Copy writing (without) Panda in Mind

Okay so, there are over 19 million search volume on this topic phrase  and just the same most copy found floating around the web have only  a few centimeters depth in their copy. It is sad there are those who  find Panda rules restrictive when the guidelines are really what copy  writing is all about.

Copy writing by Wikipedia definition is :

“the use of words and ideas to promote a person,business, opinion or idea.”

Let us apply this to the world wide web: content that promotes  products, services, niche and website is copy writing. To make this easier and less painful, content is the best term that will be applied through out this article. There are just some ‘writers’ who think that copy writing really means copying another content or rewriting one. This kind of thinking actually paved the way for Google Panda, it is a cause and effect scenario here.

For experienced writers who are new to writing for the web or green ones who think it is easy as cake, I assure you it is not. Getting writing assignments from clients for something that you know nothing about are bound to make your eyes glaze over.

1. Learn to Research and dig 6×6 deep to get to the heart of the matter.

Pre-Panda content writers have experienced a writing job that required you to refer to a site, not as an inspiration, but as a very close cousin. Always ask this question: How sure are you that the site also copied another site and left out some details that are important?
Get busy and know your topic like the back of your hand with a deeper understanding. Writer’s are innately imaginative don’t be scared to feel and absorb information, it is the only way to write effectively.

2. Experience is the best teacher.

We are unique from the next person and there are experiences we have gone through that we can relate to the topic when called for. This makes the post authentic because you have a part of your life in the story.

A writer had to write about pet training and behavior several times, she grew up in a house that had both cats and dogs. Drawing from the memories this experience provided her,  original anecdotes about past pets came naturally. Eventually she got a dog for her birthday and tried the training she researched about and it helped her write personalized pieces that were sincere and with depth.

2. Supplement the material that is online with:

academic resources
These are written by scholars and people who have the expertise. These are properly annotated and referenced, there is no questioning the authenticity. These are mostly research papers distributed all over the academe and scrutinized by their peers. Fail safe, in depth and raw material just waiting for a reader-friendly version (this is where you come in with you 2 cents worth).

reputable sites
Sometimes, when academic papers aren’t available for the niche or topic, you have to turn to reputable sites to draw inspiration from and not copy from okay. Reading articles from reputable sites to get its and pieces to expound on or refer to as a source or something you can build your article on (as a review, reaction to or opinion).

actual books on the topic
I will never believe that a writer is not a book reader if not a voracious one. Actual books are proof-read and written by someone who has enough knowledge to fill up a 300 page book. We are talking about real-world books and not virtual e books. Some e-books are just several pages of 28 pt fonts and a load of images and graphs which are condensed already.

3. Originality…look in on everything at a different and useful angle.

With the use of the sources mentioned in #2, you can pick out a fragment of the topic and weave a relevant and useful post/ article about it. One of the best examples of getting an angle on something is the story below; this happened to a reporter friend of mine.

He was local news reporter who did not have any of the controversial story and it was getting close to the deadline. Seeing graffiti on the wall he did a short piece on values and the effect it had on the city. It was a quaint story but a relevant one that dealt with the rising cases of vandalism by gangs in the city. My friend got his story and his editor had a the best feature story for the week. The other stations caught on the topic and did their own take on the topic- as trend followers set by my reporter friend.

4. Brush up on the terms or jargon of a topic.
Rewrite an article or post with no reference and you will surely reword an important part of the topic that an expert will call your attention on that. There is nothing more questionable than an author who does not know the terms used on the topic.

Let’s say you would be writing about baking, which may not be your cup of tea. Interchanging mince to chop because this was an alternate word the thesaurus supplied. A small detail for some but it could spoil the recipe.

There is another issue about using alternate meanings in writing software, the program replacing the words to make a different article altogether. One Virtual Assistant was told to use an article spinner for an article about game fowl. The spinner would substitute fowl for any domesticated bird with feathers, like the rooster. There is another incident when an article that mentioned the country Turkey once and in the succeeding spins the country became a chicken or fowl.
People who use writing software are not writers, they are posers who let an unthinking set of codes to rewrite an article a hundred times over.

5. Switch writing tones when needed.
Writing tones are how you ‘dress up’ your article or post. Analyze the topic and the need of the reader.

Would you write in an academic way if you were writing about a cowboy party theme?

Would anyone feel comfortable reading a humorous account of a tragedy?

Wrong tones on an article spoil the mood for user interaction, positive feedback, credibility and relevance. Aligning the reader’s mood to the topic is essential to online interaction, this is a fine line that defines success.

6. Give more fuel to the gallon.
A shallow article is one that sounds clinical and just skims on the surface of a topic. You get 500 to 1000 words of NOTHING- will make your website hurt in SERPs today.

Imagine an article titled Life as an Exchange Student to Australia, 500 words of benefits of studying in the land Down Under. Wouldn’t this be more useful if important information on requirements, traveling restrictions, clothing, conditions of stay and cultural influences that may be encountered were included?

Useful and relevant information, no matter how far between your posts are, makes your site’s current and a good friend of search engines.

In the hope of helping out people affected by the new algorithm and copy writers, Panda is just enforcing a set standard. A poor SERPs result or a high bounce rate is all about the copy you write and the information you spread- Panda just reminds you to play fair.

Importance Of An Updated Website For A Business

The demand to start an online website for any business has been the growing since the start of the 21st century. When browsing the web you could go dizzy seeing how many websites are turned up when a Google search is made, every product you could think of now has a website that presents their products and all you need fro about them.

Considering the growing numbers, only a handful of online entrepreneurs see the value of an updated website. For most, as long as the orders are coming (mostly from old customers) the need to update is never considered. To be able to appreciate website updating, it would be best to know the reasons why a website needs one:

Increase customer base
Every business loves making a sale always, with the use of an online business site you get to increase the number of customers. The beauty of the Internet is in the continuous exposure each website has to the entire world 24/7. Even as you sleep, your website will attract visitors and users who are looking for something in your website. An updated website helps your business go global.

Build credibility
Everyone is capable of sizing up someone when they get to see face to face, how could anyone do this online? This concept is a bit difficult, since the users would have to contend with just a picture of you in the About Us page. But consider your business website as an extension of the owner. An updated website gets referral visitors from other sites and search engine because the website properly represents the product and services.

Online presence
When it comes to referred and search engine driven traffic, a website has to be current in its content. Once a website posts useful and informative content in their website and blog, search engines are bound to remember. Besides a popular store is always well-visited and always precedes it’s reputation.

Easy integration of applications and plug-ins
Though you may not need new applications or plug-ins, it is always best to be prepared when the time comes. If a website runs on a WordPress or Magento templates, the updated versions should be installed for purposes of keeping up with the improvement of the template.

All of the reasons mentioned above all translate to more online visits, increased sales and more opportunities. To be able to know when your website needs an update depends on the sites performance when it comes to user frequency and page bounce rates. With the help of an online website analytics script, you will be able to see what pages are driving traffic to your site and which pages are being left as soon as users get there. Once the figures are in, then you could see the difference by a mile.

Creating A Landingpage That Wont Tank 2

In planning the landing page, one factor that is always considered to be the basis of creating one. Online marketing includes Value Proposition which not only partains to your company tagline but your landing page and webpage as a whole. The company landing page functions as the promoting arm of your website and as the sales “representative” that opens the door of possibility for business with the company. It’s objective on the other hand is 3-fold: to exract leads, to funnel visitors and to generate sales.

The first part of this series dealt with the elements of the landing page which we follow up with the benefit of value proposition aspect of your webpage. Every company website has a measure of assurance for visitors since this is the online way to establish trust. Once a page states your services and the pledge of competence or effective service, visitors will become customers.

The basis of your website design, interface and navigation are the following:

Your potential customer
Give a face to the market you would want to corner.
ex. working mothers, gym-going moms, soccer moms, hot moms etc.

Demography
Company customer demography differ depending on what a company is.

Whichever your business may be, there are basic questions to consider for both, it runs like one of them beauty pageant questions. These do come to mind when customers consider your service or gettign a product from you.

Knowing who and what your market is, makes up your value proposition statement. The landing page is part of the statement that answers the questions above. The statement is concise and easily points out why they are at your site and why your product and services are the solution.

Google And Their ‘New’ AdWords Program

Last week our company received an email from Google about the AdWords Professional exam. The email stated that Google was ‘retiring’ the GAP exams and has launched the AdWords certification program. Reading through the links within the email and some research made gave little information why they thought of stylizing the AdWords exams. The new certification program promises to provide “agencies with comprehensive, strategy-focused training and certification on the latest tools and best practices for managing AdWords accounts”. As a past GAP examinee, wasn’t this what the GAP was all about? In the email sent to us, Google further mentioned improving what was once the GAP now renamed AdWords Certification Program. No problem there, replacing the old with a new one which is an improvement of the old one- not totally new in my book.  What I appreciate with the email though was Google’s realization of the following:

Online materials are not up-to-date
The online training materials and tutorials didn’t keep up with the GAP interface changes and the introduction of new tools. We had a colleague who was studying for the GAP and handled a campaign using the Beta interface but was studying the old tutorials. He had a difficult and placed way lower than the first examinees who averaged 87%. There were several tutorials that didn’t have any tests for examinees to try to further understand the concept.

Curriculum interrupted strategy the company wanted to go with
Instead of managing the company AdWords account for the company, examinees were managing the account to be able to test the tools and suggestions from Google. It was unlikely for low budget companies to be able to keep up with the ones with cash to allocate and spend on online ads.

Member eligibility and program benefits benefited companies more than the exam takers/passers
The difference of taking a test for the company and for individual wasn’t much. You got the badge that linked to the professional page. What IF an examinee took the exam to get hired for their expertise? There was no proof of their being eligible except the former employers’ GAP Badge.

Exam Segments
With the new and improved formula AdWords Certification Programme, Google has pledged to provide curricula that enhances strategy and tactical know-how. The Certification process is not an all-in-one exam, each examinee starts off with the Fundamentals Exam which tests the basic knowledge about the AdWords program. After which, according to readiness and competency, the examinee can study and prepare for the next level of exams: Search Advertising Advanced Exam, Display Advertising Advanced Exam and the Reporting  & Analysis Advanced Exam. The good thing about this new and improved certification is that the learning and preference testing comes in stages. A company that leans more to Search Ads rather than Display could opt to not take the exam they do not find useful. As a new rule of thumb though, the individual qualification calls for the Fundamental Exam and one advanced exam. Individuals are now given a free pass for minimum spend requirement while company spend requirements shot down 10 times from the original l figure. Companies are now given a minimum spending requirement of $10,000 from a whopping $100,000.

Despite the confusing retirement of the GAP which is now the new (and improved) AdWords Certification Programme, the opportunity for individual examinees and company certification examinees to better use Google AdWords and tools to their advantage.

Creating A Landing Page That Wont Tank part 1

Building your website is a an ongoing process, one of the elements of your website should be the landing page. The landing page is a more compact version of your website less navigation tabs. Each landing page is said to be a doorway for visitors and prospective clients towards your website. The landing page is the one page you would have to direct your links and ads to.

To get people interested in you would depend on how you design, present and fix the landing page. Like a nicely designed home, the door would have to match the design and what the home features are. Just like your website, there are elements to an effective landing page. Any landing page could be good to look at, but not all are effective enough to get conversions.

Research
The research you need to do is about the people you would want to reach, the people who would need your product or the ones who have loved ones and friends who need your product and the ones who are interested in what your product is.

Who Are Your Visitors

Never start at the drawing board. When website owners start at the design and landing page structure, they base it      on better judgment with no consideration or thought about the customer. A deeper understanding about your visitors and future customers is the keystone of every web page. There are a lot of speculations and suggested formulas on how to get to know your visitors and clients. Keep it simple, think of who needs your product and  put yourself in their place and situation. Routine questions about trust, assurance and intangible things aside, focus on what you wold want to see if you were a customer or site visitor. They’ve said it before, we’ll say it again :

Focus on them and not yourself. Picture the ideal client from their state and appearance and their circumstance.

What drives them
A good deal is what keep people hook, to get them to bite on the hook is knowing they need your product. This is easier said than done since there have been numerous articles about it but rarely are they making conversion through landing pages themselves.

How much are you promising them?
In terminology this would be called Value Proposal. This is the element where you would have to work out the value of your product and the add-on value you would  do for clients. Be committed as you write down that proposal, they are not just words but a trust that you solicit from someone over the Internet.

Design
Once you have a better understanding on who the landing page is being made for, you are now ready to incorporate design to the landing page’s visitor data. Some things to keep in mind when it comes to design, there are 3 things that are constant: Company logo, company name, and company colors. People are big on consistency and keeping the basic design of your website helps you maintain your identity. Use images that visitors can connect or identify themselves with. A product and user match should show positivism. Happy and images of contentment convey the outcome and promise of their purchase.

Content
Have useful information but keep what you have to say short and simple. The landing is limited by the space to combine all the elements of your landing page. Go for shorter copy and leave the rest of the space for another aspect of design.

Testing
Once the structure and template of your landing page is complete, you have to test its technical functions. You would have to go with this on a test site or do it live. Do the links work? Is the back button enabled? Are you linking to the pages that are helpful to your visitors? Is the shopping cart link functioning well? Auto-responder messages well written? Is there harmony? Did you leave out something important? Become your visitor and try going through the landing page and take it all in.

By the way, to be able to continue actual visitor profiling and trending, put in a tracking code which shows you the results of the landing page you have created. As you look into the trend of your visitor, you get to know what effectively keeps them coming back.

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