Rock Solid Writing » SEO article

Copywriting Tip: Why Bad Writing happens to Good People

David Denis — Mon, 10 May 2010 16:00:08 +0000

It’s called a POINT for a reason — it’s not dull.

Most people, probably you in fact, are scared by hard concrete words. We think that we must use safe language. Language with the teeth and claws pulled out. Language that is soft, squishy and fuzzy. We think sounding obtuse makes us sound smarter.

The urge to de-fang strong direct sentences is a powerful one. The fear of offending someone, or excluding something makes us queasy. We are afraid to write with words that poke at, or strike, or (God Forbid) even explode upon the reader’s consciousness.

Listen to what Dan Heath from Fast Company says about this, as applied to the writing of Mission Statements.

This is not just about your mission statement. It’s about your website. It’s about your brochures, tear sheets, email campaigns and print ads. It’s about any message you put out there to promote your business that sucks because you were too scared to say it outright and let it go at that.

Stop trying to sound like a PhD in Blabology (unless of course you actually are a PhD in Blabology). Start writing and talking like a real flesh and blood human being with a beating heart and a brilliantly electric brain. Your readers will respond with cheers and hoots and hollers and probably more than one standing O. Why? Because they like reading things that don’t sound like they were penned by a moron.

Got it? Good. Now go do it. I dare you.

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David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copy writing service, sales scripts and business name ideas.

To learn more, or request a quote visit http://www.rocksolidwriting.com/freelance-writer-quote/

Copywriting Example – Interim Management Solutions

David Denis — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:31:17 +0000

Interim Management Solutions provides consulting for businesses in transition. As a business grows, it passes through stages where their old ways of doing things no longer serve them well. IMS can step in with solid advice that comes from years of experience to help guide businesses through the choppy waters of change.

IMS is itself going through some change. They want to upgrade and improve their website so that it does more than passively profile their business. It should give a visitor valuable information, promote IMS as the best solution, and sell their business.

IMS is working with Neil Burtt over at You Promote LLC on their website upgrade. Neil specializes in creating promotional websites for small and medium sized businesses – websites that get results without breaking the bank.

The first step in the transformation of the IMS site is rebuilding the home page, starting with the copy. Neil called me to see if I would work on it.

The original copy was descriptive, but unfocused and a little bogged down with management book jargon. After a half hour interview with Ed Jaferian, one of the owners, I crafted some strong copy that is much more accessible so that the reader will quickly grasp what IMS does. These descriptions will ultimately be linked to other pages where the visitor can get more detail and see and offer for consultation.

As I told Ed, when I write copy for business sites like his, I target three major areas:

Eliminating jargon and using plain English
Using direct, strong, simple language in the active voice.
Writing with short well-structured paragraphs that can be easily scanned and understood.
Promoting and selling your business with benefits and regular calls to action.

Ed was so happy with the result that he wrote me an email, saying, “You have done a great job in capturing the essence of what I have been struggling to say.”

We are exploring improvements to the rest of the website as well, including fresher graphic design, stronger copy for the other pages, and search engine optimization. In particular, we are suggesting an email capture feature, where IMS will offer a useful report or “white paper” in exchange for the email of the visitor. This is the beginning of Relationship Marketing, a model that I think has huge potential for IMS down the road.

Be sure to click on the Link to view the current home page of IMS.

The Copywriter connects SEO elements

David Denis — Fri, 29 Jan 2010 04:11:51 +0000

Ask Kalena – A Search Advice Column is a pretty darn good blog about Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Search Engine Marketing (SEM). Kalena offers a course in SEO/SEM that attempts to provide something close to certification in the field — a comprehensive course in best practices and how to.

Back in 2008 Sarah Parker quoted from a presentation conducted by Ciarran Norris about Copy Writing for Search. It outlines the importance of clear and concise headlines, first lines, keyword analysis, link placement, and track backs. It’s all about simple mechanics. Make sure your website uses all the arrows your SEO quiver.

BUT…this works best when the copywriter weaves it into the warp and weft of the text so that it isn’t even noticed. The only people who will really see it are the search engine spiders and the experience SEO engineer. The spiders will respond by giving your site high rankings. The SEO folks will nod appreciatively at a job well and artfully done.

And most important of all, your site visitors will get the information they need, and keep coming back for more because the quality and content were simply that good.

Copywriting stitches it all together.

If you want to know more about how I can stitch together all the best aspects of your websites, go to my contact page and request a quote.

Using Technology Effectively in your Business

David Denis — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 15:00:36 +0000

Is technology a blessing or a curse for your business?

Neither. It’s a tool. Like a screwdriver. Try driving a nail with a screwdriver. Not much good is it? But it sure is good for putting in screws. Using technology in your business is about using the right tool for the right job.

Technology has only 2 functions in your business.

Increased efficiency.
Increased effectiveness.

Using technology properly increases your efficiency by making a wide range of repetitive and complicated tasks simpler and faster and cheaper. If you haven’t realized this yet, you will soon when your faster more profitable competitor eats your lunch. But efficiency is NOT where the real value of technology lies. Increased efficiency only SAVES you money, which is good, but it can only get you just so far. It cannot MAKE money.

3 Ways Technology Makes you more Effective

Effectiveness in business means making a profit. Before profits come sales and sales come from customers. So using technology to make your business more effective means creating customers and making good decisions about your revenues and expenses.

Using Technology Find Customers

Use technology to find your customers. E-bay is such a powerful business model because it makes it super easy for buyer and sellers of just about anything to find one another just about anywhere. I know of a commercial lender who is using the internet to create a network of people who funnel him business. This is high touch because he is now able to reach out and touch a hundred, a thousand percent more prospects than without technology. What would a similar system do for your business?

Using Technology to Communicate with Customers

Second, use technology to communicate with your customers, more often, more quickly and with better information. Do you think voice mail stinks? I recently read about real estate agents out there who have set up systems to respond to a request for information within 15 minutes of receiving a message? That’s high touch because studies show that the first agent to respond is usually the one who gets the listing.

Using Technology to Manage Information

Third, use technology to manage information for better decision-making. Business isn’t only about numbers (see point number two), but if you aren’t paying the right kind of attention to the right numbers, the numbers will trip you up. So learn to use technology to gather information and look at it in ways that will help you decide how to invest your three most important assets as an entrepreneur: time, money and energy.

Stop thinking its high tech vs. high touch. It is true that it’s never been about gadgets. It has always been about people. But the smart businesspeople understand that using high-tech properly makes you MORE high touch. Be aggressive about figuring out how, and YOU will be the one eating lunch.

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This article is available for reprint only if the following bio is included intact.
This article is written by David Denis owner of http://www.rocksolidwriting.com
David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copywriting service, sales scripts and business name ideas.
To learn more, or request a quote visit http://www.rocksolidwriting.com/freelance-writer-quote/

Google Likes Websites with Quality Content

David Denis — Thu, 07 Jan 2010 01:40:05 +0000

I talked yesterday with Neil Burtt, CEO of You Promote in Concord NH. Neil observed that the Google search algorithm seems to be shifting, so that quality content is more important than ever for creating high search engine rank results. It’s not all about the header, the title bar, and the meta tags. Google likes websites that give web users what they need, and it rewards those sites with higher search ranking that make them easy to find.

This is especially critical for small businesses that want their websites to pull in qualified prospects and create selling opportunities.

When your website contains strong compelling content that answers the searchers questions, everyone wins. In its Webmaster Guidelines, Google explains how it views content as part of the whole Search Engine Optimization recipe:

Create a useful, information-rich site, and write pages that clearly and accurately describe your content.

Make pages primarily for users, not for search engines. Don’t deceive your users or present different content to search engines than you display to users, which is commonly referred to as “cloaking.”

If you have plentiful, high-quality content that accurately describes what your business does, Google is more likely to place your business higher in the rankings. That means your prospects will find you more easily.

Once they find you, quality content becomes even more critical. It is a standard principle of selling that people buy BENEFITS, not features. If your website describes your product, but does not help people to quickly see the benefit of your product, you won’t get the return you seek from your web marketing investment. Good content should move your prospect to act, and that action should be contacting you.

If writing copy and content isn’t your thing, then get some help to get it done right. Don’t underestimate the power of well-crafted paragraphs for your business website. It need not be fancy, but it should drive customers to your door. What happens then is up to you.

Rock Solid Writing can provide your website with compelling, high quality content that will create more opportunities for your business. Go to the Request a Quote page to contact me about how I can help you get the most from your web investment.

Quality SEO content gets search engine results

David Denis — Fri, 11 Dec 2009 18:56:38 +0000

The good folks at Danconia Media services note some recent changes in they way Google handles local listings. This may have some powerful effects on the internet landscape, especially for smaller businesses that depend on trade from their immediate area. This may or may not be a bad thing, but as the Danconia blogger observes, “Obtaining organic search engine results will now be more important than ever.”

In the big picture, these changes mean that the results your business gets from organic search are going to become more and more important. When your prospects search for your business, what are you doing to show up high on the search results listings? Of course you must pay attention to your keyword research, meta tags, alt text, headings and all that. But none of that really works properly if you don’t have compelling content that is fresh, valuable to your prospects, and well written for web searching.

Writing is the key

Basically, its all about the content. Make sure your website contains useful, well-written information that will be a resource for your prospects and draw them back to your site repeatedly. What’s more, don’t just set it and forget it. Regularly post new content to keep your site fresh. Sure it takes time and effort, but better organic search results don’t happen by accident. They must be cultivated.

Note these comments from A Beginners Guide to SEO Best Practices:

Having good content is one of the most important things you can do for your page. Like I said earlier, content is the foundation for SEO, you need to have great content. Not only is it better for users if you have really good content, but search engines’ algorithms try to reward pages that have great content. If you have good content people will be more likely to link to you, causing search engines to see more value and authority in your page.

You must offer web copy that has appeal to both the human reader and the search engines. It’s not an either/or proposition. It’s really both/and. When you offer content that hits the sweet spot for both kinds of readers, you can really start to hit it out of the park in terms of search results.

Make it easy for your clients to find you. It’s a beautiful thing.

SEO Article – Keyword Financial Advisor

David Denis — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 16:00:16 +0000

This is an example of an SEO article for the keyword “Financial Planner.” This kind of article is perfect for web pages, blogs, newsletters, e zines or any other web page focusing on locating a fee only personal financial advisor.

This article targets the keyword phrase “Financial Planner” so that anyone searching for that keyword will be more likely to find your website with this article. If you would like quality SEO content generated for your online media click Request a Quote at the top of this page.

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Consider a Fee Only Financial Advisor

How do you find the right financial planner for you and your money? There are many people vying for your attention and your business. If you have money to invest, you have likely received phone calls and mail from a variety of stock brokers, insurance agents, and bankers. Many of these people are very experienced and skilled and can offer fine advice on your finances and investments.

Yet, you may find it useful to consider a fee only Financial Planner. Fee only financial planners have no stake in selling you any particular financial product. They are not paid commissions on sales or trades. They have access to the universe of financial products and are not limited to any one kind or brand. Their compensation does not increase or decrease if you buy certain products or not.

Compensation for Fee Only Financial Planners

A fee only financial planner receives compensation from you, the client, and you only. This automatically means that their professional interests are aligned with yours as they represent you in a chaotic and often confusing marketplace of options, rules, prices and values. You hire a fee only financial planner to give you the best advice, and as your agent (not someone else’s), they are free to do that. This arrangement avoids all possibilities of conflict of interest, or even its appearance.

Getting Started with a Fee Only Financial Planner

Most fee-only planners will meet with you a few times to get a clear view of your financial situation. Once this process is completed, you will receive a comprehensive financial plan that will cover much more than just where to invest your money. The plan will be tailored to your specific life and financial situation.

How to find a Fee Only Personal Financial Planner

Go to the website for the National Association of Personal Financial Advisors to learn more. You can also search for a fee only financial planner in your area.

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This article is available for reprint only if the following bio is included intact.

This article is written by David Denis owner of http://www.rocksolidwriting.com

David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copywriting service, sales scripts and business name ideas.

To learn more, or request a quote visit http://www.rocksolidwriting.com/freelance-writer-quote/

SEO Article – Keyword Homeowner’s Insurance

David Denis — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 16:00:16 +0000

This is an example of an SEO article for the keyword “Homeowner’s Insurance“. This kind of article is perfect for web pages, blogs, newsletters, e zines or any other web pages for independent insurance agents, insurance companies, or associations related to the insurance industry.

This article targets the keyword phrase “homeowner’s insurance” so that anyone searching for that keyword will find your website with this article.

If you would like quality SEO content generated for your online media click Request a Quote at the top of this page.
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What does your Homeowner’s Insurance Cover?

All insurance policies are not made alike. This is just as true of your homeowner’s insurance as for any other kind. The time to take a look at your insurance policy is now, not after your house has burned down.

There are eight basic kinds of homeowners insurance. Most people will only be concerned with the first three, but we will outline each type of homeowner’s insurance here so that you can understand.

Be aware that your state may use slightly different terminology on their forms. (such as HO-A, HO-B, etc.) but the types of coverage in each type of policy are fairly standard.

Homeowners Insurance – HO 1

This is just very basic coverage that only insures your home against fire. Coverage of this kind is very limited, and few homeowners find enough value to justify the cost savings.

Homeowner’s Insurance – HO 2

HO-2 is often referred to as “broad coverage,” because it covers losses for a broad variety of property losses including:

windstorm or hail
theft
explosion
smoke
damage from vehicles and aircraft
glass breakage
removal of property endangered by covered peril such as fire
vandalism
malicious mischief
and riot or civil commotion
building collapse
freezing of or accidental discharge of water or steam from within plumbing
heating or air-conditioning
falling objects
weight of snow, ice, or sleet
rupture or bursting of steam or hot water heating systems

Broad coverage is useful, but again, may not be worth the money you save on premiums, depending on your specific situation. Be sure to talk to your agent about your insurance needs.

Homeowner’s Insurance – HO 3

This type of homeowners insurance covers both your home and any detached structures (sheds, detached garages, barns, etc) against any kinds of losses, except for those specifically excluded in the policy. Be sure to read the policy carefully and discuss any and all exclusions with your agent. If you wish to have coverage for any of those excluded items, it is typically available by purchasing what is called “special endorsements” for an additional charge.

This is called the “special” form of homeowner’s insurance. HO-3 is the most popular type of homeowners insurance policy, used by the majority of homeowners.

Homeowner’s Insurance – HO 4

This type of homeowner’s insurance is commonly referred to as “renter’s insurance.” It covers the tenant of a rental property and insures household contents and personal belongings for all the losses outlined for HO-2 insurance policy. It does not cover the property itself, just the tenant’s belongings. In addition, HO-4 will cover:

Liability protection.
Additional living expenses if needed
Medical payments

Homeowner’s Insurance – HO 6

Purchase this policy if you live in a condominium unit and wish to homeowner’s insurance coverage for:

belongings that are not insured by the association policy
personal property inside the unit
personal liability protection.

Discuss the exact details of this policy with your agent so that you understand exactly what is covered and what is not.

Homeowner’s Insurance – HO 8

If you live in an “older home” you may not be able to buy a replacement policy for your home. Replacing older materials, and using previous construction techniques can be extremely expensive, and may not meet modern code requirement for new construction.

In this case you may have to purchase a modified replacement policy for your homeowner’s insurance. Instead of replacing such older home materials as plaster walls, the policy will only pay for standard building materials and practices in used today.

Your insurance agent will discuss your particular needs and help you to find and tailor the insurance policy that is right for you.

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This article is available for reprint only if the following bio is included intact.

This article is written by David Denis owner of http://www.rocksolidwriting.com

David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copywriting service, sales scripts and business name ideas.

To learn more, or request a quote visit http://www.rocksolidwriting.com/freelance-writer-quote/

SEO Article – Keyword Shop for a Mattress 2

David Denis — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 16:00:12 +0000

This is another example of an SEO article for the keyword “Shop for a Mattress”. This kind of article is perfect for web pages, blogs, newsletters, e zines or any other web page focusing on furniture or mattress sales. This article targets the keyword phrase “Shop for a mattress” so that anyone searching for that keyword will find your website with this article. It also includes numerous long tail keywords that will enhance the likelihood that the traffic coming to your page will be people who are specifically looking to purchase a mattress.

This article is part of a set of articles available on the topic of buying a new mattress. It is a sample of the kind of articles I can create for retailers of all kinds, both online and brick and mortar. A web of articles employing the same keyword improves the search profile of your website.

If you would like quality SEO content generated for your online media click Request a Quote at the top of this page.
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How to Shop for a Mattress – What’s Inside?

The most common type of mattress is the innerspring mattress. There are three basic kinds of innerspring mattresses

Interlaced Coil
Continuous Coil
Pocketed Coil

Each manufacturer will have its own proprietary name for marketing purposes. Each bed maker will modify the basic coil structure so that they can make claims regarding the superior performance of their unit over their competitors. When you shop for a mattress, don’t let all the jargon confuse you. This article will give you the basic explanation of each type so that you know what to expect before you buy a bed.

Interlaced Coil

In this type of mattress, the steel springs are laced together by wires to create a single flexible spring unit. This is the type of innerspring used by Sealy. An interlaced coil spring unit disperses the weight of your body over more coils. Interlaced coil units may feel more “boardy” than some other spring units because the lacing creates a sort flexible platform underneath you.

Continuous Coil

In the continuous coil, the entire spring unit is composed of one single piece of wire that spirals up, continues laterally, and then spirals down to make the next coil. Each coils is integrally connected to the next coil because they are all one piece of wire. Serta uses continuous coil construction. Make sure to test these mattresses by lying down on them when you shop to make sure you like the way your new mattress feels.

Pocketed Coil

The pocketed coil uses a barrel shaped coil inserted into a fabric pocket. A pocketed coil unit can create a more “floaty” feather bed feel because each coil moves independently from the other coils. There is less transfer of motion when your sleeping partner moves. If your partner is a restless sleeper, you may find that you can sleep better on a pocketed coil mattress. Simmons Beautyrest mattresses use a pocketed coil innerspring.

For every innerspring type, variations in price will in part be based on the thickness of the wire (gauge), the size of the coil, the number of coils per unit and the resulting amount of wire used. These variations can also create differences in the way the bed feels. This is why you must spend time in your mattress store lying on a variety of new beds to test the comfort of each bed. What feels good is different for each person and very subjective. When you are shopping for the mattress you will sleep on for the next 10-15 years, no one else can tell you what is most comfortable for you.
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This article is available for reprint only if the following bio is included intact.

This article is written by David Denis owner of http://www.rocksolidwriting.com

David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copywriting service, sales scripts and business name ideas.

To learn more, or request a quote visit http://www.rocksolidwriting.com/freelance-writer-quote/

SEO Marketing – Tweak Content for SEO and Sales

David Denis — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 16:00:06 +0000

Keywords are the key that unlocks your website for your prospects. When you optimize your web content for the right keywords, people who are searching for what you offer can find you. While some of this can be structured into the framework and backstage parts of your website, the actual copy that appears on the page is critical to having a high search engine profile.

Remember, however, that you must also have copy that communicates the right message. Jennifer Laycock over at Search Engine Guide has a nice article on tweaking your copy, not just for SEO, but to make sure that you are actually communicating the information and tone that you need and want them to receive.

This is a great illustration of high quality content does double duty. It both drives traffic, and it drives conversions.