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5 Steps to Getting More Targeted Website Traffic with SEO Copywriting

Posted on 23. Apr, 2012 by Neil Patel in Blog, Copywriting, Featured, Keyword Research, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Sometimes search engine optimization gets a bad rap because so many people abuse it.

That’s too bad, because SEO copywriting is a great (and smart) way to drive traffic to your site or blog.

It will help you get more visitors through organic search, and when it’s done properly, it can even attract links, since your search-optimized content will be compelling, useful, and authoritative.

I’ve been working in this field for the last ten years — writing copy myself and helping clients tweak theirs — and I want to share with you the five tried-and-true SEO lessons I’ve learned that will drive more traffic to your site.

Of course, there are no tricks or cheats here. Just good common sense, strategically deployed.

Step 1: Create content landing pages that become link magnets

Content marketing strategy involves building a site that has authority in your niche … and you do that by writing valuable content related to the subject matter most important to you and your blog.

This content is called cornerstone content. For example, on my blog my posts on 9 Hard-Hitting Content Strategies for Small Business Blogging and How to Optimize Your Business for Local Search and Social Marketing make up some of the cornerstone content on QuickSprout.

It is what defines my blog … and it’s created around focused keywords like “blogging,” “content marketing,” “SEO,” and “search.”

To take this a step further, build a tutorial of cornerstone content and then create a landing page where you park all of the links and optimize it around a certain keyword.

This is what Brian Clark did with Copywriting, Content Marketing, and other content landing pages here on Copyblogger.

It’s also what Darren Rowse did with Blogging Resources and Your First Week of Blogging.

This is a powerful SEO strategy since you’re putting a lot of content on one search engine optimized page, to focus links on a single great page rather than spreading them across many individual pages.

Another advantage includes a much higher likelihood that people will like, tweet, and plus your content landing page.

More important than any other factor, this type of page works because it’s easy and useful for your audience.

On one page your visitors can scan a particular topic. They’re happy to share it, because it’s such a useful resource.

Step 2: Update your content to lower bounce rates and rank higher

As advances in SEO like semantic search continue, search engines are trying to more closely match what people search for and the most relevant resource to satisfy that search.

For example, during research for an article on mobile SEO, I came across scores of pages on the topic.

I thought I’d hit pay dirt.

But what I found as I analyzed all of the data, was that most of it was irrelevant. The landscape is so new and constantly changing — especially in the last year — that articles written even two years ago were obsolete.

These articles were heavily search optimized for “mobile SEO” — and ranking very well — giving the impression that they were highly relevant to what I was searching for.

But the user experience sucked, and I was frustrated. All of the truly relevant articles were buried.

What does this have to do with SEO copywriting? Everything.

The situation above resulted in low-conversion pages (low-conversion because they resulted in higher bounce rates from those search results). High bounce rates will eventually show the search engines that your site quality isn’t good — which is bad news for your rankings.

For the “good stuff” to rank well, the publisher would need to optimize the copy by way of creating updates, or creating new and better pages that the old pages could point to.

If updating old content sounds like a pain … well, it is.

But the rewards — higher rankings because you are adding value to the web — are absolutely worth it. If nothing else, make sure you’re keeping your content landing pages up to date and extremely relevant for your readers.

Step 3: Create highly readable pages for more social shares

One surprising result from optimizing your content for search engines and for people is that it is much easier to read.

A page that is written in a conversational style, with correct grammar, good spelling and a reading level at about fifth-grade will be read by more people — and attract more links — than content that looks as if a lawyer or doctor had written it.

Keep your language simple and your thinking clear. This isn’t about “dumbing down” your content — in fact, highly readable content is often harder to write.

You need to write so that even a fifth grader will understand it. When you do that, you will up the chances that people will understand — and share — it.

Step 4: Use the right keywords in the right place

Keywords are the tools that will unlock the doors to great traffic for you, both in organic search and attracting links.

There’s nothing magical about them — keywords are simply the language your audience and customers use when they’re thinking about your topic.

Unfortunately, too many people still think in old-fashioned terms of “keyword stuffing” and trying to cram as many keywords into an article as possible.

So how often should we be using those keywords? Here’s a graphic from SEOmoz that explains …

What the graph doesn’t tell you is how often your keywords should appear on the page relative to the entire article. That range should be between 1% and 4%. As you can see from the graph, any lower (or higher) and you’re less likely to get the results you want.

In other words, if you were aiming for 2%, you’d include your keyword phrase twice for every 100 words you write.

Most of my articles are over 1,200 words and I usually aim at a keyword density of 2%, which adds up to 24 times that keyword appears in my article.

A tool like Scribe can be very helpful in quickly determining if you’ve overused (or underused) your desired keywords.

But where you position those keywords matters, too. Stuffing all of your keywords into the first 200 words of your articles will definitely send up red flags, not only from search engines but from people as well.

In fact, that’s the kind of unreadable rubbish that gave SEO a bad name in the first place. It’s not good for readers and it doesn’t work for search engines either.

Instead, follow these rules of thumb:

• Add keywords in H1 tag: The first place to stick your keyword is in H1. By the way, do not include more than one H1 tag on a page.
• Use keywords in your title tag: As always with modern SEO copywriting, do this gracefully in a way that works for readers too.
• Add keywords to H2 and H3 tags: These tags are usually used as sub headlines throughout your content.
• Mention a keyword in the first paragraph: The next place to position your keyword is in the first paragraph of your article. It’s even better if you can mention it in the first sentence.
• Add keyword to images: If you use images in your content, which I highly recommend, then include your keywords, assuming they match the image you’re using. For example, if your keyword is “iPhone protective covers,” you might name one of your images iphone-protective-cover.jpg and use that phrase in the alt and title tags. Remember that these tags need to match what the image is actually of.
• Create anchor text with keywords: Since search engine spiders crawl from website to website and page to page via links, including keywords in your anchor text will help them correctly identify your content. Remember that using a keyword phrase in your title makes it more likely for that phrase to show up in anchor tags when others link to you.

Don’t be afraid to occasionally clump the keywords together when that feels most natural, but for the most part, evenly distribute them throughout the content.

And last but not least …

Step 5: Create compelling content

Attracting links — from real websites with good reputations — is the number one thing you’re going after when it comes to SEO.

This is why you have to create compelling content.

Search engines analyze the links coming into your site, and they look specifically at the pages those links are coming to.

Those links coming into your site become votes for the credibility and authority of your site. One link from CNN will be worth more than one hundred links coming into your site from no-name websites.

Search engines also look at the words people use to link to your site. These anchor texts are one way that search engines decide what a page is all about.

Keep in mind that people link to you because they get something out of it — because your content is useful or practical for their audience, or your content is controversial or funny.

The formula for creating compelling content is simple:

1. Use simple words
2. Use the word “you”
3. Write how-to posts
4. Write detailed posts
5. Hook your readers
6. Create a conversation
7. Prove your points
8. Show you are an authority
9. Care about your readers

These are points that I explain in more detail in my guide to blogging and how to write a blog post articles.

Of course, you can also take a look through the Copyblogger archives, since they’ve been writing about that topic for nearly six years now.

No matter what happens with the search engine algorithms, compelling content will continue to drive SEO for a long time.

An SEO copywriting cheat sheet

Let’s finish with a little cheat sheet:

• Write grammatically correct, compelling content that is at least 300 words long. Make it detailed and support your argument with statistics to add authority.
• Create content landing pages that centralize multiple links to great resources.
• Make the content highly readable, aiming for a 5th-grade reading level.
• Include an appropriate amount of keywords in your content — not too many, not too few — including keywords in your title tags, first paragraph, images if appropriate, and throughout the article.

You don’t need an advanced degree to write SEO copy well. You just need to understand a few basics.

As you practice over time it will become natural to you, driving more and more traffic your way.

What elements of SEO copywriting have you used to help drive more traffic to your site? Let us know in the comments.

About the Author: Neil Patel is the co-founder of KISSmetrics and an SEO consultant. He also blogs at Quick Sprout.

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How to Create Smarter Content Using Semantic Keyword Research

Posted on 15. Feb, 2012 by Neil Patel in Blog, Featured, Keyword Research, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

Ever hear two people arguing and then someone dismisses their differences like this: “Well, that’s just semantics”?

What the person means by that is the difference boils down to “just” a difference in the meaning of the words. In other words, the meaning of a word isn’t all that important.

Really?

For serious SEO professionals (and marketers), the specific shades of meaning of a word can make a world of difference. That’s why modern search engine optimization has gone beyond basic keyword research into synonym creation, semantic search optimization, and further into semantic themes.

It might sound a bit complicated, but it isn’t really. So let’s explore — what does semantic keyword research mean for your online marketing efforts?

Here’s a short guide to help you create content that attracts links, builds page authority, and ultimately rises in the search rankings by using semantic-themed keyword research.

Let’s start at the beginning

What does the word semantics mean?

The dictionary defines semantics as:

Semantics is about how somebody or something interprets a particular word.

From a search perspective, users have a very clear goal in mind when they search using a specific word.

Imagine someone searched using the word “lemon.” Do they mean the fruit? The tree? A car? The color?

We don’t know.

Hopefully, they’ll expand their search query to something like “How to avoid buying a lemon.” Even in that case, it’s not absolutely clear if they mean the fruit, tree or car. We’ve eliminated the color, but that’s it.

This is where semantic search comes in. Search engines have developed complex algorithms that allow them to understand that the best way to interpret this term is “how to avoid buying a lemon car” … in other words, a car that’s defective or of poor quality.

That’s something most 6th graders can understand, which is the highest level of intelligence for search engines, and you should understand it that way, too.

How to create “core” keywords

The work of effective semantic keyword research begins with defining your core term/s.

This is basic SEO stuff, but let’s not breeze over it — we want to build a solid foundation for the following two levels.

Using our example above, “how to avoid buying a lemon,” we would develop a list of core keywords and phrases that were relevant to that search. Just using the Google Keyword tool, I came up with this:

Notice how closely the keyword phrases are tied to our intended meaning? This means that Google recognizes the typical meaning of the phrase. There isn’t much deviation — no one is trying to avoid buying the yellow citrus fruit when they type that phrase in.

So our core keywords could look like this:

• “avoid buying bad car”
• “prevent buying bad car”
• “avoid purchasing defective automobile”

The variation of the core words run between “avoid,” “buying,” “bad,” and “car.” We’ll dump those into what I’ll call our “core basket bucket.”

How to create “supporting” keywords

As you build this semantic theme, your next step is into the circle outside of your core terms. These are your supporting keywords, the ones you sprinkle into your content, meta sets, and headers.

For the phrase “avoid buying a lemon,” the supporting keywords would look like this:

• “buying from a used dealer”
• “battery life”
• “good alternator”
• “fan belt condition”
• “dead battery”
• “alternator died”
• “broken fan belt”
• “engine oil leak”
• “mechanic checkup”

Do you see the feeling you are trying to create with these supporting terms?

You’re developing a piece of content that not only explains what can happen when you buy a car from a used dealer, but also some related topics, like how it feels when the car breaks down, and a list of things to look for when buying.

You are being instructive and practical. And the content naturally addresses the problem in its entirety — you’re not glossing over the topic.

And we’re not finished yet …

How to create “stemming” keywords

Now it’s time to step into the outermost circle of our keyword research, with keyword phrases that emphasize issues not directly related to the search. But because we are trying to predict the search, we need to think about these things.

Don’t forget that the search engine is trying to do the same thing.

For example, why is the user typing in “avoid buying a lemon”? The most obvious answer is they are a buyer and they are thinking about buying from a used car dealer or someone who is selling a car personally.

Of course, you can create two pieces of content that address both of those possibilities. But which one will the search engines deliver to the user on the SERPs (search engine results pages)?

It’s hard to know, but it’s probably going to be the most comprehensive, most authoritative piece … even if your user doesn’t need all the information. That means you need to write comprehensive content … which is where the “stemming” keywords come in.

These keywords are building a larger picture behind “avoid buying a lemon.” They’re getting to the real question the searcher is trying to answer.

Here’s what I mean:

• “consumer used car rights”
• “consumer law”
• “used car buying rights”
• “used car law”
• “consumer protection agencies”

At stake here is what the user can expect his or her legal rights are, and actions they can take if they do buy a lemon and it dies.

That’s the underlying theme.

What to do with these keywords

Notice that you haven’t written any content at this point … you’ve just built three buckets of keywords.

From those buckets, you can create a rough outline. In fact, let’s build two:

How to Avoid Buying a Lemon from a Used Car Dealer

• Definition of a lemon
• Definition of a used car dealer
• Things to inspect on a used car
• When a lemon dies
• Your legal rights
• Who to approach and how

How to Avoid Buying a Lemon from a Private Seller

• Definition of a lemon
• Definition of a used car dealer
• Things to inspect on a used car
• When a lemon dies
• Your legal rights
• Who to approach and how

Keep in mind: the content within each section will have to vary to avoid duplicate content issues, and to work well for the human readers who are always your primary focus.

You will receive greater relevance weight and authority when you define terms absolutely, the way a Wikipedia or Dictionary.com does.

In addition, this research will be useful when it comes to building links to the site.

When will the authority and links come?

It is very difficult to predict for certain whether a page will become authoritative on a topic, and attract high-quality links. But, like forecasting weather, you can study the elements behind successful pages. And unlike the weather, you can apply those elements to your own work and improve your chances for a good ranking.

Here’s what we know: great keyword research alone won’t do the trick.

It’s a great start — and can help you build content architecture that leads to authoritative pages — but it’s not a silver bullet.

So here are the things you can control:

• The core, supporting, and stemming keyword collections
• The content architecture of the page
• The comprehensiveness of that content
• The usefulness and readability of that content
• The promotion of that content
• The measurement of users’ reaction to the content
• The adjustment of the content based on user reactions

Of course what’s out of your control is other people’s reaction. Will they view it as authoritative? Will they find your writing compelling? Will they link to it? You create the best-possible content to try to influence those factors, but ultimately they lie outside your hands.

Follow the advice I’ve laid out here, however, and you will have a better chance of influencing reader reaction in a positive way, ultimately getting search engines to recognize your content as a relevant and significant contribution to the web.

Don’t forget to write for humans first

All of this sounds a bit technical. But after you’ve done your keyword prep, when you finally sit down to write, be sure you’re writing in a natural way that doesn’t smack of spam.

When done properly, SEO copywriting should never sound robotic or stiff.

Write for humans first, then gently tweak for optimization. Get in the habit of reading each article aloud to make sure your keywords are included in a natural, reader-friendly way, and read sites like Copyblogger for pointers on writing voice and other elements of high-quality writing.

Your final step is to read your content to another person and get their reaction. If they think it sounds spammy or awkward, rewrite it. Nothing will flush your work down the drain faster than a spammy article. It pays to get it right.

What do you think of this semantic-based approach to building authoritative web pages? Let us know in the comments …

About the Author: Neil Patel is the co-founder of KISSmetrics and an SEO consultant. He also blogs at Quick Sprout.

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Book Review: Keyword Intelligence by Ron Jones

Posted on 22. Dec, 2011 by Ashley Zeckman in Blog, Book Reviews, Keyword Research, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

In my search for a new book to read on keywords I went straight to the source, Lee Odden’s office library.  Right away I noticed Ron Jones’ new book “Keyword Intelligence” while standing in front of a bookcase full of titles to choose from.

What I appreciate about Jones’ book is that whether you are a search marketing guru or you work in another marketing/communications field, it paints things in a light that you may not have thought about before.  Besides a deep dive into keyword research and it’s overall impact on SEO, social media and content marketing, there is a little something in this book for everyone ranging from simple explanations of social networking sites to more detailed information on site migration and architecture.  Curious to know what useful tips I found in Ron Jones new book?

“Keyword Research is a Strategic Function”
To most professionals keyword research can seem like a monotonous task. Jones does a good job of really highlighting the importance of keyword research and how it should affect your overall Internet marketing strategy.   The position of the book is that much of your content creation should be based upon a list of tried and tested keywords that are meant to bring people to your site and draw them in.  A point about thinking big picture with keywords that hits home: “Without a strategy, you will become lost in the depths of random pages of web content without a core meaning or focus.”

“Setting up SMART Goals”
Goal setting should not be a new concept to Internet marketers.  An approach that Jones recommends is setting “smart” goals for each online channel you are using to market.  He says that these goals may take more effort to setup but they help to ensure quality.  SMART goals are defined as:

S= Specific
M= Measureable
A= Attainable
R= Realistic
T= Timely

A simple goal may be to increase the number of conversions that your site sees on a monthly basis.  If you are implementing SMART goal setting, you may focus on something more specific as increasing site conversions by 10% each month for the next six months on your contact page, about us page, and solutions page.

“Mind Mapping”
Keyword brainstorming can sometimes seem like an overwhelming task to tackle.  No more!  Jones suggests breaking down your brainstorming tasks into mini assignments which will encourage you to work on one level of keywords at a time.  Mind mapping is a great visual aid for marketers who tend to like to see plans illustrated.  You begin by selecting a seed term, draw a circle around it, and brainstorm additional words related to your seed term.

Below is an example of mind mapping that I started with my seed phrase being “Marketing”.

“Role of Keywords and Social Media”
We know that keywords are an essential part of an SEO or PPC strategy but many overlook the roll of keywords in social media.  An in depth analysis of keywords will help you pinpoint the specific needs and wants of your target audience.  A keyword plan for social media will help you communicate more effectively with your audience.  Jones does note that a strategy created for SEO or PPC may not translate exactly the same for social media so there are some differences to keep in mind. An example would be search query variances between Google and a social networking site.

“Developing a mobile strategy”
This section highlights the importance of considering the entire customer experience not just the optimized content that we provide.  Jones recommends a six step process for outlining your mobile strategy.  That process includes:

1. Define Target Audience & Personas
2. Conduct Your Research
3. Develop Your Mobile Solution
4. Design Your Pricing Model
5. Develop Your Support Model
6. Develop Retention or Loyalty Program

“Defining Metrics for Success”
One recommendation in particular that stuck out to me was his emphasis on the importance of defining success up front with any marketing campaign. Some of the goals that Jones recommends for a successful outcome include:

• Increased overall website visitor traffic
• Increased keyword rankings and top keyword placement
• Increased brand awareness
• Increased generated revenue and ROI
• Specific behavioral insights from your target audience based on keyword usage

In my opinion “Keyword Intelligence” does a great job of getting the reader to think intelligently and strategically about basic keyword choices.  By taking a moment to step back and analyze why keyword research and brainstorming is important, you are better able to see what a large impact it can have on your overall search and online marketing strategy. This is the only book that’s specifically focused on Keywords and for those that really want a deep dive on the subject, it’s worth checking out.

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
Book Review: Keyword Intelligence by Ron Jones | http://www.toprankblog.com

Introducing The Lede: A Copywriting and Online Marketing Sheet

Posted on 29. Oct, 2011 by Robert Bruce in Blog, Blog Psychology, content marketing, conversion, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Headlines, Keyword Research, Landing Pages, List Building, Metrics, persuasion, productivity, selling, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, Traditional Media, Traffic

Welcome to The Lede.

Every week I’ll be digging up and linking to stories, news, and opinion relevant to online marketing and copywriting.

Email, social media, innovation, SEO, productivity, mobile, conversion, publishing, and everything in between.

No commentary, just a fast, single page of headlines that you can grab, scan, and squeeze for all they may (or may not) be worth.

All right then, on with it …

About the Author: Robert Bruce is Copyblogger Media’s copywriter and resident recluse.

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Comments

• Hi Robert. Very valuable information is posted. I have really … by Henry Louis
• Since most people have little or no clue what “lede” means, … by Don Bates
• [...] post: Introducing The Lede: A Copywriting and Online … by Introducing The Lede: A Copywriting and Online Marketing Sheet … | The Way Of Making Money Online
• This is a fabulous list! To those that are overwhelmed by the … by Tracy Schutz
• Hey,Really Great Post, I am looking forward for more post … by Peter Zmijewski
• Plus 5 more…

Further Reading

• The Art of Finding Ideas
• What Bestselling Fiction Can Teach You About Writing Better Landing Pages
• 23 Reasons Your Blog Isn’t Making Any Money (And What To Do About It!)

Need Great Ideas for Blog Content? Start With Questions

Posted on 10. Oct, 2011 by Lee Odden in Blog, blog content, Blog Marketing, content marketing, Keyword Research, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

A lot of the blog content planning for business blogs focuses on different ways to tell the same story about a company’s products, services and key messages. If it’s an SEO approach, then the focus is on content to justify visibility on search engines for specific keywords. Blogs are a great resource for people that are searching for answers, insight, how to’s, others’ experiences and opinion. Finding a way to create content that meets customer needs as well as achieving high search visibility for relevant business solutions is what makes blogs such useful online marketing assets.

One particularly effective way to get content ideas for blogging comes from reviewing web analytics for the kinds of questions people type in to search engines like Google or Bing that deliver visitors.

For example, with derivatives of ”social media” as a group of target keyword phrases for this blog, I noticed that numerous visitors each month literally typed in to Google: “what does a social media manager do?” and “what does a community manager do?” sending them to a post, ”A Glimpse at What a Social Media Community Manager Does” that ranked well for those questions.

After looking in our web analytics to see which pages those visitors viewed and any goal pages reached, it has served as inspiration to explore other related questions by providing content in the form of answers. ”

Be careful with chicken before the egg advice. I’ve heard advice from other marketers that looking at your own web analytics is the best way to find keywords to use for search optimization. Please understand what a “cart before the horse” idea that is.   This only works if a website is to some degree optimized and attracting a diversity of search traffic. That means it has numerous, relevant links pointing to it (with new links shared on social media sites on a regular basis) and new content is being published regularly. Without some kind of pre-existingrelevance to search engines in the form of new content and links, web analytics is only going to reveal what you already know in terms of keyword topics.

Give them what they want to get what you want. Using questions is simply a matter of literally finding out what information people want and giving it to them based on data that is easily discovered through web analytics.  This can be as simple as doing a search within your web analytics dashboard on the referring keywords that sent visitors to your website from search engines to find instances of words like “what” or “how” in conjunction with keywords and topics that are a reflection of the interests and needs of your target audience.  You could also just search for instances of “?” in conjunction with target keywords or “?” alone to reveal the kinds of questions people are using as search queries that result in visits to your blog.  I happen to use Clicky real time web analytics “filtering” options for this. All Clicky data is real-time, not just one report as is the case with Google Analytics.

Sourcing questions for new blogs. This particular tactic of extracting topic ideas is for refinement of a blog that has been in play for a while, not establishing a content plan for a new blog. For a new blog here are a few other ideas about how to leverage questions for developing a content plan:

• Survey your customers using a tool like Zoomerang or Survey Monkey
• Survey front line employees working in your Customer Service and Sales departments to get an idea of the common questions that come up in their interactions with prospects and customers
• Visit Q/A sites like Quora or Yahoo Answers for common questions related to keywords you’re tracking
• Tap into niche sites for aggregated questions. LinkedIn Answers and Focus Q & A are good examples for business and marketing related topics.
• Use Google Suggest as a way to anticipate what questions people are asking. Just start typing in a question in any Google search box to see how Google tries to complete it. What Google’s Autocomplete feature is a reflection of popular search phrases and potentially your own web history so be aware whether you’re logged in to Google or not when you do this. Since you can’t copy the text from Google’s suggested search queries, check out the free and easy to use Ubersuggest which will provide you with a txt file.
• Use SEO tools that compile questions like Wordtracker called Keyword Questions. This particular tool requires registration and I’ve not had the best luck finding suggestions for niche topics without a large search volume, but it’s an option.

Hopefully these suggestions provide you with some useful ideas for sourcing blog content through sourcing questions to answer. It’s a great formula that I’ve been using and advising clients to use for years. If you have an existing blog with some degree of diversity in new content and active inbound linking, then you may find a rich store of ideas in the keyword referring data from web analytics. If you have a new website, then start by literally asking your customers about their top questions and review some of the industry websites that aggregate Q & A to gain insight into what topics are hot and worth addressing in your content plan.

The fundamental takeaway: Create the kind of content (with SEO keywords as inspiration) that people are actively searching for and you can shorten sales cycles, inspire more social shares and be more useful to your community.

Have you used question sourcing tactics to build or complement your blog content plan? What have you tried that worked? What didn’t work?

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© Online Marketing Blog, 2011. |
Need Great Ideas for Blog Content? Start With Questions | http://www.toprankblog.com

5 Keyword Research Alternatives for Mobile, News, Social, Image & Video Optimization

Posted on 26. Sep, 2011 by Lee Odden in Blog, Keyword Research, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, tools

Keyword and topic research is a significant part of Search, Social Media and Content Marketing.  An understanding of what customers care about related to a brand’s offering and how that manifests as keywords, helps drive how marketer’s approach content, optimization and promotion.

Over the past 5+ years, the search landscape has evolved significantly and optimization has extended beyond the web page to digital assets like images, PDF’s and video, news, social media and mobile. The increased diversity of content requires internet marketers become more creative in their keyword research in order to fine tune the matching of optimized content with what and where consumers are searching.

There are a mix of standard keyword research tools that most SEO practitioners will use, ranging from WordTracker to WordStream. Here are a mix of keyword tools and ways to use them in order customize keyword research for the increasing diversity of content types and methods of search.

Mobile Keyword Research:

Mobile SEO is the probably the most underrated of SEO practice areas. According to a study by Google, 77% of smartphone users visit search engine websites and 90% of smartphone searches result in an action (purchasing, visiting a business, etc). That’s pretty compelling data and if you have mobile-specific content, it makes sense to understand what words mobile users are searching with, relevant to your mobile website.

Recommended Mobile Keyword Research Tool: Google AdWords Keyword Research Tool offers several filtering options for mobile: All Mobile Devices, Mobile WAP Devices, Mobile Devices with Full Internet Browsers.  Now you can leverage mobile-specific keyword insight when creating content that is likely to be consumed via mobile devices whether it’s a dedicated mobile site or a general website that is mobile friendly.

News Keyword Research:

News optimization can impact ranking of content within news search engines like Google News in addition to Google.com. Many marketers realize that the home page of the major search engines isn’t the only place target audiences are searching. News aggregator websites like Google News can provide an important source of relevant discovery and website traffic from end users and journalists.  Internet Marketers that have access to publishing and distribution of content through a trusted Google News Source (website, mobile site or YouTube channel) may want to better optimize their content by understanding what keyword phrases are being used by News Search readers.  The difference between popular searches on Google.com vs. Google News might modest, but for popular and trending topics, it could prove a worthy investment.

Recommended News Keyword Research Tool: Übersuggest provides a useful service by collecting the auto-suggested search words provided by Google News as you type. It can do this for Google.com as well. The Google Suggest feature tries to autocomplete user search keywords, suggestion words and phrases based on previous queries. By capturing an alphabetical sequence of the variations on your search phrase, you can get some good ideas about what’s popular and a whole range of variations.  The temporal nature of news topics provides an opportunity to identify news topics that Internet Marketers can act on by creating news keyword optimized content.  Optimizing news content means end users as well as journalists, analysts and bloggers that research stories will have an easier time of finding your content.

Video Keyword Research:

Video optimization is another hot area for Internet Marketers, especially since there are over 600 new videos published on YouTube every 60 seconds. Videos that rank well on Google have a good chance of also doing well on Google.com. If so, Google will display a thumbnail of the video, which stands out from the mostly text content that makes up most Search Engine Results Pages (SERPs).

Recommended Video Keyword Research Tool: YouTube Promoted Video Keyword Research Tool provides insights into what users are searching for on YouTube with options to source your suggestions from keywords, another YouTube video or a diverse array of demographic information.  This tool is intended to work in concert with ads on YouTube, but can provide some useful insight into words video content producers might use with titles, descriptions and even in the script.

YouTube’s Keyword Suggest feature of auto-completing your search phrase is another possible source of keyword ideas. Unfortunately, Google doesn’t make it possible to copy and past the list of phrases that are suggested as Ubgersuggest does above with Google.com and News search.

Social Media Keyword Research:

Social Media Optimization can mean a variety of content types from video to images to blogs, and that makes it a bit trickier to recommend one specific tool.  Social media content can be optimized for better visibility in public search engines like Google and Bing as well as the internal search engines that power closed networks like Facebook and LinkedIn. At a minimum, understanding trending social topics can help inform social content planning so marketers can create content that’s being discussed by the social community, “right now”.

Recommended Social Media Keyword Research Tool: socialmention is a general social media search engine that provides a downloadable list of keywords that most often occur in conjunction with whatever it is that you search on. Sources range from Twitter to comments to video to forums.

There are many other tag based sources that you can use for social media optimization keyword research as well including: Delicious, Technorati, StumbleUpon, and Bing Hot Social Topics. But those are simply lists or tag clouds, not in response to a query where you get results based on popularity. Despite that, they could be worth checking for trending topics.

Image Keyword Research:

Image optimization falls in line with the intersection of digital assets and social media. Every 60 seconds, 6,600 images are uploaded to Flickr. Images are often shared through social channels from Twitter to Facebook to Instagram. Images can also appear on certain queries made on Google and Bing as well as their respective image search engines. Well optimized images can provide a very relevant source of traffic to a website.

Recommended Image Keyword Research Tool: Google Insights for Search using the Images filter, provides  ”top searches” and “rising searches” relevant to your query.  You are also provided with regional interest over time that is presented as an animation highlighting different areas on a map as the popularity of the search term rises there. There are a number of additional filters including geographic region, time frame and industry category.  Additional top level filters include News, Web and Product search, so essentially this is another tool for news keyword research as well.

Of course there are many other creative ways and reasons to do keyword research and I’m stopping at my shortlist of 5 so that you might share a few of your own. Have you found keyword research tools specific to other types of search engines or media? Have you used the tools above to any significant effect?

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3 Painful Keyword Research Pitfalls to Avoid!

Posted on 19. Sep, 2011 by Jeffrey Smith in Blog, DWS, Keyword Research, SEO Tips, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing

The primary reason why people use search engines is to find answers.  Therefore, your websites success depends on whether or not you fully understand the questions people are searching for (the cause behind the cause) and to which degree your landing pages answer those questions or solve their problems.

He is "NOT"searching for "exercise equipment"…

This is known as finding the pain (as the image clearly illustrates above) and serving up the perfect pain killer is a prime directive for conversion.

In fact, this feedback/cycle of problem/solution, seek and satiate the query / modality is hard-wired into the human psyche and represents the springboard for landing pages and high conversions – if the context of why they are searching is present and if those pages deliver the proper solution to the prospect at the right time in the sales cycle.

If proper timing, relevance and value converge (from users finding their solution), the end result is a predictable / natural conclusion, i.e. a sale, opt in or predictive action. This is where search engine optimization, (much like a game of chess) gets interesting. Many often make the mistake of targeting one keyword vs. targeting multiple keywords and devouring the online conversation through including tactful modifiers, synonyms or commercially laden suggestive phrases in tandem with primary keywords.

If you logically target a cluster of phrases that overlap and have continuity, the likelihood of your website or landing page appearing on multiple nodes of the search /solution phase when people are most impressionable are increased.

In other words, if you can span the gamut from the niche oriented long tail phrases, up through the category defining popular phrases and breach the primary educational queries with well positioned content, the you own the conversation for that market.

3 Painful Keyword Research Pitfalls

Rather than tell you what to do, let’s start out with a few examples of keyword research pitfalls to avoid.

1. Not understanding your audience.
2. Not understanding the difference between profitable/lucrative keywords and keyword “duds”.
3. Failing to implement a bridge that effectively communicates value to the ideal prospect (or communicating the wrong message to the wrong audience).

Using the gentlemen in the image above, I can assure you he is not looking for “a book about back pain”, he is “looking for relief”, quickly! Trying to sell him something preventative (after the fact, is a perfect example of wrong product, wrong time, wrong prospect.

Someone who injured their back slightly and is showing minor symptoms or is considering long-term recovery options however, may benefit from an e-book or alternate method (something less urgent). So, to rule out an e-book “back pain relief” / offer is not senseless, it merely requires a different tact and appeals to a different node and demands its own place within the site architecture.

1. Not Understanding Your Audience

Rather than go into a lengthy discussion on the value of context. Rest assured that while people use a vast array of keywords, their intention is the driving factor of why they are searching rather than the phrases. Just consider keywords as doors that represent the gateway to your audience in search engines.

They are either hit or miss and picking the wrong keywords or saying the wrong thing to the wrong prospect (from lack of continuity or otherwise) will not compensate for delving deeper to find the right keywords initially to build your keyword / content framework on.

Your job as a business owner, entrepreneur or webmaster is to vet and extract the most profitable phrases and weave them into your titles meta descriptions, landing pages, header tags, internal links and inbound links so that your website can appear when those searches are conducted. Yet, if you are basing your data gathering on shallow methods, inevitably, the outcome is less than desirable.

There are many ways to extract meaning from a market such as keyword research, competitor research or vertical online market analysis. However, regardless of your method, the following two rules below still apply.

2. The Difference Between Profitable Keywords and Duds

Profitable keywords are not always high traffic volume keywords. You have to understand the question behind the question and appeal to the emotion of the prospect. Value, message match and conversion are important, but if you target the wrong keywords you will never have enough traffic to measure genuine click-throughs in search engines enough to have a valid sample set in which to base present and/or future campaigns.

3. Communicating the Right Message to the Right Audience

To ensure landing pages convert, they should have a sole purpose (to rank for their primary phrase) as determined by where they fit into your industry solution. Keywords can either hit or miss their target and someone searching for something may find it using 100 different keyword variations but men the same thing). This is why you need to map out the most lucrative phrases and then weave a web of relevance through internal links and deep links from other websites.

This process is called keyword stemming (getting a keyword ranked and then using it to spawn dozens, hundreds or thousands of keywords), and by design it is one of the most effective SEO strategies ever devised.

However, to do this deliberately from the onset (like a game of chess unfolding vs. an accidental / circumstantial happenstance) is what differentiates hardcore SEO from neophyte SEO’s throwing darts against the wall with keywords in an attempt to make things stick (and then using a fragmented approach to attempt to rank them).

Organic rankings take time and the last thing you can afford is to focus on keyword duds. Every dollar, link or article you invest should have ROI as the basis. Observing the cluster of phrases and planning a point of entry and plotting your keyword roll-out / development plan is one of the most critical parts of initiating any SEO campaign.

Attention share translates into brand awareness and that brand awareness is the cornerstone to trust and engagement. But let’s get out of the theoretical zone and get down to brass tacks with some viable examples of this modality.

Understanding Informational vs. Commercial Queries

Answers that pertain to problems are opportunities in disguise. The difference between a sale and an informative query often appear quite similar, but in fact, it’s the subtle nuances that distinguish a conversion laden search from a mere query for more information.

You would be surprised how many questions you can find from skimming the analytics of an authority site or even using SEO tools like SEMRush to find out what type of long-tail and mid-tail queries your competitors are already ranking for. You can uncover lots of low hanging fruit and these keywords are “effective keywords” considering they are already responsible for driving traffic (not just grasping at straws unfounded).

Let’s use “back pain” as an example and discuss the two types of queries which one could use to create revenue. One is informational the other is commercial, we will look at both.

Semantic Keyword Cluster for Back Pain

Informational queries tend to be broad in nature. An example of a “broad search” can be represented by someone searching for information on a “herniated disc” or a “hernia” vs. someone searching for “pain relief from hernia” or “how to relieve back pain”. The operative distinction is the use of the modifier relief, relieve, treatment, etc. which represents a more urgent need for a “pain killer/solution”.

From the outside in, as a business owner, you might think your keyword is “back pain”, but there are two considerations to this quandary; (1) the root phrase is the most competitive and (2) you still need to drill deeper into the solution to find the real “pain killer” queries and triggers that will distinguish your offer / landing page from the masses.

You also need to consider that for any “competitive” keyword query, that keyword will need more supporting articles, shingles and instances within a website in order for that website to be considered a valid destination (based on the search engines stringent quality score algorithm).

This means that for one competitive keyword, you may need hundreds of supporting articles (based on the rungs in the ladder/synonyms and modifiers for the topic) to gain enough authority to rank for that competitive keyword.

While many see this as a burden, on the contrary, this is a genuine opportunity for implementing the process of progressive layering of multiple nodes of relevance through content creation by using the less competitive queries (which you can devour along the way) on your way up the food chain to the more lucrative traffic from the root phrase.

Also, keep in mind that more broad traffic (like a flashlight) is not always going to convert higher than a pin-point targeted message and value proposition with a more specific (laser-like) query. So, instead of chasing volume with keywords, chase value (by using tactics like these)…

Chasing Search Value Not Search Volume

After you map out the pain points, you can use magnetic headlines coupled with value propositions to do this such as:

• 3 Proven Tips to Alleviate Back Pain in 10 Minutes or Less.
• 5 Things to Avoid Inflaming Lower Back Pain.
• 4 Foods You Can Eat to Decrease Back Pain.

The use of tactful modifiers and compelling solution based keywords coupled with the primary phrase now provide the context to ensure that your audience is filtered out by default.

You will only attract those looking for “the right solution” which means two things (1) less tire kickers hit your page and (2) the people that do click are more apt to convert. So, instead of you having a measly 1% conversion (1 out of 100 people engaging your offer, opting in to your e-book, or buying your product) can increase to 6-10% conversion or higher (depending on factors such as (a) the graphic appeal (b) the validity of your product (c) trust signals (d) relevance and (e) timing.

The takeaway here is to be specific but look for overlapping synonyms which are all tell tale symptoms of the problem.

I would also scrub the cluster of keywords and find other lucrative missed opportunities to use for additional categories, supporting articles and solutions which need to be addressed for that audience.

Other Theme Relevant Keywords from Back Pain Cluster

Once I found the DNA braid of phrases, I would then logically plot out the stages for market domination using tools like those offered in the Network Empire and provided by tools like the Krakken (not for flimsy SEO’s) these are professional grade tools for those who are serious about taking over markets.

10 Keyword Research Tips

You will need to know:

1)      Who your audience is?

2)      What they need?

3)      How they find what they need (how they search)… and once you unearth that -

4)      How to build your industry solution

5)      Which keywords are critical or supportive

6)      Where they fit into your website’s hierarchy and what emphasis they garner (internal links and / or link building).

7)      What type of conversion the objective is (informational) such as an e-book or link to a paid e-book/affiliate offer, physical products (either sold on site or linked from your site to others affiliate offers), CPA or CPL (cost per acquisition or cost per lead) if there are national businesses that will pay for leads or local businesses who can benefit directly from that traffic (with your site as a portal).

8)      How long it will take for you to build enough content, internal links, deep links from other sites, traffic and see ROI.

9)      A method to map out each keyword, site architecture, internal links, link building and syndication strategy.

10)   A process to manage it.

All of those things can be found at www.networkempire.com and you would be wise to join and either be a fly on the wall or start using the tools there to uncover and conquer organic online markets.

I hope you found this post useful and as always, thanks for reading the SEO Design Solutions Blog. Stay tuned for the WP Ultimate theme launch shortly. We have been quiet for over a month now as we prepare our new WordPress theme / framework. It’s nearly ready, so bear with us as we stress test the application prior to the initial launch.

Related Posts

1. Keyword Research is the Key to E-Commerce
2. SEO Keyword Research: Educational vs. Commercial Queries
3. Keyword Research Where SEO Begins
4. Keyword Research and SEO Strategy
5. Simple SEO Tips for Keyword Research

23 Reasons Your Blog Isn’t Making Any Money (And What To Do About It!)

Posted on 29. Aug, 2011 by Danny Iny in Blog, Blog Psychology, content marketing, conversion, Copywriting, Headlines, Keyword Research, Landing Pages, List Building, Online Product Launches, persuasion, selling, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, Traffic

Sure, you want comments.

And subscribers, and shares, and likes.

But you don’t really care about any of these things. You want what they will eventually lead to …

Money.

Yes, traffic is good, and so is reader engagement. But if you’re reading this, chances are you’re running a blog with the intention of marketing a business and making some money.

Now, that could be a bit distressing, because most bloggers are broke.

Some bloggers don’t have traffic or reader engagement, and some bloggers have lots of both. But most bloggers aren’t making any money.

Here’s why …

The chain of conversion is everything

We tend to think of conversion as a single event, but it’s really more like a chain of events.

If you market a business online, several conversions need to take place:

• A stranger has to convert into a lead by being exposed to your message for the first time (in the online world, we call this traffic)
• A lead has to convert into a prospect by liking what you have to say (this is often done by opting in to your email subscriber list)
• A prospect has to convert into a customer by buying something from you
• A customer has to convert into a repeat customer by turning a single purchase into an ongoing buying relationship

This entire process is called the chain of conversion.

Does that sound like a tall order?

It should, because it is — for your blog to make money, you need not one, but many people to smoothly move through this entire process.

And if your blog is like most, then that probably isn’t happening.

Let’s explore all the reasons why that might be, and what you can do to fix it.

Problem #1: You’re a billboard in the desert

The most common problem that bloggers face is that strangers aren’t converting into leads.

In other words, there’s no traffic.

And if there’s no traffic, then it doesn’t matter how well-optimized the rest of your funnel is, because nobody is feeding through it.

So the first order of business is to get traffic flowing to your site. Here are some of the reasons why that might not be happening, and how you can fix it:

1. Build it and they will come. Yes, content is king, but without an army of marketers, the king can get pretty lonely! The truth is that while epic content is critical, it won’t go viral all by itself without an existing audience to start the ball rolling by seeing and sharing. If you don’t have traffic, you have to go and get the word out about your content.
2. You just tweet to your followers. If you’re Guy Kawasaki, then your marketing can consist of tweeting to your followers, and calling it a day. But for the rest of us (who don’t have 400,000 followers), you’ve got to get out there and promote. Build relationships with other bloggers, write guest posts, put viral campaigns together, and apply any other strategy for blog growth that you can think of — just get out there and do something!
3. Marketing in the wrong place. We love to fall for the promises of magic strategies that will get us tons of traffic — the kind that showcase the success that somebody else had. The problem is that you aren’t going after their audience, and your audience may not hang out where theirs does. If you’re marketing in the wrong place, then your audience will never find you! Of course, to market in the right place, you have to know who your audience is …
4. No clearly defined audience. Obviously, you can’t market to your audience if you don’t know who your audience is. It isn’t enough for you to have a general idea that you’re marketing to “bloggers” or “writers” or “stay at home moms” — you’ve got to get way more specific, to the point that you’ve created a profile of the ONE person that you’re targeting.
5. Asking for the wrong action. If they haven’t heard of you, then don’t start by asking them to buy — it isn’t likely to happen. Remember that your goal with each piece of messaging is to get the audience to take the single next action. When you’re talking to strangers, the goal is for them to become leads (visit your site) and then prospects (opt in to your list). So don’t even mention whatever it is that you’ve got for sale.
6. You don’t hook their interest. Yes, I’m talking about headlines. For your blog posts, for your ads, and for the teaser links to your content. They all need to hook your audience’s interest. And you happen to be reading the world’s best blog about copywriting. So go read all about headlines!

Problem #2: Selling ice to Inuits

The second problem is that you get traffic, but they all bounce — no subscribers, no customers, and you’re on a constant treadmill to generate more traffic.

In other words, leads aren’t converting into prospects.

Here’s why that might be happening, and what you can do about it:

7. It’s all about you. Yes, that’s right — all of your posts are about your news, your products, your company. And you wonder why nobody signs up for more? Forget about your subject area, and think about your customers. What are their problems? What matters to them? That’s what you need to be writing about.
8. Your content is “me too” content. If you’re just writing generic, bland content of the “6 tips everyone already knows about productivity” variety, or (gasp!) going so far as to actually spin articles, then the truth is that there’s no reason for people to come back to your site, because you haven’t impressed them yet. So pull out the stops and write some truly compelling content!
9. You don’t draw them in. You get them to start reading your stuff, but their attention wanders, and pretty soon they’re gone forever. You need to draw them in and keep them going, section to section, until they reach the action that you want them to: subscribing!
10. You don’t make it explicit. Yes, that’s right. If you want your visitors to opt in to your mailing list, then you have to say so, in so many words: “Sign up for my list to get all sorts of goodies. Do it now. Click here.” Put those words, or words like them, near your opt-in box, and make sure to include a call to action in your posts, too.
11. You don’t optimize. No matter how good you are, and how well you’ve done everything else, there’s always room for improvement — and improvement is had by split-testing, split-testing, and then split-testing some more.

Problem #3: “Just the free sample, thanks”

Sometimes you’ve got traffic, and you’ve got subscribers — but you still aren’t making any money.

In chain of conversion terminology, prospects aren’t converting into customers.

This might not sound so bad (“at least they have the traffic and subscribers”), but without the money, you’re just sinking more and more work into what might be a dead-end project.

The good news is that when you’ve got an audience, you can usually find a way to make some money — let’s explore why they might not be buying, and what we can do to fix it:

12. You’re selling what they need instead of what they want. As an expert in your field, you know exactly what the customer’s problem is. I don’t mean the symptoms, or the issue that they want to fix right now — I mean the real problem that lies deep down at the root of it all. The trouble is that they don’t know that, and so they aren’t looking for that solution. Start by selling what they want, and then you can deliver what they need along with it.
13. It’s in the wrong format. Maybe they love what you’re offering, but they just don’t like the format. I mean, really, how many more e-books can someone buy? Try a different format — like audio, video, a virtual conference, live workshops, infographics — or something else entirely.
14. The price isn’t right. Maybe your product is great, but the price doesn’t fit. You could be asking for way too much money, or you could be asking for way too little. Remember that not only does the price have to fit with the buyer’s budget, but it also has to communicate the right thing about how valuable your offering really is. So test different prices, and find the price that works best.
15. You don’t ask for the sale. Yes, this comes back to being explicit. Don’t just have an “Add to Cart” link on your site — you’ve also got to tell people that you want them to buy your stuff. Tell them why they should do it, and what they’re going to get. And tell them when they should do it (right now!), which leads us to the matter of urgency …
16. There’s no urgency. Why buy today when I can buy tomorrow, right? You need to give your audience a reason to take action now. Make sure the constraint is real — maybe you’re raising the price after a certain date. Maybe the first 50 people to sign up get a special bonus. Or maybe you’re closing your program on September 1 (hypothetically speaking, of course …).
17. No social proof. Nobody wants to be the first one to arrive at a party — you want to know that other people are there, and having a good time. So who’s already bought your product or service? What was their experience like? Were they happy? Were they a lot like the person who is thinking about buying today?
18. No guarantee. There’s something comforting about a money-back guarantee. It provides a safety net, and shows how much confidence the seller has in whatever is being offered. Most companies offer guarantees, to the point that it looks sketchy if you don’t. So you have to offer a guarantee. But don’t just offer a simple “if you’re not satisfied we’ll give you your money back” guarantee — go over the top. Give them 110% of their money back. Donate $100 to charity. Set it up so that it’s not just about satisfaction, but about results (we guarantee that you’ll add $1,000 to your bottom line in six months, or your money back).
19. You don’t optimize (again). Yes, it applies here, too. If you want to make more sales, then there are a lot of things for you to split-test: your headlines, the placement, text and colors of your opt-in boxes, the style of your introduction, your product imagery, your trust seals and their placement on the site … and the list goes on.

Problem #4: Once is (apparently) enough

Okay, if you’ve made it to this point in the chain, then you’re probably doing all right — you’ve got traffic, you’ve got subscribers, and you’re even making sales.

But customers aren’t converting into repeat customers.

Which means that you’re always scrambling to find new customers, and to keep that wheel in motion. Wouldn’t you rather have the wheel sustain itself?

Here’s why your customers may not be buying from you again, and what you can do to change that:

20. You don’t deliver. This is a HUGE problem; if you promise something, your customers sign up, and then you don’t deliver, then you are doing irreparable damage to your reputation and business. In the words of my marketing professor, “marketing is a promise that the organization has to keep” — and you should never, ever break a promise. This probably doesn’t apply to you, but if it does, stop reading this article, and fix it immediately!
21. There’s nothing else to sell. This is a more common problem: you’ve worked so hard to build and sell your product, that by the time they’ve bought it, there’s nothing left to sell. This is worth taking the time to fix; think about what else they might benefit from — an easy add-on is some consulting to help them get the most out of what they’ve already bought. Remember that a customer who’s already spent money with you is 8 times more likely to buy from you again, and you’ve already spent the time and money to convert them the first time!
22. You don’t communicate. This is sad to see, but easy to fix; you’ve got happy customers and more great stuff to sell to them, but you don’t communicate with them after that first purchase. This is terrible — you should be communicating with your customers on a regular basis, both to collect feedback about their experience, and to keep the lines of communication open so that you can sell to them again. An easy way to do this is to build follow-up directly into your product, for example with automated follow-up emails and surveys.
23. You don’t ask for the sale (again). Yes, you’ve got to ask for the repeat sale, too — periodically reach out to your existing customers to see if there’s more that you can do for them, and have a specific offer ready if they do have a need.

Fixing your blog, one link at a time

Every blog has holes in its chain of conversion — and most have lots of them!

So where should you start making repairs?

The answer depends on whether you’ve already got a functioning funnel:

If you’ve already got traffic, opt-ins, and customers: Start at the end, and work your way backwards. First get more customers to buy again, then get more subscribers to buy from you, then get more website visitors to subscribe, and only then get more people to visit your website.

If you don’t have any of that stuff: Then start at the beginning — start by getting traffic to your site, and once you have traffic, work on getting them to opt-in, and then buy from you, and then buy from you again.

Now, a question: how long are you willing to wait before your blog starts delivering dollars to your bank account?

Having realistic expectations is important. If you try to run a marathon as though it were a sprint, you’ll end up exhausted on the side of the road. And if you try to run a sprint as though it were a marathon, you’ll finish dead last.

So what kind of race do you want your blog to be running?

If you’re willing for it to take 2-3 years to get your blog to where you want it to be, then a good strategy is to read business books for bloggers, along with the best blogs in the industry.

But if you want to see results sooner, then get some help. For example, you could click the link in my bio and read about our marketing training program, that just happens to be closing to the public on September 1.

About the Author: Danny Iny is an author, strategist, serial entrepreneur, and proud co-founder of Firepole Marketing, the program that teaches non-marketers to fix their chain of conversion like expert marketers. Get his free video course on how to get more money out of your business, website or blog, or follow him on Twitter @DannyIny.

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A 7-Step Guide to Mind Control: How to Quit Begging and Make People Want to Help You

Posted on 25. Aug, 2011 by Jonathan Morrow in Blog, Blog Psychology, Collaboration, content marketing, conversion, Copywriting, Email Marketing, Entrepreneurship, Headlines, Keyword Research, Landing Pages, List Building, Online Product Launches, personal branding, persuasion, productivity, selling, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, Traffic

Well, why not?

They are the problem, right?

Here you are with a blog or a product or a charity you believe will change the world, and yet no matter how excited you are about the possibilities, no matter how much faith you have in yourself, you can’t help being worried:

• If you ask a popular blogger for a link, will you get a reply?
• If you ask a partner to email a product offer to their list, will they agree?
• If you ask a friend for a donation, will they write you a check?

You don’t know. You can’t know. And it bothers you.

Wouldn’t it be easier if you could just close your eyes, pop over into their mind, and seize control?

Yeah. Too bad it’s not possible …

Or is it?

A Brief Introduction to Mind Control

As it happens, mind control is possible. Sort of.

No, you can’t turn your customers, partners, and in-laws into mindless zombies, but you can influence them.

In fact, there’s a science to it.

Back in the 1980s, a researcher by the name of Dr. Robert Cialdini wrote a book called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion. He outlined different principles scientifically proven to influence people, as well as suggestions for how to do it.

Since then, it’s become maybe the most important book in the field of marketing. If you haven’t read it, you should, as well as the sequel.

Here’s the bad news:

Mind control isn’t about magic powers, arcane arts, or even shaving your head and gallivanting around in a wheelchair (although, I’ve been tempted). The truth is it’s about something that makes a lot of people squeamish: marketing.

The Truth about Marketing

The core of marketing isn’t customer profiling or market segmentation or any of the other complicated nonsense taught in most business schools.

It’s infinitely simpler than that, and it can be encapsulated in one word:

Yes.

You ask a blogger for a link, and they say, “Yes.” You ask a partner to promote your product, and they say, “Yes.” You ask a customer for a testimonial, and they say, “Yes.”

If you get enough yeses, your blog/business/charity succeeds. If you don’t, it fails. It’s so simple, and yet so few of us really understand how to do it.

The good news?

You can learn.

What follows is a marketer’s guide to mind control. Use these seven strategies wisely.

1. Do all the thinking for them

The worst mistake you can make when asking anyone for anything is telling them to “Think it over.”

Here’s why: people already have too much to think about.

Between their jobs, their family, and their own hobbies and friends, their mind is already stuffed, like a suitcase bulging at the sides. Add one more sock, and the whole thing will explode.

To avoid it, they “forget” about things that aren’t very important to them, or if they do think about you, they don’t think very hard. It’s not because they are lazy or stupid. They’re just busy, and you’re probably not very high up the priority list.

And so the best strategy is to not ask them to think.

Do it for them.

• Instead of expecting them to see how your blog post will benefit their audience, explain it, and offer examples of similar posts that have done well in the past
• Instead of asking them to host a webinar for you, setup the webinar, landing pages, and emails yourself, and send them as part of your pitch
• Instead of begging a customer to write a testimonial from scratch, send them a dozen different examples to use as a guide

Be specific. Explain your reasoning. Offer proof. Tell them what to do next and why.

If you do it right, it won’t feel like asking at all. It’ll be more like advising.

And they’ll say yes. Not because of magical powers of persuasion, but because you’ve thought through everything, and it’s a no-brainer.

2. Start an avalanche

Creating a successful marketing campaign is a lot like starting an avalanche.

First, you climb up the mountain, and then you find the biggest boulder at the top, and then you sweat and grunt and strain to push the boulder over, and then you sit down and watch happily as the boulder goes crashing into other boulders, eventually bringing the whole side of the mountain down.

The lesson?

The first big yes is a pain in the butt to get, but if you get it from the right person, then getting all of the subsequent yeses is easy.

For example:

• Getting a popular blogger to tweet your post is hard, but once they do, dozens or maybe even hundreds of people will retweet them
• Convincing a leader in your niche to promote your product is tough, but once they do, everyone else will want to promote it too
• Persuading a celebrity customer to give you a testimonial can be tough, but once you do, sales skyrocket, and getting further testimonials is easy

Of course, a lot of marketers recommend taking the opposite approach.

They tell you to start from the bottom and work your way up because it’s easier.

But really, it’s just an illusion. Yes, pushing over a small rock is easier than pushing over a boulder, but the boulder is a lot more likely to cause an avalanche. So while it’s more work in the beginning to get top people to help you, it’s actually less work in the long run, and the results are far, far greater.

3. Ask for an inch, take a mile

You’ve probably heard the expression, “Give them an inch, and they’ll take a mile,” right?

It’s supposed to be derogatory. It’s supposed to be a warning against appeasement. It’s supposed to protect you against getting taken advantage of.

But it’s also great marketing.

Whenever you’re asking for anything, never start by asking for everything upfront. Instead, start small. Make it easy to get started. Reduce the risk if it flops. Let them see the results for themselves.

And when it goes well, ask for more. And more. And more.

You might think that’s unethical, but if everything is going well, why not push for more? It’s not manipulation. It’s common sense.

For instance:

It’s not psychological trickery or anything like that. It’s smart business. No one likes to risk everything upfront, and by offering progressive levels of commitment, your chances of getting them to say yes go through the roof.

4. Always have a real deadline

The keyword is “real.”

All of us have had salesmen tell us, “Well, you’d better get back to me fast, because I have three more prospects coming this afternoon, and I don’t know how long it’ll last.” It’s BS, of course.

There are no clients, and there is no urgency. The salesman is just so desperate he’s willing to lie, not only costing him your trust, but probably the sale too.

And it’s not just salesmen.

How many times have other people handed you completely artificial deadlines, thinking it will motivate you to act? Our teachers do it, our bosses do it, our family does it, and without thinking about it, you’ve probably done it too.

Stop.

Not only is it ineffective, but it’s totally unnecessary. Real urgency is easy to create. With a little thought, you can build it into your marketing. For example:

• Instead of leaving a free report on your blog forever, tell everyone it will only be available for seven days, and then you’re going to start charging $7 for it. Not only will you get a lot more downloads, but other bloggers will be a lot more likely to promote it during the window
• Instead of letting JV partners dictate when they will promote your product, schedule a launch, announce it to your list, and then forward partners the announcement, inviting them to participate
• Instead of asking customers for testimonials whenever they get around to it, show them the timeline for an upcoming launch, including a specific date to send out testimonials. You need it by then, or you won’t be able to include it

Will some of them bow out, saying they are too busy right now, and they’ll catch you next time?

Sure, but it’s better than never getting started it all. And if you let other people dictate timelines, that’s exactly what will happen.

5. Give ten times more than you take

You know you’re supposed to give before you get, right? But what you might not know is how much to give.

A lot of marketers mistakenly assume it’s a 1:1 ratio.

Before you ask for a link, you should give a link. Before you ask for promotion, you should give a promotion. Before you ask for a testimonial, you should do one thing that deserves a testimonial.

But that’s wrong. Smart marketers use a 10:1 ratio, and not just in action, but in value:

• If you want 100 visitors, send them 1,000
• If you want $1000 in product sales, sell $10,000 of their products first
• If you want one testimonial, do ten different heroic acts of customer service worthy of a testimonial

This isn’t about “You scratch my back, I’ll scratch yours.” It’s about generosity so overwhelming they can’t say no.

Yes, it’s a lot of work, but that’s the price of influence.

6. Stand for something greater than yourself

Imagine there are two homeless guys standing on a street corner.

The first guy has a normal, run-of-the-mill sign saying, “Spare a few dollars? God bless you.” The second guy, on the other hand, has a much more unusual sign: “Can’t afford to feed my family, and it’s tearing me apart. Please help, so I can stop feeling like such an awful Dad.”

Which one would you be more likely to help? The second one, right?

Forget giving him a few bucks. With a sign like that, you’d take him to the grocery store and buy him $200 worth of groceries. I know I would.

That’s the power of standing for something bigger than yourself. It makes people care.

And it applies to everything:

• Instead of writing yet another how-to post, take a stand on an important issue, arguing with both passion and unassailable logic
• Instead of starting yet another me-too consulting business, create a movement, working tirelessly to change the lives of your customers
• Instead of selling yet another step-by-step manual, sell a philosophy, filled with heroic examples to inspire your customers

Those are the types of things people want to talk about. They feel grateful just for having the chance to help you spread the word.

7. Be completely and utterly shameless

You want to know what separates a great marketer from a mediocre one?

Shamelessness.

I’m not referring to a lack of conscience, having a gregarious, extroverted personality, or any of the other ways we traditionally look at marketers. For the most part, those stereotypes are myths.

No, by shamelessness, I mean this:

An unshakable belief that what you are doing is good for the world and the willingness to do anything to bring it into being.

When you believe in your content, you don’t publish it and forget it. You promote it day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year, working tirelessly to spread the message to everyone who needs to hear it, and refusing to rest until they do.

When you believe in your product, you don’t balk at sales. You revel in it. Not because you’re greedy or desperate or egotistical, but because you know your product will help them, and so it’s your duty to get them to buy. Whatever it takes.

When you believe in your charity, you don’t beg for donations. You demand them. You grab people by the shoulders and look them in the eyes and tell them what you’re doing is changing the world, and it’s time for them to step up and do their part.

It’s not about money. It’s not about glory. It’s not even about legacy.

It’s about falling in love. It’s about being enchanted. It’s about seeing a vision so beautiful you can’t help but fight to make it real.

Do you have a vision like that? Something worth getting up every day and fighting for?

If you do, you can accomplish damn near anything.

And if you don’t, well …

What’s the point?

About the Author: Jon Morrow is Associate Editor of Copyblogger. If you’d like to learn what it really takes to become a popular blogger, check out his free videos on guest blogging.

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Comments

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• [...] just do something for each of the complimentary … by How Much Have You Leveraged Today? | Richard S. Peck
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Is Your Social Media Strategy Stalling Because You’re Not Doing This One Thing?

Posted on 17. Aug, 2011 by Dan Zarrella in Blog, Blog Psychology, content marketing, conversion, Copywriting, Entrepreneurship, Headlines, Keyword Research, persuasion, selling, Small Business Internet Marketing, Small Business Marketing, social media marketing, Traffic

Marketers of most stripes know how important and powerful calls-to-action are.

If you want someone to take a specific action, you have to actually ask them to take that specific action.

But, it seems like social media marketers have either forgotten CTAs, or rejected them altogether.

A researcher by the name of Irving Kirsch at the University of Connecticut did an interesting experiment with hypnotically suggestable people.

Half of the subjects were put under full hypnotic trance and given a stack of 30 post cards.

They were given the hypnotic command to mail one card back to the lab each day for 30 days.

The other half of the subjects were simply asked nicely, given social requests without hypnosis to do the same.

Can you guess which group mailed more postcards back?

The second group ended up mailing more cards back. Social requests can be just as powerful as full-out hypnotic suggestions.

So why are social media marketers afraid of them?

The power words of blog commenting

When I studied blogging, I found that blog posts that included the word “comments” typically got more comments than blog posts that did not.

Take a look at this graph displaying the most commented-on words:

This is very simple, very powerful stuff.

If you want readers to comment on your blog, you have to ask them.

The power of the call to action

The most powerful evidence of the power of social calls-to-action is how effective “please retweet” is.

I studied a a statistically significant sample set of more than 10,000 tweets and found that those that used the phrases “please retweet” or “please rt” were much more likely to be retweeted.

In the case of the longer “please retweet” the tweets were four times more likely to be shared by followers.

I’m not exactly sure why there is so much resistance in social media marketing circles to calls to action, but now you know the truth.

Calls to action work!

And here’s one for you: Get more social media data and mythbusting information by registering for the Science of Social Media webinar coming on August 23rd. Register today!

About the Author: Dan Zarrella is HubSpot’s Social Media Scientist. This post contains data from his upcoming webinar The Science of Social Media, taking place this Tuesday, August 23rd. Sign up now!

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• [...] Is Your Social Media Strat­egy Stalling Because You’re … by Articles By Email, August 31, 2011 | Tabyanan Consulting
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