you, the small business owner concerned about your SEO? It means that you can avoid driving traffic away from your website. Web pages with incorrect spelling, grammar issues, run on sentences and long drawn out paragraphs will not be ranked well. Search engines will not know what to do them as they won’t compare to the masses of web pages that are well written with correct spelling and grammar. Labels: seo, seo copywriting, small business, web copy, web traffic |
3/20/2008
When The Google Gods Smile Down On You
| Just a few years ago, SEO copywriting wasn't something anyone even knew they were looking for. As far as Get It In Writing, this certainly wasn't something we even knew we could (or should) offer. But all that has changed. Now, I would say that 1 or 2 out of every 3 inquiries we get is SEO-related, from web copywriting to blog ghostwriting to SEO articles to optimized press releases. And understandably - I mean, who isn't trying to crack the Google code and catapult themselves and their business to the top of the search engine pages?? The desire is where the similarities end, though. Everyone wants great rankings, but most still don't understand how you get there. There are many different components and moving parts to the picture. As far as the SEO copywriting portion, which is my company's expertise, I believe it is less mystery and more technique and realism.  Most people do not (please don't be offended) know how to write good, effective SEO copy - they just don't. Those who do know that they need to cater to two audiences - their target customers AND the search engines - within the same copy and do it so well that both groups think it's directed right at them.There's so much more to SEO copywriting than these few explanatory sentences. (By the way check out this blog entry on an amazing SEO success we recently had with a L.A.-based attorney client.) But here's what you need to know about SEO copywriting: it's very powerful when done right, most people are not experts at it and, when someone tells you they can deliver an SEO article or web page for a few dollars, chances are you will get what you paid for (not much). Labels: business writing, copywriting, seo, seo copywriting, small business |
3/19/2008
SEO defined
| Chances are if you are reading this you have heard of SEO. You may even know that the letters SEO stand for Search Engine Optimization. More likely than not, however, you aren’t 100 percent sure what exactly SEO is. SEO is a means, actually an expertise and an entire industry based around, getting high rankings in search engines such as Google and Yahoo! so that potential customers searching for your products or services are more likely to find you, visit your website and, it follows, purchase what you are selling. Here’s an example I am intimately familiar with: You go to Google and enter “SEO copywriting” as your search terms into the box at the top of the search engine page. The companies listed on that first page of Google are those you are most likely to visit if SEO copywriting is indeed a service you seek. In theory, the better optimized your site, the higher it will appear in the search engine results for relevant terms and phrases. Now I say “in theory” because in many, many businesses there are hundreds, thousands, tens of thousands and maybe even millions of other businesses vying for those coveted positions as well.  It’s a tough thing, because only one company is at the top of Google for any given term, and only about 10 are on Page 1. That’s it. So how can a company guarantee first page placement? I have no idea. I tell clients (and potential clients) that any SEO company that is guaranteeing them anything is just not being realistic. So now you know, in a nutshell or a nutshell, what SEO is…right? Labels: optimized press release, seo, seo copywriting |
2/27/2008
Thank you for letting me share this amazing SEO copywriting success
| I am floored by an amazing success my client, Larry Zerner, a Los Angeles Entertainment Attorney, experienced this week. Along with Teri Tucker, a great web designer from T&I Grafix , we created a new site at http://www.zernerlaw.com/ Larry’s goal, like so many others out there, was to raise his search engine rankings, Google in particular. [This is what is referred to as "organic" or "natural" search engine rankings, as opposed to "paid inclusion" which includes Pay Per Click (PPC).] As a solo practitioner, Larry wanted to maximize his web presence (who among us doesn’t?). What we want and what we may get aren't always the same, right? Now this is no exaggeration, nor is it a promise of what could happen to you and it is certainly not a guarantee, but here is what happened: Within 24 – 48 hours of the new ZernerLaw site going live, Larry’s firm, which previously had had little to no search engine presence whatsoever, was on the first page of Google, and in some cases in one of the three top positions, for a slew of terms he had wanted to rank for for years, including but not limited to: Los Angeles Copyright Attorney, Los Angeles Entertainment Attorney, Los Angeles Copyright Infringement Attorney, Hollywood Entertainment Attorney and Copyright Infringement Lawyer Los Angeles. Again, all results differ based on a million different factors BUT this is a HUGE testament to the fact that GOOD SEO COPYWRITING WORKS. (And notice I didn’t say “SEO Copywriting” – I said “GOOD SEO COPYWRITING.”). There is a big difference. Labels: copywriting, seo, seo copywriting |
2/22/2008
Getting Your Blog Noticed
| We all know by now that the Internet is filled with literally millions of blogs – millions! Based on this number, the amount of blog posts floating around in cyberspace would appear to be endless, right? So how can you make your business blog stand out among the many? I have no idea. OK, just kidding. There is no magic formula, but there is much you can do to tip the scales of success in your favor. According to social media marketing blogger Scott Monty, the answer comes down to timing and technique. In a recent post, Monty revealed that bloggers who post on major developments as they happen are far more likely to attract readers. Because Google has the ability to quickly index blog posts as they come online, bloggers who are fast to post breaking news are rewarded with high placement in search engine results. (The saying about luck is where preparation meets opportunity comes to mind.) Timing, however, isn't the only great tool. Monty also recommends adding humor to your blog entries that should already be chock-full (but not overdone with) details and to-the-point information. |