Guest Author, Nick Stamoulis I was working with one of my social SEO clients on their blog. My SEO company , Brick Marketing, was responsible for writing two blog posts each week, which we would then promote through the client's various social networks as they went live. We were specifically instructed to make sure the blog posts were "SEO friendly" and would do well in the search engines. However,

Wow, it's the end of 2011 already' 'And that means that it's time for the "Most popular posts of the year" roundup )cue applause!( 2011 was a big year for Google updates - and a big year for SEO copywriting. Most of the top-10 post topics aren't overly surprising )Panda, anyone?( Other top ten posts surprised me - and showed that many folks are still mastering the "writing for search engines and social" balance. Without further ado,

Happy Solstice ! In this final SEO Content Marketing Roundup of 2011, we feature 2012 predictions and forecasts, share 2011 retrospectives, and note those choice real-time updates from all realms of the content, social media, SEO and search marketing spheres. Savor these and join us as we welcome the New Year! We'll be back with the latest and greatest Web writing news come Wednesday, January 4 th . See you then!

Guest Author, Disa Johnson Today's guest post - the final one of 2011 - is by Disa Johnson, an established authority in the search world who "'watched as AlltaVista beat InfoSeek, only to loose against Google'" Disa can tell when something truly innovative comes along, and noting that search innovations haven't come along in a long while, Disa is excited by the emergence of Wolfram|Alpha : "the latest, greatest little computation engine that could." Here,

Greetings Web writers! In the last SEO copywriting video how-to for 2011, Heather answers a question posed to her on Twitter: "How can you tell if your Web pages have too many words?" Given that last week's video discussed three essential tips for writing for the Web , the question of word count makes for a natural fourth in the Web-writing fundamentals sequence. So without further ado,

Last week, a prospect asked what I thought of his site copy. I took one look and resisted the urge to say, "Um, how much did you pay for this?" The writing was'bad. Picture a 500-word, below-the-fold paragraph with no hyperlinks, no call-to-action'and what's worse' All of the copy was italicized. All of it. Imagine reading that on a mobile device. The prospect knew that something seemed "off." But he thought, "I hired someone who specializes in SEO copy.

Wow! This week's Web writing news is nearly decadent with rich and informative content: E-commerce marketers have occasion to rejoice with record-breaking holiday numbers, SEO and search professionals contemplate where "the new Google" )and the industry( are going, and social media marketers are assured an ever-growing piece of the world-wide content marketing pie. Here are this week's yummy picks'enjoy! Content Marketing Citing newly-released comScore data ,

Guest Author, Ann Smarty Ah, guest posting. While blogs were once a fringe activity similar to writing a journal, they now represent a great bulk of much of the average freelance writer's work. If you own a blog yourself you have probably written guest posts before, or written them for someone else. If you are a writer you will probably regularly look for chances to expand your visibility by searching out chances to get involved with various high-profile sites.

Greetings! Today, Heather is stripping it down to the triage of online copywriting essentials with three tips on how to write for the Web. For those of you who come from a print freelance copywriting background, or for those who own a small business or are otherwise in the do-it-yourself )DIY( mode, these tips are all the more important for you to know. Tune in to learn how to structure your copy for the Web in a way that makes it easier for folks to read,

Are you looking for more Google love? Want to drive highly qualified traffic? Do you want to reach readers at all phases of the purchase cycle? You got it. All you have to do is learn how to leverage the long tail. Google just announced another algorithm tweak, and this time, it's targeting long-tail documents. According to the Google Inside Search blog: " More comprehensive indexing: This change makes more long-tail documents available in our index,

In this week's Web writing news, the past year is coming to a close while a new year has yet to begin. Betwixt and between the 2011 retrospective and 2012 predictive musings are exceptional news and posts from all corners of the internet marketing sphere: content, social, SEO and search. Transitional times can make for the most interesting discussions!

Guest Author, Courtney Ramirez Publishing quality content can help your small business get new leads, develop a bigger presence online and convert more prospects into clients. But the process of planning, creating and distributing content can be a tall order for many small businesses who have limited resources. An outstanding content marketing plan doesn't have to be out of your reach! By following these keys you can put content marketing to work for your small business. 1.

Greetings! Today's SEO copywriting tip addresses a question posed in the SEO Copywriting Certification graduate group forum: "In my experience, pipes have been added to define SEO keywords in the search engine results'can you explain what is the preferred way of writing general SEO Titles - with or without pipes? What produces the best results in terms of consumer search behavior?" An excellent question! Beginning with an explanation of "pipes,

Thinking about starting a career in SEO copywriting? Here's a reality check. Making a living as a copywriter )whether you work in-house or freelance from home( is hard work. First, there's a learning curve - it takes some time to master SEO copywriting best practices. Second, you'll need to keep up with )and understand the ramifications of( the search engine's ever-changing whims. Plus, you need to know how to write. Really well. But you know what else'?

The proverbial fridge full of yummy Thanksgiving leftovers feed this week's Web writing news: Black Friday and Cyber Monday stats highlight content marketing discussions, SEO and search professionals talk analytics, while social media marketers buzz about Facebook and blogging. Substantive food for thought and delicious resources for the smart marketer await you'enjoy! And please pass the salt, but hold the pepper' spray! Content Marketing Citing stats from comScore,

Guest Author, Amy C. Teeple You've most likely heard the saying, "Don't assume because it makes an ass out of you and me." When it comes to your business, assuming certain things can mostly just make an ass out of you ' and send your clients elsewhere. Tis the season The holiday season is often a busy time for many product-based businesses. Even in this down economy, people still spend a bit extra on their Christmas and Hanukkah shopping - a bonus for retailers.

Welcome back! In today's SEO Copywriting video, Heather shares an "old school" copywriting tip on how to make more money simply be re-structuring your price list. If you have a price list on your website, or if you're a small business owner and produce a printed price list for your clients, then you'll find this pricing strategy how-to especially useful. And it's a fun tip, besides! How many times have you seen a page like this?

A recipe for gratitude makes up this week's Web writing news: there is a smidgen of expertise, a pinch of analysis, oodles of how-to's and tips, all mixed in a delightful holiday e-commerce sauce. Oh, and a big helping of Google+ 'taties and gravy. From content to social media marketing, SEO and search, here's a delightful spread of some really good stuff! Season to taste and eat up' Content Marketing The power of 3: SES Chicago 2011 gang of three )Lee Odden,

Guest Author, Tom McSherry If you're still fairly new to freelancing and you're burst out of bed every morning ready to hit your desk and start on another ludicrously productive day - great. I envy you. This post probably won't have any relevance for you yet, but it will at some stage. Any freelancer who has been in the business for more than a year or so is likely to have gone through a period of listlessness and lack of interest in the job,

Greetings! Today's SEO Copywriting video post is in response to a question put to Heather during her recent Inbound Writer webinar ) 7 Steps to SEO Copywriting Success (: "How do you address competing keywords where the keyword attracts multiple audiences?" This is a very good question, and one that poses a particular challenge for business-to-business )B2B( copywriters. Tune in a learn the common mistakes made by B2B writers in their keyphrase research - and hence,