5 Easy Tips to Keep Them On-Site Longer

It takes a lot of time, energy and, sometimes, cash to lure visitors to a client’s site, so once you get them there you want to keep them there as long as possible.

Why? Well, the longer visitors stay on site the more likely they are to perform the most desired action – from subscribing to a newsletter to calling your client on the phone.

Second, time on site is something search engines value. More time on site per visitor is better.

1. Use teasers. Visitors are often looking for information. Use short paragraphs that ask questions visitors want answered. Follow this text with a CLICK HERE link.

This pulls visitors deeper into the site. And, if you provide good information, and answer visitors’ questions, they just might explore the site. More time on site. More page views. Search engines like page views, too.

2. Create a compelling headline. The headline is half the job. It’s the first thing visitors see, it’s the first thing they read, and you use it to capture their attention. “7 Tips to Improve Your Family Finances” is the kind of headline that’ll keep readers reading.

3. Use embedded text links. These links appear within a specific context of the site content. So, if the text reads, “Every family should have life insurance coverage” and “life insurance” appears in the traditional blue font, visitors looking for information (or prices) for term life insurance are likely to click on that link, pulling them deeper in to the site.

4. Keep navigation clear, simple and consistent. If visitors have trouble navigating a client’s website, they’ll go to another website that’s easier to navigate.

5. Use incentives. Create links on the home page, and all landing pages, offering a 20% discount, free in-home service, free shipping, a free consultation – something that delivers immediate benefit to visitors.

These links pull visitors deeper into the site, pique interest and increase conversion ratios because everybody likes FREE.

Good, useful content keeps visitors on site longer. Stop selling. Start helping, and watch your client site rank higher thanks to you.

Webwordslinger 

www.webwordslinger.com

How to Write The Perfect Home Page

Give Site Visitors a Reason to Buy

The home page is the front door of a web site. It’s the first page most visitors see. So, it better be compelling to keep visitors on site long enough to perform the most desired action (MDA).

Home page text focuses on the needs and drives of site visitors who landed on the site for a reason. They need or want something. Prices, product descriptions, free consultation, information – they need or want something.

Home page text meets the needs of site visitors. Here are the elements of a well-designed home page in sequence, from top to bottom.

The Headline

The headline is half the job. The headline focuses on the needs of site visitors. Describe “the problem” in the headline.

NEED TO LOSE WEIGHT – AGAIN?

DEBT IS A BUMMER.

DON’T BE A LOSER: THIS YEAR’S STOCK MARKET WINNERS.

Headlines.

The Problem

Expand on the problem in a short paragraph, citing examples visitors recognize. Describe the impact the problem has on the site visitor’s health, family, finances, business – whatever – in 300-500 words. Use negative space to simplify scanning.

The Solution

How does the client company fix the problem? Keep it general. Keep it simple. Keep them reading.

In some cases, the solution can be described in bullet-point format to facilitate a quick scan of the home page.

Benefits

What are the benefits of engaging the company behind the website? Benefits sell. Hype doesn’t.

A money-back guarantee, 30-year warranty, free shipping, 20% off, state-of-the-art design, an expansive service area – all potential benefits to site visitors.

Use a bullet list to describe each benefit.

Incentives

Coupons, a free ebook, a free consultation, a free website audit, discounts – all of these enticements encourage the performance of the MDA, whether it’s to call the company or place an order.

The Call To Action

Close out home page text with a strong call to action that, not only encourages the performance of the MDA, but also tells site visitors HOW TO PERFORM THE MDA.

ORDER NOW SIMPLY BY CLICKING ON THE LINK BELOW

AND START ENJOYING BETTER HEALTH FOR THE ENTIRE FAMILY

A strong call to action that urges the reader to order, tells the reader HOW to order, and provides a reason to place an order – family health.

Create home page text using these elements, in this sequence, to create home pages that improve conversion rates and make clients happy.

Later,

Webwordslinger

editor@webwordslinger.com

www.webwordslinger.com

  

Busting SEO Mythology: 5 SEO Lies

There’s a lot of stuff in my RSS reader every morning about search engine optimization and copywriting, and how the two are connected. There’s no agreement among SEOs on the most effective tactics, though most agree that it’s all about useful content (good for web writers).

Search engine optimization is part of many of the jobs we do so we’ve learned about

, keyword placement, keyword variations and all the other basics of SEO. All clients want results and sound SEO principles deliver results. Search engines are basically fair, though at times, none too bright.

The 800-Pound Gorilla of Search Engines

Like any emerging science, SEO expands, changes on a dime, requires constant updates and is chuck full of myths that clients often cling to.

1. Page 1 of Google SERPs is GOLD. Who doesn’t want to be on page 1 of SERPs, but using which keywords? You may show up on page 1 for “freelance SEO writer” and page 84 for “copywriter” so, simply by being on page 1 of Google SERPs is no biggie. Type in the client URL and *BINGO*, the site shows up one page 1, usually in the top spot.

Showing up on page 1 of SERPs is always good. It’s even better when you, or your client show up on page 1, for strong keywords. That’s what generates communication from prospects.

2. The More Site Visitors, the More Sales. Totally bogus. There are plenty of sites that see a fair amount of site traffic, and have a bounce rate of 82% because the home page looks like a four-car pile up.

Some site visitors are more “qualified” than the “just looking” crowd. Some visitors are ready to buy or sign up or give you a call or bookmark your site today. RIGHT NOW!!

Highly-qualified leads – the ones ready to buy – need good information, really simple site navigation, a lock-tight check-out and a toll-free number that isn’t automated telephone hell. Highly-qualified leads are ready to convert from prospects to clients, so have a human answer the phone or emails – make the most of eager leads. And turn site visitors into long-term clients.

3. The Longer a Site Visitor Stays on Site the Better. There’s some truth to this, but it shouldn’t be the driving force behind site design or site copy (what we do).

Site visitors may be reading content from a RESOURCES link, or comparison shopping with other competing websites. You can analyze visitor activity to assess their motivations (with some accuracy), but it’s also difficult to control. There are a lot of reasons to visit a website that DON’T include the most desired action, i.e. sign up, call, subscribe, download, email - whatever the most desired action is.

4. Shine the Spotlight on the Company, Product, Service or Message. Sure, that’s the ultimate objective, but there are lots of ways to do these things.

Always frame site text in terms of the site visitor, NOT the client that owns the site.

Which sounds better:

XYZ Industries is a leader in vacuum cleaner design, manufacture and support. Simply put, our vacuums are the best in the world.

Or,

Vacuuming isn’t a chore anymore with an array of vacuums to fit your needs AND your budget. And they’re from XYZ Industries, so you know these vacuums meet your highest standards.

Every page of the website, every word you write, focuses on the needs and drives of site visitors, NOT on how great, established, successful or popular the company (and site owner) is. IT’S ALWAYS ABOUT THE CLIENT.

5. SEO Turns Websites Around. Biggest myth in the gray area of SEO and SEO copywriting. It COULD turn around a failing website, but I wouldn’t guarantee it.

You can clean up the text, make it more potent, more client-centric, re-structure the navigation and simplify the performance of the MDA – and still watch a website implode. Even good websites, offering quality products or services, totally tank. The survival rate of web-based businesses is appallingly bad, and zippy, hypnotic, compelling site text won’t necessarily increase conversion ratios. It can. It does. But so do a lot of other factors.

You can conduct a search of “SEO strategies” and find thousands of articles that emphasize link building, keyword placement, green content and other current tactics practiced by pro SEOs, but next week it’ll be something else.

SEO changes as fast as the search engine guys see what we’re doing to juice the numbers. The SEO guys want to deliver the best, most impartial results based on user keywords. We want our client sites to appear at the top of page 1. It’s a friendly, adversarial relationship.

As web writers, we try to manipulate the machine. Focus on humans in what you write. They buy things. Search engines don’t. 

www.webwordslinger.com

   

Website Jargon: From Site Launch to Landing Page

Language evolves, and one of the driving forces of linguistic evolution is jargon.

Jargon has a bad reputation. Sure, it’s exclusionary – keeping the outsiders out, but it’s also a convenient shorthand that efficiently conveys definition to insiders. Ask your spouse about conversion optimization and, chances are, you’ll get a blank stare, but experienced web writers know the term and the principles that underlie the term.

As web writers, we’ve developed a matrix of insider jargon, and we use it to exchange information quickly with each other. That’s a good thing. It boosts our productivity as a profession.

Minimalist Jargon:
The Symbol for an Open Node

If we had to define SEO every time we discussed it we’d still be talking about a better term for the activity. So, we talk about SEO from a variety of perspectives, but we all know the term “search engine optimization,” and most of us have a catalog of tactics to optimize client sites. So, I can post this piece without explaining SEO from the beginning.

Web writers love jargon. CPC, bounce rate, CTR, HTML – we’ve created an impenetrable wall of words to keep clients calling for help with their CRM. Heck, we even make up stuff. (See the buzz words thread on the discussion board for examples.)

Certain jargon enters mainstream speak. It wasn’t that long ago that “blog” was a curiosity, even among web workers. We didn’t have a blog, and we didn’t know that blog was short for web log. The 2004 US presidential conventions spent time introducing all of us to the new phenomenon of blogging.

Today, blog is mainstream speak. So is blogging. It’s a noun and a verb and, chances are, you have a blog, and you know a lot of other freelancers who maintain blogs. From “What’s a blog?” to “Read my blog” in 10 years. Today, my Aunt Tillie has a blog.

Can jargon be overused? Considering the downstream consequences of a business model and CTR, the application of jargon can impact everything from drill downs to placement of the email mod. Yeah, of course jargon can be overused, and it is. There are even websites that “unsuck” corporatese to make it understandable. Jargon, for the sake of jargon, is just paddling the corporate model up integrated revenue streams.

When used judiciously, and with purpose, jargon is a great tool. Hey, we all had to learn the language so, even some of the exclusionary aspects of jargon are positive. Keeps out wannabes, but rewards those dedicated to learning how it all works.

When used for its own sake, jargon is a stumbling block. Word glitz. It sounds good but clear communication isn’t always the purpose of stuffing a piece with jargon.

I love jargon. I study it, steal it, re-work it, apply it to other aspects of search engine marketing (SEM), I collect it and try to work it in to as many pieces as I can until is goes mainstream. Then, it’s not jargon any more.

Any way, drop me a line if you want to see Tillie’s blog. I’ll send you the link. 

www.webwordslinger.com 

SEO Client Retention:

The Key to Long-Term SEO/M Business Success

Building a successful SEO/M consultancy is hard. There’s a lot of competition and a lot of snake oil, SEO voodoo floating around the web, so building a solid reputation – one that leads to referrals and repeat business is essential to long-term business growth.

Keep 'em coming back

Once you have a client, you have to keep that client coming back because of the quality services and opinions you offer. You have to build a client base of happy clients. They come back for more. They’re also your best salespeople.

Here are some suggestions for keeping the customer satisfied.

1. Go through an extensive discovery phase. Determine such things as the target demographic, market competition, unique selling position, client objectives, challenges – a top-down analysis of what needs doing. A few hours more at this stage will save days of re-dos in the weeks ahead.

2. Prepare a written SOW. A statement of work describes the work to be undertaken (usually in chronological order), approval milestones, payment schedule, who’s going to do what. The more complete the SOW the more accurate the client’s expectations. Clients hate surprises so get on the same page early.

3. Give a stake to the client. No client is going to quibble with a strategy or design that s/he proposed. Instead of presenting finished pages and data analysis, engage the client and incorporate his or her suggestions into the final product. As best you can, let the client “own” the project.

4. Go proactive. In everything. Offer suggestions and counsel beyond the expectations of the client. If you discover an error you’ve made, call the client to let her know you’re on top of it.

5. Communicate. A lot. Not just approvals, though they’re essential to increased productivity, but also discuss implementation strategies, guerilla marketing tactics and opportunities for future growth of the client’s business.

6. Fix it. If the client ain’t happy, fix it. Period. A happy client will talk you up through his network. An unhappy client will bad mouth you to anyone who will listen. Rely on your SOW only as a last resort. Keep the client happy – even if it’s a loss leader for you.

Growing a stable of regular clients takes time and trust building. It’s an on-going process. But once your regulars are making up 75% of your work time, you don’t have to constantly worry about where the next job is coming from.

editor@webwordslinger.com
webwordslinger.com

Just What IS Good Copy Writing? Savvy Clients Want To Know

                            TREAT READERS RIGHT

Writing good site text is a complex mixture of defining benefits and keeping visitors interested, i.e. enhancing the on-site experience with good information that’s short on sales hype, long on useful tips and suggestions.

Here are some tactics that have worked for my clients:

1. There are three topics about which most readers are interested: health (nutrition, fitness, diseases, etc.), family (how-to’s, relations, child-rearing) and finances (aka money. How to make, save, spend or stretch it.) Choose a topic in one of these areas. Combine two interests, as in “10 Ways to Improve Family Nutrition.”

2. Engage the reader. Befriend the reader. Encourage the reader with good, useful information. Don’t make the reader angry.

3. Write like you talk. Don’t write words to be read, write words that are heard in the reader’s brain. You don’t say, “I am going to the kitchen.” You say, “I’m going to the kitchen.” Pretend there’s someone sitting next to you. Talk to that figment and type what you say. Then, clean it up for grammar, spelling and punctuation.

4. Readers don’t want to learn, they want to discover. Learning connotes homework. Discovery connotes excitement. Don’t teach, create a map with words that leads to a helpful, interesting or funny discovery.

5. Use short blocks of text, like this post. Layout is important to eye scan and web readers rarely read, they scan and small blocks of text are more easily scanned. That’s why it’s a good idea to use titles, headers and sub-heads to raise the curiosity of the reader. To intrigue. It’s a pleasant discovery. (See point 4.)

6. Practice writing in a number of voices so you can take on any writing job. A corporate white paper uses different wording than a quick how-to written for parents. A business plan has a different tone than a piece on oddities in Nebraska. The more voices you develop, the more readable and engaging your writing.

7. Respect the reader. S/he takes the time to read what you write so keep it interesting, on point and short. No extra words.

8. Eliminate qualifiers. Not: We strive to achieve client satisfaction. Strive and you might fail. Eliminate the qualifier: We achieve client satisfaction. Not “Our widget CAN increase production by 300%.” Eliminate all qualifiers: “Our widget increases production by 300%” This gives writing authority and confidence.

There’s more, but that’s a start. The one thing you don’t want to do is anger readers. Or annoy them. Or push their buttons. Be straight with them and they’ll read what you write. 

Paul Lalley
editor.webwordslinger.com

7 Tips To Cut Research Time

7 Tips To Cut Research Time

As copy writers we have to learn a lot of stuff, from quonset hut fabrication to urology to the biases of the Japanese university system, and that means a lot of research. Innate curiosity goes with the job’s territory, but research time costs money and we’re in the business of learning stuff fast, writing about it and cashing the check.

Here’s how to cut research time down to size.

1. Google the heck out of it. Don’t just use primary keywords, conduct searches using secondary key words and key words SE users enter into query boxes.

2. Use industry specific search engines. We all know Google, Yahoo and Bing but there are more than 4,000 search engines crawling the web. To find the latest on “smart doors” use a construction industry search engine. A good place to start is http://www.searchengineguide.com.

3. Use local search for local businesses. If your client has a service area of 25 square kilometers, enter your search term and the zip (postal) code where the client is located. You’ll see the competition, local news, local attractions and features of Westport 06880. 

4. Skip the academic treatises, white papers and in-depth analyses. Someone has already read them and synthesized key content into a 1,000-word piece. Find the breakdown piece and save time.

5. Use forums. There’s a forum for everything. Need to know the latest on Caribbean vacations? Here’s the link to a forum: http://www.fodors.com/community/caribbean-islands/. Forums are sources for quick information and highly-specific info. Post a question and get a few dozen answers in a few hours. And the FAQ sections are up-to-date with the most current topics.

6. Read. Learn the language of the trade or industry so you use it in your writing. Every industry has insider jargon. Reading a lot of short articles also provides a list of what insiders are talking about. Join a LinkedIn group associated with your research topic and get up-to-the-minute information on what’s happening.

7. Spin it. Spinning has a bad reputation but, let’s face it, we all spin content. We have to. How much can you say about pre-fab concrete? And the news isn’t all that exciting in the cement sector, either.

Learn the basics, learn the concerns, learn the jargon, and you not only become a better copy writer, you know stuff that you can sell again without a lot of research time.

Anyone want to know the eight advantages of pre-fabricated metal buildings? Drop me a line at www.webwordslinger.com.

Later,

Paul