Archive for October, 2008

Eric Brantner

SEO Content Writer

As usual, there were many great blog posts this past week. Here are 7 of my favorite Internet marketing articles that you may have missed.

1. First up is a list of 50 great web design for ROI, usability and SEO articles. These articles contain some great information, and the list is current with some of the latest articles. This could take a while to read, but it’s something to check out when you’re pretending to work.
2. Do you follow the SEOs 10 commandments? Do you even know what they are? Read this post to learn the 10 commandments that thou better not break!
3. Did you miss Scary SEO, the conference in South Florida? Well don’t be afraid because Pixel Position created a list of 95 killer tips from Scary SEO. The list has some great points to make sure your SEO strategy isn’t missing anything.
4. Do you have great products and quality content, but you aren’t getting any sales? You might be making one of these 3 common copywriting mistakes. Avoid these mistakes, and soon your website visitors will turn into loyal customers.
5. What can Quantum of Solace teach us about information architecture? Poor information architecture can ruin the chances of your website being successful online. Structure your site properly and in an easy-to-follow format to make your page easier to browse and crawl.
6. What are people searching for on the internet at any given moment? This post will help you find the most popular search terms of the moment.  By understanding these trends you can stay current and maximize your traffic. Hopefully, the search engines will provide more in-depth information on the current search trends at some point soon.
7. How can you give yourself the best chance of having a successful SEO campaign? Following an SEO blueprint will make sure your SEO strategy is built soundly and that you don’t overlook anything. What should your SEO blueprint contain? Read this post to find out.

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Eric Brantner
SEO Content Writer

Are you having a difficult time getting others to link to your content? Does it seem like no matter how well you write, no one is paying attention to you? You’re not alone. One of the most common complaints from internet marketers is that generating backlinks is a seemingly impossible task in some cases.
While there are literally hundreds of different approaches you can take to create linkbait, here is a list of 5 common ways to generate more backlinks.
1. Controversy- This is sometimes referred to as “flamebait.” The general idea behind this is that having a controversial opinion on a popular topic in your industry will generate tons of online publicity for your company. Of course, this begs the question: should I be controversial just to get links? I don’t think you should ever say something you don’t mean just for the sake of getting links because you do have a reputation to uphold. However, there is nothing wrong with questioning popular opinions in your industry if you can back up your position with solid reasoning.

2. Breaking a Story- In today’s 24/7 internet world, this is almost impossible. There is always someone else who gets to a story just before you do. However, it’s not worth discounting this technique altogether. You never know when you’ll stumble across a breaking story by keeping in contact with other important figures in your industry.

3. In-Depth Analysis- Since you probably won’t be able to consistently break important stories, another thing you can do is give deeper analysis than anyone else. By going beneath the surface with detailed insight not found anywhere else, people will link to your content as the authority for a particular topic.

4. Tools- By creating a unique tool others find useful, you’ll have a potentially endless supply of inbound links. The best tools keep users coming back because they offer a valuable service. A recent example of this is the SEOmoz linkscape tool that allows users to get the most in-depth analysis of their site’s backlinks. If you build it, they will come (cheesy, I know.)

5. Contests- While some people see running a contest as gimmicky, I disagree. If you come up with a contest that requires the participation of your users, it has a great chance of taking off. People love to compete with others; especially when there is something of value on the line. More importantly, they love telling others about the contest and linking to it.

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Eric Brantner
SEO Content Writer

When most people hear the term email marketing, they associate it with spam. While I’ve certainly waded through my fair share of spam emails, true email marketing is anything but spam. In fact, with the CAN-SPAM Act real email marketers are taking additional steps to ensure they’re not spamming anyone.

If done properly, email marketing can be a great way to generate leads, drive targeted traffic to your site, and close sales. If you’re thinking of starting an email marketing campaign, follow these 5 tips.

1. Don’t Spam- The most obvious step is to make sure you aren’t a spammer. Not only can this get you in trouble by breaking the law, but it also ruins your business’ reputation. Only send email marketing messages to addresses given to you with permission. It’s really quite simple to get permission to email someone. Simply offer an incentive (newsletter, free whitepaper, discount, etc.) for someone to complete a contact form on your website. Once they complete the form, you now have permission to include them in your email marketing campaign.

2. Keep Messages Focused- Remember, online readers tend to have a short attention span. For this reason, it’s important to keep your email marketing messages short and to the point. I recommend focusing on just one main topic in your message. This will help the reader get the main points quickly and effectively while keeping them engaged.

3. Create Great Landing Pages- If your email marketing campaign is designed to get visitors to a specific landing page, make sure that page is tailored to their needs. You should avoid unnecessary distractions on the page, making sure the only content is related to what they just read in their email. Read these tips for getting the most out of your landing pages.

4. Allow Readers to Leave- Although you acquired their email addresses legitimately, you can’t force readers to stay subscribed to your email marketing messages. Every message should include a way for readers to opt out at the end. Again, this prevents you from becoming a spammer; it helps you maintain a positive image; and it keeps your email marketing list highly targeted for improved conversion rates.

5. Track Your Campaign- The most important step to becoming successful with email marketing is to track all of your campaigns. By creating specific landing pages for your email marketing messages, you can track how many people came to the page, how long they stayed, and what your conversion rate is. Tracking this information will help you revise your strategy until you reach the level of success you desire.

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Eric Brantner
SEO Content Writer

When writing copy for your website, the first thing you should ask yourself is “What separates my company from the competition?” While your first instinct might be something like customer service, that’s just not going to cut it. Every company says they have the best customer service. Your website visitors won’t be wowed by that.

Also, avoid the use of ridiculous superlatives. Simply saying “We’re the #1 company in our industry” won’t separate you from your competitors. No, you have to find something unique that adds value to your business. Something that a customer will grab hold of and associate with your brand for years to come.

As an example, Domino’s Pizza built their brand on the 30 minute guarantee. They drilled it into their customer’s minds that they would have their pizza delivered within 30 minutes. This service added value to the Domino’s brand. It distinguished them from all the other pizza joints in town. After all, everyone has experienced waiting hours for a pizza delivery at some point.

FedEx is another prime example of a company separating itself from the competition. Through numerous TV ads, the company has dramatized how missed deliveries can ruin a company. That’s why they absolutely guarantee you will receive your packages on time. This creates the impression that other shipping companies can’t promise this (and they don’t) and it adds value to the FedEx service.

So, what really separates you from the competition? As a business owner, you should already know this going in, but if you don’t, it’s time to start brainstorming. Do you offer a unique guarantee or service that nobody else in your field does? Feature your unique qualities in your website copywriting. Don’t just talk about the features, but explain how they will benefit the reader. Your website readers don’t care about all the technical differences between you and the competition; they just want to know how your unique features will benefit them as a customer.

It’s only after you truly distinguish yourself from the competition that your online brand will have real value.

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Eric Brantner

SEO Content Writer

It’s Friday again, and that means it’s time to recap some of the best Internet marketing blog posts from the past week. This week, I’m going to change things up a little bit. Instead of using the old format, let’s use a Top 7 list (who doesn’t live lists?)

So, here are the top 7 Internet marketing posts from the past week.

1. Are you frustrated with your low conversion rate? Do visitors land on your site and leave immediately? Use these 14 free tools to analyze why people abandon your website. Very insightful post that will help you improve your conversion rate.

2. Keeping with the theme of useful online tools,  Tyler Banfield posted a great article about 5 free SEO tools you probably don’t know about. From back link analysis to a domain age tool, this list has some helpful devices to help you get the most out of your SEO campaign.

3. You’ve heard the term “linkbait” being thrown around in online marketing blogs throughout the web. But do you know how to create it? Successful linkbait earns you, well, links and a whole lot of online visibility. Read these tips for how to write a good linkbait post.

4. But what if you work in a boring industry where linkbait is hard to come by? There are some things you can do to find linkbait ideas even on the most mind-numbing topics. Use these tips and tools to help with your viral marketing research.

5. Having a distinctive voice is important for the success of your blog. That’s why the folks over at Copyblogger explained how to write with a unique voice. We all have our own way of phrasing things, but many of us try to sound like everyone else when we write. Be yourself; it’s what separates your from all the others.

6. Even though this post is a few weeks old, it’s worth linking to. We live in an age of information overload. Keeping up with the numerous industry blogs is impossible. So, what’s the future of content? The blogs that provide in-depth, unique coverage of issues are the ones that will survive. Those with cookie-cutter rehashed content will fall by the wayside.

7. So, how do you make your blog one of those that won’t fall by the wayside? Follow these 7 tips for better business blogging. This will help inject new life into your blog, changing it from a tired, stiff corporate blog to a useful, unique professional blog that builds your visibility.

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by Herb Firestone
Marketing Coordinator

Did you know that you can request a free, no-obligation, no strings attached, SEO Website Analysis from any page on the main Directory One website?

Similar to other SEO website evaluations, the Directory One SEO website analysis covers:

On-page SEO Factors

Site Architecture - CSS versus tables
URL Structure - Do you have properly formated urls that include keywords separated by dashes?
Homepage Content - Is your homepage text 250 to 400 words long and is it based on keyword research and your primary key phrase?
Homepage Design & Layout- Is your navigation text or graphics based? Does your site have really big graphics, large flash files, or frames?
Metatags - Page titles, descriptions, and keywords - Do you have them, and if so are the metatags you have any good?
Heading Tags - H1, H2, and H3 tags
Image Analysis and Alt Tags
Conversion Forms - Do you have one or more, and if so, do they work?
Blog - Do you have a blog and if so, is it properly set up and optimized?

Off-page SEO Factors

Domain Age - Can’t do anything to change this one. As they say in the NFL, you are what your record says you are.
Domain Expiration - Is your domain name registered for at least five, if not ten years?
Backlinks - How many do you have and are you in the major authority directories, such as dmoz, the Yahoo Directory and Business.com?
Articles & Press Releases - Do you have them and if so, have they been properly optimized and added to your site?
Videos - Do you have them on your site and if so, do you have your own channel and profile on YouTube?

The Directory One Competitive Advantage

Where Directory One differentiates itself from the competition is in the time we take to explain each of the SEO factors, analyze the results, and provide specific recommendations in the form of a custom SEO action plan for each individual site.

Any site of five or more pages that has it’s own unique URL may be submitted. In other words, we do not create reports for subdomains or websites that are part of another.

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