6 Tips for Proper Linking in Blog Posts

My Web Writers

Linking to other blogs builds relationships and gets you noticed in the content marketing world. When content generators see they are receiving links from you, they are more apt to visit your site, and possibly link back to it.  But, be advised that linking for linking’s sake is not recommended. Search engines have made it clear that content needs to offer readers value and not a plethora of junky links.

Consider these six tips to building community by connecting to others when the connections fit your content:

1)     Link to those in your network: Regardless of your industry, you’ll likely have peers worthy of referrals.  Providing a positive endorsement or a link to a colleague or vendor builds community and ultimately drives traffic to your site.

2)      Link to fans: If you have an active readership, linking to their blog or other social media account is an effective way to foster engagement. Plus, it never hurts to thank readers for their loyalty.

3)     Link to supplemental/complementary information: In general, anything relevant to your blog topic is worthy of link consideration. Driving readers to other links can provide context and supplemental information on the topic to your readers. In time, readers will come to view you as an expert in your respective field.  As a word of advice, limit these types of links to five per post.  It’s possible to overwhelm readers with too much content.

4)      Provide link explanations. A good way to encourage visitors to click on external links is to provide a brief description about the content. Readers will be more apt to click than if the link lacks an explanation. No one wants to click on a link to find it’s really a virus or not what they expected. You could lose credibility or trust. And that translates into less traffic, and perhaps a shrinking bottom line.

5)     Make friends. If you’ve found a compelling blog post, why not contact the blog owner and inquire about exchanging links, or even guest posts? If your site is a source for relevant, high-quality information many will be willing to reciprocate to reap the rewards. Another scenario: Link to the other blog, then email the blogger to introduce yourself, mention the link, and ask them to consider linking to you.

6)      Another pro tip: Set your links to open in a new window. This keeps visitors on your site longer, and helps maintain fluidity in reading. For example, if you’re linking to a story about analytics, they might be interested, but want to keep reading your post. Opening the story in a new window allows them to browse to that tab or window–on their own time.

In short, linking is one of the many activities you can do to help better your SEO. The links should literally stand out and entice readers to click them. Make sure the links are relevant to the rest of your content and not too cluttered on the page.  Finally, familiarize yourself with the Penguin update, if you haven’t already, to ensure that you avoid exact match anchor text. When you properly link in your blog, you offer the reader other avenues to explore your topic more deeply.

~Lauren

Five Video Perfect, Speech Opener Ideas

 My Web Writers

If you’re not using video yet– you should be.  When using video as a way to communicate mass messages, these following five ideas will help you to open with strong and compelling calls-to-attention and to pique your audiences’ interests.

1. Start with a demonstration.

Video presentations can do what would not be nearly as effective in front of a large, live audience. You can open your speech with a hands-on demonstration, talent, or trick – especially one that can be zoomed in on. Many people learn by doing and so a speech that begins with an immediate action captures interest and improves retention. This makes the audience want to know the connection between your demonstration and what you’re about to say next. We like the Shindigz video collection because of the quality and quantity of helpful tips and the ways in which these party products are demonstrated by Wendy and Mary.

2. Add emotion.

A video speech or presentation is also a key opportunity to employ an emotional appeal to your audience. You can begin with a montage of photos with a voiceover, words or a story from someone else or tell a story that is personal to you. Music can greatly enhance the effect of this. Another important benefit of this speech opener is that it helps to create a relationship with the audience. Through video you can sometimes lose that “human element” that you get from a live presentation, but by incorporating emotion you ensure this important element is still present right from the start. We think the Dove Real Beauty Sketches demonstrate how to effectively tug at heartstrings.

3. Incorporate humor.

The use of humor is a tried-and-true technique for many different styles of speeches. Remember that with video, you have the advantage of zooming in on facial expressions to really emphasize the humor in a story.  Telling a joke is a perfect speech opener idea for this medium because it helps to break the ice and set a warm and friendly tone. Whether dry or sarcastic, humor like Apple Coasting will bring a welcome chuckle.

4. Reference another well known speech or video clip.

Countless video clips have risen to stardom overnight after going viral on social media. These have become just about as well known as classic novels, especially depending upon the generation you ask. Including a short clip from a well known viral video as the opener of your own video speech is a great way to capture an audience’s attention and to prime them for your message. Ideally, such a clip should be relatable to the rest of your speech. With the many, many viral videos to choose from, you should be able to find something that can be woven into almost any message.  We think this Cimorelli and Matty B spoof of Cary Rae Jepson’s Call Me Maybe is a fun way for up-and-coming singers to partner and credit a well-known singer.

5. Do something completely unexpected.

Finally, video speeches are a great opportunity to do something completely unexpected and harness this as an effective opener to capture your audience’s attention. You’re able to zoom-in, edit, add special features and use props much more easily than you could in front of a large, live audience. So stretch your creativity and really think outside the box for an unexpected opener like a special effects trick, goofy song or sound effect. This can be in relation to the topic of the rest of your video speech or it could be a complete contrast that will keep the audience guessing.

There are many great opportunities to open your video speech that will capture your audience’s attention, build your credibility and set the stage for a powerful message.  These are just five to help get you started. They key is to remember that you must tailor your message to your audience and your medium. A video presentation or speech has unique challenges and advantages of which you should be aware and take into consideration. With the right opener and ever-advancing technology, your message can travel as far and as fast as your viewers are inspired to take it!    ~Stephanie & Jean

Other Articles:

Is Your e-Store Prepared for Summer Shoppers?

Social Networking for Business; Success Stories from 3 Brands

How Video Helps Your Website’s SEO

Resolve to Include Video in Your Content

Is Your e-Store Prepared for Summer Shoppers?

My Web Writers

Are you marketing and merchandising your website for this summer’s sales potential? According to Internet Retailer, the U.S. Commerce Department said that U.S. online sales totaled $225.5 billion in 2012, up 15.8% from $194.7 billion in 2011.  With the exception of sales in categories not commonly bought online—

Internet Retailer estimates that e-commerce accounted for 7.6% of total retail sales during the year, up from 6.8% a year earlier. Commerce Department estimates are based on a quarterly survey of more than 11,000 U.S. merchants.

It’s no wonder that such a large marketing emphasis is placed on preparing shopping web sites for each new season and sale.  Every effort counts.   As the weather finally heats up for the summer, many e-stores have rolled out their new merchandise and revamped their web sites. All businesses, regardless of size or industry, can learn from other creative and competitive websites. Let’s take a look at three examples of big name brands and how they’re poised to sell more this summer:

 

1.  Target.com

Target is known for its chic and trendy styles and its unique in-store shopping experience. Target pays special attention to creating this same vibe in its e-store. The web site design is simple, clean and incorporates the signature Target red color to promote brand recognition. Though this main design remains the same year-round, the homepage content is customized to the upcoming holidays and season. Going on right now is a sale on patio furniture and family swimwear.  Aside from the featured sales, Target has changed the photos to represent each of its main shopping categories to be summer-themed. For example the “Women’s” category shows a summery dress and the “Sports and Outdoors” category is represented with an above ground pool. These images, though subtle, entice shoppers to click and browse in areas they may have had no original interest in shopping.

What you can learn: The takeaway from Target’s summer-poised marketing is that images are powerful. If you are trying to sell seasonal items, then every image should be carefully chosen to remind shoppers of all the things they enjoy about that season. Even if they weren’t originally in the market for a pool, customers will be intrigued to click on images that pique their interests.

Target.com’s weakness is its lack of content.  It’s missing tips or suggestions to help customers visualize how to use its products.

Target.com is ready to go for the summer, though the “d” in “deals” should be capitalized and the exclamation point should be dropped. Oops. Can you spot the other capitalization errors?

2. Petsmart.com

Petsmart’s images are ready for summer.  The web site’s main sliding banner greets customers with various pictures of dogs running outside on sunny days. The other still images on the homepage are also of animals in outdoor settings. Moving beyond the homepage, the main items featured are geared toward use in the summer. For example, the dog section has leashes, harnesses and bike trailers aimed at outdoor lovers on the go.

What you can learn: While it’s only April, Petsmart has already positioned its web site with the most summer-related items first.   Like end-caps in physical stores, identify your store’s most desirable and in-demand products and place them at the forefront of the e-store.

Petsmart needs to add seasonal content.  Currently, its homepage bottom content is duplicated on several category pages, which isn’t great for search or for customers.  Petsmart.com could address pet owners’ most frequently asked questions about each category in those spaces.  It’s missing opportunities to educate new animal owners about the pros and cons of buying fencing, habitat accessories, and other pet supplies.

 

Even though it’s a cold spring in many parts of the United States, Petsmart.com helps consumers visualize summer outside with Fifi and Fido.

3. Gap.com

Gap is a brand that adapts to every new season. The colors and styles of their clothes act as decorations for the web site and can change the whole tone from summer to winter.  Clothing stores start advertising their new lines nearly a season in advance. Today, Gap.com is vibrant, bright and cheery with summer apparel.  Even the background graphic on the web site has been changed to read “Be Bright” in art-deco style lettering. From shorts and capri’s to sundresses and tank tops, one would think it’s already August at Gap.com.

Gap.com employs a clever trick with some images. Notice the blue highlight of “uniform shorts.” This phrase looks like a hyperlink. It’s not, but when clicked, the image is linked to the corresponding shorts store. Also, on this page, Gap transitions from spring to summer through use of a jacket with shorts and words that close out spring, while promoting summer.

What you can learn: Not all e-stores and web sites can be as adaptable to changing for each season as Gap, but if you are – utilize it! Tailor your font, graphics, background and colors to represent each season. Summer products seem to “pop” so much more when accompanied by other summer colors on the site and when your products look good, they sell.

However, the Gap is content light.  Sentences are placed over images like memes; but, there are very few words in text above or below page folds.  The Gap performs fairly well in search, but it’s likely that online conversions would improve with carefully-crafted content that adds value to the customers’ shopping experiences.

Overall, the common theme among these e-stores is to move your seasonal and most desirable products to the front. Incorporate the colors of the seasons, but stay true to your brand.  Place seasonal items on your homepage and tailor your images and content toward creating vibes that put shoppers in the mood for summer.

Don’t forget those whose experiences are enhanced beyond the layout, art, and images by the words they read.  Store content should educate the consumer, complement images, and describe the feel of the season.

Is your e-store prepared for summer shoppers?

~Stephanie & Jean

Other MWW Articles:

National Websites without Physical Stores Struggle to Rank

Guidelines for Writing E-Tail Category Content

Five Ways to Prepare Your E-Store for the Holidays

Nab These Call-to-Action Verbs

Twenty-five Effective, Call-to-Action Phrases for E-commerce Content

by My Web Writers

“Click here!” “Buy today!” “Limited time only!” We’ve seen them all, and ignored most of them. Not all e-commerce call-to-action phrases are creative. Most of them are incredibly cliché and really don’t motivate the reader to do much of anything.

You want to be different. You want to stand out. In order to do this put on your thinking cap and let your creative juices flow. Don’t use the same words that everyone else uses. Turn to a thesaurus if you need to and make sure you’re thinking outside the box.

Try these 25 effective, call-to-action phrases in your ecommerce content:

1. Just hit Reply and we’ll email you the details.
2. Entice him with x, y, and z.
3. Impress when you dress in x, y, and z.
4. Think (insert topic here).
5. Get the 411.
6. Come hang with us.
7. Write!
8. Tell us you want it.
9. Put it in my closet.
10. Use it ASAP.
11. Make my friends jealous.
12. Explore the product.
13. Book a table.
14. Take a chance today.
15. Achieve more now.
16. Build my collection.
17. Learn how to profit.
18. Improve my life.
19. Make me (look, smell, dress, etc.) better.
20. Check it out.
21. Some of our customer favorites are x, y, and z.
22. Try popular styles like x, y, and z.
23. Our top sellers, such as X and Y, receive outstanding reviews.
24. Shop for other items like x including y and z.
25. Our most linked to products are x, y, and z.

Remember that calls to action aren’t only about the words. Experiment with fonts, size, and placement on the page.  Feel free to be creative while enticing shoppers to buy more!

~Natalie

Famous Dead Authors’ Secrets for Writing Success

By Sara, My Web Writers Intern

It has been said that writers are born, not made. Some take that to mean that you are either born with talent, or you may as well not try. That’s probably bunk. If writers are born, they are born out of the sweat and tears of determination and practice. Whether you are drumming up SEO content or working on the next great American novel, writing well and employing the habits of effective writing are essential.

First, it’s important to practice.

Practice keeps you in the habit of writing and thinking about writing. Nineteenth century author C.S. Lewis, most famous for The Chronicles of Narnia, says that “what you want is practice, practice, practice. It doesn’t matter what we write… so long as we write continually as well as we can. I feel that every time I write a page either of prose or of verse, with real effort, even if it’s thrown into the fire the next minute, I am so much further on.”

Another prolific writer, recently deceased Saul Bellow, observed that “somewhere in his journals Dostoyevsky remarks that a writer can begin anywhere, at the most commonplace thing, scratch around in it long enough, pray and dig away long enough, and lo! soon he will hit upon the marvelous.” When you practice the craft of writing and pay diligence to it, you grow. Even if you write tweets for a business firm, you are bound to come up with more unique, interesting, and creative content when you practice. Imagine an athlete who only played her sport at game time — she wouldn’t be good at it and would not be long rewarded for her “efforts.” So practice, practice, practice. Start now. Call it writers’ Spring Training.

Having some “filler” in your drafts is o.k.

It’s certainly tempting for any writer to stop when we have so-called “writer’s block.” Larry Gelbart, though, says “don’t stop.” He wants us to put something there and keep moving. Recently I wrote an article on decade themed parties and decided to employ Gelbart’s advice. I could have stopped and stared at the computer screen when I was stumped on what to write about a 1970s party that wouldn’t be a tired cliché. Instead, I wrote, “too much Footloose not enough Studio 54,” and moved on to the 1980s. Later, while editing and revising, I realized Footloose wasn’t even set in the ’70s, but I understood where my mind was headed. If I had tried to flush that out in the first draft, I’d still be writing it. Listen to Larry. Use filler and keep writing.

Beware of clichés.

“Beware of clichés…. There are clichés of response as well as expression. There are clichés of observation and of thought — even of conception. Many novels, even quite a few adequately written ones, are clichés of form which conform to clichés of expectation.”

-Geoff Dyer

Geoff Dyer is not dead (here is his website), but this advice was too good not to share. Clichés are death to all that is interesting. I can’t say that clichés are never ok, because writing, like most art, only deals in absolutes for the strict business of breaking them. That being said, clichés are never ok. “It goes without saying” that the “early bird catches the worm” and “curiosity killed the cat” so a true “jack of all trades” would never to “keep up with Joneses” by recycling tired clichés.

If it goes without saying, then please, please, just don’t say it.

Ctrl-F and Delete those Adjectives

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

-Anton Chekhov

Adjectives are not the enemy here (Hint: its clichés). Adjectives can be a crutch, though. I recently read an article about a mama raccoon saving her litter of baby raccoons during a bout of bad weather. It passed through my twitter feed with the phrase, “mother raccoon shields her litter on turnpike from cold,” so of course I read it. I read it and said “awwww… how heartwarming and precious!” If the tweet had falling back on adjective addiction, I probably wouldn’t have clicked on the link following “Heartwarming and precious tale of courage.”

“Don’t say it was delightful; make us say delightful when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, ‘please, will you do the job for me?’”

-C.S. Lewis

Reflect on What You Wrote

In Politics and the English Language, George Orwell claims that a “scrupulous writer” will constantly, even after every sentence (so definitely before sending that tweet), ask him or herself four questions. I leave you with those four questions to take back to your own stack of papers and document files (and practice!):

What am I trying to say?

1. What words will express it?
2. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
3. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

Other Articles from My Web Writers:

Tweet for ReTweets- Twitter Tips

My Favorite Writer and Online Marketing Websites and Blogs

What Stephen Covey Knew about Marketing

Tell a Better Story: Tips and Tricks from Mark Twain

Overcoming the Beautiful Little Fool

Party Crashers App Embraces Digital Marketing and the American Dream

Annual Essay Contests You Shouldn’t Miss

Seven Helpful Apps for Writers

by My Web Writers

Everything it takes to be a writer is literally at your fingertips with mobile apps. Apps can be used to research, brainstorm, write, edit, read, many other things. It doesn’t matter if you’re a blogger, journalist, novelist, content writer, or someone who just likes to write for fun, we’ve found seven helpful apps for writers.

Writer

Quick! You have a great idea and need to jot it down immediately, before you forget. The Writer app is a simple app that allows you to keep track of your thoughts and ideas as you have them. It’s almost like carrying stickie notes on your phone. Writers know how quickly ideas can come, and they can just as quickly escape the mind. Writer is a great app to reach for when a great idea strikes, and even better, it’s free.

WordPress

If you’re not blogging… oh who are we kidding? Of course you’re blogging! Whether you’re using a blog as a journal, to jot down ideas, to share your opinions, or even if you just visit WordPress to read what others are writing, you know how important WordPress is. Use the app to do your own writings, check your blog stats and to read what others are writing.

Dictionary.com

Writers may think they know how to spell every word in the English language, but let’s face it, even the best writers can have trouble remembering how to spell certain words. Having a dictionary handy as an app is a great idea for all writers. Dictionary.com also provides a thesaurus. Imagine tons of synonyms at your fingertips while you write!

Quora

“Know more,” is the saying for this app. Use the powerful tool to do quick research, even with voice-enabled search. Quora is a question-answer app where multiple people can give insights on various topics. Use their insights to find the answers you’re looking for, or consider writing some answers of your own to help out others.

Pocket

Think about it. Who couldn’t use an extra pocket? This pocket, however, is on your phone or tablet. Pocket allows you to store articles, photos and more for later use. Keep all sorts of things you find on the internet for inspiration in one place… your Pocket!

Mindjet Maps

So many ideas, so difficult to organize! Your English teachers were on to something when they had you map out your essays and stories. Mindjet Maps helps you visually organize information. Organize your writing project with topics and subtopics. This is one of our favorite brainstorming apps.

Google Drive

If you’re a writer, it’s likely that you’re working on more than one project at a time. Google Drive, which now includes Google Docs, helps you keep all your files in one place. Access them and share them at any time with ease. You can even work on your projects offline, when an internet connection isn’t available.

There are hundreds of apps available that can make life easier if you’re a writer.  Do your research and see which apps work best for you. They can certainly make your life easier!  ~Natalie

The Pillars of SEO Every Content Writer Should Know

 My Web Writers

Many business owners find that SEO can be a very daunting task. With so many rules and best practices to follow, it can feel like a full-time job to master this skill. But the reality is SEO is easier than you think.  Consider these pillars, when writing content for the Web.

Unique and quality content – Posting unique content is one of the most important factors in improving your site’s rank. It’s a fact that Google simply will not rank a site highly if there is duplicated content. In addition to originality, concern yourself with the quality. It should be topical, and easy to read. Avoid drifting into unrelated tangents or you might risk losing readers. A blog is a great tool to create conversational content and engage readers.

As a writer, you may be great at providing in-depth analysis or research on a variety of topics, but it’s important to understand the additional pillars that contribute to SEO.  Besides content, there are site speed and coding factors that influence a site’s rankings.

Meta Data –Titles and descriptions can be used to your advantage, as both are viewed by consumers when performing a search for a particular keyword. Here, you can tell search engines what your page is about, and also attract consumers with compelling copy. Use generic keywords, along with specific ‘branded’ keywords. That way you can appeal to both groups: Those who are, and who are not familiar with your product or service. Generic keywords can be used to reach out to prospects. The branded keywords will help you attract traffic of existing customers.

Link Building– Link building is one way to boost your rank. You can do that by offering links to other reputable websites, along with your own links. In this case, quality links matter more than quantity. Have one quality link instead of five low-value ones. You can might want to consider guest blogging, which will allow you to promote your site externally, as well as further your brand.

Social Media – It appears social media is here to stay. Use it to your advantage to boost your search rankings. Links being shared through channels like Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ are great tools. YouTube videos are another way to get your message out there, while driving traffic to your site. Also, allow readers to share your content on their social media networks through sharing buttons. In theory, the more value you can offer, the more people will interact with you!

Image alt tags – Google offers image searches, as well as your normal text/keyword searches. By adding relevant alt tags to your images you can drive traffic to your site.

Accessibility –You want to make sure there is a clear structure to your website, so that all content and pages can be found easily. Otherwise, you may risk losing rank on Google searches.

In short, it’s important to realize that ranking on a major search engine will not happen overnight. Rather, it’s a process that takes time. Many business owners take this for granted, and end up frustrated due to a lack of instantaneous results. Hanging around to make the necessary updates is half the battle. If you stick with it, in time you might find you’re at the top of the search ranking for your industry!   ~Lauren