How to make your copy more efficient to write, edit, read and optimize

How to make your copy to write, edit, read and optimize from Rusty Cawley

6 simple things you can do today to make your B2B content easier for Google to find and to rank

SLIDE DECK:

TEXT VERSION:

Making it easy for Google and other search engines to find and rank your company’s business-to-business web pages used to be all about what we now call “black hat” techniques: stuffing, stacking, misdirecting, cloaking, swapping, baiting-and-switching, and all sorts of other nefarious tactics.

Google has gone a long way toward changing that in the last two years. Three significant updates – known as Penguin, Panda and Hummingbird – to Google’s search algorithm are eliminating these tactics, and punishing them. If you use these techniques, Google may sentence your web site to its version of the Phantom Zone.
When Google users enter their search terms, they want Google to point to the pages that best meet their needs. Google’s updates are making it easier for Google to do just that, by finding and ranking web pages based on how well they meet the needs of the Google user.
There are six simple things anyone can do to help Google find our B2B web pages and treat them fairly.  Keep in mind, Google sees only text. It is blind to everything else. So we’ve got to create text that Google’s web-bots can easily recognize, quickly analyze and accurate rank.

Identify your keywords

We need to decide exactly what our web page is about.  What is the subject of the page? Do we want to answer a question, solve a problem, or just to provide information our customers are likely to seek for online? (For example, this post is designed to answer the question:  “What can I do to get Google to pay attention to my B2B web content?”)
Once that is settled, we have another question to ask: If prospects or customers are looking for a page like ours, what are the search terms they are most likely to use? What you need is what we call a “keyword,” which can be a single word like “widgets” or a short phrase like “widgets for oil producers” or “how to use a widget.”
You can start by brainstorming with your marketing, sales and PR teams. If you need help, there are plenty of online tools, like Google’s Keyword Tool. If you want to get serious, put together a focus group of prospects and customers to do their own brainstorming, or take an online poll, or (if you have a strong Facebook or Twitter following) try crowdsourcing.
Do your best to narrow down your choices to just a primary keyword (or key phrase). If you have runner-ups, you can always work them into your post’s body text. But it is important to agree upon a primary keyword as the foundation for creating a web page that Google will love.  For the purposes of this page, I’ve narrowed my keywords down to this phrase: “SEO for B2B.”
According to my research using Google’s Keyword Tool, Google users rarely enter this search phrase. So why use it? Because anyone who does use that search phrase is likely to be someone who is really interested in this information. Also, there’s very little competition for that phrase, so I have a better chance of ranking high on a search results page.

Include your keyword in your page’s web address

Also known as the URL, the web address is the page’s unique identifier. For example, the URL for this page is  http://rustycawley.typepad.com/realityincopywriting/2013/11/seo-for-b2b.html.  Note that I included my key phrase for this page as a suffix to my site’s main URL. This will encourage Google to point users to my page if they enter “SEO for B2B” as a search term.
To add your keyword to your page’s URL in a content management system like Wordpress or Typepad, just use the keywords as your post title before you save the post for the first time. Once you have save the page and created the URL, you can enter the actual title of your post and save it without altering the URL. If you have questions, check with your webmaster.

Include your keyword in your post title

A copywriter has two jobs when it comes to a post title. First, work in the keyword to get Google’s attention. Second, write an eye-catching title that piques the interest of prospects and customers, and causes them to click on the Google link.  Remember the 3-30-3 Rule. We have three seconds to get attention; if we can get the web readers’ attention, we earn about 30 seconds of their time; if we can keep their interest for 30 seconds, we can earn another three minutes or more. This process starts with working the keyword into the title, and encouraging Google to flag it for the client’s prospects to find. Google is more than just a search engine; it is a form of social proof. When a web page appears at or near the top of a search, Google is essentially recommending the page to the user. It’s a form of “word of mouth,” and that makes it a powerful tool for marketing and sales.
You may notice that my headline uses “Google” instead of the keywords “SEO” or “search engine optimization.”  That’s because in general my customers and prospects are not familiar with those keywords. But they know Google, and I’m counting on Google to recognize that went I say “Google” in this context, I mean “SEO.” It’s a small risk, but there’s little point in attracting Google’s attention but missing the audience’s attention.  I will keep an eye on my Google Analytics. If I see Google is bypassing this page, I’ll change the title to one that Google likes better.

Work your keyword into your post's text

But do it judiciously and logically. If you use the keyword too many times, Google will think you are stuffing your text, and will downgrade your page. A good rule of thumb is to include your keyword in the first paragraph, and again in the second or third paragraph. After that, use your exact keyword sparingly, about once every 200 words or so. Feel free to use synonyms, or phrase variations, or even some of the runner-up keywords that came out of your research. Once you get past the title and the first couple of paragraphs, focus your efforts on creating a useful, informative, entertaining web page that your customers will enjoy and share. That’s the kind of page that Google is looking to recommend.

Include your keyword in your page’s meta description

Of the six simple things we can do, this is the one that requires a little understanding about how web pages are built.  The content management systems that create web pages – like Wordpress and Typepad – are designed to include a brief, 160-word description of each page. This is essentially an executive summary designed for Google’s benefit. It is one more way that Google finds and ranks pages.
This is usually an easy process. You may be able to take the first two or three paragraphs of your text, and boil them down to 160 words or fewer.  Assuming your are in Wordpress, go to your dashboard, then go to “posts,” then go to the post you are writing.  Scroll down to the metadata form, and drop in your summary, and save it. If you can’t find the metadata form, ask your webmaster to add the form to your dashboard. If you are using another system, talk to your webmaster about establishing a process for adding a description to every future post.
Here is the meta description I added to this post:

Are Google and other search engines ignoring your online business-to-business content? Here are six simple things you can do right now to improve the SEO – search engine optimization – for your B2B web pages.  Anyone can do this. You don’t need to be a web geek.

Add your keyword and your runner-ups as your page’s meta tags

In the metadata form, you will find a form for adding individual keywords as “tags” to help Google and other search engines find your page. Just create a list, separating each keyword or phrase with a comma, copy it, and paste it into the form, then save it. You can add, subtract or alter this list as needed. Don’t get carried away. Focus on the keywords that are most important.
Here are my tags for this page: SEO for B2B, SEO copywriting for B2B companies, B2B, business to business, SEO, search engine optimization, B2B SEO, B2B copywriting, SEO copywriting, B2B-SEO copywriting, B2B copy, SEO copy, B2B content

Bonus tip

If you really want to improve your page’s SEO, ask your really good customers or friends to create links to your page. They can do this via their hub sites, or on Facebook, or through re-tweets, or by recommending your page on Reddit, or by adding links to any other online medium.
Ask your webmaster to include sharing tools to every post on your B2B web site. Sharing tools allow readers to easily create links to your post via social media. The easier it is to share your post, the more likely readers are to do it.
All of this is very, very important to improve your SEO for your B2B content. For Google, a link is a vote. It tells Google that others consider your page to be an authoritative source of valuable information about a specific subject.
Links make it easier for Google to rank your page highly.

Which reminds me

If you found this page useful, please share it with your friends or peers. You can use the sharing tools on this page, or you can add a link to your home page.
Many thanks for your consideration.

Infographic: How to create videos your audience actually wants to watch

How to craft emotional messages to put into your content

From the Harvard Business Review:

If strong emotional activation is the key to viral success, how can brands best craft highly emotional messages with their content. 

First, think carefully about how your company, product or service is related to a topic or topics that taps into deep-seated human emotions within your target demographic. 

The goal is to find the link to an issue that plagues your consumers and relates directly or even tangentially to your brand or product. At the same time, you must make sure that the topic you choose also positively reflects the position of your brand. Using the example of the Dove Face Sketch campaign mentioned above, it is clear that its viral success was the result of its ability to tap into a deep emotional reaction to commonly felt feelings of inadequacy and low self esteem. Dove created a positive emotional reaction by creating solidarity through their campaign. Their content delivered the message “Many women don’t see themselves for how pretty they really are — let’s change that.” Dove’s content engaged strong emotions – even difficult emotions – but managed to win by presenting a more important overarching idea.

Why your Twitter bio is important

From Mashable:

 "Your Twitter bio should position you as an expert in your field who serves a specific audience," states Dan Schawbel, author of Promote Yourself and Me 2.0. 

"The objective is to position your personal brand so you're using the right keywords and clearly showing what your focus is so people read it and know exactly what you do and whom you serve." 

As well as widening your appeal for potential followers, Schawbel suggests this tactic may help your future job prospects. 

"I did a study with American Express and we found that 65% of managers are looking to hire and promote subject matter experts. The problem is that most people position themselves as generalists or 'Jacks-of-all-trades,' and that won't work in this economy," he says.

Why is online video so important for content marketing? Here's a video that outlines what the research says

Here's short video showcasing new data from Pew Research that emphasizes the rising importance of online video:

The Content Marketing Institute issued its 2014 report on content marketing among business-to-business companies; here's 10 interesting things the report has to say

10 things we learned from the 2014 report on B2B content marketing

View more lists from Rusty Cawley

What does Google Hummingbird mean for content marketing?

From Jason Williams at the Inbound Marketing Blog:

SEO’s from around the world are dissecting and testing the new search algorithm on test sites to check for anything that could concern clients. But since being released over a month ago with little to no impact on the search engine optimization community, it is likely that there is nothing to worry about. 

One thing we’ve always recommended to our clients is to always be asking and answering your client’s questions within your site. As search queries get more complicated and algorithms have the ability to find more complex results, answering the questions your clients are asking can only help you in the future. Here’s what I’m talking about… 

• Create a list the top 10 questions your clients are asking you or about your industry 
• Create new pages on your site centered around those questions and great answer 

Answering your clients’ questions helps them solve a problem and can ultimately make you an authority on a topic or subject. When they are ready to buy your product or service, they want to buy from a trusted authority. It appears that Google’s Hummingbird algorithm may just give an advantage in search results to the people that answer the common questions for their clients. As for now, Hummingbird appears to be as sweet as it sounds.

Why blog? Here's what the data says

Found at Hubsport:

Why longer articles will rank better on Google than short articles in 2014

From Jayson DeMers at the Search Engine Journal:

Not long ago, you could publish a couple 500-word blog posts per week and gain measurable traffic and authority with Google. While short articles do still have value, there’s definitely a trend within Google toward favoring longer content. 

In the future, I expect that articles will need to be a minimum of 1,000 words in length to rank well in Google, and better yet if they’re over 2,000 words. Google’s new in-depth article section is a good indicator of where things are going. According to Google, “Users often turn to Google to answer a quick question, but research suggests that up to 10% of users’ daily information needs involve learning about a broad topic.”

Why social media are neither cheap nor easy

Hugh Stephens blogs at Ragan's PR Daily:

Social media requires a significant investment to start and sustain. That includes internal costs (resourcing, training) and often external costs (marketing to consumers, prizes for your communities and even a consultant or two). 

But the attitude that you can easily create a social media strategy for an organization with more than $10 million in turnover in a half-day workshop is ludicrous. Sure, it's doable for a tiny nonprofit, but not for a large brand in need of a strategy that will reach across many marketing channels for a vast range of products.

Similarly, the idea that no one department can own social media is nearsighted. Yes, you have a PR department that manages media inquiries, but does the PR department actually provide quotes to the media or complete interviews? Generally, no. The job of the PR department is to facilitate connections and liaise with a range of internal departments.

While some group has to own and be responsible for social media, that doesn't mean that a small, defined group controls the purview of social media.

Google+: How four B2B tech companies are embracing the platform

From Nicholette Beard at the Top Rank blog:

While sports teams, news outlets, car companies, universities, non-profits and the entertainment industry dominate the top 200 business pages on Google+, a growing number of B2B technology companies have embraced Google+ as well. 

As with any top consumer brand, consistent engagement is crucial to success. B2B technology brands are developing relationships with prospects just like on any other social platform. In the world of optimizing customer experience across the B2B sales cycle,  Google+ for businesses offers B2B  marketers an opportunity to connect with buyers in a meaningful way and provide relevant information. 

Thought leaders and subject matter experts increasingly serve as trusted sources to help business buyers determine the best solution to solve a business need. Knowledge and expertise combined with social media have trumped the peer influencers of the traditional buyer, giving rise to the “B2B Social Buyer”.

Let’s take a look at some well-known B2B technology brands taking advantage of this new type of buyer who sources information and networks on Google+

Learners, shoppers and buyers: Create content for all 3 audiences

Advice from Remington Begg at Hubspot:

Too often, marketers go "straight for the throat." Typically, they only include CTA's (calls-to-action) that are for prospects that are ready to buy now (i.e. “Buy Now,” “Request a Consultation,” or "Call Today"). By modifying your website to have a balance of content, CTAs, and lead generation opportunities for every step of the buying cycle, you will find a huge increase in engagement and conversions on your site. 

Inbound marketers often refer to the steps of the buying cycle as:Top of the Funnel, or TOFU Middle of the Funnel, or MOFU Bottom of the Funnel, or BOFU.
When talking to new clients we like to describe each of these buying cycles as Learners (TOFU), Shoppers (MOFU), and Buyers (BOFU). Call them whatever makes the most sense to you.

• An example of a Learner or (TOFU) prospect is someone searching Google for "best midsize family car."

• An example of a Shopper or (MOFU) prospect is someone searching Google for "crossover SUV reviews."

• An example of a Buyer or (BOFU) prospect is someone searching Google for "Ford Edge for sale."

Think about what content you've created on your website that helps the "Learner" learn about why there is a need for your product or service. Think about what pain points it addresses. Now, think about opportunities to nurture your prospect to the Shopper stage, and then the Buyer stage, and then rinse and repeat for each of your services. Each step of the way there are opportunities to convert leads, with tools from the inbound content toolbox: ebooks, whitepapers, webinars -- you name it.

How to use hashtags to tell your story

From Ohad Frankfurt at Social Media Today:

Recently I had the pleasure to spend almost a month in Berlin with my entire team over at Swayy, we wanted to post photos from our trip in a way that will help us tell our story in the form of a photo album, so what we did was create a hashtag: “#SwayyingBerlin” - and add it to each photo we upload. That way our Facebook, Instagram and Twitter followers could see a photo album of our trip once they clicked or searched for that hashtag. 

7 tips for writing your first Kindle book

From Copyblogger:

A Kindle book doesn’t have to be mega-long. 10,000 words is a good length; some books are even shorter. 

Writing a book is like creating a series of blog posts around one theme. Each blog post becomes a chapter that builds on the previous chapter. 

I can’t tell you that writing your first book is easy, but with some help just about any good content creator can do it. Here are my 7 most useful tips:

1. Write for one reader. When you know your ideal reader, you know how much she already knows. You can avoid boring her with obvious information; you can use a dash of the humor she appreciates; and you can provide exactly the information she’s looking for.
2. Choose a topic you know well. Having to do research will considerably slow you down.
3. Outline your book. I used old-fashioned index cards on which I wrote down the What, Why, and How for each chapter. It helped me stay on track.
4. Use a straightforward headline for the title, like 7 Days to Reaching a [Specific Goal]. My book describes a simple 6-step process for writing web copy.
5. Write the book’s sales page before you start writing. It helps you remember exactly what benefits you want to deliver to your readers.
6. Find a few friendly readers who match your ideal reader profile and give them your first draft. Not only will they help make your book better, it will also boost your confidence.
7. Find a writing buddy or a coach. Writing a book can feel scary, terrifying even. Talking to someone who understands will help you overcome fear.

4 common traits of great content

From B2B Digital Marketing:

Great content is:

• Educational (or entertaining). You come away wiser or with your cares temporarily melted away.

• Empowering. Great content is more than just actionable, it empowers you to do something you couldn’t have done before.

• Emotional. It makes you feel something, not just know something.

• Respectful of your time. It accomplishes the above without dragging on.

5 steps to using Instagram more efficiently

From Chelsea Hejny at Ragan's: 

Instagram is a lot like Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest, i.e., it can be a total time-suck.
It’s super easy to get distracted from doing things that are not work related, so I’m offering these tips for productively using the popular photo- and video-sharing platform. 

Ten minutes a day is all you need to manage your brand’s Instagram account. Here’s what you need to know to make the most of Instagram without wasting a minute ...

Advertising vs. content marketing: What do the numbers say?

From Marketo via PR Daily:

3 reasons why apps fail to work for content marketing -- and why web sites will survive

From Copyblogger:

There’s one thing that people turn to the Internet for en masse that apps are not better for, and that’s freely available content. When it comes to content marketing (as opposed to data like flight schedules), there’s no beating the open web. 

Most of the content we consume is not what we already subscribe to. We discover and search for new content daily, and we expect to be able to experience it without downloading an app. 

Luckily, cutting-edge mobile-responsive websites are faster, more user-friendly, and more powerful than ever. And with HTML5, a webpage can be built to perform any function an app can. 

On the other hand, putting your content in a traditional app means:

• Your content is invisible to search engines.
• Your content is blocked from seamless social sharing.
• You’re asking people to download an app before they’ve experienced your content, which will sharply diminish your audience-building efforts.

That’s a really bad idea.

VIDEO: What can we learn from the best Vines of 2013?

Really, I"m asking. If this compilation of 77 Vines drew more than 12 million viewers, what can we -- as content marketers and PR pros -- learn from them? What are the best practices, if any?

 

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