August 12, 2016

The Importance of Content Development

The ongoing development and addition of new, original, keyword relevant content to your website is imperative for achieving and maintaining high Google search engine rankings.
According to current Google criteria for ranking websites two factors are critical. One is that your site is ‘Mobile Device Friendly’ and the second which we will address here is that ‘Content is King’.

Why is Content Development so important? There are several key factors:

  1. As mentioned, Google ranks sites higher if there is a constant flow of new relevant information. Sites that rarely update or add new content are rated as less vital and active with consequentially less benefit for visitors. New relevant content is interpreted as an indicator of a vital website. Because developing and posting new content on a frequent basis is time consuming and involves specific SEO techniques, many website owners turn to a professional content development specialist.
  1. New content is important for maintaining the interest of returning visitors. People will stay on your website longer and view more pages if they notice new content when they return to your website. This could be new products or services, but could also be new examples, properly ‘tagged’ photos and special pricing offers. New content peaks people’s curiosity and presents your company as vital and valuable.

A few tips on adding content to your website: (more…)

October 17, 2014

6 Essentials for an Effective Website

1. Responsive scaling – Your site must be programmed so it scales to be easily viewed on any internet access device – from desktop computers to smartphones.
2. On-Site Search Engine Optimization (SEO). Every page needs to be optimized both on the page and in the source code. Consider the Page Title, Keywords, Description, H1 & H2 Headers, sufficient iterations of Keywords, Links within the site will draw the viewer and search engines in deeper to your content and Keyword Rich Content.
3. A ‘back-end’ user friendly administrative interface for easy text and image revisions in-house.
4. ‘Sticky Features’ (such as newsletter sign-ups and discounts) will encourage visitors to interact with your website, stay on the site longer and view more pages – all increasing the odds of a follow through on your call to action.
5. Designed and developed for a user friendly experience. One example is the choice of text & background colors. As an example: black text on a light background is easier on the eyes than white lettering on a black background. User-friendly websites have easy to find and use navigation and should include a sitemap.
6. Go with professionals, including a custom website design to reinforce your unique services/products; professional photographs – look your best!;  a professional marketing copywriter for benefits oriented wording that effectively sells your company; programmers who can execute your site feature requirements.

Follow these guidelines and you will be on your way to a productive website that is easily found on the internet.

September 3, 2014

6 Expert Tips for Writing Your Own Website Text

Filed under: Blog Articles — Tags: , , — Jeff Weissberg @ 2:39 pm

Many of my website design and development clients choose to take a “do-it-yourself” approach to writing their website text. To be honest, I don’t recommend this. Writing text that makes an emotional connection with your readers, convinces them that what you’re offering will improve their lives, and motivates them to take action is a lot harder than it looks! For best results there is a professional marketing writer that I highly recommend: Linda Coss, of Plumtree Marketing.
But if you really want to write your own website text, Linda has graciously provided the following expert tips:

1. Focus on the benefits – Your natural inclination is most likely to write about the features of your products or services. It’s black, made of heavy-duty plastic, etc. But to make an emotional connection with your readers, you really need to talk about the benefits that these features bring.

This is the “what’s in it for me” aspect of your offering. Why should the reader care that it’s black and made of heavy-duty plastic? Because this means that it goes with any décor and is virtually unbreakable.

2. Write from the reader’s point of view – The unfortunate reality is, nobody cares about you. All they really care about is how you can meet their needs. So set your ego aside and try to reduce the use of the words “we,” “us,” “our,” and “I.” Write sentences that talk about (or imply) “you” and “your” instead.

For example, instead of saying “we have over 30 years of experience,” try “experience the difference that 30 years of expertise brings.”

3. Give a compelling reason to buy – If you expect readers to “connect the dots” on their own you’re bound to be disappointed. Your text needs to clearly tell people why they should buy your product, and why they should buy it from you vs. buying from someone else or not buying anything at all.

4. Make it easy to read – If your text looks too difficult to read, most people won’t bother trying. In fact, most visitors to your website will just want to scan the text. Use formatting that makes it easy for them to do so. Avoid long, unbroken blocks of text and tiny fonts. Break things up with meaningful subheads and bullet points. Write things in such a way so that if a person just reads the text that’s in bold they’ll be able to get the gist of your message.

5. Put your bullet points in parallel format – Did you notice that all of the bullet points in this list start with a verb? Bullet points are most effective when all of the points in a given list start with the same type of word (such as verb, noun, adjective, etc.).

6. Include a call to action – What do you want your website visitors to do as a result of visiting your site? Give you a call? Place an order? Request your free white paper? Whatever action you want them to take, be sure to clearly ask them to do so. Once again, do not expect anyone to “connect the dots” and figure it out on their own!

December 7, 2009

SoCal WebWorx Now Offers Professional Copywriting Services

Filed under: Blog Articles — Tags: — linda.coss @ 5:05 pm

Over the past several years we’ve found that many clients make the very expensive mistake of taking a “do it yourself” approach to website writing. After all, they reason, who knows their business better than they do? Unfortunately, writing your own website is rarely a good idea.

In fact, we feel so strongly about the difference that professional writing can make in the success of your website that we’ve brought a professional copywriter on board our “virtual” team. Please join us in welcoming Linda Coss to the SoCal WebWorx family!

The Importance of Writing to Sell
Why do we strongly recommend professional copywriting for our clients? Because marketing writing – or writing to sell – is a learned skill, quite a bit different than writing a memo or an essay. While chances are slim that you really know how to write to sell, Linda is an accomplished marketing professional who does this day in and day out.

At SoCal WebWorx we can create a beautifully-designed and easy-to-use website for your business, and then drive traffic to this site with top-notch search engine optimization. But once your potential customers arrive at your site it’s the words that will need to do the heavy lifting of selling visitors on your products or services and motivating them to take action. If the words miss the mark, you’re missing out on a lot of potential sales.

Spending money on a professionally-designed site and then using ineffective and possibly poorly written text is just being “penny wise and pound foolish.”

About Linda Coss
Linda Coss is a freelance marketing writer who specializes in writing targeted and effective words that don’t merely inform – they appeal to the readers’ needs and emotions to engage and sell. Her 15 years in the marketing field include writing and editing everything from websites and newsletters to e-blasts, brochures, articles, and much more. Because Linda brings a wealth of experience and expertise to every job we are certain she will be an asset to both our firm and yours.

March 21, 2009

What is COPYWRITING?

Filed under: Blog Articles — Tags: — Deb Foley @ 6:38 pm

Copywriting is the use of words to promote a person, business, opinion or idea. Although the word copy may be applied to any content intended for printing (as in the body of a newspaper article or book), the term copywriter is generally limited to such promotional situations, regardless of media (as advertisements for websites, print, television, radio or other media).

The Internet has expanded the range of copywriting opportunities to include web content, ads, commercial emails and other online media. It has also brought new opportunities for copywriters to learn their craft, conduct research and view others’ work. And the Internet has made it easier for employers, copywriters and art directors to find each other.

On websites, copywriting may also refer to content writing for the purpose of achieving higher rankings in search engines. This practice includes the strategic placement and repetition of keywords and keyword phrases on web pages. Known as “organic” search engine optimization (SEO), it is best done in a way that does not distract, bore or confuse the human reader. Achieving optimal results is something of an art.

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