Entries Tagged 'Analyzing Your Site Copy' ↓
October 29th, 2008 — Analyzing Your Site Copy, Content Tools & Tips, Content Types
Lee Odden of Top Rank Marketing is putting together an article on content strategy and SEO and he asked me to participate. Here is our Q & A from that interview:
Q: How would you define “content strategy” and what role does it play in a SEO effort?
Your content strategy is a systematic and planned approach you take to develop site copy, blog content, press releases, articles, newsletters, videos, podcasts, e-book and/or white paper downloads and other forms of content that enhances and builds your relationship with new prospects, current clients, the media and those in your industry. Through developing this relationship, you secure a long-term, two-way “benefit channel” for both yourself and them. People buy from those who they have a high comfort level with. If you have a large network through the relationships you’ve built from your strategic content efforts, you will always have a steady stream of buyers for your products and services.
The role content strategy plays in the SEO effort is simple: Continue reading →
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October 21st, 2008 — Analyzing Your Site Copy, Blog Copywriting, Competitive Copy Research, Content Tools & Tips, Keyword Research, Link Building, The Optimization Process
Every single one of us in the online marketing space is here for a reason. Whether you are talking about Andy Beal, Aaron Wall, Heather Lloyd Martin, Lee Odden, Jill Whalen, Danny Sullivan or any of the other 100 or so web marketing leaders out there, we all have a strong desire to help other companies become more efficient and sell more products and services. Of course, all of us are passionate about the web, love to know what makes consumers buy and enjoy building online communities. But each of us also has a treasure chest of resources that we have gathered over the past few years that have lessoned the learning curve and help us help others every single day.
So, for the first time ever, I put together a list of my personal favorite online marketing tools and resources for you to take a look at. In total, this is a very large, very comprehensive and very good list. Continue reading →
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October 13th, 2008 — Analyzing Your Site Copy, Content Tools & Tips
I thought I would do something a little different for this post by showing you some copy I recently wrote and why it works. Let me first mention that it’s an interesting topic – Pork Rinds! MMMM… good eating! Okay, maybe not this guy, but I guess there are millions of people out there that like these things. It’s just a simple home page, but I think the copy can illustrate some of the key points that I always talk about whenever I’m preaching the tips and tricks of online content creation.
First, so you understand what we are dealing with here, the keyword phrase that they want to rank for, not surprisingly, is “pork rinds.” The site is focused toward their target consumer, a Southern and Mid-western, blue collar male in his 40’s-50’s. Continue reading →
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September 4th, 2008 — Analyzing Your Site Copy, Blog Copywriting, Content Tools & Tips, Events, SEO Copy and Site Usability, What is SEO Copywriting?
One of the best ways to connect with visitors to your website is to write like you talk. In fact, I would say the most under appreciated aspect of good writing is the flow of the words and how they sound when spoken. Good “flow” can make the message resonate. It makes it memorable. 
Like a good song with a hooky melody, conversational writing can cause the reader to recall what they read over and over again through the course of the day. This kind of command over written language creates a strong connection with your audience and …makes them come back for more. Take for example a good blog. What makes you come back again and again? The informal and conversational tone is a big part of it. The substance of the message is critical too – but it’s not everything. It’s how you say it, right? In this case, it’s how you write it.
Of course, you’ll want to remove all the “ums”, “ahs” and pauses. You don’t want to make your website copy exactly like the way you speak. The other good thing about writing is that you can think about what you want to write before you write it. The spoken word usually requires instant answers and quick-on-your-feet replies. That’s the good news: for those out there who aren’t the best spoken communicators, conversational writing may be made for you.
A few tips and tricks of capturing a conversational tone:
1. Think about how you talk - what makes people want to listen to you? Modulating your voice (changing the volume or pitch) is one way – it makes what you’re saying more interesting. The written equivalent? Combine short and long sentences in what you’re writing. Don’t make them all the same.
2. Use emotion and passion – use bolding, underlining and emotionally charged words to get your message across. Again, just like how we talk – most people use strong adjectives to describe something or emphasize certain words based on the importance of what they are saying.
3. Break the “rules” of English – use run-ons and one word sentences occasionally. After all, isn’t that how we talk? Try it out!
4. Use repetition – use the same emphasized word in 3 consecutive sentences. People do this all the time when they talk. Why? To make a point and drive the message home. You can do the same thing when you write copy.
5. Analyze other good conversational writing and try to mimic it. – Not to toot my own horn, but check out the copy I wrote for www.customcopywriting.com. A big part of what I was trying to do there was write the content in an informal tone – in a way that everyone would understand: from a 3rd grader to a PhD.
So, when all is said and done, why does conversational writing work?
Because it makes it easier for your prospect. It makes it easier to get the message across. It makes it easier for them to understand…There’s less thinking involved. Plus, it’s a warmer way of communicating. It makes people more comfortable. And after all, we have become a more informal culture anyway. People almost expect it.
So, try it out on your site and see what the response is. You may be surprised.
Good luck!
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July 1st, 2008 — Analyzing Your Site Copy
by Jon Wuebben
How do you analyze your site copy? What’s the process that a copywriter goes through when they are rewriting a site?
The Copy Itself – What’s Written?
The first thing to look at when you’re analyzing a page of copy is the copy itself, naturally. Ask yourself: Does it make sense to me? Would I understand what it is all about if I was on this site for the very first time? Remember, copy is better comprehended when it’s written the way people speak. Continue reading →
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