Author Archive

Author: April Hall

SEO Copywriter

Okay, so if you don’t have a middle age girl, you probably haven’t heard the ridiculously popular Miley Cyrus song “7 Things”. I admit that even though it has come on our Disney XM Station over and over, I never really stopped to listen to it in full. Well, yesterday I finally did, and I was kinda appalled, to tell you the truth! For one thing, we don’t use the word “hate” in our house; for another, why in the world is a girl so young singing so forlornly about a lost love? Call me old-fashioned, but I think high school girls should just chill out a bit… If you want to see what I’m talking about, check out the video on You Tube (at your own peril, since you will waste 3 minutes of your life that you won’t get back!).

After I listened to the song, I realized that I had subconsciously been counting off these “7 Things” as the song went along. I even realized that I had been willing to listen to the whole blasted thing for the simple reason of wanting to hear all seven! What a genius idea! Keep the audience’s attention by letting them know that there is a finite list full of information; a concise, neatly ordered list that is easily digestible…. Brilliant! I’m not sure if this was the line of thinking that the writer of “7 Things” followed (particularly if that writer is the young Cyrus), but it is definitely a tack that SEO marketers should take.

Think about it: if you promise your readers that your SEO content is a numbered list, you can almost guarantee that they will at least skim through each item to discover if there is some information of interest contained within. A numbered list is almost better than even a bulleted list, because it has a clear beginning and end; making it readable for even the most attention-deprived viewers.

5 Things to keep in mind with numbered lists (See how I did that?):

1. Make your intro statement short and to the point; a true staple of SEO marketing.
2. Make your intro statements follow the same format.
3. Make your intro statements relevant and eye-catching.
4. Make your supporting information as concise as possible.
5. Make your numbered lists the “meat” between your information sandwich. (The “bread” would be your introduction thoughts and your conclusions about why the list is important.)

So,thanks, Miley Cyrus! You kept the attention of an adult professional for the full 3 minutes! Although I couldn’t care less about your list, I couldn’t bring myself to turn it off before hearing all seven… Sad ? Perhaps. Relevant to the craft of internet marketing? Absolutely.

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Author: April Hall

SEO Copywriter

While we would all like to assume that we are resident experts within our chosen industry, the truth of the matter is that we all have a lot to learn about our business, about our customers and about business blogging in general.

Radio Blog Talk.com, an Internet radio show, provides some great information about why guest blogging can be a great way to provide some “relief” content for your own business blog (just ignore the random talk about raking leaves and prepping rooms for painting!):

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So, what about your own business blog? Why should your company consider inviting other industry professionals to post to your site?

1. It gives your regular bloggers a chance to explore other projects. While it’s true that many blog entries don’t take a lot of time, they can become somewhat monotonous day after day… Even those of us who really enjoy blogging appreciate a week or two away from Wordpress–it really makes it a welcome return once we blog again!
2. It can give your readers the chance to enjoy blog entries that have a different style and tone than your regular posts. Every writer has a unique style that identifies their work. Great as this style may be (and I am quite fond of my own witty, yet informative style… No laughing.), business blogs may get boring if they are not “shaken up” every once in a while.
3. The guest blogger will enjoy increased traffic to their own site (and will hopefully return the favor!). Most guest bloggers will agree that after a turn writing on another company’s site, they will see increased traffic as readers venture away to find out what their company is all about. Don’t be shy about asking the guest blogger to return the favor and give you a turn guest blogging on their site!
4. Your readers will learn from a different prospective; and readers who learn tend to return! If your loyal blog readers come to expect your blog to provide informative content on a range of topics, they will keep coming back for more! And, isn’t that the point of a business blog? (Well that, and to provide an open space for bloggers to share their ideas?)

So, what’s up? Are any of you interested in a guest turn blogging for Directory One?

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Author: April Hall

Copywriter

Turn on the news, and you’ll soon learn that the American economy is struggling mightily. Home values are plummeting, unemployment is skyrocketing, energy prices are through the roof and the government is building a deficit faster than clocks can keep up with it. Is it any wonder that businesses are struggling to keep their profits up and are having to cut operating expenses in order to simply stay afloat? When the economy is in such bad shape, what’s an SEO marketing company to do in order to encourage their clients to keep ordering services and trusting their marketing firm to target new clients?

Short of begging clients to stay, there are many steps you SEO marketers can take to demonstrate their value to their account holders who may be wary of continuing to pay these types of advertising expenses. The most important thing you can do to reassure your clients is to provide on time, high quality customer service that they will not be able to find with a bargain basement SEO company. You want your clients to feel as if they may be paying more for your services, but it is well worth it for the quality of the investment return.

Other measures you can take to hold and grow your client base, even when the economy is faltering, include:

• Offering long-standing clients special package deals. Sometimes a business will need to sacrifice a few dollars along the way in order to increase their earnings later on. If you have some clients that have been loyal customers for quite some time, offering them a great deal or a special package may encourage them to tell other businesses about your SEO marketing services.
• Experimenting with new services. You may never have tried to offer your clients blogging services before; but many SEO marketers do offer this services. To keep your customers from looking elsewhere for more extensive marketing services, try to branch out and offer some innovating social media and social networking packages. It might take a bit of training for your employees, but learning new skills is never a waste of time.
• Increase your own advertising budget. Your businesses likely has the same temptation that your clients have: when times are tough, the first reflex is to cut down on operating expenses, which may mean reducing advertising. Resist the urge to drastically reduce your advertising! You have to keep your SEO marketing firm’s name out there in order to reach new clients and improve your brand. Instead of reducing advertising, search for innovative ways to more closely target potential customers.

As our country struggles together to dig our way out of this economic mess, let’s remember that the economy is always going to have ebbs and flows. Improving your business practices can help you create a strong, vibrant SEO firm that is able to withstand these times and come out even stronger when the economy eventually improves.

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Author: April Hall

Copywriter

The goal of every search engine marketing company is to attract new viewers to their clients’ websites. All sorts of SEO strategies are employed, from targeting popular keywords, to implementing long tail keywords, to using social media sites as a means of page promotion. There is so much opportunity to attract the millions of internet searchers everyday that most SEO companies view those potential viewers as the “holy grail” of internet marketing.

Now, it’s no secret that increasing your page views is quite an accomplishment. Every good SEO marketer will tell you that there is almost nothing more excited (during the workday, at least) than having a meeting with a client during which you can show them the latest Google Analytics Report that documents a sharp increase in page views. Seeing their face shine with the recognition of hundreds of new potential customers makes all the mundane keyword research and social media submissions somehow worthwhile, doesn’t it?

(By the way, if you are new to SEO and have not learned how to use Google Analytics Interface, take a look at the video below. Your search engine marketing will never be the same!)

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But what about the companies whose websites don’t have an over-abundance of new, unique page views; but who have a loyal client base of returning viewers? Is it worth neglecting the needs of these long-time visitors while we chase the dream of new ones? Are these two groups mutually exclusive? No! With a bit of creativity and a large measure of work, search engine marketing companies can cultivate relationships with new page viewers while rewarding loyal customers at the same time.

• Keep your content informative. Don’t just create website content that hits the right number, and the right type, of keywords; tell your readers something new and different about what your company is up to. Do you have a new product coming out? Incorporate that information into a new page–never forgetting to do a bit of keyword research beforehand.
• Update your content regularly. Not only will new SEO content help to drive up your site on the search engine results pages, but it will add some interesting information to viewers who regularly come to your website.
• Add a bit of humor and personal flavor, where appropriate. Who likes to read boring, dry page content day after day? A bit of humor added into an otherwise informative page helps to break up your content and make your company seem more personal. A company with a personality is always welcome, whether the readers is a longtime customer or is just browsing through the internet.

So, the next time you are adding some fresh page content to your clients’ sites, take a step back and look at it from the eyes of someone who visits the site frequently. Is it boring? Does it provide new information about the company’s products or services? Remember, you are writing page content not only to new readers, but to viewers who have been loyal page visitors for a while. Reward those longtime customers by providing something worthwhile for them to keep coming back to!

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Author: April Hall

SEO Copywriter

We all know the basic drill of writing a blog entry:

1. Brainstorm a clever, interesting topic
2. Write the entry, using appropriate link strategies and keyword usage
3. Choose your blog entry’s categories
   
4. Create a title that summarizes the entry, perhaps using some common industry keywords

Did you know that this basic blog writing formula could, in fact, be detrimental to the success of your business blog? Can you guess what is missing from this otherwise perfectly appropriate writing process? Keyword Research on your Blog Titles!

I’ve read (and written!) a lot of instructive pages about how to create interesting content that attracts readers through SEO strategies, and then holds them to the page using pertinent content. All of these suggestions are great; but unless your blog entries show up on search engine results pages, you may never find those new readers that are so important to your blog’s readership.

To increase the number of new readers who may stumble upon your blog entries, make sure to use the Google keyword research tool, or another similar tool, to discover how popular your title’s keywords are before you publish your entries. You will probably find that by simply “tweaking” the keywords that you choose for your blogs, you can capture much more “accidental” traffic that comes from making your way up the search engine results page.

Should you use this keyword research tool with every entry? Yes! Do I remember to use this tools every time I write an entry? Umm… No… It isn’t the end of the world to neglect this step, and sometimes your blog entry simply is too unique to have too many popular keywords associate with it. There are also times that the most appropriate keywords for your entry are ones that are too broad to be much help. For example, with this particular entry, I searched for keyword suggestions, and found that “keyword research” was the best choice; however, if I had gone with “keyword research tool”, I may have benefited from more targeted searches.

Driving up readership for your blog is really a matter of balancing SEO strategies with really great content. How have the rest of your found a way to address both of these goals?

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Author: April Hall

Copywriter

Last week, I got a call that would scare anyone: my father was having unexpected open-heart surgery and I needed to drive home right away. In end, everything worked out fine, and my dad will eventually be as strong as before, but it was definitely a very frightening few days. One of the reasons he is doing so well is that he had spent many years keeping healthy and staying active, so his heart is strong and his body is able to recover quickly. Being prepared helped to make this difficult experience as smooth as possible.

What exactly does a quadruple bypass have to do with internet marketing? Quite a lot-if you allow for a bit of creative license! Success after an emergency, whether it be physical or business in nature, relies on how prepared you are for the unexpected. In business, a slow season,during which you experience a period of decreased business, as well as an unusually active business season can cause your employees stress. Dealing with a plethora of demanding customers is as much, if not more so, of a headache as dealing with a rising mountain of unpaid operating expenses bills.

What type of measures should your business take when it comes to internet marketing strategies? Consider implementing the following marketing practices:

• Diversify your marketing strategies: No matter how successful your web marketing company is, there will be times when your sites simply experience less traffic and fewer orders. Perhaps current events drive traffic to other sites; or maybe your industry as a while is experiencing a downturn. Whatever the reason, it is wise to diversify your marketing and include other mediums, including print media and perhaps even television advertising.
• Develop a smart advertising campaign strategy. It takes more than a skilled web development company to make your campaign successful. It takes a company that will work with you to make the most of your advertising dollars. A clear map for your advertising budget and some measurable goals for success are absolutely vital to create a strategy that works.

As I sit in the waiting room, thankful for the success of my own father’s procedures, I look around and feel sympathy for the others in the room whose experiences have not been nearly as positive as mine. Of course, being prepared for life’s (and businesses) many unexpected challenges doesn’t always mean that you are able to avoid disaster. But, thinking ahead and making smart choices can give you the best chance to enjoy success for many years to come.

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