Moe Tamani's Internet Marketing and SEO Blog, Articles and Search Engine Optimization Tips » content optimization

SEO and Social Networking: Creating Good Content

MoeTamani — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 18:25:14 +0000

SEO and Social Networking: Creating Good Content

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

If you aren’t using social networking sites in your SEO efforts, then you’re missing a great opportunity to drive traffic to your site and increase your profits. Social networking is different from other marketing strategies, however, and requires that you think differently than you would if you were simply looking for another way to advertise your product or service. The first step in using social networking for SEO purposes is to find out which sites are most appropriate for you to frequent, given your interests and your business. Then hang out and just watch the conversations for awhile. Become familiar with the culture of the sites, including what kind of content people publish, what’s popular, and how people interact with each other. Once you’ve watched for some time, start contributing to the conversation. Here are five ways to create good content for social networking purposes:

1.Write good stories. People on social networking sites tend to enjoy hearing personal stories that are relevant to the conversation; otherwise they wouldn’t be on social networking sites. Tie your stories in to your business so that your readers are drawn in without being turned off by the perception that you’re just there to sell them something.

2.Interview. An interview with an industry expert can really grab the attention of the folks you’re networking with. Not only does it build your credibility, but it causes others to see you as someone who is able to contribute quality information and knowledge. Even if you don’t know someone that you consider “important” in your industry, you can still find someone you know who has good information to share. And this will be greatly appreciated.

3.Information. Never underestimate the value of your own expertise, as long as you share that expertise in an appropriate way. Social networking site users aren’t very fond of participants who are only in it to toot their own horns, but if you can offer valuable advice and help in a humble way, then you will be considered valuable within your community. Not only it is appropriate to give advice, but you can also write helpful blog posts and free reports. You’ll go a long way toward establishing yourself as an authority in your field, and you’ll generate a great deal of traffic from people who want to know more about what you have to offer.

4.Controversy. If you have pretty thick skin, you can try posting content that will start a debate. The point isn’t to make people angry or to start a fight; it’s to start a healthy conversation that gets people talking. Anything that goes against a popular opinion, or even expert advice, is good for getting a conversation started. Just make sure that your own position is well-argued and plausible. Otherwise, you just look like someone who’s trying to start a fight. That will make you a pariah on social networking sites and defeat the purpose of your overall SEO campaign.

5.Write Well. This is true for all the previous points: Use attention-getting headlines on everything you write and then make sure your article lives up to the headline. People will stop paying attention to you if you use an eye-catching headline and then write an article that isn’t at all engaging or interesting. Images are also a great tool, as are references that give your articles credibility among your community.

Social networking is a great SEO tool if used responsibly and appropriately. Find a community that fits your interests. Hang out for awhile and get comfortable with the conversation. Then begin adding your own content that others will deem relevant and helpful. If you can add value to the conversation then you will go a long way toward driving traffic to your site and gaining loyal customers.

8 Tips for Great SEO Friendly Content

MoeTamani — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 02:42:07 +0000

8 Tips for Great SEO Friendly Content

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

SEO experts agree that one of the most important aspects of search engine optimization is writing great content. Great content naturally includes an appropriate number of keywords per page and keeps your reader engaged. Great content compels readers to link to you from their own sites, thereby increasing the number of inbound links to your page and increasing your exposure to other potential customers. Finally, great content is simply useful. It gives your readers the information they’re looking for and allows them to build trust in your competence. So how do you go about writing great content? Here are 8 tips:

1. Relevance. The key to great content is relevance. Pick a topic and stick with it. If this means that you need another article or another blog post in order to address a topic related to, but not exactly like, the topic you’re addressing, then so be it. But don’t ramble and don’t introduce too many ideas on one page.

2. Proofread. The number one way to make readers question your professionalism is to show them that you can’t write, so double-check for spelling and grammatical errors. You don’t want readers looking for another site to visit simply because your writing was not up to par.

3. Usefulness. There is no point in publishing optimized content that isn’t useful. As mentioned above, the point of great content is to help readers build trust in your abilities and to give them the information that they’re looking for. Useless content is a waste of your time and wastes the time of your potential customers who won’t think twice about researching a competitor who will give them the information they’re looking for.

4. Provide Answers. Sit down and think of all the questions that a potential customer might ask you. Start at the very beginning, pretending you’re a customer who knows absolutely nothing about your business and is just starting to research whatever it is that you’re selling. Then write content that answers those questions. Be sure to avoid using jargon. Write in terms that the average visitor will understand.

5. Make the Answer Easy to Find. If visitors to your site can’t easily find pricing information, shipping information, or any other pertinent information quickly and easily, you can count on losing their business. Any information that a visitor might need should be readily available without requiring a hunt.

6. Descriptions. Make sure you include lots of information about how to use each of your products. Also include in-depth descriptions. If you don’t offer these suggestions and descriptions, and your competitor does, your competitor will get the business of the person who just clicked away from your site. Picking up the phone to ask for details is considered a waste of time, so don’t make your potential customers have to do extra work that they don’t want to do. Give them all the info they need.

7. Unique Content. Slideshows, interactive games, photo galleries, and top ten lists are all great ways to engage readers and compel them to link to your from their own sites. The key is to continue to make this content relevant. If the content isn’t relevant, then visitors will not only question your professionalism, but your ability to stay focused on their needs.

8. Readability. Most internet searchers scan sites rather than reading everything on a page, so your content should be laid out in a way that lends itself to scanning. Short paragraphs, bullets, numbers, and subheadings are great ways to break up the content into manageable pieces. If your content is too hard to digest, visitors will leave as quickly as they came.

Make sure your content is relevant, engaging, and well organized. You’ll be on your way to turning your visitors into clients rather than folks who just click by for awhile before heading somewhere else.

5 Keys to Effective Content Writing

admin — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 01:53:43 +0000

5 Keys to Effective Content Writing

internet marketing Articles from Moe Tamani, the SEO Services Consultant.

SEO experts and internet marketing professionals know that the key to online business success is great content on your website. Your website is the first, and maybe the only, chance to make an impression on potential customers, so it has to have great content. Having a good-looking site isn’t enough. It needs to be organized well, it needs to be easy to read, and it has to contain relevant information. Most of all, it has to be compatible with the attention spans of internet surfers who tend to skim content rather than reading every word. As you’re creating content for your website, keep these 5 keys in mind:

1. Concise Writing. One of the greatest temptations of content creation is to include every single detail about your company. This is a natural tendency given your own excitement and passion about your business. But put yourself in the shoes of your prospective customer and think about what information you would like to glean from a business website, particularly how your product or service can help your customer solve a particular challenge or problem. And after you’ve finished writing, cut your word count in half!

2. Clean Layout. SEO professionals know that a potential customer reads only 20% of a website’s content. Reach out and grab your website visitor by using catchy headings, writing in short paragraphs, using bullets to make your points, and bolding important words and phrases. Your headings should guide your visitors to your page’s content so that they can easily find whatever they’re looking for. Bullet points draw a reader’s eye to short, easy-to-digest content that gives them pertinent information.

3. Keywords. Before you begin writing your content, research your keywords. Keywords are the words and phrases that web users type into search engines to find webpages related to the topics they’re looking for. If you use the keywords on your webpage that your potential customers are typing into search engines, then your webpage will show up in the search engine results.

4. Easy-to-Read Language. One of the greatest pitfalls of content creation is using lingo only familiar to people within your niche. Have someone who knows nothing at all about your business read your content before you publish to make sure that the average reader will understand it. Avoid technical language at all costs.

5. Quality Content. Visitors to your website are looking for relevant, helpful, high-quality content. They are visiting because they have a problem to solve or a challenge to overcome, so make sure that your content delivers a solution. Remember that great content is not content that you find compelling, but content that your visitors find compelling. Start by writing an article that solves a problem that a potential customer might have. Then consider turning that article into an ebook that potential customers might be willing to download. You may consider starting a blog to share your ideas. Invite your friends and family to comment at the beginning until you get a larger following. Then consistently join in the conversation that takes place on your blog.

Above all, make sure that your content is free to your potential customers. If you start asking your visitors to leave their email addresses and other contact information, they’re going to leave as quickly as they arrived.

The days of low-quality websites are behind us. If you want to be competitive then you have to have a website that not only looks good, but offers relevant information to visitors. If your website doesn’t have the answers that potential customers are looking for, they can quickly find the information they need somewhere else. Keep their attention on your website by following the above guidelines and you’ll find that your visitors keep coming back and eventually turn into loyal customers.