Getting someone to find your website is one thing. Encouraging them to read your content while they are there is something entirely different.

If you market your business online you probably spend hours producing content that is designed to promote you and your business and build links.

To target your audience you would have done a mountain of research to come up with a list of topics for your blog posts, articles and website copy.

 

Once you’ve uploaded your fantastic value-laden information and hit publish…

…absolutely nothing happens.

No matter how often you check there are no tweets (not even a re-tweet), no comments, no nothing.

Your immediate reaction is probably “Argh! My writing must really suck.”

But don’t despair – your style of writing is probably fine. It is more likely that the structure of your articles and blogs is leaving your readers bemused.

When writing for the web the best thing you can do is forget everything your dear old English teacher taught you.

You need to spend less time writing and more time thinking about how you structure your work.

Writing online

When reading from the web people tend to scan read rather than read every word.That’s because they are searching for information and if they can’t find it quickly, they’ll move on to another website.

So if you want to keep them engaged you have to rethink your writing style.

1. Snappy

The length of your writing should be just long enough to cover what you want to say without waffling.

If you’re writing about a very complex issue it may be worth breaking it down into several posts. Not only will that make it much easier for your reader to follow, it will also encourage them to come again for your subsequent posts.

Plus start at the end – with your conclusion. That might sound odd by that way you are immediately giving your readers what they want. The all you have to do is provide supporting evidence point by point.

2. White space

If your text is in one long wall of text or several long paragraphs it won’t look very inviting.

Lighten it by increasing the amount of white space on your page. Break it down into small paragraphs (no more than 3 or 4 sentences each). Or you could go really mad and use a single sentence paragraph.

3. Sub headings

Inserting informative sub headings between your paragraphs will help your reader get the gist of your post while they are scanning the page.

4. Bullets

• Using bullet points creates interest
• Highlights important points
• Are instantly scan-able
• Draw the reader’s eye as they break up the rest of the text

5. Links

By all means link to your own website through your posts but don’t forget external information sources too. This will show your reader that your information is well considered (and it may also generate a link from your source too).

6. Bold

Use bold text to pick out important concepts within your post. These, coupled with the sub headings, should help your reader fully understand the topic you are covering and whether it will be of interest to them.

7. Numbers

Some people have said that the days of the numbered posts—such as “8 Top Tips to Improve Your Copywriting” are gone. But reader’s still love them.

8. Check and check again

Before publishing read through your work to make sure it makes sense, This will also check for rhythm, typos and other errors.

Writing informative posts is one thing but if you want people to read them they must be presented in a way that:

• Gets your concept over immediately
• Looks attractive and readable
• Gets to the point

 

 

If you’re into search engine optimisation the chances are you’re also a keen article marketer as it’s one of the most effective ways of boosting your web presence.

Not only will it help you ‘own more of the web’, it will also position yourself as an expert in your field and generate those all important back links to your website.

But your article marketing will only be effective it if is quality content that you’re putting out. It must be:

• Well written
• Written to addresses the needs of your readers
• Something that gives value

In a rush to produce shed loads of links, some companies become hung up on quantity rather than quality. They’d rather spend only a few pounds per article (these are written by writers who are frequently based abroad and for whom English is not their first language) than pay a decent fee and hire a professional copywriter.

It shouldn’t be a numbers game

It’s true that you need a lot of articles to build links but it’s better practice to submit quality, well written articles over a period of time than bulk submitting sub-standard ones.

Putting a considered, well researched and well written article together isn’t about scanning the internet and cutting and pasting bits from other articles. A copywriter will take the time to discover:

• What topic is to be discussed
• The focus of the discussion
• Who your audience is
• What they are looking for
• What tone should be used
• What do you want to achieve with the article

It’s your reputation at the end of the day

If you are entering into the article marketing world, what you submit and its quality are very important.

You’re putting your name to it; you’re using them as a way of establishing yourself as an expert. Sub standard articles will just make you look foolish.

Remember that your articles aren’t just about link building—people are actually going to read them. Can you really afford to be that careless with your brand?

You get what you pay for

As with all things in life, you get what you pay for so if you want quality you’re going to have to pay for it.

If you are more interested in your reputation, traffic and quality you’ll pay for it.

You’ll want to get the most from your marketing budget, but just make sure you also think about your reputation.

 

You’ve done your keyword research, you’ve designed your website so it’s easy for your readers to navigate, you’ve even found an SEO copywriter to write some great, targeted copy that your visitors will want to read. So what’s next?

That is just the start of your search engine optimisation strategy, if you want it to continue to work and bring in great rankings you’re going to have to become an active link builder.

How do links help?

Let’s go back to the beginning. Every web page is given a Page Rank (a number ranging from 0 to 10 to illustrate your page’s value with 0 being the lowest).

When another page links to you (using a follow link), a little bit of that Page Rank filters through to you (link juice) because it’s seen as a vote of confidence in your page. So the more quality links you get to your website, the higher your Page Rank and the more authoritative you are seen by the search engines.

So how do you get links?

First off, gathering links can a slow and lengthy process (and a continuous one). The best way by far to link build is by doing it organically.

How do you do that? Well it’s by:

• Writing interesting content that people will want to link to
• Submitting your website to directories
• Blogging and linking back to your website through your posts
• Article marketing

It’s time consuming and slow, but you won’t get Google’s back up.

Is there a quicker way?

Yes there is but I wouldn’t recommend it. Short cuts are never a good idea so don’t buy in links you could be asking for all sorts of trouble especially as you’ll be going against Google’s guidelines and could risk your website. If you don’t believe me take a look at Julie Joyce’s post on Search Engine Journal entitled “4 Huge Mistakes to Avoid When You Build Links“.

If you’re serious about SEO, your website and your reputation, go organic – it’s the only way.

 

Search engine optimisation – three words that can fill any internet marketer with dread.

If you opt for the PPC (pay per click) route, you may see faster results but you’ll also experience the high price tag that tends to come with it. SEO may be slower but it’s a more economical long term solution.

To get an SEO strategy that works, you’ll need 3 things:

• An SEO friendly website that is easy to navigate (for the reader and search engine spiders)
• Great content written by a professional SEO Copywriter
• Back links

Yes, I know what you’re thinking but it really will pay to get experts in to help you with the first two on the list.

Many business think they can generate their own copy. But there is a real art to writing to sell on the web and writing something that is going to help with your SEO. I am an SEO copywriter and therefore you probably think I’m just trying to scare you into hiring me (or someone like me) but I’m not. Ask your web designer’s advice and he/she will tell you exactly the same thing.

To get a website that works, converts and ranks you must have all three elements listed above.

So what about backlinks?

When it comes to building backlinks, you must think long term.

There are companies out there who will help you buy links but that often causes more harm than good. The best option is to do it yourself – it takes time and you may need to have a couple of people working on it for you, but it’s by far the best way to go.

I stumbled across this post on Seomoz.org which gives an example of how this can work. Take a look at Rob Ouseby’s post “Create A Link Building Team Within Your Organisation” and see what tips you can pick up to make your whole organisation a continuous link building machine.

Remember a good SEO strategy is on going and involves a well structured website, professional SEO copywriting and continuous backlink building.