Eric Brantner

SEO Content Writing

 

This week saw a lot of interesting and informative posts about Internet marketing. In case you missed any of them, here are my favorite posts from this past week.

On the Directory One Blog

• On Tuesday, I reminded readers that content is the key to a successful link building campaign. The number of inbound links you receive is often directly proportionate to the quality of your content. Follow all the link building strategies you want; if your content is boring, you won’t get good links.

 

• For the technically challenged, Herb Firestone posted a blog about embedding a video on Wordpress. While this is certainly Wordpress 101, it’s worth going over because videos can really spice up your blog.

Around the Web

• Finally, I found someone who agrees with what I’ve been saying all along. Copywriting skills are important for SEO content writing. So many SEO companies are content with passing off keyword stuffed, boring content that ranks well. Like I said earlier this week, who cares if you rank well if your content is an embarrassment to your company? Quality copywriting skills are necessary for website conversion.

• Bill Hartzer of Search Engine Guide wrote a great post about 6 ways to generate links quickly. In this day and age where everyone wants instant satisfaction, these tips provide a great link building resource. However, always remember the most effective link building campaigns require a long term commitment.

• For a few laughs, read this post about a real life SEO snake oil salesman who appeared at SES San Jose.  It just goes to show you have to be careful when purchasing SEO services. Most SEO agencies are great quality, but there are a few bad apples out there. People who say that you will be #1 on all the major search engines within 24 hours should never be taken seriously.

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By Herb Firestone
Marketing Coordinator

To make it as easy as humanly possible to post a YouTube video on a WordPress blog post, all you have to do is download and unzip the Smart YouTube plugin.

Next simply upload the plug-in to your WordPress blog’s plugin folder and activate it exactly the same as you would any other WordPress plugin.

Then hit the Add You Tube button inside your blog’s admin and paste the YouTube url into the window that opens. This is not the embed code. It’s only the URL of the video, so it’s as simple as that.

Even if, for some reason, you don’t know how to unzip a file or upload one to your WordPress plugin directory, those instructions are readily available by searching on Google. On the other hand, however, the only place to find the Smart YouTube plugin, is in the WordPress Plugin Directory itself. The main purpose of the plugin is to enable you to easily upload YouTube videos into your blog posts.

As an added benefit, the video will be shown in full in your RSS feed.

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By Herb Firestone
Marketing Coordinator

And just exactly how do I happen to know this?

Well the last two Thursdays I happened to publish YouTube videos in my blog posts: First Defining Social Media on the 14th and then 9 Viral Video Strategies on the 21st.

I found it interesting that when I searched “How to upload a YouTube video to WordPress,” eight out of the first ten Google search results were old, obsolete, or at the very least, much harder than the process had to be. Most of the SERPs seemed to advise unchecking the visual editor at the bottom of your WordPress User page and pasting the embed code that’s readily available on the video’s YouTube page into your post.

Well folks, not exactly rocket science, but I’m here to tell you that there’s an even easier, more up to date way to upload YouTube video to WordPress, which I’ll explain in my next post. The point of all this, however, is merely to point out that for such a popular task, the Google search results were neither timely or relevant.

Taking into consideration the fact that Google values the age of domains, I was planning to suggest that they consider balancing domain age with relevance and timeliness. In any event I was beaten to the punch because apparently that’s exactly what they’ve done in England. Tom Critchow outscooped me, so to speak, in his Google Tests Sort By Date/Sort By Relevance Feature In SERPs on August 19th. He goes on to explain that upon searching his name in Google, lo and behold, the choice of whether to sort by relevance or date appeared at the top right. After I searched his name in Google, and the sort by relevance or date choice didn’t come up, I came to the conclusion that with many different data centers around the world, Google was probably testing the feature in England.

To make it more confusing, I tried it again today and the relevance or date feature still doesn’t come up in the “regular” or “main” Google.com. It does however, appear when I search his name, or for that matter, anything else in Google Blogsearch. In any event although we have no idea whether or not sort by relevance and date is coming to google.com in the states, at this point, we do know it’s already here on Google Blogsearch.

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Eric Brantner
SEO Content Writing
Do you want to know the one thing I really hate about SEO? It’s the stiff, keyword stuffed content that’s produced on a daily basis for the sole purpose of ranking well. Most of it is completely unreadable.

Here’s my question: what’s the point of ranking well if you aren’t converting visitors? With enough work, almost anybody can write content that achieves decent search engine placement. But if the content doesn’t connect with the readers, it serves no purpose.

It’s called SEO copywriting for a reason. The reason is you still have to incorporate proven copywriting techniques if you want to convert visitors into loyal customers.

• Sell the Benefits- Successful copywriting tells the reader about the benefits of a product, not its features. The features are the technical aspects that differentiate a product from its competitors. Customers don’t care about that. They care about how the product will benefit them. Will it save them money? Improve their profits? If you can effectively communicate the benefits of buying your product to the website visitor, then you will begin to reap the benefits of achieving high search engine placement.
• Use Emotions- Emotions are an important part of the purchasing process. Making the decision to buy a product is an emotional act. Sure, without a logical argument it will be difficult to convince the visitor your product is worth buying, but without emotional copywriting, they won’t have the motivation to take the action necessary to becoming a customer.
• Make them Act Now- A strong call to action inspires the reader to get in touch with your company to learn more about your services. It lets the reader know that they have a problem and that you have the solution. The more enticing your call to action is, the more likely the reader will become a loyal customer. In short, you need to make it as easy as possible for the reader to know how to get in touch with you quickly.

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Eric Brantner

SEO Content Writing

 

 

If you haven’t noticed, the theme of this week is the importance of content. All internet marketing efforts are rooted in content in some form or fashion. Without quality content, your website will never earn the attention it needs to succeed.

That’s why I believe it’s necessary to remember that content is the key to a successful link building campaign. Sure, there are tips you should follow to increase the number of inbound links to your website, but if your content isn’t worth linking to, you won’t get many links.

Here are a few ways to create link-worthy content.

• Know Your Target Audience- Why is it that certain Digg users can have their submissions go hot on a routine basis? Because they understand who their audience is. By submitting content that the Digg community craves, they have a high success rate. If you want to earn inbound links, you have to create content that your target audience will enjoy. If you don’t know who your target audience is, you might want to figure that out. Like, now.
• Be Unique- Too many websites are full of the same old, boring content that can be found anywhere. If you really want people to link to your content, you need to have a voice that stands out from the crowd. Don’t just parrot everything you read on other blogs. You are a unique individual. Use your natural creative abilities to develop your own opinions and ideas. People respect distinctive thoughts, and that’s how you will earn attention online.
• Write a Catchy Headline- The internet is overflowing with content on every subject imaginable. What can you do to grab the attention of a potential reader? Write a compelling headline. With so much demand for their attention, internet users need to have a reason to click on a link. You can motivate them to read your content by giving it a catchy headline that piques their curiosity. Before you publish your content, ask yourself, “If I saw this headline, would I want to read the article?” If not, come up with a better headline.

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The importance of blogging is no secret. You’re well aware of the many benefits that blogging can produce. But for some reason, your blog still stinks. It’s not doing anything for your company. Want to know why?

Here are 5 reasons your company blog stinks.

1. Lack of Updates- The key to keeping your readers interested is to update regularly. I’m not saying you absolutely have to post something every day, but you can’t expect to build an audience by posting once a month. Your audience would lose interest during the time between posts. Find a posting schedule that fits your lifestyle, and do your best to stick with it. Your readers will appreciate knowing when they can expect new content.
2. Unoriginal Content- The blogosphere is overflowing with blogs on virtually every subject. Do you want to know why so many blogs struggle to stand out in the crowd? Because they’re saying the exact same things everyone else in the crowd is saying. No one will want to read or link to your blog if your content is the same as 100 other blogs. Be unique. More importantly, be yourself. You have original thoughts. Put them in your blog.
3. No Interaction- Many business owners commit the mistake of ignoring the social aspect of blogging. One of the greatest benefits of managing a blog is the instant feedback you get from your readers. This provides a great opportunity for interacting with your target audience. Don’t ignore the comments on your blog. Interact with the commentators. Get to know them, and they will become loyal followers.
4. Focus is Too Broad- The most effective blogs are the ones that provide quality information about a specific niche. If your blog tries to cover every topic imaginable, you’ll lack a target audience. Instead, focus on a subject that you can provide unique, compelling content about. This will drive targeted traffic to your blog.
5. Sales Driven Content- Your blog is not a sales letter. People don’t read blogs because they like reading advertisements. So, stop trying to sell on your blog. A blog is supposed to provide insight into the character of the author. It’s supposed to be a way for you to connect with your readers. Stop talking at your audience, and talk to them instead.

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