National Brands without Physical Stores Struggle to Rank for Local and other 2013 #SMX West Insights

My Web Writers Attended #SMX 2013

By My Web Writers

How can You Rank for Local, if You’re a National Brand without Local Stores?

Good luck.  There are few alternatives to building physical stores.  When a user types in a qualifying term like “pants Toledo”, he or she is probably looking  for a Toledo clothing store that sells pants.  Often the user is located within 1.5 miles of the store at that time.  In many cases, it’s becoming the norm for national chains, that solely sell online, to fall below the local listings of brands with stores.

How do you get around the local problem if you’re a national chain without physical stores?  Some panelists suggested building local pages on your website, while others suggested empowering affiliates to drive traffic for local, long-tailed keywords. Local landing pages are required and must have phone tracking, pricing, transparency, an adoption plan, and ensured alignment with the national PPC campaign.

Balihoo.com, which offers a free download of going local ideas, suggested starting with 4 – 5 affiliates and empowering them with incentives in local markets.  My Web Writers also published a post on going local back in 2012.

For those businesses that do have physical stores, Scott Nickels of Home Depot shared a story of a map pin to a local store that ended up in the wrong place. Traffic kept flowing to a residential home before the resident finally called to complain about the headlights in her back yard. Store managers have to be aware of the postcard process required for validation of the physical addresses and Maps needs to better hone in on the locales.

Home Depot’s word for 2013 is “local.” Nickels suggests creating one page per store and localizing social, too. He somberly shook his head when an attendee asked, “Do you mean if I have 53 stores, I have to optimize 53 Facebook pages?”

“Yes, yes you do,” he replied.

2013 #SMX West Insights

There are already so many, insightful, #SMX West 2013 recaps floating around the web from various attendees, but here are a few more insights as well as a list of the recaps.

Random Notes from Watching Sites Get Critiqued:

• Put Java Script and CSS in external script.

• Don’t use disavow if possible. Don’t tell Google you have a problem unless you have a PhD in understanding linking. You don’t want to accidentally remove links that are actually working for you.

• Submit articles to Reddit.

• Canonicals- make sure all products are given credit.

• PR can build legitimate page links.

• Shopping cart pages should be optimized with what the latest coupon codes are. Remember to 301 redirect expired coupons.

• Experiment with Google Plus to get juice for search-ability.

• Don’t blog just to blog. Consider putting monies toward PR opportunities.

• Schematag.org – a plugin for WordPress

• Enrich your Google Places ranking.

Take-aways from other SMX West sessions are as follows:

• Authorship and identity will matter more over time. False identities will be found.  Do authorities and brands have rank? Individuals have their own brands and should use authorship to maintain them.  Big brands are still struggling with this, which makes it a good time for small companies to utilize Authorship.

• “Links still have many good years ahead of them.” ~Matt Cutts

• Social interaction helps to determine SERP’s.

• Mobile is going to surprise a lot of people. It’s a critical factor.  Isolate mobile in Analytics. There’s a web page test tool that @AnneCushing likes to use to watch a video of how long it takes to load a client’s page.  It helps clients to see the importance of improving site speed- http://www.webpagetest.org/.

• “SEO is no longer about tactics, but more about strategy.”

• “Keep the company focused on metrics that matter to the company and not ranking reports.”

• Duane Forrester says the most important SEO factor for next year is “usability.  It’s more important than h-tags.”

• Ann Cushing said to “focus less on keywords and more on landing pages.”

• Matt Cutts reiterated that the “global view is the same as in other years. Give the user what they want.” Annotate your web pages with ‘about of’ markup for Chrome users. You can also disavow at a domain level.

• Rae Hoffman encouraged SEO’s to “Let go of how easy it used to be.”

• Greg Bowser said, “Embrace the big data.”

Looking for additional #SMX 2013 Recaps and Insights?  Read these excellent posts:

SEO Success in 2013 & beyond: Matt Cutts & others’ insights at #SMX

Matt Cutts, Duane Forrester talk ‘Adventures in SEO’ at SMX West

SMX West 2013: Top Tips, Tools & Takeaways

Insights from a Conversation with Matt Cutts about Google Authorship

Live Blog Recap: SMX West 2013 Day Three

Live Blog Recap: SMX West 2013 Day Two

Live Blog Recap: SMX West 2013 Day One

My SMX West 2013 Takeaways- Sugar Rae’s blog

What ideas do you have for national brands that want to rank for local search terms? Is there a #SMX 2013 blog post that I missed that you like?

~Jean

The Basics of Writing in MLA Style

by My Web Writers

Image Courtesy of the Modern Language Association- MLA.org

Formatting is an important component of any researched-based writing from high school essays to college term papers to published, academic work. For those who aren’t familiar with them, formatting styles can cause quite a headache, especially when left to the last minute. The best way to avoid the rush is to format before you begin writing and to follow the guidelines as you write.

In the humanities, MLA is the standard writing style for scholarly work. Students and professionals working in literature, cultural studies, media, and many commercial publications will need to understand and apply this style. Check out these tips to help you along the way.

MLA papers should…

-          be typed with 12-point font

-          use 8.5 x 11 inch paper with one-inch margins.

-          be double-spaced, with no spaces between paragraphs.

-          contain paragraphs with the first line indented one-half inch.

-          Page numbers should appear in the upper right hand corner. The author’s last name should appear before the page number.

First Page Formatting

-          List your name, the instructor’s name, the class and the date on separate lines. Like the body of the paper, the heading should be double spaced.

-          Include a centered title.

-          There should be one space between the title and the first line of text.

Betty Sue                                                                                            Sue 1 Mr. Howard English 101 3 April 2012 Title The first line of text should appear here. It should be followed by a second line of text. Notice that the first paragraph is indented.

In-text Citations

Generally, MLA uses author-page in-text citations. Citations allow the writer to give credit for ideas, paraphrases, and direct quotes that are not his or her own. Citations also allow readers to identify the sources for specific information in the paper and to correlate to the works cited page. In-text citations occur either directly after the quote or paraphrase or at the end of the sentence in which the quote or paraphrase is contained.  Notice that the end punctuation always appears after the last parenthesis. See the examples below.

“I sure hate flying airplanes” (Rider 16).

The girl says, “I sure hate flying airplanes,” even though she doesn’t mean it (Rider 16).

According to Rider, the girl “sure hates[s] flying airplanes” (16).

Works Cited Page

-           The works cited page appears on a separate sheet at the end of the paper.

-          The title should be centered and plain text.

-          Citations should be double-spaced with no extra spaces between citations.

-          All entries should identify the medium of publication (i.e. Print, CD, and Web).

-          EasyBib is a free site that generates reference pages in a variety of writing styles. Using this resource may save time when compiling a work cited page.

Basic book and web citations are shown below.

The format for citing a book is:

Author Last Name, First Name. Title of Book. Publisher, Year Published. Publication type.

The format for citing a web resource is:

Name of Author or Editor. Website Name. Version Number. Publisher or sponsor of site, date resource was created. Medium. Date material accessed. <URL> (If providing the URL is required.)

Additional Information

Most colleges and universities now have online writing labs with style guides that explain formatting in-depth. A few useful sites are listed below. MLA also prints style guides. Be sure to check out their website for any annual updates.

Modern Languages Association 

Purdue University Online Writing Lab 

Texas A&M University Writing Lab 

Utah Valley University Online Writing Lab 

~Lindsey

Write a Better Query Letter and Sell Your Work

by My Web Writers

Even with an increase in possible venues and publications in the digital age, getting your writing published is a tricky business. The bottom line is that to get that by-line you have to have more than talent. You also have to convince someone your writing is worth even considering. The first stop before an editor reads your manuscript is the query letter. Think of the query letter as your sales pitch. You have one short document to wow the editor enough that he or she will keep reading. It’s a tough business, yes, but knowing how to craft a good query letter can give you a leg-up.

Be Specific—Know Your Writing. Know Your Audience.

The first step to writing a strong query is being specific about your manuscript. Know what you’re writing and know who you’re writing to. Read back issues of the publication and demonstrate that you know the publication by offering specific reasons why your piece is a good fit for their style and target audience. Find the specific name and title of the editor you should submit to and address your letter to this person.

In your letter provide specifics about your article. How long is it, what genre does it fit, when can you finish it by, or when would it fit into the publication cycle best? Provide an outline of who the target audience for your piece is. Sell your writing from the business end.

Close your letter with an outline of your credentials. What is your experience and/or training? Have you been published before? Why should the publication trust you to produce quality work?

Cut the Fluff.

The basic elements of a query letter include a hook, a pitch, the body, and your credentials. There’s not much room for fluff. In  your hook avoid introducing yourself or getting bogged down in small talk. Dive in and write a hook just like you would in your story. Grab the editor’s attention off the bat and set yourself up for the pitch. In the pitch, get down to those specifics outlined above. Set down the nuts and bolts of the article before explaining the topic or story in more detail in the body. The body should give the editor more of an idea of what the story is about and what the point of the article is. Finally, close with your credentials. Give the editor concrete reasons why you’re a trustworthy and talented writer, rather than leaning on buttering up the publication or laying out your hopes and dreams. Keep the tone concise and confident.

Have a Voice.

The letter itself is a sample of your writing. It’s easy to get really stuffy and anxious in a query letter, but take a deep breath and let the editor hear the kind of voice that comes through in your articles. Be you, but in your best business suit, so to speak. Your letter should also demonstrate that you can provide a unique voice in multiple settings. Suggest a couple of different slants your article could take depending on the editors’ preference. Demonstrate that not only do you have a great article, you can be flexible in your writing.

 Be Professional.

A professional journalist once told me, “Think like a pro. Act like a pro. And you will be a pro.” Those words stuck with me and they are fully applicable to selling your writing. Even if you haven’t been published yet, or if you’re lacking confidence, present yourself like a professional. You might have to fake it til you make it. Remember, no editor will believe in your abilities if you don’t.

 Though query letters may feel like a pain or a hoop to jump through, keep a good attitude. A query letter is a powerful tool for both you and the editor. If you’re pitching an article you haven’t finished yet, queries save you time and effort. You can get confirmation or rejection on the idea before you put the labor into finishing it. Better yet, you also have the chance to get feedback on the idea that you can factor into your project. Perhaps you’ll get rejected, but the editor will be generous enough to give you some tips. Or, if your piece gets accepted, the editor can tell you how long they want it and provide feedback on angles, styles, and subject matter, helping you craft a piece perfectly suited for the publication and saving you major revisions.

All told, writing query letters is probably nobody’s favorite task, so  you can always hire an article writing service to draft or edit your queries.  However, treating this must-do as an opportunity to hone your voice and your writing skills can help you further your career as you seek out that elusive by-line.

~Kasey