Archive for the ‘Copywriting’ Category
Monday, June 29th, 2009
By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved
Have you ever noticed that ecommerce sites have their own set of challenges when it comes to search engine optimization (SEO)? If you’re a small ecommerce site owner, I’m sure you have. One reason is copy plays such a vital role in the optimization process. Because ecommerce sites typically have significantly less content than many other types of websites, they can face struggles others don’t have.
There are a few elements you, as an ecommerce site owner, can put into practice that will boost your tendency to get ranked highly. However, you’ll need to start from the ground up. Keep in mind that words on any part of the page or coding count as content.
Keywords First and Foremost
The basis of any optimized website is the keyword list. Why?
Because the search terms you choose to focus on will be used in every area of development from the navigational structure all the way through to the copy.
As you look through your choices, think of the structure of your site. When you create a list of terms to use on each page, start broad and work your way to the more specific keywords. For instance, if your site sells shoes, you’ll want phrases such as [discount shoes], [shoe store] or [shoes online] for your home page.
As you move through the different sections, select search terms that reflect what’s available on those specific pages. In fact, I find it helpful to create a chart and on it I list which terms will go where. It makes keyword usage much easier to keep up with as you move through your site.
Do not use the same exact keyphrases on every single page of your site. Do not try to shove as many keyphrases as you can onto every page of your site. Each page gives you a unique opportunity to rank with the engines because each page stands on its own. Select search terms specifically for the individual pages.
Where do you use the keyphrases you select? In all these places:
Navigation / Links
As you’re setting up site navigation, keep your keyphrases in mind. You’ll want to create category and page names using keyphrases whenever possible. Of course, length is always a consideration for navigation names.
Let’s say (for the sake of example) you plan to have separate categories for men’s shoes, women’s shoes, and children’s shoes.
After looking at the keyword research, you find that these are, indeed, viable keyphrases.
Those are certainly easy enough to work into your site and they are applicable to your particular categories. In your content management system (CMS), name your first category [women's shoes]. Also name your first navigational link [women's shoes].
When possible, also use keywords in your individual URL page links. While I used to think this carried little weight (if any) with the engines, I’ve recently read several comments from Google that recommend using keyphrases with dashes in URLs.
This isn’t always possible due to the constraints of the CMS, but when you’re able to do so, insert keyphrases into URLs.
Breadcrumb Trail
This is a very important SEO and usability feature to add to your site. Breadcrumb trails look like this:Â home > women’s shoes > designer shoes > black > pumps.
It helps visitors see where they’ve been. But do you notice what else it’s doing? It’s creating long-tail keyphrases of sorts. If you look on our imaginary keyword list, you’ll see that [women's designer black pumps] is another viable keyphrase.
As customers click through the navigation, they are following a trail of keywords. The Googlebot can follow that same trail.
Alt Tags / Image Attributes
Here’s another little-known or forgotten area to include keyphrases in. The text used in these tags counts the same as anchor text used in your copy. Be very sure that the keyword-rich descriptions you include in alt text and image attributes apply to the image they’re related to.
Copy
Last, but certainly not least, we move from behind the scenes to the forefront of your site. Good copy is vital for many reasons.
Yes, it helps you with search engine rankings, but it also communicates with your site visitors.
The biggest mistake I see ecommerce site owners making is not using copy to connect with visitors. They look at copy as the
enemy: something they have to include for the sake of the engines. But well-written SEO copy can quickly convert lookers into buyers.
As you write copy for each page, interject keyphrases into your headlines. Google and other engines give particular importance to headlines, so include search terms if at all possible.
In addition, work keyphrases naturally into your category page copy as well as individual product descriptions, using search terms that are specific to each.
Granted, it takes time and planning to build an ecommerce site with content that’s truly engineered to rank high. However, if you give due diligence to the steps above, you’ll find success comes much easier.
Karon Thackston is an SEO copywriter specializing in ecommerce websites. Need help boosting conversions and rankings? Visit http://www.marketingwords.com today.
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Tuesday, June 16th, 2009
By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved
In today’s economy, where auto and real estate sales are down, most people are focusing more on maintenance of their homes and cars rather than replacement. That means the do-it-yourself
(DIY) market is seeing a surge as was reported recently in Internet Retailer magazine. What did the publication recommend?
One suggestion was for auto parts and home improvement / hardware store sites to ramp up the content on their pages to help DIYers do their projects right. But just how – exactly – do you create a page that assists others and generates sales?
Quality Content Is Key
First and foremost, give quality content. Don’t halfway explain how to replace a broken window or the process for bleeding an air bubble from a brake line. DIYers need details. Give step-by-step instructions for whatever it is that you’re describing. Never skimp.
Use Copy and Video Together
If you’re delivering the material in writing, offer numbered steps or a checklist that your visitor can print off and refer to as he/she makes the repair/renovation. Include pictures when
possible: they can be a vital part of ensuring your reader understands what you’re talking about, especially if your reader is a novice.
Better yet, create a video your site visitors can watch and also offer a printable “notes” sheet and/or materials list that they can keep handy while working. I recommend breaking long videos into short segments, so your customers can watch the parts they want without having to repeat the entire 20-minute session on dishwasher installations from beginning to end.
Explain the Benefits
If you’re selling a specific type or brand of item, explain why in your copy and/or video. For instance, “Using a 3/8″ swivel ratchet with a deep-well socket will make your job easier because you won’t have to strain to reach the nut.”Â
Or, “I really prefer ABC brand ratchets because they last longer and can stand up to the stress needed to torque these bolts down.”
Your Link to Profits
How do you turn these self-help pages into profit generators?
Include links!Â
Link the items in your material list to the exact page on your site that offers that product for sale. In videos, make mention of specifically where on your site a viewer can find the items needed to complete the project. For example, instead of saying, “Check our site for the exact wrench you’ll need,” you should say, “Visit the hand tools page of our site and click ‘wrenches’
in the right sidebar to find the exact wrench you need.”
Following these ideas will allow you to give your site visitors the information they need and also help yourself to some increased profits.
Want to learn the professional methods for writing search engine copy that ranks high and makes more sales? Get Karon’s Step-by-Step Copywriting Course, now in its 5th edition. Visit http://www.copywritingcourse.com today.
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Saturday, June 6th, 2009
By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved
“I feel like I’m in a rut.” “I don’t know where to start.”
“I’ve written about everything there is to write about.” If you can relate to these comments, you’re not alone. Many company marketers and copywriters suffer from writer’s block when it comes to PPC ads. Here are 25 great writing opportunities.
Ecommerce
1. Category Sales – Something like “all outdoor furniture 50% off until 1/31.”
2. Product Sales – Along the lines of “every monogrammed tote bag 25% off.”
3. Rebates – “$100 Rebate on Wireless Printers”
4. Coupons – Offer coupons for use on an immediate sale or use coupons as an incentive to get visitors to sign up for your mailing list.
5. Free Shipping – Always a winner online.
6. Holiday Sales – President’s Day, Valentine’s Day… heck, Groundhog Day can bring extra visitors to your site if you offer a sale.
7. Combos – Buy 1 of these and 1 of those and get a discount. A cordless drill and flashlight. A pair of shoes and handbag.
Ice cream and cookies… it works for anything.
8. Buy One, Get One – Get one free, get one at half off, get credit toward a future purchase, etc.
9. New Products – Bring attention to new product additions by announcing them with PPC ads.
10. Seasonal Twists – “Women’s spring pants.” “Great summer markdowns.” “Your favorite fall fashions.”
Buying Stages
11. Need Recognition – “Time for a new lawnmower?” “Computer running slow?”
12. Information Search – “Search for __________.” “Scientific data on ________.”
13. Comparison / Evaluation – “Read reviews on plasma TVs.”
“Compare flat screen TVs.”
14. Decision – “Buy netbooks at 30% off.” “Best-selling netbooks on sale.”
Proof of Performance
15. Statistics – “92% Felt Relief in 7 Days”
16. Case Studies – Offer case studies that focus on the results your clients experienced from using your services/products.
17. Research Results – “88% Recovered in 24 Hours.”
18. Proof of Performance – Highlight anything that shows clients/shoppers know you can back up what you claim.
Customer-generated reviews, testimonials, analytics, etc.
Differentiation
19. Exclusive Products/Services – Anything you have that they don’t should be mentioned.
20. Rarely Found Products/Services – Anything you have that most others don’t should also be mentioned.
21. Specialties – Are you a marketing agency that specializes in email marketing? Say so!
Lead Generation
22. Size – “Largest agency in the U.S.” “More partners than any other firm.”
23. End Results – “Improve your ROI by 22%.”
24. Preferred Clients – “Small business CPA” or “Marketing for Major Corps.”
25. Freebie – A free white paper, consultation or case study for those who respond.
If you can’t get them to click your PPC ads, your whole campaign is finished before it starts. Learn the easy methods for writing PPC ads that get clicked at http://www.writeppcads.com.
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Friday, May 1st, 2009
By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved
We’ve heard it for years. Heck, I’ve said it myself countless times before: “Click-throughs are great, but it’s conversions that really matter.” However, consumer research over the last several years has shown a growing trend that most emarketers believed would have eased up by this date in time. Still, one survey after another reports just the opposite: the trend is getting stronger.
What’s happening is that consumers – in increasing numbers – are researching online before buying offline (ROBO). According to ecommerce software provider MarketLive (as reported in Internet Retailer magazine), “The picture emerging from the data shows many consumers using the web to search for deals, moving quickly from site to site, and often going into stores to buy after researching online.”
But, the ROBO trend isn’t a new one and, while it may be spurred by the current economy, that isn’t the case in years past. The Pew Internet & American Life Project reports an increase of 8% in this area from 2000 to 2007. As of September 2007, 81% of Americans typically did research online for a product they may buy offline. As many as 85% of those shoppers agreed with the statement, “I prefer to see things I buy before I buy them.”
In addition, Pew recounts that 47% of Internet users said that if a store provided product information online, even if it didn’t sell goods at its website, they would be more likely to go into the physical store to buy the product.
eMarketer agrees, reporting, “The most-trod cross-channel shopping path starting online (i.e., from a Web site, e-mail or an online newspaper circular) was browsing a Web site and then buying in a store (37%).”
So then, for pay-per-click (PPC) advertisers, what does this all mean? In actuality, your conversion rate could be a good deal higher than your analytics show.
Is Your Conversion Rate Skewed?
Web statistics only report what happens on your website.
Visitors come and are recorded as a click-through from your ad to your site. Visitors click to different pages; the stats pick up on their movements. A conversion takes place online; it’s noted. But, what if the customer leaves to buy offline? Then, you record a click-through, but no conversion. Instead, it can drive your bounce rate up while stalling out your conversion rate.
Stats programs aren’t capable of tracking offline movements.
So, when a Web searcher clicks from a PPC ad to your site and then leaves the site to purchase in your retail store or calls your 800 order line, it isn’t calculated. It still counts, however. You made the sale. The person is arrives at your location to buy… he just isn’t buying from your site. It’s sort of like the old question, “If a tree falls in the woods and nobody is around, does it make a noise?”
Depending on your definition of a conversion, you may be doing much better than you think you are with your PPC campaign. Even if you have the most sophisticated analytics software available today, ROBO shoppers could be skewing your results. The problem is there’s no accurate way to track offline conversions.
How Do You Account for ROBO Shoppers?
There are a few things that might shed a bit of light on the impact ROBO shoppers are having on your site. Here are two ideas.
#1 – Add a “Buy in Store” Option. On each product page, add a button that reads “Buy in Store.” When clicked, a message appears with a discount code (best way to track), the store phone number, and a list of locations. When the discount code is given to the cashier at your retail location, you’ll know immediately that this customer researched online and bought offline.
#2 – Offer In-Store Pickup. The customer would go through the same motions as with purchasing online, but the “shipping” option would default to in-store pickup. Shoppers would research and buy online then drive to your store to pick up the purchase. Include a bit of copy that lets customers know, if they don’t like the item once they see it in person, a full refund will be issued on the spot.
Although technology is getting more sophisticated by the nanosecond, it would be unrealistic at this point to believe you can track all ROBO sales from start to finish. Using a little creativity, however, can give you a better handle on what’s really happening with your conversion and bounce rates.
Before you throw in the towel from frustration over what you think might be a slow PPC campaign, do a little evaluating to see if conversions could be taking place offline rather than on.
If you can’t get people to click your PPC ads, the game’s over!
It all starts with your copy. Learn the easy way to write high click-through PPC copy with Karon’s book “How to Write Successful PPC Ads,” now in its 2nd edition.
http://www.WritePPCAds.com
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Wednesday, January 28th, 2009
By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved
I shake my head every time I read one of these blanket statements. I’m amazed at how so many people still think that one size of copy still fits everyone. It’s just not true.
Here’s an example. A while back, I read, “Prospects hate being bombarded by text-heavy pages, especially on a home/landing page.” This is coming from Internet Marketing Report in relation to business-to-business (B2B) websites. I’m sorry, but I completely disagree.
Just because a website is B2B does not automatically mean every single one of its visitors will “hate being bombarded by text-heavy pages.” The product or service itself, how familiar the product or service is to the market, the target customer’s preferred communication style and a dozen other factors contribute to the decision about whether or not long copy or short should be used.
On the other hand, we have direct-mail experts who’ve taken their style of copywriting (sales letters) online. And, just like the ultra-short copy suggested by the Internet Marketing Report article, long copy has its audience.
If you ask direct marketers, they’ll swear that the long, scrolling, often hype-filled sales letters are the end-all, be-all of copywriting. Again, nothing could be further from the truth. The same reasoning applies to those who say you must use a sales letter as opposed to those demanding short copy.
DISC Helps Us Understand
You may have heard of the DISC model that categorizes people into four primary groups (Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance). There are others as well, including Myers-Briggs.
No matter how you group people, the point is that everyone is not the same.
So then, how can one style of copy possibly fit everyone? It doesn’t. There’s not a one-size-fits-all answer. Whether you’re B2B or B2C, you have to know your target audience and communicate with them in the way that they will be most receptive.
For instance, people high in Steadiness traits on the DISC model prefer longer copy. What’s more, those high in Steadiness make up over 40% of the population of the U.S. Those high in Compliance crave details. They, too, would want longer copy.
Dominance types want the bottom line first and possibly details later if they deem them necessary. And Influence? Those high in Influence move at the speed of light and make decisions on a whim. They aren’t much into details either.
Combine with these four styles the additional factors that being male or female add and you’ve really got your hands full. Want to get extremely precise? Toss in some persona/profile elements that deal with lifestyle, convictions and more. It’s enough to make your head spin at times.
Use Your Judgment
Before you buy into a blanket statement about consumers – whether it pertains to writing copy, setting prices or anything else – use your judgment. Does what’s being suggested really make sense for everybody? Is it possible that all people across the entire globe respond in the same way? No.
We all communicate differently. We shop differently. We make decisions based on different criteria. We respond to different stimuli. If there’s one common denominator, it is that we’re all different.
Looking for a better way to learn web copywriting? Karon’s SEO copywriting course teaches you how to improve conversions and rankings. Complete with assignments and feedback. Get the new 5th edition today at http://www.copywritingcourse.com.
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Wednesday, January 14th, 2009
By Karon Thackston © 2009, All Rights Reserved
At this time of year, it’s hard to resist making predictions about what the coming days hold. Financial analysts, doctors, politicians and experts from virtually every industry in the world give insights into what they think may happen during the course of the next 12 months. Although my mother always warned me about following the crowd, I’ll chip my two cents into the pot anyway and give you a couple of predictions about the future of SEO copywriting.
Looking Back Before Gazing Forward
In the beginning was the word. The keyword, that is. And when it was placed into the keyword META tag of any web page, that page received high rankings. Then the Internet boom raged throughout Cybertown. It soon became a greater challenge to rank in the coveted top 10. Enter search engine copywriting.
As algorithms changed, a need arose to use keywords (and soon,
keyphrases) throughout a page’s copy in addition to its tag set.
Here’s where typical Internet behavior set in. The online marketing mindset that is so common took hold: If one is good – 1,000 is better. Well-meaning copywriters began to shove keyphrases into existing text willy-nilly. It didn’t take long before site owners and their customers began to baulk at the way SEO copywriting sounded.
But, with theories about keyword density and fears of keyword stuffing floating through Cyberspace, copywriters did their best to find balance.
Coming Full Circle
Due to unceasing demand by site owners for copy that sounded natural while still being optimized, SEO copywriters began to flush out ways to write content that didn’t sound “like that.”
And so, we came full circle – from virgin copy that was written exclusively for the site visitor to copy that was butchered horribly in the name of higher rankings to natural-sounding SEO copy that pleased everyone.
Seems as though all is well and SEO copywriting has settled into an acceptable balance, right? Yes. But other changes were taking place behind the scenes that should influence the future of SEO copy.
Search Engines Get New Skills
Along the way, Google and other engines have been picking up new skills for indexing and evaluating copy. Many years ago, Yahoo!
and other engines gained the ability to read PDF files. As time went on, SEO taboos – including frames and the dreaded Flash – became less fearsome as engines adapted, acquiring the technology to read these formats as well.
Prediction #1 about SEO copywriting is this: Search engines will begin to index the copy that is superimposed on the screen of videos, in video voiceovers and in audio clips. The technology actually already exists for the most part. Closed captioning for the hearing impaired could easily be adapted for this purpose. Search engine copywriters take note: You’ll soon be asked to write optimized voiceover and audio scripts.
Rather than simply optimizing the web page that hosts these files, the scripts themselves will require a search engine touch. This will make it all the more imperative that copy be written naturally. It is annoying enough to read something like
this:
Texas Web Design Firm in Dallas, Texas
Welcome to our Texas web design site. Our Texas web design staff is highly skilled in creating beautiful and functional sites. When you need a Texas web design firm to help build your Internet presence, one of our Texas web design specialists will be glad to speak with you.
Ugh! Can you just imagine having those words spoken as part of a voiceover? The old tip of reading your copy out loud to see how natural it sounds will absolutely become standard practice once scripts are indexed.
Prediction #2: Latent semantic indexing will continue to evolve, making the use of synonyms in SEO copy vital. Early in 2008, Google announced it was indexing synonyms (although not heavily from what I’ve seen). I think this practice will be put into full force in the next year or two. For example, we’ll begin to see results from a search for “handbags” that contain that term as well as “purse,” “pocketbook” and “bag.”
I also believe that Google and other search engines will consider the overall context of a page more, in addition to the keywords and phrases that are used. Hopefully this will alleviate much of the elementary SEO copywriting that goes on now. (See Texas example above.)
As with everything online, change is inevitable. While certain core practices and techniques will remain foundational to SEO copywriting, advancements in search technology and site visitor preferences will continue to alter the face of this copywriting niche. Adjust, adapt, advance!
See Karon Thackston live in Boston April 2-3, 2009. Get info at http://www.highrankings.com/seo-workshops Or buy Karon’s SEO copywriting course and learn at your own pace.
http://www.copywritingcourse.com
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Sunday, December 28th, 2008
By Karon Thackston © 2008, All Rights Reserved
It was a typical request: one I’ve gotten from many e-commerce site owners because the vast majority make the same mistake. An online business owner emailed me last week asking for help with his conversions. His search engine rankings were good, but his conversions were lacking. At his request, I spent some time on his site and compiled a list of my thoughts, a few suggestions and a quote for making it all happen. What I found on this home page was typical of many other e-commerce sites I’ve worked on.
There was a severe lack of benefits-oriented copy.
The website was very well designed and extremely professional looking. With rotating images in the upper-left corner, visitors would quickly get a wonderful idea of the beauty and functionality of the furniture this company manufactured and sells. What they wouldn’t get, however, was information about the benefits and the differentiating elements that set this online retailer apart from all the others.
A tag line, the announcement of a sale and text links were the only visible copy on the home page that fell above the fold. Way down at the very bottom of the page, in a font color that was just a few shades darker than the light tan background, was a single paragraph of copy. There – if the visitor ever got that far – he/she would find several benefits.
One of their biggest differentiating factors was that these pieces of furniture were available exclusively from the manufacturer. About 81% percent of consumers look for information on the Web before buying in a brick-and-mortar store, according to the Pew Internet & American Life Project.
Letting site visitors know they won’t find these incredible pieces in any other store would have a big impact on their purchasing decision.
Likewise, these cabinets are engineered with ample ventilation to protect the wood and your TV set. Plus, they provide wider and deeper shelves than most others, leaving plenty of room for your television.
Another vital point is that this online store offers free shipping and in-home setup. While that was stated on the home page, the mentions were located on infrequently viewed parts of the page.
Will Copy Ruin My Design?
One concern with e-commerce sites is that copy will ruin the graphical design of the page. After all, buying online means shoppers want to see what they are getting. That’s perfectly understandable. But, with a little creativity, it is quite simple to add copy. Remember: Not all the copy has to appear in the same place. There is no need for 200 words of text right in the middle of your home page.
You can simply put a sentence or two here and a sentence or two there. The goal is to provide the visitor with the information he/she needs to answer the most pressing question of all: “Why should I buy from your site instead of the other 21,000 I’ve found online?”
A headline up top, a strategically placed paragraph and a caption under a photo are sometimes all it takes to communicate to your customers why they should choose you. In addition, you’ll get a boost with the engines from placing keyword-optimized copy on the page.
The next time you decide to take an ax to the copy on the home page of your e-commerce site, remember that customers aren’t mind readers. If you can’t make it easy – right off the bat – for them to grace you with their business, your conversion rate will likely never reach the level you desire.
See Karon live at a half-day copywriting workshop in the Boston area April 2-3, 2009. Keyword research, social media and analytics also offered. Get details and register today at http://www.highrankings.com/seo-workshops.
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Monday, October 13th, 2008
By Karon Thackston © 2008, All Rights Reserved
It’s funny how we, as website owners, don’t always think like our visitors. A course of action that might seem perfectly obvious to us may stop our visitors right in the middle of their buying process. Take, for instance, e-commerce–type copy. Do you realize that what happens after your customers read your copy could make or break your sale? I’m not talking about shopping cart abandonment. I’m talking about good communication that keeps the buying cycle moving forward. Let me give you a real-world example.
One website offered custom-designed gift bags. The photos on their site were gorgeous. The copy seemed self-explanatory until I got to the request for quote page. There I found a form that asked questions I wasn’t expecting. I was supposed to explain my preference of fabric color, the type of handle I wanted and a description of any accessories that should be added to the bag.
I had no idea how to answer.
Because the copy stated that each gift bag was custom designed, I assumed I’d be given options to choose from. Instead, as it turned out, I was responsible for knowing precisely what I wanted and also for describing it in detail in writing on the request for quote form. It set me back a little.
Since most people aren’t very comfortable with writing, I can easily see how a page like this would immediately stop visitors and send them packing. I could place the most compelling copy ever written on the sales page for these bags – copy that would have visitors primed and ready to whip out their credit cards.
But after clicking to a request for quote page like the one described above, most would likely not order.
Would that be the fault of the copywriting? No. Yet most site owners would assume the text wasn’t doing its job. Low conversions, in this case, would be an error in the sales process.
Web Page Copy Doesn’t Involve Just One Page
Unless you’re talking about a specific landing page that is created for the sole purpose of receiving clicks from a targeted PPC ad campaign, there are very few instances where the copy on one web page won’t be affected by the pages around it.
Visitors click in and out of pages and back and forth throughout your site. They can also enter your site from literally hundreds of different links around the Net. For this and other reasons, you have to consider where they might come from and where they’ll be headed.
How to Test
One of the best ways to make sure your site flows as it should is to ask several outsiders to take a tour. Have them start at one of the many beginning points (a search engine listing, a link to you from another site, your home page, etc.) and click through just as a customer would. Ask them to make notes about what they didn’t understand as they go along so you’ll know where to tweak your copy.
You may even choose to give them specific tasks to complete while they are there. For example, ask them to read the copy and then explain the benefits of a new product or service you’ve added, or ask them to tell you the process for registering for the members-only area of your site.
Another good idea is to draw a flowchart of your website. Seeing all the pages on paper can oftentimes give you a better understanding of how the copy on each page might affect all the others surrounding it. Once you take a look at the big picture and get some feedback, use that information to shore up the weak copy on your site.
When you take time to see things from your visitors’ perspective and then implement adjustments accordingly, you’ll begin to notice increases in conversions. And that makes all the work worth your while.
Let Karon provide emotionally driven web copywriting for your site. Get details at http://www.marketingwords.com. Read Karon’s insightful copywriting blog at http://www.marketingwords.com/blog.
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Monday, September 22nd, 2008
By Karon Thackston © 2008, All Rights Reserved
It’s still a buzz industry even after all these years. Usually, with Internet marketing, someone comes up with a good idea that quickly gets abused and run into the ground. After a short burn, it dies off like a supernova. However, article distribution has held its own because of several factors, not the least of which is its ability to generate links.
As a copywriter, I produce many articles each month for clients that help them achieve several online marketing goals, including building link popularity. But, lately, questions about the quality of the links from article sites have come into question. I have my own opinions, which I’ll get to in a moment, but I also wanted to check with some well-known and trusted industry sources, so I sent out a couple of emails to a few friends. Below are their responses to the questions:
Are links from article directories still worth having or have they lost their impact? In essence, is it still worth doing article distribution from an SEO perspective to get links from directories?
You can’t talk about article submissions without bringing up one of the oldest and most respected sites online: http://www.ideamarketers.com IdeaMarketers.com. Owner Marnie Pehrson first launched this site way back in 1998 before the Internet gave much thought to marketing through articles. As times have radically changed, Marnie has kept pace making unique and important changes to her site.
When asked the questions above, Marnie responded, “Whether it’s an article directory or any other high-traffic/well-established site, a link prominently displayed on an authoritative site is a good link. Lumping all article submission sites together is rather unfair because they are all certainly not the same.
“Many have pitiful PageRank and bury your article deep within their pages to boot. That’s why we implemented our bidding system at IdeaMarketers. You have the chance to be featured on pages that search engines give more weight to. We include anchor text links in the listings as well, which makes them all the more valuable. So, while some links from poor-quality article directory sites are most likely not worth much, linksfrom well-established heavy hitters can still help your link popularity.”
You might be thinking, Of course an article directory site owner would say that! But, she happens to be right. There are a slew of cheap, fly-by-night article sites online that are literally here one day and gone the next. There are still more that stay active for a while, then slowly grind to a halt. When you check the last time they added any articles to the mix, you might find it was 2006. Your focus needs to be on quality, active sites. One prominent linking pro agrees.
Does http://www.alliance-link.comlink-building specialist Debra Mastaler from Alliance-Link think article distribution still has merit? “Yes, it’s still worth using the article directories as a way to accumulate inbound links. Links embedded in your content will pass link popularity, provided the directory pages they’re sitting on have been indexed.
“Mix up your anchor text and use links to your internal pages as well as your home page. Doing so helps stream link popularity and visitors to your revenue-producing product pages.”
Tips for Effective Article Distribution
I said I’d give my two cents worth, so here it is: I agree with Marnie and Debra. You can’t stereotype all article submission sites. You have to pick and choose. As I discussed in my previous article about http://www.marketingwords.com/blog/?p=5 duplicate content issues with article distribution, there are things you can do to improve your success. In addition to the three tips given here:
- avoid article-blaster software
- only use sites that allow HTML and
- establish the article on your own site prior to distributing, you can also:
Choose Quality Sites – While most PageRank (PR) indicators are not accurate, they can give you a general idea of where a site stands. Choose sites with a minimum PR of 3.
Check for Updates – When is the last time a particular article site added content? They normally print the published date for each article. Flip through a few categories and make sure the site is timely.
Find Backlinks – Using sites that have lots of traffic pointed in its direction is always a good idea. After all, while SEO is a wonderful benefit of article marketing, establishing yourself as an expert and branding your company are prime perks as well. Nobody wants to place articles on distribution sites and have them sit, unused, for eternity. The entire goal is to use high-traffic sites that allow others to find and reprint your material. Aim for sites with plenty of backlinks.
Article marketing has been an exceptional way to get the word out long before the Internet burst onto the scene. When you add the ability to build link popularity to the enormous exposure that’s possible with this type of promotion, you get a highly effective method that drives traffic, positions you as an expert, reinforces your brand and allows for infinite promotion of your business. Pretty darn good deal, if you ask me!
Karon Thackston is developer of Article Marketing & Distribution, a course available exclusively at Search Engine College. Take Karon’s course today at http://www.searchenginecollege.com/article-marketing-distribution-course.shtml.
Subscribe to Karon’s copywriting blog athttp://www.marketingwords.com/blog.
Posted in Copywriting | 4 Comments »
Thursday, October 18th, 2007
by Karon Thackston © 2007 http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword
In Part 1 of this series, I introduced you to Announce It!, an online candy-bar-wrapper manufacturer that was seeking professional help with their search engine copywriting. Facing an audience that consisted primarily of women who were purchasing favors for special occasions, Announce It!’s copy had to be spot-on with its communication. The primary problems were that the copy did not convey a sense of excitement or answer all the questions customers might have. It also focused too heavily on the company rather than communicating with the site visitor.
Let’s see how the changes were worked into the copy and what the results were.
The Rewrite
You can see the original copy at: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/customcandybarwrapper-original.pdf
and the revised copy at: http://www.copywritingcourse.com/customcandybarwrapper-new.pdf.
Headlines are one of the most important elements of advertising copy and of search engine optimization. The original web page didn’t have any type of headline — a fundamental mistake that needed to be corrected. The introduction of the text now begins with using a keyphrase and stating a benefit. The headline reads:
Creative, Custom Candy-bar Wrappers
Designed To Make Your Event a Hit!
Since Announce It!’s keyphrases all deal with candy-bar wrappers, it’s obvious that visitors who find this site are already familiar with the general product. (At least to the point of knowing what a custom candy-bar wrapper is.) The question they still have is, “Why should I buy from Announce It! instead of all the other candy-bar-wrapper sites?”
As the visitors read on through the copy, they find reassurance that their idea of using custom-designed candy-bar wrappers is a good one. Visitors are also provided with several benefits available from Announce It! that other companies don’t offer. For the sake of scan-ability, bullet points are used to further highlight differentiating factors about Announce It!. (Low minimum orders, free color proofs, free photo inclusion, etc.) This all helps to clearly explain why this site is the better choice over others the visitor may have gone to previously.)
Because the product itself is graphic, it was important to retain the product images used on the original home page. Certainly, customers would expect to see samples of the wrappers. However, to create a greater impact, each image was captioned with a short bit of occasion-specific, persuasive, keyword-rich copy. For instance:
“Custom candy wrappers are a truly creative way to send your retiree off in style.”
The finished product now speaks directly to the site visitor, sounds more professional, outlines important benefits and uses keyphrases in an appropriate way so as not to hinder the natural flow of the copy.
The Results
The results showed improvements in both conversions and rankings. According to Announce It! their conversion rate quadrupled! They also report, “[The copy] has really made a difference in the way the site is perceived and how the customer reacts. I have gone from a one-person operation to a full-fledged business with five employees. The traffic and orders continue to increase every year!”
You couldn’t ask for much better than that!
Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO and online copywriting that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Already know how to write, but need help using keywords? Get Karon’s report “How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)” at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
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