Seo Copywriting Latest search engine news blog articles from Seo Copywriting. http://www.seocentro.com/seo-archives/publisher/Seo+Copywriting.html Seo Copywriting News Archive http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12933 Probably the dirtiest word in the language to me is "comfortable." It's so bad that I call it the "C-word" (really!). Where some people take comfort in stability, status quo and knowing what's around every corner, I like to shake it up a bit. It's how I roll. Copywriters - even good, highly-paid, experienced copywriters - get into their own comfort zone. They stop growing. They stop learning. Instead, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Fri, 07 Nov 2008 16:05:31 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12895 I used to love Stephen King books.  "Carrie."  "It." "The Stand." As a teenager, I had them all. Heck, I even had them in hardback . Whenever I'd make a new book acquisition, I'd crawl into bed, turn on my reading lamp and faithfully turn to the introduction before chowing down the main story. Why? Because the introduction was just as creepy, scary and weird as the rest of the book - sometimes, even more so. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 06 Nov 2008 17:28:21 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12508 Don't get me wrong. I adore Starbucks coffee. My friends tease me about how, at every conference, I drag them all over creation to find the nearest Starbucks (and no, in my perpetually jet-lagged state, Dunkin' Donuts coffee just won't do.) Every day around 6am, I walk to Starbucks and get my morning fix.  Heck, I'm even soon-to-be-living with a man who works for Starbucks corporate. If that's not brand loyalty, I don't know what is. But here's the problem. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Mon, 27 Oct 2008 22:15:56 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12438 The comedian Rodney Dangerfield coined a brilliant one-liner - "I don't get no respect." The same can be said for some SEO copywriters. I received this email from a woman we'll call Joanne (names have been changed to protect the innocent.) Here's what she had to say: Hi Heather, I am a fan of your blog and I am also a copywriter for a major search marketing agency where I write both paid search and SEO copy. I have nine years of copywriting experience, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Fri, 24 Oct 2008 20:10:43 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=12356 I've just returned from DMA '08 in Vegas. In a neon and gambling chip haze, old school marketers (list brokers, print copywriters) merged with SEO firms, search technologists â€" and yes, even 2.0 social media agencies. I saw 50-something marketers dance to The Village People's "YMCA" (complete with arm movements) and boogie to Rick James' "Superfreak" (in a decidedly psychedelic/Dave Chappelle moment.) And I saw a lot of learned helplessness. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:41:37 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=11894 I can't believe it's that time of year already. Next week begins DMA '08, held at the Las Vegas Convention Center. I leave on Sunday for three jam-packed days filled with sessions, meetings, and yet more sessions. Here's the latest and greatest: Wondering how to improve your SEO campaign? Check out the SuccessWorks Search Marketing Experience Labs . A panel of experts will review your site and give you the SEO lowdown on what's great, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 08 Oct 2008 23:16:50 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=11612 Does your Website copy sound like a bad date? Once upon a time, I went on a date with a boy named Mark. During the course of the date, he proceeded to tell me about his acting career (bitchin'- he was starring in his friend's independent no-budget film, his job (he was making killer tips), his financial situation (awesome â€" he's finally able to move away from home) and his abs (they were in noxious pain, dude, because he was "whalin' on them" earlier. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 01 Oct 2008 16:14:10 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=10621 It's funny when television mirrors reality so closely. I was watching Mad Men , the AMC series about 1960's-era advertising executives. The setup: A client, Playtex, craved a new advertising campaign. A group of men (who assumedly have never tried to squeeze their man-breasts into a push-up bra) and one woman was assigned to the campaign. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:40:10 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=10330 It happened again during SES San Jose 2008. In fact, the situation happens so often (actually, every conference for the last 10 years) that I call it "The question." "What kind of keyphrase density should I shoot for in my copy?" I don't blame the person who asked the question. Heck, I'm not surprised they're confused. Ever since the dawn of SEO copywriting time, SEO'ers have been trying to game the content part of the algorithm. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 27 Aug 2008 17:58:41 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=10094 How exciting! SEO Copywriting has been recognized as #37 on Junta42's Top Content Marketing Blog list. According to the Junta42 site: "The Top 42 Content Marketing Blogs list was designed to organize and feature the best blogs on the internet that discuss some aspect of content marketing." Well, we're blushing. Thanks to Joe Pulizzi and the rest of the team at Junta42. We appreciate the honor! Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 20 Aug 2008 23:11:55 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=9902 It's hard to believe that it's SES San Jose conference time already. It seems like just yesterday I was hanging with Kevin Ryan and the gang at SES NYC'how quickly five months can pass. I'm speaking on a rocking session this year with Anna Stickney from Forbes.com . Called " The Business Case for SEO Content Development: Turn Words Into Action ," we'll be discussing how SEO content can actually make companies money â€" pretty cool, eh? Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Sat, 16 Aug 2008 15:14:04 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=9793 So, what new articles are you adding to your site this month? I know, I know. Content development and adding additional Website content seems like "too much work" when time is already short and your nerves are feeling frazzled. You can't ask your marketing department to do it â€" they're already maxed out. Fighting for freelance budget seems too overwhelming. And heaven forbid that you add something new to your plate' 'sound familiar? Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 13 Aug 2008 15:19:49 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=9623 My goodness. It's hard to believe that SuccessWorks (my SEO copywriting firm) has been in business for over 10 years now. Where DID the time go? Yesterday, I had the weird, odd out-of-body experience one feels while looking at decade-old marketing materials (it's like looking at old high school yearbooks â€"what was I thinking with that hairstyle?) Back in 1998, SEO copywriting was not the SEO uber-thang that it is today. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 07 Aug 2008 22:02:35 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=9449 Sure, blogs seems like old news. "Everyone is blogging," you say. "How can my catalog company see search engine benefit by creating random bits of blogging fodder." Good question. The answer is this: Blogs can help overcome some common catalog marketer challenges without having to change your site . And that's a good thing. The challenge with online catalogs is the templates are typically text unfriendly. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Mon, 04 Aug 2008 15:16:34 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=9392 Dear catalog marketers, It's August 1st. Have you finalized your holiday SEO copywriting strategy? Right now, while we're enjoying vacation time and lazy summer days, the words "holiday season" sound far in the future. Guess what - it's not. Already, you're seeing "Back-to-school" newspaper inserts'and soon, Halloween goblins will be gracing the shelves'after that, holiday music will bombard your ears with cheer and joy. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Fri, 01 Aug 2008 17:43:22 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=9351 Where has SEO copywriting gone wrong? I had an interesting moment yesterday. I was chatting with a prospect and discussing how SuccessWorks (my firm) employs experienced writers with highly-honed skills in SEO copywriting and direct response writing. His reply? "What's direct response writing? Ouch. Good reality check. I've drank my own Kool-Aid long enough that I assume that everyone else understands the benefits that really tight writing brings to the table. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 31 Jul 2008 20:30:52 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=9023 Yesterday, I received a voice mail that disturbed me. The caller represented an SEO outsourcing service based in India. He wanted to know if I wanted to save money on writing costs and outsource my SEO copywriting projects to his firm. He then named three high-profile SEO firms that had (supposedly) done just that, indicating that I would not be alone in this outsourced copywriting world. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 24 Jul 2008 00:33:19 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=8823 I admit it. I'm a SEO writing slacker. It's been two weeks since my last blog post - and I don't have a reasonable excuse. I can't play the "too busy" card (although it's true; my life has been unusually full lately.) Nor can I lament how the Muse has left me â€" she's right here, guiding how I craft my emails and pen my copy. It's merely a minor case of "blogger's block." That is, I could write if I had to â€" I just didn't have anything to say. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:00:12 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=7990 Oh. My. Goodness. The writing was horrible. The Web page copy was a sight for sore eyes â€" literally. The run-on sentences made my eyes cross. Rampant comma use forced my eyes to eyes pause after ever third word. And please, please tell me â€" what does this paragraph even mean ? In short, this was not conversion-based SEO writing. This was a mess. The person in charge of the horribly-written page was the new marketing director â€" and she had just inherited the Website. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:24:03 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=7987 "Each time you write content about your key topics, you are seeding the Internet with keywords. Like bread crumbs that lead back to the gingerbread cottage, those keywords will help readers find you" says Patsi Krakoff from The Blog Squad. Although she jokes about "offending SEO experts" most of her SEO content comments are right on the money. Enjoy! Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 26 Jun 2008 18:06:17 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=7833 I found hidden links within 60 seconds. Discovering the duplicate pages took another minute. And â€" lookie here â€" the code is really, really bad. No, this isn't a scammy corporation trying to spam their way to the top. This is a Mom and Pop business where the owners are honestly trying to do everything right. Yes, they educated themselves by reading books and visiting forums. Yes, they can speak SEO'to a point. But they knew they couldn't do it all themselves. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:19:52 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=7632 Faced with a SEO-clueless client and need to educate them on the basics? Ramon Eijkemans at Searchwritten discusses how to talk about Titles in his post Title-tags for dummies . Enjoy! Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 18 Jun 2008 16:39:01 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=7401 Direct response headline writing is tricky. You know that you have to "grab the reader's attention," but that doesn't help much when you're facing headline-writing writer's block and nothing is flowing. How can you work your SEO copywriting magic when you don't even know how to begin? We've all been there â€" you just need a little jump start. If you're feeling stuck, here are some tried-and-true headline archetypes, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:36:26 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=7000 Wow, people still talk about doorway pages ? Turns out, that answer is "yes," and Google has changed how they define them (which doesn't make sense to me - I always thought of doorway pages as copy that's been optimized for one keyterm for the sole purpose of driving traffic.) I suppose, like leg warmers, neon and parachute pants, doorway pages have to come back in vogue. People discuss them in forums as a new, easy way to generate content. Sure, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:28:02 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=6953 The economy has shifted. Has your marketing message? In today's learned helplessness, recession-mindset economy, some business owners are moaning, "People just aren't buying. There's nothing we can do." The reality is that companies (and individuals) are buying products and services every second of every day. However, the marketing message that worked a year ago may not be applicable now. When money is tight, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Mon, 02 Jun 2008 18:00:29 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=6874 The email from a SEO copywriter read, "My colleague's SEO company is insisting that I write at least 500 words per page. But you said that the best word count is 250 words. What should I do?" Stuff like this drives me nuts. I call it the Easy Bake Oven approach to SEO copywriting. That is, write 250 words, focus on your keyphrases X times each and pop it into HTML. Voila! You'll have a top-positioning document. It's just not that simple. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Fri, 30 May 2008 16:33:12 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=6707 When faced with an offer, an action step or a request, we all want to know one simple thing: What's in it for me? For instance, how many times have you received an email like this one: "Thank you for (staying at our hotel, talking to our customer service rep, buying something from us.) We'd like to invite you to fill out a form so we can improve our customer service'." And how many times have you junked that email as soon as it hit your in-box? Chances are, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Tue, 27 May 2008 17:42:28 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=6154 Imagine this: You've been hinting around to that hot guy (or gal) in the office that you really, really want to go out. You're friendly and scintillating within a 1 mile radius of his voice. You've highlighted your hair within an inch of its life. You're putting out some major vibes' 'But why won't he pick up what you're putting down and ask you out, already? Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 14 May 2008 03:54:11 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=5937 In our last post, we discussed newbie SEO copywriters - when they're fantastic hiring choices, when they aren't and what you need to know before you hire them. But what if you need someone with a little more SEO copywriting street-savvy? Enter the intermediate-level SEO copywriter - the perfect choice for many clients. Profile of intermediate-level SEO copywriters: This category describes the vast majority of SEO copywriters. Competent, smart and experienced, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 08 May 2008 17:40:12 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=4667 In the last post , we discussed how there are different "types" of SEO copywriters - newbie, intermediate and expert. Today, we'll talk about the newbie SEO copywriter - when she's a smart hiring choice, what work she's qualified to do, and the kind of time that you'll have to spend to keep her on track. Profile of newbie SEO copywriters: All SEO copywriters were here once upon a time. Newbie SEO copywriters are eager to learn, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 10 Apr 2008 20:22:00 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=4560 I've heard a couple people say that they'd never allow SEO copywriters to choose campaign keyphrases. My first question was, "Why not?" And then I got to thinking. It's true that not all SEO copywriters are considered equal. Some SEO copywriters are brand-new to the field and don't, as my father used to say, "Know their butt from third base" (actually, he used a different word than "butt" - but you get the idea.) Green, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 09 Apr 2008 03:54:08 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=4356 Just one week ago, I was returning home from an Amsterdam holiday. I flew into Heathrow's brand-new Terminal 5 and happily boarded my plane. My luggage did not. If you've been tracking the Terminal 5-blues news, you'd know that it's been estimated that 20,000 bags were stuck in Heathrow. Volunteer British Airways staff are manually hand-sorting them as I type. Reputation-management wise, British Airways is in deep doo-doo, with calls for the CEO's resignation. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 03 Apr 2008 19:14:22 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=3582 Years ago, I had the not-fun feeling of seeing an article I had written sitting on a competing SEO company's site (which will remain nameless.) The article was posted as if the SEO company wrote it. There was no byline, no link back to my site, no nothing. I was pissed. What's worse is that the aforementioned scammy SEO argued that they owned the copyright! Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Tue, 18 Mar 2008 19:22:51 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=3382 Lee Odden sparked an interesting debate on his blog about the terminology used to describe our industry. Check it out to share your opinion on whether to call it Internet Marketing, Online Marketing or Web Marketing. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Fri, 14 Mar 2008 11:57:58 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2965 During every conference, someone comes up to me and says, "I've heard that you can'" - and proceeds to tell me about a spammy technique that they "just learned" or a brilliant idea that their IT department "just thought of." There are a lot of SEO copywriting myths out there. It's scary, actually. During SMX West, Jill Whalen discussed some common SEO copywriting myths - which was a brilliant idea. I've included some of Jill's myths and added my own. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 06 Mar 2008 22:39:54 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2823 Jakob Nielsen wrote an interesting article about where the company name should appear in the Title. Prior to this, Nielsen believed that the company name should never be frontloaded. Now, he says to analyze the top five SERP results for your main keyterms and consider: Are competitor Titles "junk" (as he calls them.) If so, put your company name at the beginning. A well-known brand name has build-in trust - and can encourage click-through. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Wed, 05 Mar 2008 00:19:25 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2743 It's true that customers don't want to read your B.S. But they do expect good copywriting. In Tim's latest article, Cut Out the B.S. to Increase Conversions ," Tim discusses "marketease," saying, "Unfortunately, your landing page was probably written in this kind of over-the-top promotional style. It usually involves a lot of boasting and unsubstantiated claims. If your company is the "world's leading provider" of something, you are in good company. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Mon, 03 Mar 2008 17:38:55 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2672 A special congratulatory shout out to Lee Odden of TopRank, who inspired an entire chapter on social media marketing for SEO & PR. Wiley just announced the launch of the new book, "Online Marketing Heroes: Interviews with 25 Successful Online Marketing Gurus," and yep, our very own Heather Lloyd-Martin was among the expert interviewees! Read the key takeaways and unique perspectives on the TopRank Online Marketing Blog. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 28 Feb 2008 14:09:12 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2673 Thanks to Jane Copeland, a search marketing consultant at SEOmoz.org, who wrote an in-depth article on social media. I found this really useful & worth sharing. Read the blurbs on 30 different sites that fit the Web 2.0 description. It takes some of the guess work out of which site does what, for whom and how. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Tue, 26 Feb 2008 19:10:48 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2674 Whew! I just put the finishing touches on my new SEO copywriting presentation for SMX West. I'll be speaking at 1:15 today (February 26) on "Copywriting for Search Success" with Jill Whalen . Stop by and say "hi! Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Tue, 26 Feb 2008 17:20:03 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2675 Looking back on some of my SEO gigs, it occurred to me that a majority of folks don't take advantage of what I think is a major factor in the overall SEO success. And that's making sure you're speaking (or writing) to people in all 5 phases of the sales cycle. But there's more to it than simply writing content for all 5 phases. When you're writing pages for different audience mentalities, it stands to reason that you'll need to research keyphrases differently, too. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Tue, 26 Feb 2008 14:29:44 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2676 Rachelle Money, WordTracker's "newly appointed journalist" interviewed marketing guru Seth Godin. Read what he has to say about the future of newspapers, how he feels about SEO consultants (and their clients ) and what he says about the power of content. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Tue, 26 Feb 2008 09:30:27 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2677 In one of my last posts, I promised you more American vs. Canadian translations. So here they are"you can add these to your fund of trivia! American = Canadian 10th grade = Grade 10 Knock on wood = Touch wood Beating a dead horse = Flogging a dead horse Get lost! = Take off! Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 14 Feb 2008 12:00:55 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2678 Writer Ken Kesey once said, "I like being a famous writer. Problem is, every once in a while, you have to write something."If you ask any copywriter at any stage in their career, I'm sure you'll find that they can relate. No matter how good you are, or good you think you are, there will come a time where writing seems like the most horrific, mind-bending, labour-intensive task on the face of the earth. And the longer you stare at a blank page, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:53:49 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2679 Bob Bly, copywriting guru, asks if small businesses can really compete in SEO. He says: A bigger company can afford to dedicate one or more employees full-time to each of these major tasks. For instance, I know a company with a full-time staff person who does nothing but seek incoming links, one of the steps in SEO. And my answer is, "Hell yes, small businesses can compete'depending. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Thu, 14 Feb 2008 11:22:02 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2680 Creating the meta description tag can be a big bummer to SEO copywriters and marketers. On one hand, the meta description is the place for a marketing statement. It's the verbiage that's supposed to make your site stand out on the search engine results page. Unfortunately, it doesn't work that way. More often than not, instead of the submitted description, Google displays a "snippet" of text that appears around the search term. Yes, Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:23:26 GMT http://www.seocentro.com/cgi-bin/rss/go.pl?uid=2681 Three reasons why writing for the Canadian audience is different. Oh, America. Why does your copy dis your neighbours to the north?Many US-based companies are under the impression that American English is the same as Canadian English. While there are some similarities, the dialect is quite different. And so are the spellings. Not to mention that my fellow Canadians aren't keen on U.S.-based sites trying to sell something in their language. Search Engines News SEO News Seo Copywriting Seo Copywriting Sat, 09 Feb 2008 21:21:46 GMT