by Snappy Sentences on November 28, 2009
Glenn Murray is a SEO copywriter who I admire. He’s always got good things to say on Twitter, his blog posts are really informative, and his SEO e-book rocks. So when he said that he was busy writing a new SEO copywriting e-book, my ears pricked up. I got my hands on a copy as soon as it was out, and it’s good…really good.
Practical SEO copywriting tips
The main thing I like about Glenn’s books is that they are very usable. He practically holds your hand as he takes you through his tried and tested techniques. He doesn’t hold back…he shares his secrets in a way that anyone can pick up and use – it doesn’t matter if you aren’t a natural writer, you can still apply his techniques.
Focusing on the client, not Google
While I do write optimised content for search engines, I am more from the point of view that good content (written for the client) will naturally be optimised. And I’m happy to report that Glenn thinks so too. Which is refreshing, as too many ‘SEO gurus’ out there seem to forget that people buy products, not search engines.
Real SEO copywriting examples
There’s nothing worse than getting a whole lot of tips, but no examples of how to implement them. Luckily Glenn has dedicated a good section of the book to scenarios. Actually, the only peeve I have with the book is that a lot of the scenarios are split over two pages. I wouldn’t mind the extra white space if it meant I could see the whole thing on one page.
Forget keyword density
Another refreshing point that Glenn makes is to forget keyword density. Hallelujah! Score one for readability! I totally agree with his point that density should be thrown out and replaced with frequency instead.
So in summary, I recommend Practical SEO Copywriting for anyone trying to get their head around how to write SEO copy that is still readable by real people. It’s great because it’s so practical. The real content examples make sense to non-writer types. Oh, and I love the word clouds. I may just steal that idea. 
You can purchase the book by clicking on the image below.
Practical SEO Copywriting e-book
by Snappy Sentences on November 20, 2009
It’s only six or so weeks until the end of the year. Which means everyone will start making New Year resolutions. Now I don’t normally make any personal ones, but I think it’s good to make some content ones. Here are some for you to consider.
Lose weight
If your website is bloated with stale and out-of-date content, then get rid of it. It weighs your site down, reduces the user experience, and clogs up your search engine.
Get healthy
Make an effort to produce quality content for your site. Sure it takes a little extra time, but you’ll be giving a better first impression to potential customers who visit your site.
Exercise
Revive your blog and get into the habit of regular posting. Brainstorm some topics, expand these topics into related topics, draw up a schedule, and commit to the program. As your blog fitness increases, consider writing some guest posts for other sites.
Give up bad habits
Stop cutting and pasting printed marketing material onto your web pages. The content needs to be re-purposed for the web. And no more bad linking – make your links meaningful and refrain from using ‘click here’.
Take the time to listen
Get to know your target market better. Stop assuming that they’ll read your content, instead find out what motivates them, what sites they are visiting, and why they really need your product or service.
Be generous
Give something for nothing. Whether it’s an ebook, some handy templates, or a free trial of your product – you’ll win some new customers in the process.
Improve your social life
Twitter is a great education tool. Take the time to read some of the articles that get tweeted by the people you follow. You’ll learn how to improve your content and your business.
What are your New Year content resolutions?
by Snappy Sentences on October 31, 2009
On Wednesday night I attended a Networx event called Marketing on a shoestring budget. It was a great night and I think everyone in the crowd learned some good tips and tricks to make a small marketing budget go further.
One idea that wasn’t really expanded on though was the value of good content. I think that if you are going to go to the effort of pulling together a website, some direct mail outs, or even a decent business card (which were all items given the thumbs up), then don’t forget that the right words can really seal the deal.
Hiring a professional copywriter – even for a few hours – can make a huge difference to your brand. We can help you focus your call to action, define a personality for your business, or even simply set up a style guide for you to follow when you write material yourself. In fact, a style guide is one of the most overlooked tools for a small business. Consistency in the way you write sends a message to your potential clients that you are professional and organised – qualities that are good for business!
What are your value-for-money marketing tools?
by Snappy Sentences on October 17, 2009
It’s officially the downhill slide to the end of the year. The first Christmas party invites are starting to filter through, the weather is getting hotter and hotter (around here anyway), and there is a last minute push to get things done before everyone goes on holidays.
The savvy ones out there are also starting to think about their content needs for 2010. While it may be hard to do (with all the frivolity on the horizon), start having a think about:
- What blog topics would you like to cover? Do some brainstorming and map out what you are going to cover for at least the first six months. You can always be flexible (if something more timely or exciting crops up), but having a schedule makes it far less intimidating to keep up to date with posts.
- What special events do you want to target with your business. Mother’s Day? Easter? The local show? If you plan ahead, you’ll give yourself enough lead time to write some cracking content to attract customers and generate sales.
- Who really is your target market? If you haven’t done so already, start analysing your website traffic and metrics, develop some personas of your different types of visitors and target them with specific content.
- Train your staff. We run some great Writing for the web workshops – contact us to find out more.
Small steps such as these will help prepare you for the year ahead. Then you’ll really be able to enjoy all those Christmas parties!
What will be on your content to-do list for 2010?
by Snappy Sentences on October 9, 2009
I’ve been having some problems with Technorati, basically because I’ve changed my blog URL since joining. The site doesn’t seem to pick up my new blog posts, so after much trial and error I am deleting my claim and re-claiming www.snappysentences.com/blog
To get this to work, they need a piece of code. Here it is: fvdq67ky8x
Fingers crossed this works 