How to Write Content Headlines & Titles for SEO - the writer inside of me cringes at that caption. What would Mark Twain think? However, the SEO internet marketing content developer in me knows it’s necessary to keep Google happy and sending people our way – or is it?
Headlines and titles are one of the most important parts of content development. Whether you maintain a weekly blog for your business or send out company press releases once per month, Google rewards those that make it as easy as possible for people searching for content relevant to the product, service, or topic at hand to find what they are looking for. After all, the public can’t anticipate whatever pun ridden title you came up with – no matter how knee slapping funny it is.
This article will help you optimize headlines and titles for your content so that Google will show you some love, while still keeping your writer’s integrity in tact:
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Clients often ask us if there is a best time of the day or week to focus their Social Media marketing efforts.
This week Bit.ly – a link shortening and tracking service – released data evidencing general trends for when the public is most active on Social Media as it corresponds to specific platforms (Twitter, etc…). Theoretically, by focusing on these high traffic times, businesses can increase the likelihood that their efforts – content and link posting – will see results via higher click through rates and conversion.
We thought we’d share this data with you, indicating the best times of the day (EST) to focus on three key Social Media platforms while providing implications for your business in the process:
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New clients ask us this all of the time. They want to know if they should set up a blog on their site. Let me nip the suspense on the bud here – YES, they should, and so should you.
The follow up to our decisive response usually revolves around the concern that perhaps their industry doesn’t warrant a blog. For example, business owners in the manufacturing sector may feel that the topic may be a little “dry” for a blog gobbling audience. Who wants to read your thoughts on cement mixers? I don’t, but do you know who does? Your customers. They’re out there and they are online, searching for information on your product/service and by adding a blog to your communications “mix” you have a better shot at getting their attention.
This article, or blog piece, details why blogs are an important part of your online marketing strategy:
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Content is everything in the age of internet marketing. Whether you sell tech related products and services or wooden widgets, you need to create engaging content for your website to get noticed by Google AND to attract repeat visitors. However, while the written (typed) word will always remain a top priority for content marketers, a massive shift is occurring towards a greater inclusion of attractive imagery to serve as the gateway to, and accompany, all written content.
With the meteoric rise of Pinterest and Tumblr’s dashboard becoming a standard in blogging along with Facebook’s switch to Timeline - including their one billion dollar acquisition of Instagram - it is proven that the public is responding to imagery more than ever. Swarms of early adopting B2B’s and B2C’s have jumped in line and dramatically increased their use of images to convey a message about their product/service.
Below we examine the best practices for your business to use visual design to maximize customer conversion:
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As a follow up to our last article on making your website a priority over your Social Media campaign, this week’s entry focuses on the importance of Email Marketing. While your Social Media efforts should continue to play a vital role in your online marketing strategy, email is still a preferred method of receiving brand information for many customers.
Take these points into consideration when optimizing your email marketing campaign:
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We’ve provided numerous articles recently about the importance of both Social Media and Mobile Website Optimization as a means to better engage customers. Many of you have taken note and launched successful campaigns. However, we cannot stress enough – your website is your number one online priority when marketing your product/service to your customers.
Social Networks are amazing tools for online marketing efforts and they can be fun to maintain. Sometimes businesses get so caught up in their Social Media agenda that their time is spread thin, leaving the “bread and butter”, their website, on the sidelines.
In this article we address the methods, as they apply to Social Media campaigns, of making sure that your website comes first:
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Malcolm Gladwell made a statement suggesting that a brand’s Social Media network is often a “mile wide and an inch deep”. He was right. For the most part.
Many Social Media marketing efforts are focused on getting a set amount of Likes and Follows and the success of their campaigns are measured by this method. For example, brands pay good money to simply get their numbers up to a benchmark of 1000 Likes or Follows. OK, then what? Was your campaign a success because you now have that number on your profile page? It’s nice to look at but it’s what’s behind that number that counts. Who are they? Where do they come from? And most importantly, will they buy from you?
For a small to medium business, it’s far better to have 100 qualified prospects (customers) who are actually interested in your brand than 1000 random fans or followers that may have visited your page once, yet rarely return. This should be a huge relief for those of you sweating unnecessarily to play the numbers game.
Here are a few tips to help your business develop a rich, qualified base for your Social Network:
Read more on “The Depth of Your Social Network” »
I was riding public transit the other day. I glanced up after sending an email from my iPhone and saw passengers toiling away either on their Apple, Android, or Blackberry device. There wasn’t a newspaper in sight.
After disembarking I entered a café for a quick latte and witnessed tables full of patrons on iPads and various tablets without one laptop in the vicinity. I made my way from the café and entered my building where I hopped on the elevator with others. As soon as the doors closed we bowed their heads (as if we had entered sacred ground) to scroll through our smartphones to pass the seconds it took to arrive at our respective floors. An hour later, in the gym, my cardio session was distracted by fellow fitness enthusiasts who perched themselves on treadmills and stationary bikes, not clutching bottles of water, but mobile internet devices.
The revolution has not been televised, it has gone mobile.
However, it’s not too late to join the party. There are over 5 billion mobile subscribers in the world to date and many of them are accessing the internet primarily through their smartphones and tablets. By 2015, it is projected that over 50% of off ALL online traffic will come from mobile devices. You have time to get on board. We have provided some additional evidence here, as to why your business should have a mobile website:
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We’re not exactly drawing your attention to a cutting edge topic here. Everyone spends some time on YouTube. However, for many, much of that time involves watching someone’s pet parakeet chasing a cat, or a pet cat chasing a large dog, or a dog playing the piano. You get the idea.
Businesses on the other hand, could benefit from time better spent using this fantastic resource, yet often neglect to take advantage of video as a means to promote their product or service. It can feel a bit overwhelming compared to using text to Tweet or pictures to Pin. However, the value of YouTube as a marketing channel is exponential and should not be overlooked out of aversion to A/V technology. If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video can be worth a million.
Read more on “Is YouTube for You?” »
