02 Apr 2010 04:44 pm
Writing web content isn’t easy for everyone. Not everyone is a writer. Heck not everyone even LIKES to write.
Except me of course, I love doing it… you could say it’s a passion! Or a hobby.
Wait but I actually get paid to do it, so that’s not really a hobby is it?
But for those of you for whom writing is not a passion there are ways you can still keep readers engaged and keep them coming back for more. Even better they are super simple methods, so you need not feel as if you’re about to climb Mount Everest or run a 10k or something equally as hard and scary. I promise… it’s easy.
1. Focus on quality over quantity or excessive keyword stuffing. Yes, I know it’s important to use proper SEO and optimize for keywords. However I subscribe to the when and where you can and when and where appropriate modus operandi.
In other words, I don’t use keywords prolifically within my content unless they happen to occur there naturally. I don’t stuff them in so that the content is virtually unintelligible. And I make sure that everything I write offers something valuable to a potential reader.
If I tell a story, I make sure there is a moral behind it. If I talk about something I do in business I talk about why and how I do it. Always make sure that when your reader read your content they can walk away from it and say hey… I learned something. Or hey… that motivated me or made me laugh, or WHATEVER.
2. Keep it simple. Remember that a huge portion of web readers are operating on an 8th grade reading level. This means that using highly technical jargon or big fancy words is a no-no. Small, simple ones often suffice just as well in your web content.
That doesn’t mean write in such simple language that you almost begin to make fun of the reader. That’s bad. It just means don’t get carried away with geek speak or write like a college English professor with 12 Master’s degrees. Keep it simple.
3. Stay on-topic. Or at least primarily on-topic. And if you do wander off-topic make sure the reader knows you did it on purpose and wander straight back. There’s nothing worse than trying to read an article where the writer goes off on long, winding tangents that aren’t at all applicable to the topic at hand.
You lose your readers when you do that and it’s likely they will never return. You DO want them to return right? So stick to your topic, keep it simple, and give them some value.
4. Finally, inject a bit of personality into what you write. People like to connect with what they’re reading. They like to connect with the person behind the words. Don’t be afraid to say something funny or express a point of view.
You’ll resonate more with people by being authentic and honest than you will by trying to be perfect and proper and ‘only say the right thing’.
And if you have no personality? Buy some!
Sorry if that sounds harsh and if that’s you, but seriously… don’t torture your readers if you can’t write with a bit of personality and authenticity. Hire someone to ghost for you and call it a day. No one will hate you for it and you might even retain a reader or two!
Cori is a wildly hire-able freelance ‘ghost’ and the creative brains and dubious brawn behind her blog Big Girl Branding. She’d also like to note that ‘big’ does not mean what you think it means. It was meant to indicate being a grown up. Sigh… Of course you probably didn’t get that, and it totally loses its effect when she has to explain it. I guess she’ll just have to put her ‘Big Girl’ panties on and deal with it. Ta-taaaa!!!
06 Apr 2010 10:43 pm
What I found on the internet was, alot of SEO consultants base their pricing according to how many sites are competing with the same search term. This is wrong! The reason why it's wrong is it doesnt mean anything. I will tell you why.
If you research the backlinks of the top 10 sites that appear on the first pages, lets say your site has 0 backlinks and the sites that appear on home page of Google for example all have around 10,000-20,000 backlinks of quality PR, this essentially means regardless of the search competition, you also have to obtain around the same amount of backlinks with the same pr and value before you will even have a chance to show up before them.
Generally speaking the search term could be melbourne singles and the results are just 1 - 10 of about 463,000 for melbourne singles. (0.28 seconds) so one would think that anything below 1 million is no problem and would base their pricing accordingly.
The mistake again is they base their pricing to clients based on the search volume and yet this means nothing particularly if the first page contains sites that are highly competitive or are appearing on 1st page becuase they all have 100,000 high pr backlinks.
Another thing is lets say an seo company is bidding for the keyphrase SEO Melbourne you would be surprised that even though using the Google Ads Tool it shows that there is 4000 global searches per month on this term, and one would expect a reasonable volume of enquiries, I am positioned on the first page for this term but I can tell you this is not the case.
A good majority of the search volume you will find competitors searching for this term. A client that is looking to use SEO services in Melbourne would generally instead type in something like "how to get on the 1st page of Google". You must sometimes think with a simple frame of mind and try to put yourself in the customers shoes. So with this in mind even with low search volume targeting niche words are more valuable.
In general you should allow for atleast 30% of the overall search volume to be included when you calculate the overall amount that Google Ads data displays, so the 30% would generally be competitors.
So if you are a client and you have already a good idea about what the search volume means and what to expect then just be cautious if you get quoted purely based on the search volume as it usually is a very misleading way to calculate pricing this way.
19 Apr 2010 10:52 pm
Offering SEO as a service is extremely competitive and there is always a new Design agency or IT company coming out of the wood works suggesting that they can offer SEO.
The thing that all us SEO professionals know is that they are no where near as experienced as what other SEO companies are and have been doing for years but there are still a few pointers to go by to stay ahead of the game.
Be different
Offer a unique service and do well at it. Be on top of the game and up with new algorithm changes and what is happening in the industry.
Be competitive
Do a good job at the right price and deliver on time. You do not want to guarantee results at a time frame if you can not stick to it.
Be aggressive
Work hard on all your clients, if you are overloaded with work this does not mean you should spend less time on one client and more with another, spread out your efforts evenly even if it means you need to work harder or get a helping hand.
Be assertive
Always stay positive and on the ball, if your clients ask questions through email do not delay responses, keep them happy and trusting in you by answering all the questions they have asked you.
Ask questions
Get to know your clients marketing perspective, what they have done in the past both online and offline and what has or has not worked for them and use this information wisely. To be successful in any SEO or Marketing project you must ask questions before the project and during. If it’s a one way street it will not last.
Prove your experience
Show your clients examples of results you have achieved for keywords and sites you have got to 1st page of the search engines on and testimonials of clients that are genuinely happy with your work.
Reporting
Give your clients monthly reporting and if they require reporting when they ask you should also provide this. It will settle their nerves and give them the information they need to see that you are actually doing the work.
24 Apr 2010 04:11 am
BANG!
There goes our main target! Now it's just a numbers game. The most dominant players are the ones that are using all types of illegal methods such as black hat methods including spam email using gmail to send out to potential clients and telesales techniques.
A lot of start-ups right now are trying to compete with players who have been offering SEO services for years.
But it's tough out there to dominate the market, particularly with players who have been in the field either short or long term! This is why the internet competition heats up on Google, the big boys that have been in the game for years already try to rank themselves as one of the top SEO providers in the world, and they don't want the new competitors to surpass them.
But hey, who says you can't surpass the old ones? It doesn't happen over night but it does happen, perhaps for one keyword phrases such as SEO, could take around 1-3 years to achieve. But if this is not achieved they will use all they can to get the clients they need in the meantime with other possible strategies whether right or wrong everyones got to eat.
So for the big SEO players who are quitely making the money in the background and the new who are working day and night to catch up, either way they must always keep their head over their shoulder and be on the ball. If you want to stay no.1 you will need to employ an army or just work overtime to catch up or stay ahead!
25 Apr 2010 05:53 pm
Developing an appropriate internet media marketing campaign is getting even more challenging with every passing day. Internet media marketing requires many components like a good mix of online media marketing tools, appropriate content and Search Engine Optimization.
Although Search Engine optimization (SEO) is a small part of a digital media marketing campaign, but it is a prominent part for making an online media campaign successful. Therefore, it is very important for an internet media marketer to decide whether he wants to outsource the SEO job to any Search Engine Optimization company or he wants to do it in-house.
Outsourcing of SEO, that is hiring a good Search Engine Optimization Company can prove to be a great way to kick-start the process of preparing an appropriate internet media marketing campaign. It is believed that by selecting a good SEO company, the internet marketer can ensure half of the success of his online media marketing campaign.
Search Engine Optimization means that the internet media marketing campaign is presented with appropriate keywords so that the given website appears in the top listings of a popular search engine like Google.
Hiring a good SEO company to provide the content with appropriate keywords can cost heavily on the pockets of the advertiser, but yes, it ensures the results (most of the time). On the other hand, the internet media marketer can prepare his content appropriate enough o suit the needs of a search engine in-house.
Developing content keeping in mind the listings of top search engines is a meticulous task but it can be successfully accomplished with extensive research and thorough knowledge of internet. This process can be tedious but it definitely saves the excess burden on the advertising budget of an internet media marketing company.
Web Developer’s Virtual Library is one place which helps in initiating the process of Search Engine Optimization. Extensive research on the latest happenings on the internet and understanding the requirement of the prospective lead can serve the purpose of an internet media marketer to a great extent.
It is entirely the prerogative of the online media marketer, whether he chooses the outsourcing of SEO process or does it in-house, his main aim should be to offer long term commitment to the customers.
30 Apr 2010 12:27 am
For those of you who are not aware, the SEO competition is still alive and kicking and we will soon to be announcing the winners for the Top Author Competition on GSEO.net.
Also it just goes to show you that we are not concerned of how many blog posts that are made but more on the quality of the blog posts that are made and how unique and informative they are.
The winners will all receive lifetime memberships. So far we have rounded the winners up to 7 final contestants:
1. Cori Padgett
Hate to Write? Web Content Made Easy, Even for You!
2. Zubin Kutar
Use effective titles to get the users attention on Google
3. Cijo Abraham Mani
How to measure the influence of Twitter users ?
Ways to turn your old broken URL's into effective link resources ?
Learn how Google will rate links from Facebook and Twitter
Will Search Engines give importance to Micro Links ?
4. Daniel Lew
The SEO Market Is Oversaturated with High Cholesterol
Slapping on the SEO Sunscreen So You Won't Get Burnt
SEO Is For Creative Technical People
Buying Sites Vs Buying Links
5. Srihari Reddy
SEO: In-house or Outsourced?
6. Mike Van Der Heijden
5 Tips To Give Your Facebook Some SEO Love
7. Peter John II Yap
The Internet's Bad Neighborhood
