USE "ACTION WORDS" TO MOTIVATE AND INSPIRE

ACTION WORDS MOVE SITE VISITORS TO TAKE ACTION AND PERFORM THE MDA - THE MOST DESIRED ACTION

Action Words: Motivate and Inspire

The words you choose, whether writing site text or a sales letter, often make the difference between closing the deal and missing a golden opportunity.

Make your writing more interesting, engaging and compelling through the use of action words and phrases. Would you rather learn something or uncover or discover something?

Would you rather be well-known or acclaimed? Which is better: to hasten business growth or to accelerate that growth? Words have more than a literal meaning. They also have connotations. In the above example, hasten connotes “rushed” while accelerated connotes a desired and quick increase.

So, to help you spice up your writing, here’s a list of some action words you can use in place of beige, blah bunk. Add zip, zingo, panache and just a touch of punch to your writing, whether you’re writing an instruction manual or the text for a newspaper advert.

Action Words

acclaime,d accelerate, improve,

achieve, manage, oversee

fabricate, free, accomplish

launch, ignite, expand

increase, train, secure

balance, mold, shape

leading-edge, bleeding-edge, state-of-the-art

ahead-of-the-curve, far horizon, grounded

elevate, electrify, astound

resolve, grow, discover

uncover, exceed, activate

impact, grab, demand

power up, grow margins, slash costs

revamp, (re)design, saved

salvaged, recovered, resuscitate

rejuvenate, exclaim, revitalize

generate, streamline, innovate

defend, gain the advantage, win

overpower, overwhelm, clobber (humor)

You get the idea so pull out your thesaurus and you’ll discover a slate of action words that will expand your lexicon and make you a better web writer.

Now move it if you want to gain the advantage over the fierce competition.

Words, Inc.

Words, Inc.

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KEYWORD SELECTION: LESS IS MORE

Keyword Selection: Less Is More

Scope out the webmaster sites and industry hubs and you’ll find a lot of content on the importance of keyword selection. Okay, assuming you know nothing about keyword selection, let’s start at the beginning.

What Are Keywords?

They’re the words entered by search engine users looking for specific information on a topic, service or product. For example, if you were looking to buy a digital camera online you’d most likely go to Google, Yahoo, Ask or any number of other search engines, type ‘digital cameras’ into the search box and receive the results on the search engine results pages or SERPs.

Keywords are also used by search engines to classify your site according to top secret, highly-classified keyword taxonomies. A taxonomy is simply a sorting system. For example, all living things are sorted by kingdom, phylum, genus, species, etc. Same with keywords.

If, as a site owner, you selected ‘digital cameras’ as one of your site’s keywords and included this phrase in your site’s keyword tag, a search engine spider, after making a few checks of the actual text of your site, would classify, or index, your site as one that sold digital cameras. So when search engine users enter ‘digitalcameras’ as a search query, your site will show up on the SERPs. Somewhere.

How to Beat the Competition Using Lower-Ranked Keywords

So here’s the thing. If you sell digital cameras (since that’s what we’re using as our example) you’d naturally choose ‘digital cameras’ as a keyword, right? It’s a natural. Problem is, every other online electronics outlet that sells digital cameras will use those same keywords: ‘digital cameras’. And what does this mean to you?

When a search engine user queries ‘digital cameras’ onGoogle, your site may well end up on page 1320 of Google’s SERPs. And when was the last time you searched through 1320 SERPs looking for anything! In essence, using the keywords ‘digital cameras’ makes you all but invisible to search engine users, i.e., you won’t see any organic (naturally generarted) search-engine-driven site traffic.

But what if your keyword list was comprised of lesser-used keywords and phrases? Well, for one thing you’d still see fewer organic visitors because you’re using lesser employed keywords. However, search engine users often don’t go with the number one or two keyword. Sometimes they go with out-of-left-field keywords based on language differences, education level, current slang and a host of other factors.

As a site owner, you can easily find the most popular keywords for your products or services. You can take them directly from the top ranked sites by viewing the metadata of leading websites using Internet Explorer’s source view, so there are no secrets.

You can also find pricey keyword generators and OSS (open source software, aka FREE) keyword generators to compile lists of the keywords used most frequently on Google (or Bing or Yahoo) within the past seven days. The information is current and accurate.

Or go ask Google yourself. The Google keyword generator at Google's Webmaster Central provides real user queries entered within the past 30 days. Real users. Real keywords.

However, using the most popular keywords isn’t going to do much in generating organic results. For example, on the day of this writing, here are the number of hits generated by Google using variations of the digital camera theme.

Google Hits By Keyword or Phrase

digital cameras = 87,200,000 hits

digital photography = 118,000,000

digital photography equipment = 39,500,000

digital photography cameras = 55,000,000

cheap digital cameras = 21,900,000

really cheap digital cameras = 10,100,000

digital camera prices catalog = 1,750,000

really cheap digital camera catalog = 876,000

‘Digital photography’, as a keyword phrase, generates 118 million hits! Where’s your site in that dog pile? On the other hand, the keyword phrase ‘really cheap digital camera catalog’ generates less than 1 million hits (876K on this day). Get the point?

Sure, a whole lot fewer search engine users will enter ‘really cheap digital camera catalog’ than just plain old ‘digital cameras’ but the dog pile is a whole lot smaller, too.

Just look at the keyword phrases above. The difference between the keyword phrases ‘digital photography’ and ‘digital photography equipment’ is 78,500,000 search engine hits. You’ve just eliminated 78 million competitors simply by adding the word ‘equipment’ to your keyword phrase list.

But smart keyword selection doesn’t end there.

Google AdWords – Saving Money Is Easy

Site owners who use AdWords bid on Google keywords and phrases based on the popularity of those words and phrases. So, you, the site owner, might pay 75 cents per click-through for top-most placement on the AdWords stack found on SERP #1 generated when the search engine user queries ‘digital photography’. (Actually, it’ll probably be more!) However, if you bid on ‘digital photography equipment’, the less popular keyword phrase, you might only have to pay 25 or 30 cents per click. And since you only pay by the click (in other words no click no pay) this is a great way to stretch your marketing dollars.

Bid on less popular keywords and phrases (even misspelled keyword phrases, e.g. digital photography quipment; note the missing 'e' in equipment) and you’ll stretch those promo dollars to the max, even if it takes longer for enough search engine users to enter your selected keywords.

All Keywords Are Not Created Equal

Thankfully.

You can cut the competition by 90% simply by selecting lesspopular keywords. Using the most popular words and phrases puts you in head-to-head competition with the most popular competitor sites. Opting for less frequently-used keywords cuts the competition down to size and saves you PPC costs.

So, don’t go with the top ranked keywords if you’re not a top-ranked site. Build organic search engine results through the use of lesser-used keywords. In the web wars for commercial supremacy, less really is more.

If you're optimizing your own site, use Google's keyword generator. Look for keywords with a high KEI score. Or drop me a line and I'll walk you through it.

Later,

Webwordslinger.com

I CAN WORK IN MY SLIPPERS. HOW COOL IS THAT?

THERE'S NOTHING BETTER THAN WRITING FROM HOME FOR YOUR LIVLIHOOD.

THE FRINGE BENEFITS ARE RIGHT THERE.

GO AHEAD, WORK IN YOUR FUZZY SLIPPERS.

Writing From Home:

Six Tips to Keep You On Track

For most of us, working from home will feel a little…well, weird at first. No boss, no florescent bulbs humming overhead, no cubicle. Strange. But I’ve been doing it since Jimmy Carter was president and over the years I’ve learned how to make working at home a workable solution.

Some tips:

1. When you work at home it doesn’t look like work to others. So you’ll get calls from friends during scheduled work hours and your spouse will ask you to run a few errands around town – something that takes three hours out of your work day.

Your inner circle (family and friends) must respect your work time. You must respect it, too. Caller ID shows you it’s your neighbor – a time-waster if ever there was one. So, don’t take the call.

And ask your spouse to pick up her own dry cleaning. You have a web writing business to run. If you treat your activities as a business, others will come to do so, as well.

2. Create a work schedule. Whether you’re going at this part- or full-time, time is money so you want to allocate it wisely. On the other hand, writing from home provides flex-time so you can manage the school carpool and still get to your desk by 9:30 – plenty of time to crank out a piece for syndication.

A schedule is also good for those of us with ADHD and have the attention span of a gnat. If you schedule four hours to do a press release the next day, you become your own boss. It’s always better to be on your boss’ good side – even when you’re the boss.

3. Create your sanctuary. This is the place you go to work. It’s an easy commute and you can handle a conference call in your fuzzy slippers.

The family should know that when mom or dad is “in the office” no disturbances unless the house is actually engulfed in flames. Then you want to know about it, but otherwise, leave the family problems at your office door for pick-up at the end of the work day.

4. Protect your business. Your business exists on your computer’s hard drive. Content in development, addresses and phone numbers, templates, tools – all stored on that one hard drive. Gulp!

It’s essential to protect your expanding pile of business assets. So…

• Use a separate computer for business. Keep the kids (and spouse) off.

• Use an outboard hard drive to back-up all your work automatically. This way, if the hard drive in your computer heads south, you still have your valuable files for download to your new (and more powerful) system.

• And if you’re really serious (and you should be), consider an off-site storage service – an FTP which stands for File Transfer Protocol. In fact, what you want is an sFTP – a secure FTP service. You simply upload your files to this off-site server. This way, if the house burns down or you find the office underwater during flood season, all of your critical data is stored off site waiting for you when you’re back up and running.

Google ‘secure FTP’ to find the service that suits your budget. (Yes, you’ll pay a few bucks for an sFTP each month but think of how much better you’ll sleep at night.)

5. Get a separate business line. True story. I was the lead on a conference call with 16 content experts all talking at once – and this was a Fortune 500 company – you know, a quality, deep pockets client.

An way, right in the middle of the give-and-take discovery phase, my wife picks up the downstairs phone and presses an auto-dial number without listening to see if the phone was in use. Of course, when she realized her mistake she quickly apologized and hung up but you could feel the palpable silence on the other end of the line.

I brushed it off with an “Okay, where were we…” but let’s just say I looked like a total amateur and the tenor of the conversation took a noticeable turn to the left, as in, we all left in a hurry. (Though I was able to save the account with a follow-up to my contact point who had a good laugh over the matter. Tough to laugh at your own goofs.)

6. Run your business on a shoestring. Sure, if you’re still using dial-up on the old Coleco 64 (anybody remember them?), you’ll want to upgrade to a quality, dependable, new system from a reputable manufacturer. (No recommendations, here.)

But skip the embossed, watermarked stationery. You won’t use it. Who uses snail mail anymore except my electric company? (The bastards!)

Skip the engraved business cards. Buy business card software and high quality biz-card stationery and print as needed. Always a good idea to carry a couple of business cards. You never know when you’ll run into a potential client. (Parties are great for networking, especially after the wine has been flowing for a few hours. Man, that’s one easy contract!)

If you’re working at home you probably don’t need a Blackberry or other PDA. You’re home, already! You aren’t going to need to be texted remotely. You’re right there, or at least you should be.

There’s more. Self-discipline, the importance of deadlines and staying in touch with clients, marketing your services and so on. But, here’s the bottom line – literally and figuratively:

If you’re going to write from home, you have a business. Treat it as such.

Just starting a home based business? It's exciting and frightening, kinda like a rollercoaster ride. Call me. Together, we can smooth out some of the bumps.

Did you write yet today?

Webwordslinger.com

DON'T BE MIS-INDEXED: SEARCH ENGINE TAXONOMY

Make Sure Google Knows What Business Your Business Is In

Site Taxonomy:

Are You In The Right Place?

Taxonomy is the science (and art) of classifying a broad range of things. Originally used to classify plants and animals – phylum, genus, species, etc. – taxonomy is now applied to everything from product inventory to web sites. Yes, web sites.

Most successful site owners are very familiar with search engine optimization (SEO) and the well-known principles of web site optimization. SEO makes sites friendlier, more accessible and more likely to be properly and accurately indexed. Sites that are mis-indexed or worse, not indexed at all, won’t benefit from SE-driven traffic because links to those sites won’t appear on search engine results pages (SERPs). You might as well be invisible because to search engines, you are – regardless of how well your site is optimized! The reason? Haphazard or a complete lack of site taxonomy.

SEO, in Short

When search engines spider a site, they count up keywords, track in-site links, check incoming links and plug all of this data into a mathematical formula called a search engine algorithm. These algorithms are constantly tweaked, revised and completely updated, all in an effort to improve the relevancy of the search engines’ results pages. This is all pretty basic stuff and there are plenty of applications and professional SEOs to provide the optimization information you need.

However, SEO, by itself, isn’t enough. It’s quite possible that a visiting SE spider under-indexed your site or improperly classified it as something it’s not. Or, perhaps the spiders we’re so confused about what your site was, it wasn’t indexed at all. If you sell handmade dollhouses and imported olive oil on the same site, a spider won’t know how to classify the site. Hence, no Google listing.

Site Taxonomy

A well-designed site taxonomy will ensure that your site is completely and accurately indexed by the major search engines. Here’s how it works.

In assessing the attributes of a site, search engines attempt to classify the site based on its taxonomy – the keywords and keyword positioning used in HTML coding and in the site’s text.

For example, let’s say that a site selling bicycles relies heavily on one keyword: bicycles. It appears throughout the text and it’s in Meta tags, title tags and other descriptors throughout the site’s code. This is the norm, by the way, so read on.

Spiders have no context and they certainly aren’t capable of discerning context. What about bicycles does the site do? Report bicycle news? Sell bike parts? Sell bikes? Restore them? Repair them?

Taxonomy provides spiders with the means to place your site within some context so that it can be properly classified and indexed by the search engine.

So, in addition to bicycles as the main keyword, add bikes, bicycle parts, pedals, wheels, bicycle repairs, tires, racing bikes and so forth. Now the indiscriminate spider knows what the site is about because bicycles now has context.

This is an extreme example since site owners always use more than one keyword. But, are they the right keywords to fit the search engine taxonomy?

Search Engine Taxonomy

Site taxonomy becomes search engine taxonomy through the regular indexing of 150 million pages of site text each day. And that’s just Google.

Search engines employ their own taxonomy to classify each indexed site, and while they do their automated best, mistakes happen and they’re difficult to repair.

Search engines use the keywords that top-level sites employ to develop their own methodology for site classification. So, the keywords used by the top 10 or 20 online bike shops define the range and specificity of keywords for the search engine’s ‘bicycle sales’ classification. And, if your site taxonomy dovetails with the search engine taxonomy, you’ll be accurately indexed and may, in fact, see a significant increase in SE-driven traffic because your site is where it should be when SE users query.

You Can’t Copyright Keywords

Knowing that SE taxonomy is defined by the top sites within a given classification, it makes sense to employ the same keywords as the bigger players do. At least some of them.

There are lots of metrics software packs that’ll give you the keywords entered by SE users, but you can actually see the keywords used by the competition with just a few clicks.

Log on to the competitor site using Internet Explorer> Click on View> Scroll down and click on Source. The HTML code behind the site will appear in a separate window. Check the code for the keywords the successful site uses. Then, judiciously cherry pick those keywords that fit your site.

For example, many commercial sites use product names as keywords. A running shoe site would use Nike and Puma, for instance. Obviously, if you don’t sell the same brands don’t use the same keywords. Add your own brand names.

And obviously, don’t use keywords that describe products or services you don’t offer. A significant difference in keywords used in HTML tags and keywords in the site text will get you slammed by SEs who think you’re using black hat tactics to deceive the search engine. Not a good thing.

Conclusions

Site optimization won’t do a thing if the site is mis-indexed. To avoid being mis-indexed, under- or partially-indexed, provide contextual clues that better enable search engines to place your site in the right category.

Use keywords employed by the top 10 to 20 sites to adjust your site taxonomy to the established search engine taxonomy.

Take full advantage of search engine traffic by making sure search engines understand just what your site is all about.

Does Google have your web site in the right file folder? If not, you're invisible. Like wearing crystal cloaking body armor as far as SE spiders are concerned. Call me and let's get you re-classified.

Later,

Webwordslinger.com

VIRAL MARKETING GENERATES MILLIONS OF HITS

Viral Marketing

Looking For a Shot In the Arm?

It sounds nefarious. Maybe even a little illegal but viral marketing has been around for centuries. It just looks and sounds different on the world wide web. And if you aren’t using it, give it some thought. With a viral marketing campaign, you just might like what you come down with.

First, What Is Viral Marketing?

It goes by many names and is defined differently by different users. In its simplest form, viral marketing is any marketing, promotion or advertising that builds on itself, i.e. propagates. Further, viral marketing utilizes the resources of others to spread the message, meaning it doesn’t cost a lot of money, if any at all.

Web experts narrow the definition to the W3 and describe it as an online [only] promotional device that persuades other web users to “pass it on,” and the next thing you know you’ve got the next big thing,

Perfect example. YouTube.com. Anyone with a cell cam and the smarts to upload a video can change the world in 24 hours. We’ve seen law enforcement use alleged excessive force, dogs on skateboards and politicians who can’t remove a foot from their mouth. (Makaka? What was that guy thinking??!!)

In the pre-web days (some of you may remember) it was called ‘word of mouth’ (WOM) advertising. Anybody remember Pop Rocks? Put a handful in your mouth and they popped in thousands of little CO₂ explosions. One kid tried them, told her friend who told his friends and on and on. Other examples of viral marketing in the real world? ‘Tickle Me Elmo,’ ‘Beanie Babies’ and ‘Cabbage Patch dolls.’

Politicians (especially now) have caught on to the power of viral campaigns. Hillary Clinton had a “Choose Our Campaign Song” competition on her campaign web site that drew a lot of hits. Other politicians have discovered that online adverts are low cost and potent – especially when done with some originality. Every candidate has a web site now and it’s a popular way to raise campaign funds with “the kids” today.

Viral marketing doesn’t stick around long. Its vaporous, here today gone today. But while it’s making the rounds, spreading from computer to computer and media to media, it packs a potent punch – one that draws attention. Global attention.

Second, How Do I Launch a Viral Campaign?

Viral campaigns are cheap. Word of mouth (WOM) advertising is free and extremely effective – if you do it right. So to get your viral campaign spreading like the flu, here are some dos and don’ts.

Because viral marketing is WOM marketing that means you have to go where the people are. Otherwise, how are you going to get word of mouth if you don’t have any mouths? And where do you find people on the web? Lots of places.

Blogs are a good place to start. Post on a few blogs or forums with a back link to your site, but here’s one taboo: Don’t post something that looks like a straight up ad. It’s just so…so juvenile.

Go to “You Tube” and check out some of the comments viewers have left. “Hey, if you think that guy could surf, stop by Bob’s Surf Shack on Rte 118 for the best in surf board buys.” Talk about desperation. Viral marketing, despite its name and the way it can spread globally in just hours (minutes) has to have “something” to say or show to the world. If it looks like an ad, not many people will be stopping by your surf shack because you sound (and look) like a rookie.

Build Your Own Website

Rosie O’Donnell keeps her face (and opinions) in the news through here own blog and each day, people line up to hear what Ro’ has to say. Today, rosie.com ranked 23,036 in the U.S. and 93,576 and in web land that’s better than excellent.

Of course, Rosie had an audience before launching her site. That helps. But, it also helps to have something to say – something different, something controversial. Oh yeah, controversy sells.

Social Sites

They aren’t just for ‘tweens and teens any more. Lots of adults, companies and even products have their own place on My Space or FaceBook. And these places are notorious for WOM marketing. Rumors spread and, sometimes, they’re even true! If you’re looking for name or face recognition, social sites will provide web space free – and you can say (almost) anything you want to say, even if it measures an 11 on the 1-10 Crazy Scale! In fact, crazy sells, too!

Cross-Channel Advertising

The more ways to reach a reader or listener the more successful your viral ad campaign will be. So, for example, if you run 30 second spots on the local cable channels, consider adding a competition that requires TV viewers to log on to your site, fill out a form and win a brand new refrigerator or whatever. (A trip to Barbados would be nice.)

If you run a weekly ad in the Hometown Bee, include your URL and a reason to visit: “Visit us at anysitehere.com, print out the coupon and we’ll take 20% off your next purchase.” You’ve just employed two different media (multi-channel) to spread your message. And friends in the area will tell other friends.

How Do I Create a Viral Ad?

It’s not easy. In fact, it’s darned hard and big companies (Subaru, Coke, etc.) spend millions to create viral ad campaigns. But, now that viral marketing has been around for a few years, the researchers have had a chance to put it under the microscope and come up with several “must have” components to launch a successful viral campaign:

Authenticity is critical. Bob’s Surf Shack (see above) lacks authenticity. It’s just an ad so it won’t catch on as the next big “thing.”

Originality is another must have. Look, today’s key demographics have seen it, done it, lived it. What’s hot today is stone cold tomorrow. So, if you’ve seen it before so have a few other billion people and you’re just not going to hit the ‘buzz’ wave. Creativity – real creativity – is the essence of a good viral campaign. And if you don’t have a lot of creativity, don’t worry, others do – for a fee.

Identifiably helps. If the viewer or reader of your blog can identify with what you’re saying, you’ve got a convert – and someone who will spread the word to others, which is the whole purpose of viral marketing to begin with.

Finally, your viral ad, like all ads, requires a call to action. The call to action tells the reader or viewer what s/he is expected to do next – whether it’s run out to find the Coke can with the red tab or visit your tiny web site for a discount and some free stuff the reader will want and use.

A Couple of Don’ts

Real quick. Some mistakes and don’ts:

The campaign doesn’t fit the product, service or message. The best example is the dancing baby that appeared on the TV show “Ally McBeal.” Because the creator never copyrighted the dancing, diapered cutie, it was picked up by thousands of site owners. For a month or two, it was a hot topic. Now, you can pick up the animated gif on every clip art site on line.

Viral campaigns move quickly (thus the name) so if it isn’t working after a week or two try a different approach.

The campaign lacks relevance to the target market. Mountain Dew, the caffeine king of soft drinks was way ahead of the power drink curve when it introduced MDX – with even more caffeine. Unfortunately, the advertising agency was unable to reach the target demographic the way Rock Star and other energy drinks do (Rock Star sponsors the Girls Gone Wild NASCAR entry). Instant relevance. Good-bye MDX.

Don’t pay. There are a ton of free outlets on the web from the gargantuan, eyes-of-the-world “You Tube” to a little blog on how to tie flies or whip up the perfect soufflé. There’s no need to pay. The web chews up content like a wood chipper, so give the web what it wants – free content in exchange for the free use of someone else’s outlet to the world.

Don’t forget the human who will be reading or seeing your campaign. The same rules apply today that applied 1000 years ago. Appeal to the emotions of the viewer and better yet, make that viewer feel as though s/he’s the one who’s ahead of the pack by “passing it on” to a friend. It could be the latest joke making the web rounds, your funny take-off on a news event or a great new product. Remember, people must be touched to be moved to action. Politicians take note.

Don’t set high expectations or goals. Viral marketing is a gimmick – a successful one in some cases, but certainly not in all. Set the bar low and you won’t be disappointed. Besides, you’re using free resources to get your marketing message out so you really can’t get hurt too badly.

Finally, don’t bet next month’s rent on a viral campaign. Most flop (Xbox 360, e.g.), and the ones that do succeed don’t make a lasting impression (except that Makaka guy who’s now out of office).

Viral marketing works but it takes ingenuity – a new view and a belief on the part of the viewer that s/he is a part of this “movement.” The need to belong to something bigger than the self has been a tried and true marketing strategy forever so make the viewer a part of the family and kindly ask them to…

…pass it on.

Yeah, you're ready to go viral. Call me. Let's make your site worth "catching." (No, it ain't swine flu.) This stuff really works and my tiny little website is proof (reach up 86% as of this morning.)

Later, budding entrepreneurs,

Webwordslinger.com

LOCAL SEARCH: WELCOME TO DICK'S HARDWARE STORE

LET 'EM KNOW

YOU'RE RIGHT AROUND THE CORNER

Localized SEO:

How to Contact Your Neighbors

Sure it makes sense for worldwide conglomerates to establish and grow a presence on the world wide web. Their clients are global so of course they want to be seen globally. But what about the small business owner? Does the world wide web make sense for Dick’s Hardware on Main Street? Especially since Dick isn’t set up to handle mail orders on a worldwide scale?

It is. SEO localization is happening. More and more small business owners are signing up with web hosts and creating small sites to provide information for local buyers. These business owners aren’t interested in making a sale in Mozambique but they are interested in creating and expanding their businesses to the people in the community. Here’s how to do it effectively.

You Can’t Control a Search Engine (Very Much)

Let’s stick with Dick’s Hardware for a moment. Dick may sell electric generators in his small town hardware store but he doesn’t want to sell them to people living in time zones where it’s tomorrow today. He wants to reach the people in his home town. Dick wants to reach the local market and tell that market segment about what’s on sale that week.

However, if a search engine user in Mozambique types in “electrical generators,” Dick’s Hardware in Anytown, USA may well show up on page 106 of the SERPs. There’s not much Dick (or the guy in Mozambique) can do about it. Search engines aren’t intuitive. Search engines don’t know that shipping a generator to Africa would cost more than the generator itself. Think of search engines as “savants” – extremely intelligent in one area (locating letter strings), not so bright in all other areas (making good decisions based on those letter strings).

Localizing Your Site

Localization is the practice of narrowing a market demographic to a specific geographic area. That area could be a small town, a metropolis, a state, country or region of the world.

So how do you reach the residents of your community without pulling in traffic from another hemisphere? Well, localization takes several forms, none of which is difficult even for the start-up web site owner.

Localization techniques include:

• online marketing protocols
• geo-centric SEO
• directory submissions
• PPC advertisements
• web-based ‘telephone’ books
• language and dialects
• images
• mapping

Online Marketing Protocols

Search engines don’t just spider your selected keywords. These crawlers examine everything – site text, HTML description and title tags, in- and out-bound links, embedded text links, site maps – your whole site.

So, it’s not enough to simply add your local zip code to your HTML keyword tag. It should be added to all meta data to ensure that spiders ‘know’ you’re local not global. This meta data is part of your HTML code – the underlying support for your site and it provides a great deal of useful information to spiders – including your location.

Your location should also appear throughout the text of your site – as part of the home page header, and in bodies of text on different site pages.

Geo-Centric SEO

Of course, this doesn’t mean you should exclude your location from your keyword set. In fact, it should be at the top of the list and should include the name of your community and your state (or province or region). Why? Because search engines will give greater weight to those first few keywords, and if one of them is the name of your community, your site will pop up at the top of the SERPs of any search engine user looking for local outlets and using ‘local’ keywords.

Directory Submissions

Sites like craigslist.com and angieslist.com are ideal outlets for local businesses seeking to establish a web presence. These directories, along with larger directories like the Open Directory Project, will better clarify where you’re located and what you do. What’s even better about these directories is that your customers can add their opinions of your goods or services. So, if you’re good at what you do you’ll pick up extra testimonials from happy customers.

On the other hand, if you’re terrible at what you do you’ll get slammed in these directories, and should probably consider a different line of work. No amount of online exposure is going to help if you’re really bad at what you do.

Pay-Per-Click

Using PPC programs, like Google AdWords, enables you to cherry pick where you want your AdWords to appear. You can limit their appearance to those search engine users who actually enter the name of your community as part of their search so you aren’t wasting money with useless click-throughs from someone half a world away.

Another advantage? AdWords employs a bidding system with more frequently used keywords going for a higher PPC than lesser used keywords. So, by bidding on keywords that include the name of your community – hardware stores anytown usa – you’ll get those critical keywords for less than if you were trying to reach a global market with your online advertising campaign.

Web-Based Telephone Books

Type in ‘telephone books’ into Google’s search box and you’ll see just how many of these resources are available to the local merchant. Some of the most popular of these guides include: yellowpages.com, yellowbook.com, whitepages.com, superpages.com and, on this day, approximately 64,700,000 more online phonebooks categorized by location, activity or products.

It will cost money to take a listing in some of these telephone directories. You can add images and business information, just like the yellow pages in your regular telephone book if you have the cash, but it’s not essential. However, it is essential for the local business to get listed in the local, online telephone directory. More and more people are turning to the web to access local businesses and you want your business to be accessed – a lot.

Where You Want to be Listed

We mentioned a few on-line telephone books previously. In addition to those mentioned above, make sure your business and address are listed in all of the following: MSN Yellow Pages, Switchboard, Yahoo! Get Local, AOL Yellow Pages, Insider Pages, Yelp.com, CitySearch, DogPile, Windows Live, MetaCrawler, AltaVista and Google Local.

Language and Regionalisms

If your business is located in the U.S., obviously you want your site text to be in English – American English. UK English employs different spellings (humour vs. humor, e.g.) and uses different words to describe different things (gasoline versus petrol), and if you don’t know what ‘bubble ‘n’ squeak’ is, you don’t know UK-ese.

The same rules apply within different regions of the U.S. In some places, those large sandwiches are called subs, submarine sandwiches, torpedoes, hoagies, po' boys, grinders and other dialectic variations.

If you order a milk shake in Virginia you get milk, ice cream and flavoring all mixed together. If you order a milk shake in Maine, you just get the milk and the flavoring. If you want the ice cream, you’d better order a frappe in Bangor.

As a small business owner, you know the local dialect. Use it on your site, within your meta data, PPC ads and other advertising outlets.

Images

A picture is worth a thousand words. Include pictures of your store’s or business’ exterior. Many people will recognize it because they drive by it everyday. That’s a good endorsement right there.

But also include images of local landmarks – the statue on the town green, the local swimming hole or a long shot of Main Street. These pictures tell people your local and that you know the area – a big plus.

Mapping

With global positioning systems (GPS) becoming more and more popular, whether the GPS is in an Audi or on a computer screen, a map showing how to get to your business is always helpful – especially for buyers from a few towns away.

Google Earth, the world view provided by satellites, lists street locations, telephone numbers and even a push pin icon to identify the location of your business. The easier it is to find you, the more sales you’ll make.

Submit your business information to Google – including street address – and have a push pin added to show where your shop is.

Think It’s Too Much Trouble?

Your local competition doesn’t and you don’t want to be the last one listed. Yes, it takes some time to hook up with all of these directories and PPC programs but your competitors have already taken the plunge (check it and see) and, the fact is, you’re missing out on one of the best marketing opportunities available to the small business person operating at the local level.

Find a reliable, low-cost web host (less than $100 a year), design your site yourself (it’s really easy), launch your site and start getting hooked into to the local online grid. And keep at it. There are more and more local directories coming on line all of the time so list and list often.

You’ll be amazed at what the W3 can do for your small business in your small community.

And you’re going to love that growing bottom line.

Need some tips on going local. NP. Call me. We'll talk.

Webwordslinger.com

PODCAST YOUR WAY TO WEB SUCCESS

(Pod)Cast a Wider Net:

Go Proactive With Your Own Podcasts

The W3 marketplace grows more competitive each day and that means site owners have to do everything they can to gain the attention of prospective consumers of their goods, services or message. They have to go proactive. Sure, blogs are great. They create site stickiness, providing information worth coming back for. They’re also an easy way to update site content. Even so, blogs are still a passive means of developing a site “community” – a group of dedicated visitors.

Podcasts, on the other hand, allow you to reach out – way out – to touch potential buyers and pull them in to your site. But a lot of site owners – even the long-experienced webmasters (anyone who’s been online for more than 18 months) – lack the basics on how to create and use podcasting to bring more visitors to their sites. So let’s start at the beginning.

What Is Podcasting?
It’s simpler than it sounds at first so don’t be scared off by the jargon. Just as anyone can create a good looking website using template-based software, anyone can create a podcast using podcasting software.

The word itself is a back formation of the wildly popular MP3 player, the iPod, though an iPod isn’t required by users to hear your podcast. Any MP3 player will do and there are those who believe that other MP3s are more capable of delivering quality sound than Apple’s ubiquitous iPod.

In simple terms, a podcast is nothing more than a digital audio file, in the MP3 format, that can be downloaded through an RSS 2.0 feed. RSS stands for really simple syndication, or remote site syndication, depending on who you talk to. In either case, the origin of any podcast (digital audio file) can be found in the enclosure tag of a file created using XML (extensible markup language). The XML enclosure tag protocol was created in ’04 so that podcasting could take place.

The RSS feed for a podcast is updated whenever you (the site owner) publish or broadcast the MP3 digital audio file. An RSS aggregator (OSS, free), used to collect feeds from other sites, is used to access your RSS feed. The aggregator – a piece of software – handles some content management duties, too, by automatically downloading digital audio of interest to site visitors, which is then synced up for compatibility with a digital audio player, in this case an MP3.

Using an RSS aggregator simplifies podcasting, eliminating many of the hassles associated with streaming audio and audio-blogging. In fact, with an RSS aggregator and some really basic tools, you can podcast your way to fame and fortune. (Well fame, anyway. Some podcasters have large followings among the technirati.) If you’ve ever wished you had your own radio show, podcasting will satisfy that urge.

The XML enclosure tag will handle all manner of digital files but not all RSS aggregators are equipped to recognize or download every digital file format. However, there are numerous open source software aggregators available for you to test drive this expanding technology.

The only other items you need to create your own “radio” show are a computer (you’re sitting at one now), a decent microphone (under $25 for a really good one) and access to the world wide web via a good web hosting company. It’s also helpful to have audio editing software such as Macromedia’s SoundForge, but you can use the editor that comes as part of your factory-installed Windows package, Windows Media. It’s pretty basic but it’ll do the job just fine – at least for now.

If you’re getting sleepy from all of this techno-babble, don’t worry. Once you get into it you’ll see just how easy it is to create and broadcast your own “radio” show everyday. That’s proactive marketing on the cutting edge of digital technology. And it delivers proven results.

Creating Your First Podcast
One good way to start is by downloading a piece of software called Audacity. It’s open source, cross platform and available with various bells and whistles, most of which you won’t use but they’re nice to have as you become more comfortable with the creation of podcasts. Audacity is simply a better digital sound editor (better than Microsoft Media) that equips you to quickly edit out the “Ums”, “ahs” and other less than scintillating podcast content.

Audacity provides a visual representation of the sounds you record with a simple microphone. You see the sound waves on your monitor. By highlighting certain sections of this wave graphic you can delete and/or move content to create a cohesive program that MP3 owners will want to hear. This software can also save audio in several formats though you may need conversion software to create a podcast in a format compatible with MP3 technology. (More on that in a minute.)

Next, decide on the content of your first podcast. It can be anything from your opinions on politics to your own songs to a discussion group. Anything you hear on a radio can be developed as a podcast so let your imagination expand your creative limits.

To create the content, open your audio editing software. Click on , then . A blank “timeline” will appear on your monitor. This is your blank canvas waiting to be filled with your thoughts and favorite tunes, if that’s the way you want to go.

Test sound input levels before you start recording. You’ll read sound levels as an automated bar graph. For best results, you want the sound level to peak in the “red zone” but only peak. Most of your recording should come in just under the red peak indicator. This will provide the strongest audio signal without creating distortion, sure to turn off any podcast listener.

Once volume settings are in place, simply click on the Record button and start talking or playing some of your favorite oldies. You can also advertise your site in between cuts, rants or screeds. That’s one of the good parts – free advertising.

Getting Out the Word
Once you’ve created your first podcast audio file, it should be edited to eliminate mistakes and technical glitches. Again, highlight the section you want to delete and press the delete button. How easy is that?

Okay, so now you have an edited (and perhaps mixed) audio file of your first podcast. Depending on the audio editing software used, the file will probably be saved as a .wav file though other formats are available.

Next, upload the edited file in a format compatible with MP3 players. To do this, you may have to download another piece of OSS called LAME available at http://lame.sourceforge.net. LAME converts a .wav file or other formatted audio files to a format compatible with MP3 players.

Once properly formatted, you’re almost there. All you have to do is upload that digital audio file to your website and you’re ready to podcast.

If you’re just doing a test run, contact some friends with MP3 players equipped with podcatcher software. Podcatcher software is also OSS and is required to capture podcasts from your favorite pod jockeys.

So, for your first test run, call a couple of friends with podcatcher software and ask for a critique – constructive criticism. Change accordingly.

Going World Wide
Your audio file, properly formatted, is now available to any visitor to your site with a simple click. Technically, your program can be picked up on remote MP3 players equipped with podcatcher software, or it can be broadcast directly through a site visitor’s computer speakers.

If you really want to (pod)cast a wide net, you can upload your podcast as an enclosure to virtually any open blogging site. One popular site among podcast aficionados is blogger.com. If you want even more, worldwide exposure, checkout podcasting.com, which will distribute (broadcast) your program to any interested listeners.

You can also register with the gigantic iTunes – Apple’s music download site at itunes.com. iTunes maintains a huge (really huge) podcast directory. Depending on the topics or music you broadcast, you’re sure to pick up some new listeners here due to the curiosity factor alone.

Finally, if you plan to podcast a daily or weekly program to start building your fan base, you’ll need to create an RSS feed off of your site. This RSS feed will allow other webmasters to aggregate (collect) your feed along with other RSS feeds for delivery to their site visitors.

Why Podcast?
In a word – recognition. It’s harder and harder to get noticed on the W3. Each day 6,000 new web sites are launched, creating the fastest-growing, most competitive marketplace in the world.

Regular podcasting (it really doesn’t take long once you’ve created one or two) expands your presence on the web. Your content – your opinions, your music, your poetry – whatever you want to distribute – will be available on sites far removed from your own when other webmasters add your RSS feed for the convenience of their site visitors.

It also provides site owners with another means of reaching their target markets You can reach them when they’re not at their computers. (Cool) You can reach them in Zimbabwe (Hot). You can reach anyone who owns an MP3 player with podcatcher software, regardless of where they are or what they’re doing. (Neat)

Today’s tech-savvy MP3 owners will continue to fuel the creation of podcast content because content can be segmented to appeal to a very narrow market – a very narrow range of listeners. Your listeners.

It’s really low-cost for both podcaster and listener. The only caveat is to make sure you sign up with a web host that can handle podcasts by providing their clients with sufficient bandwidth to handle heavy digital .wav files, which use much more bandwidth than simple .doc or .txt files. You will need sufficient bandwidth to make your podcasts available directly to your growing audience or to other site owners who pick up your RSS feed through their own aggregators for distribution to locations unknown.

It’s not difficult to do, it’s low cost and high tech, and it’s a great way to let web users know you’re out there. It expands your site’s presence on the world wide web, bringing in visitors from sites that might be six or seven generations removed from your own site.

Think of podcasting as free advertising. And whether your podcasts reach MP3 owners directly through your site, through other site’s blogs or through an RSS feed accessed from a remote site, you will drive more traffic to your site – especially if your podcasts are interesting, informative and helpful.

So give it a try. You probably already have everything you need, and if not, you can download OSS audio editing and podcasting software free. So, cast a wider net and increase your site’s on-line exposure.

Podcast your way to success and have fun doing it.

Call me and let's get you on the air on-line. It's easy.

Later,

Webwordslinger.com

WRITERS: WHAT'S ON MY BOOKSHELF?

Web Writers:

What’s On My
Bookshelf?

Yeah, sure you can find anything on the web but sometimes
grabbing a tool from the bookshelf is faster and comes with a little authority.
It’s a reference book, for crissake.

So, what’s on my bookshelf besides an old cup of coffee that

looks like a science experiment? Here are the tools to keep close at hand.

A Dictionary. Duh.

But a dictionary is more valuable than you think. Yes, it

gives proper spellings but it also provides a definition, part of speech and,
in better resources, connotations – of special interest to ESL authors. Often,
ESL writers select the correct word but don’t recognize the connotations
associated with the word. A dictionary – and a good one – is a must-have tool
for any serious web writer.

Never, ever, ever rely on spell checker alone. This is one

tool you’ll use over and over.

A Manual of Style

These resources provide uniformity in writing. The most
widely-used is The Chicago Manual of Style. Having more than
one style manual provides options
and assurances that the sentence structure or word usage is correct.

Two manuals that I also rely on are The New York Times Style Manual and Strunk and (E.B.)White’s The Elements of Style.

This last resource provides more generalized information on construction of
content architecture and is an absolute must-read for any newb.

A Thesaurus

The thesaurus included with MS Word is okay and quick but
the difference between the right word and the exact right word is the
difference between “a lightning bolt and a match,” according to Mark Twain. He ought to know, yes?

Roget’s Thesaurus: the industry standard.

Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations

This is just a time-saver, especially when you know the
quote, you just want it to be exact in your text. Also a good tool for finding
appropriate quotes by subject, i.e. taxes, children, etc.

I keep a couple of editions of this tool. The quotes change
often so, if you find an old edition at a used book store, consider it “the
find” du jour.

A Desktop Encyclopedia

The fast way to fact check. Napoleon’s birthday? Right
there. Planets in the solar system? Hey, there’s even a diagram! Easy research and actually much faster than sifting through 150,000 search results on Google to verify one simple fact.

Topical Encyclopedias

I do a lot of science writing so I have several science
encyclopedias on the book shelf. I also have an encyclopedia of history since
historical references seem to be a part of my writing more than I realize.

If you specialize in a particular content area, pick up a

couple of specialized encyclopedias or other desk references for fast-fact
research.

An Almanac

Again, fast facts at your fingertips. Don’t assume that web
research is the most efficient in every case. Many times, it isn’t and when
you’re on deadline or working by the hour, minutes add up into hours and the
next thing you know, you’re pulling an all-nighter.

Grab a few tools the next time you’re at the book
store. Consider them an investment and, in some cases, a tax deduction! (Check
with your accountant, first, and don’t blame me if you get audited by the IRS.)

New to web writing? Drop me a line. There's lots of ways to earn money generating content for that giant maw called the world wide web.

Later, authors,

Webwordslinger.com

BRANDING YOURSELF: MAKE YOURSELF A MASTERMIND

Branding:

What It Is and

How To Do It

Coca Cola is a recognized brand. Around the world, and perhaps beyond, people recognize the red can, the stylized Coca Cola type face and even the layout of text on each can (note the ingredients are in tiny type, but that’s another story). Coke is, perhaps, the best example of a branded product.

However, Coke’s branding has taken years to develop and refine. And when the company tried to change the brand to “New Coke,” the whole soda-guzzling-cola-drinking world went into a tailspin. Why? People are more confident with well-known brands.

Branding is a typical, even routine, marketing strategy. Its primary function is to generate an acquired, programmed, hard-wired response from the viewer. It’s not (necessarily) to make an immediate sale. Think of the Goodyear blimp. No Goodyear marketing nerd expects people to run out during the middle of the Super Bowl to pick up four snows for the upcoming winter. The point of branding is name recognition based on numerous impressions (how many times the viewer has seen the item or name in all forms of advertising media) and on-going reinforcement of the “goodness” or “betterness” of the brand.

People As Brands

What do you think of when you hear Donald Trump’s name? Trump is a brand and anything with the Trump name on it has the cachet of upscale living, even if Trump himself is a rude, obnoxious oaf. It just plain doesn’t matter when you’re a brand name like Mr. Trump.

Martha Stewart is a master at branding – herself. She’s not only branded herself as the kitchen diva (though Rachael Ray is giving Martha a run for her money), she’s expanded branding to all sorts of products sold at K-Mart and other retail outlets. Goodness, she even has her own magazine.

Other “branded” names? Bill Clinton ($100,000 per speaking engagement), Bill Cosby, James Dean, Marlon Brando, Jimi Hendrix, John Madden, Barbara Walters – you get the idea. Each of these men and women generate an almost visceral reaction. Viewers react to these “name brands” almost at a subconscious level. That’s one important reason Tiger Woods gets paid beaucoup bucks to put his name on anything from a Buick to Nike caps. Tiger’s brand name adds recognition to an already branded product, reinforcing the brand name.

So, whether you’re Dan Kennedy (salesperson extraordinaire), Skip McGrath (eBay guru) or Tony Robbins (“success” coach), once you’ve created a recognizable brand, marketing becomes so much easier. It’s almost like shorthand.

Branding and the Small Site Owner

You don’t need a lot of money to brand yourself but it does take some time, unless you write a bestseller and end up on Oprah. Then, you’re instantly branded because Oprah is branded. But there are lots of things the individual business coach, the personal growth coach, the interior decorator, consultant and other knowledge providers can do to create brand recognition just like Martha Stewart.

Find Your Niche Brand

If you think you’re going to create a brand based on yet another get-rich-quick scheme, forget it. Carleton Sheets® (yes, his name is a registered trademark) was one of the first real estate flippers to make money in the get-rich-quick field with his infomercials crammed with numerous testimonials from happy, wealthier clients. (“I made $72,000 on my first sale.”)

Get rich quick schemes don’t work unless you can hook a real sucker. (You won’t.) Try personal health, improved work performance, money management and other popular topics that have a bit more room to create a brand – your brand.

Publish Something

Ideally, a book. Books and their authors impress people, even if the book is just plain awful. If you can’t write a lick, hire a ghostwriter to do the work for you.

You can also start branding yourself by submitting articles to different web sites associated with your expertise. Site owners want green copy so give it to them and start building a brand name for yourself.

Register Your Name As a Domain

www.johnqpublic.com makes a statement in and of itself. And make sure to include your URL on all hard copy – stationery, business cards, annual calendar and so on.

Sponsor a Webinbar

If you’ve had some good luck buying and selling foreign currency (FOREX trading), people will pay to hear what your secrets for success are. Webinars are easy to create. All you really need is a mini-cam and a decent microphone. It would also help if you had your speaking points written out, or better yet, on cue cards.

If you schedule enough webinars – weekly, let’s say – slowly but surely your audience will grow (assuming the information is useful), and over time you and your ever-so-happy client-base become branded entities.

“Toot Your Own Horn. No one else will.” ~ The Donald

Notify local media of your website launch and upcoming speaking events. And don’t be shy. You’re not some schlub who rented the dining room at the local Motel 6 to speak to five people for three hours. You’re a brand name so act the part.

Toot your own horn. Tell prospective attendees about your extensive background in the area you’ll be speaking. List credentials, degrees, certifications and other “credibility- building” factors.

And be sure to repeatedly point out the personal benefits of attending one of your seminars, buying your ghostwritten book or listening to one of your CDs. A big part of branding is staking a claim to new idea. For example, 7-Up is the uncola. The antithesis of cola – a whole new approach to building (or in the case of 7-Up, rebuilding)

a brand.

Give Them Something For Nothing

People love free stuff, so whether you’re working the seminar or webinar circuit, or you’re simply using your website as an online billboard, give attendees or site visitors a freebie: 10 Great Ways to Get a Great Job (2 pages), Lose Five Pounds In Less Than Two Weeks (4 pages), the 10 Best Mutual Funds (6 pages) – you figure it out based on the area of expertise you’re branding.

Public Speaking

If the thought of public speaking doesn’t worry you, sign up with a speakers’ bureau. These businesses match authorities in a field with speaking gigs. So, if there’s a nutritionists’ convention coming to town in a couple of months, try to work your way up to the dais as an honored speaker. That really builds creds.

Keep Pounding That Brand

There’s an old rule of thumb in traditional, Madison Avenue advertising: A product must make six impressions on a buyer before the buyer even notices the product. That’s a lot of impressions to get a little notice but, with your own web site, a weekly newsletter, a daily work tip in visitors’ in-boxes – all of these will get the notice and make the impression required to create you, or your clients, as name brands, or better yet, household names.

If it works for Paris Hilton, you know it’ll work for you.

Branding is an important aspect of web writing. Click or call me and I'll loan you some tips on branding yourself.

Later,

Webwordslinger.com