COPYWHIZ » SEO copywriting

5 Be’s to Build Your Business in 2012

admin — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 20:02:21 +0000

Some folks say, “what will be, will be.” But to be successful, you’ve got to take a more proactive approach. Here are five Be’s for making 2012 your best year ever!

Be Known – your website’s About page is a great opportunity to tell who you are and the passion behind what you do. Customers and prospects want to know about the people in your company. Adding bios and photos makes a personal connection and builds trust.

Be Found – website optimization is the gift that keeps on giving. When you have SEO working on your behalf, you attract traffic to your site and become a contender for purchases you would otherwise miss.

Be Recognized – providing helpful information on a company blog positions you as an expert in your field and gives visitors a reason to come back to your website. A recent study shows companies that blog attract 55% more website visitors than non-blogging companies.

Be Clear – for the new year, out with the insider-speak and in with customer-friendly language. Keep your message concise, easy to read and focused on benefits for the buyer.

Be Remembered – people remember stories. You can tell your persuasive stories using case studies. In them, your company is the hero, solving customers’ problems and saving the day.

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Shoot me an email (lanny at copywhiz dot com) and I’ll be happy to send you my how-to guide for generating leads with success stories. Or request it at

How do you plan to make 2012 your best year ever? Share some tips here.

5 tips for taking your website from blah to blossoming

admin — Thu, 28 Apr 2011 18:26:02 +0000

Is your website littering the landscape with self-serving content, confusing navigation, a call to action that’s missing in action?

Well, what better time to clean up your ‘Net presence than spring? After all, like all growing things your website just needs a little TLC to produce amazing results.

Here are 5 easy ways to nurture your most valuable green marketing tool.

Give your website a little TLC and it will reward you with amazing results.

1. Clear navigation – visitors expect to find your nav bar across the top of every page. Don’t disappoint. Create a clear path through your site by labeling the navigation tabs with standard terms such as About, Services, Contact. This is not the place to be cute.

2. Juicy text -let’s face it, web searchers are looking for information, so make sure your site provides it. Rather than going on about what you do, give them conversational, jargon-free copy that addresses their concerns. Then, format your text for the way people read online using short paragraphs, subheads and bulleted or numbered lists. Make your message compelling and visitors will spend more time (and money) on your site.

3. Call to action – Sign up for our newsletter. Call for an appointment. Order now. Whether it’s a link to a download or asking for the sale, a direct call to action gets results. While this may seem obvious, it’s amazing how many businesses overlook this important step. Help your visitors (and your company) by being clear about how to take the next step.

4. Update often – make it a living, changing, growing site by posting new content frequently. Add new products, articles or blog posts and Google will reward you with higher rankings. And, you’ll be giving customers a reason to visit more often.

5. Add video – build trust and show your brand personality with a short, punchy video clip on your website. Not only are videos engaging, they also enhance your SEO. According to SearchEngineWatch.com, Google and the like are programmed to display a mix of content types in search results. For this reason, they give more weight to video than to other forms of Web content.

What have you done lately to take your website from blah to blossoming? We’d love to hear your tips.

A copywriter’s wish – may your new year be jargon-free

admin — Wed, 29 Dec 2010 23:48:19 +0000

At the end of the day, on Christmas Eve, I hope Santa brought your deliverables on time and on budget. As the global leader in innovative solutions, he strives to exceed expectations and always thinks outside the gift box. After all, that’s his core competency. And for you, as one of his key stakeholders, it’s a win-win!

Uhhhh….what I really mean is: Have a happy holiday and a jargon-free new year!

Resolve to bid farewell to overblown language.
The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out, “as corporate complexity collides with fanciful phrasing…it’s getting harder to tell what some companies actually do.”

Unfortunately, we’re surrounded by examples of this kind of writing. Here are a few I love:

Your Full Service Food Service Service Company (this wordy slogan gets the repetition award!)

A company called Universal Business Solutions says they “Deliver new business process management solutions to automate core processes.” (Can somebody please translate that for me?)

Another boasts: “We take a structured approach to our implementation engagements.” (And they do it in their brochure, no less).

You wouldn’t use this kind of language in a conversation, so why expect your copywriter to use it in your marketing materials?

Customers and prospects want to know that a living, breathing human is behind what they’re reading. So say what you really mean in an engaging, fun style and you’ll connect, establish trust and build relationships.

What are some examples of bla-bla copy that you’ve found?

Please share them with me so I can add them to my collection.

Google rankings – what page are you on?

admin — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 23:06:50 +0000

Does your website show up on page 1 of Google? Page 2 or 3? If not, it’s a safe bet that you’re making one or more of 5 common mistakes that prevent you from getting the results you want. Here’s an article that details these costly blunders — everything from lack of effective keywords, to design, content and usability issues — and tells you how to fix them.

banamkung.com/wordpress

Dropbox – a cool tool for sharing files on multiple computers

admin — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 19:10:21 +0000

Let’s say you have a computer in the office, a laptop at home and a netbook for meetings and travel. Having access to the files you need when you need them can get dicey. You either have to remember to email them to yourself or put them on your flash drive and hope you don’t lose it (I’ve been there…).

Here’s a great solution – Dropbox is a free download that allows you to store, share and sync your files on all of your computers. And, you can share them with co-workers and clients so they can add their comments without having to use the distracting markup in Word.

There’s even an app for the iPhone which lets you download files, sync photos and videos to your Dropbox as well as share links to your files.

Download your copy here and let me know how you like it!

SEO copywriting tips for catalog marketers

admin — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 23:25:49 +0000

In a recent article, SEO expert Heather Lloyd Martin takes catalog marketers to task for what she calls “10 stupid things” they do to mess up their websites. Here are a few of her comments about SEO copywriting:

1. Uploading your catalog content without rewriting it for the online market

If the task seems daunting, she suggests rewriting your top 20% pages first, incorporating key phrases customers search for. You should see an increase in search rankings and conversions.

2. Putting every applicable keyphrase on your home page

The goal isn’t to get visitors to land on your home page. You want them to land on a page that closely matches their search query.

3. Using the same page titles on all site pages

One of the fastest ways to improve your search engine rankings is to create unique keyword-rich titles for every page.

4. Not researching keyword phrases

You’re not a mind reader. You may *think* you know how customers are searching but keyphrase research will either confirm your hunches or give you new ideas.

And here’s the kicker:

Hiring cheap writers who write poorly

Martin cites the example of an ecommerce site owner who went offshore for his SEO copywriting and wasted $2500 on bad writing. Remember, you get what you pay for. Hire a professional writer and reap the benefits of a better ROI.

Read the rest on Heather Lloyd Martin’s blog