I’ve about had my fill of the cheap copy debate. In truth, there isn’t one. If you’ve got a complaint about copywriters charging too much, you’ve got other issues besides the cost. With copywriters, you get what you pay for, just like a doctor, lawyer, or even a school.

So, if you aren’t trying to screw writers over by trying to get everything for nothing, which most people aren’t, there’s something else behind it.

I’m not cheap, and after a series of recent events, I’ve re-evaluated my pricing structure yet again. My time and my copy are an investment, and it’s not something that should be taken lightly.

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Cheap Copy Makes You Look Cheap

Enough is enough, and I’m not the only one who’s had it with this type of thinking either. A number of writers have already had their say:

Web Content — You Get What You Pay For! (Oh, and that video on the end? Watch it.)

Why I Charge $1,200+ Per Page For Copywriting

My Thoughts On ‘Sausage-Factory’ Content: Let’s Set Something Straight

Google Says Quality Is Dirt Cheap, Don’t Hire Copywriters

Is Quality Copywriting Worth the Expense?

Here’s from the client’s perspective:

Debating the Value (and Meaning) of “Great Content” for SEO (Comments are great)

When To Pay Top Dollar For Copy

How Much To Pay a Copywriter from the Warrior Forum

The Importance Of Good Copy

Reviving Anorexic Web Writing

Search Engine Optimization and the Importance of Copy

There are literally thousands and thousands of pages on the topic.

Copywriting is an investment equal in importance to the design, development, usability, and marketing strategy. Throwing a hastily written piece of web copy on a design you’ve spent thousands on is like shoving a $10K stereo in a 1983 Tercel. And in a business where your only interaction with most customers is your website, the existance of this plague is truly a mystery.

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I’m More Than Just a Durn Good Spellur

So, how do you define a ‘good writer’ anyway? Is this someone who can spell and knows the rules of grammar? Someone who can fit enough drivel between your keywords to satisfy your keyword requirements? Well, if that’s the case, then you’re right. Any idiot can do that…hmm, well no, that’s not true. I guess for some, the ability to speak and read English is enough.

Did you know that when you hire a copywriter, a good copywriter, you get more than just someone who can bang a bunch of crap onto a page. Yes, a good copywriter has to understand the rules before he or she can break them, but great copywriting, and indeed, great websites don’t become great by breaking the rules. They become great by breaking them the right way, and there’s much more to it than just that.

My Copywriting Is Creative

Tell me, how do you define your brand when it comes to creating your website? If you say simply your logo and tagline, you deserve a good swift smack. Your brand is the image you present to visitors.

Knowing that, what kind of an image do you project when your site looks great, but no one can understand a damn word you’re saying? Exactly. You may say you have high quality with an attention to detail, but do you really? Or are you more interested in making a quick buck? If it’s the latter, I can guarantee you that people can sniff that out a mile away. It reeks like a skunk and spreads about as far.

What sort of image do you project if someone arrives on your site and they can’t figure out what it is you do or what you have to offer them? Either it looks like you aren’t too interested in sharing that information, or you’re trying to hide something. People aren’t going to fight to give you money or attention.

What if your site just feels bland and uninspiring? How do you think people see companies like that?

When I write a piece of copy, I think about it long before I ever start writing. The imagery, feel, and tone for the copy absolutely perfect, meaning it needs to match you, your brand, and your target audience. If it doesn’t, you may as well be speaking alien because it’s going to be about as effective. In fact, my best ideas come to me at night when I’m supposed to be sleeping, in the truck, or while I’m in the shower.

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I Don’t Bully Your Buyers. With Me, They WANT To Buy

Some segments of your audience need pushes at different times and to varying degrees. Do you address that adequately? Or do you just toss the standard format onto a page and hope for the best?

While most copywriters follow a standard formula, I know that nothing is ever standard. Your business, your market, your website, and even how you plan to communicate different ideas enter into this equation. I charge more because I take time to figure out to get familiar with your target audience and learn how to push the right buttons at just the right time.

I Focus On What Really Matters — Those Who Buy From You

I don’t know how many times I hear people complain that they’ve got too many time wasters. Or, they complain that they’ve got a low conversion rate. Did you ever stop to think that maybe your copy is attracting the wrong segment of people? Many times, site owners are building a site and they can’t even define who their most profitable market is. I don’t just mean stay at home mom’s over 40 either. I mean putting names to that market.

When I work on a project, however, I do my best to work with that company to define that audience, or I attempt to narrow it down as much as possible before I can even start. Why? Because that’s what makes my writing better and different than almost all other copywriters in the industry.

It’s not just identifying this market. It’s using various methods to become familiar with the people who will be giving you their money, enough that you can use the same language, have the same problems, desires and fears. Why? So you know how to offer them the solution.

This doesn’t just come from analyzing the data either. You need to understand exactly what it is you’re looking at. Is it guaranteed? Of course not, but it’s sure a lot more accurate than the wild stab in the dark a lot of other copywriters make, if they account for this at all.

I Get the Right Message Out There

A large majority of website owners want to talk about how wonderful their product is, how wonderful they are, and then ask consumers for money. This is so common, this is all a large number of copywriters produce. Sorry, but this just isn’t very effective. It’s been proven over and over and over again. In fact, the best copywriters in the business have been preaching this for decades.

When I craft copy, I get the attention of your target audience, I create an internal need, and convince them that buying whatever it is from you is the best they could do for themselves. To do this, I make a direct connection between you and them. Think of me like a translator. It has nothing to do with features and telling them how wonderful you are. This desire is far stronger than just bragging yourself up and asking someone to buy from you.

Well, I lied. This does work if you’re a girl guide, and sorry, but you’re far from a girl guide. Unless you’re a girl guide. Then, you have my apologies.

I Know How To Incorporate Social Media

Want to know what your target market is really talking about? Want to know what they really need or enjoy? Trying to hit a particular social media site? If your copywriter doesn’t know what he or she is doing, or doesn’t know what to look for (or how to look for it), you’re likely not going to get there, especially if you haven’t had time to do your homework. Things like this are easily skewed.

I charge more because I do know where to look and know how to interpret what I’m looking at. I charge more because I generate ideas that help you get the attention of your target market. Is it guaranteed? Nope. Sorry. Stuff like that is never a guarantee, but I guarantee you’ll get a heck of a lot closer with a copywriter that knows what she’s doing compared to one who doesn’t.

And Let’s Not Forget Search Engine Optimization

I’d like to think I have a pretty darn good understanding of SEO and how content fits into that equation. This gives me a distinct advantage over most copywriter, not only because I know how to create your content, but I also know how to structure it to satisfy the search engines and create sales funnels that are customized to match each of the different visitors who land on your site. In fact, I know how to create entire content strategies that will help you build links and all that kind of stuff.

A large number of other writers don’t even know where to begin. Oh, they can plug keywords into a bunch of text all right, but that’s pretty much the extent of it. What about working in difficult keywords or instances where the keywords chosen aren’t exactly a good match for the topic? I guarantee that if you’re only paying them a couple bucks an article, they aren’t going to care.

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I’m Good To You Too

What happens when you forgot about a project or you’ve discovered you’re falling in the SERPs? Maybe you’ve got a product that’s not going to meet the month’s goals? While most other copywriters only work business hours Monday to Friday and no holidays, I’m usually willing to make myself available and do everything humanly possible to get it done.

I don’t limit the number of revisions you’re allowed. I don’t give you obscene turnover times, and you know it’ll be done when you give it to me. There’s always a friendly voice on the phone and friendly hellos in your email. You can’t say the same about a lot of the writers out there, and anyone who has fought with crap writers before knows how important this is.

You see? If I was just writing, I could warrant working for a couple of dollars an hour, but there’s much more to it.

I Have Expenses Too

Would you pay someone to work for them? Good. Me either. If it’s going to cost me to do your work, I’m not too interested in doing it, and I think that’s only fair. So what else is included in my costs? The same things that are included in every other service or product you buy:

• Marketing
  
• Administrative costs
  
• Advertising/donations
  
• Emails, phone calls and chats (I don’t charge when we spend an hour on the phone!)
  
• Education, resources and learning
  

In the end, a single piece of web copy can take me days, not an hour or two. Besides, if you think it’s important enough to seek out the best copywriter to do it, don’t you think I should put as much time, care, consideration, and thought into it as you would?

You’ll notice I didn’t mention all the free SEO, site structure, usability, social media and marketing questions I often get asked while working on these projects. These questions sometimes eat up hours of my time…hours I could be getting paid for or spending with my kid.

Does this mean everyone should buy expensive copy? Of course not. Does this mean I’m the right copywriter in every situation? Of course not, but the rest of this discussion will have to wait for the next post!

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Many of my clients ask about what they should and shouldn’t publish when marketing their websites. If they want to sell, they should write content that directly promotes the company or a specific product, right? Or maybe they should they offer readers information that’s more… well… informative.

Companies want to advertise their products and services while creating a buzz around their business. Unfortunately, some get so caught up in the idea of getting conversions, they forget readers have to have a desire to read the piece in the first place or they’re just going to ignore it. (Think banner blindness!) It’s sort of like failing to see the forest for the trees.

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Now, while I’m a firm believer in the idea that there’s a time and place for everything, and am aware of the huge advantages promotional content can have, I strongly believe in using informative content in a blog, article marketing strategy, or to otherwise market a website, product, or service.

Why Promotional Content Is Often Ineffective For Marketing

On the Web, people are constantly bombarded with advertising. So it’s only natural that the last thing they want to spend time reading is
more advertising when dealing with an overflowing newsreader or inbox. When this happens, I find readers ignore this type of content and see it as having no value to them.

It’s important to introduce a new product, but promoting products too often can cause you to lose readership. They don’t want to read about you all the time. They want to find out how to solve problems, and the way I see it, if you have a properly crafted website, you don’t need to highlight something different every day.

Your readers should already know what you offer. This doesn’t mean promotional content is useless, but you need to be cautious about how you incorporate it into social spaces. (Mention sales, news and publish the odd post, but don’t consistently use entire blog posts to talk about you and your offerings.)

If you really want to sell the products or services you have on offer, you need to forget about advertising them. Instead, demonstrate to your audience how the items or services you have for sale can make their lives better, easier, or more enjoyable.

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Readers Want To Learn From You, So Give ‘em What They Want

By the time a reader gets to you, they have one of two goals:

1. They want to know how to solve a problem or issue by themselves. They want to leave your site and come away with something they can use, even if it’s hot news topics or industry changes.

2. They are too busy, or too inexperienced to handle an issue themselves, and want to hire you to look after it. In this instance, they don’t want to be educated. They expect you to know everything and use this knowledge to help them achieve a goal.

Your job as a website and business owner is to decide what goal your readers have and how you’ll address them. Depending on your niche, you may even need to address the needs of both types of readers.

From here, you can create topics that address these needs while still getting your message across in a subtle way. The idea is to make your audience go ‘Oh hey! I bet their product/service can help me do that.’ Or, ‘if I bought the product or service, I could do all this too…’

How Each Reader Type Converts:

You’ll find those who want to solve an issue themselves still may need some of the complimentary services you offer. Or, they’ll discover how much work or experience is required to do the job they have in mind and change their minds about doing it themselves. In this instance, who better to do the work than the expert they chose to learn from initially? Others may simply respect you for helping them and improve your authority. No matter which way it goes, you essentially lose nothing.

The group of readers who know they don’t have the time, experience, or expertise to do something are the ones who directly convert. They are already looking for the things you offer, so you just need to show them why you are better than your competition.

Lastly, if you’re guest posting or working on a content placement program, you’ll find the site owners are a lot less reserved when it comes to informational content. Promotional content, on the other hand, could cost you to get up there.

So, the next time you create a piece of content to publish on a blog, for example, which type will you use? Why? Do you feel promotional advertising can take a leading role in blogs, for example?

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I provide SEO copywriting for a number of different businesses, but unfortunately, I haven’t been able to help everyone. You see, a large number of the people who contact me are website owners with budgets that are simply too small for the amount of copy and content they need.

The other group is moms, dads and students who would like to earn some extra cash writing for a living. They want to do it, but they just can’t afford to pay me to teach them one on one and finding a decent course on it is like finding a needle in a haystack blindfolded!

While I do help some of these people on rare occasion, I simply can’t afford to help all of them. Now, with Practical SEO Copywriting by Glenn Murray, I can!

About Glenn…

I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Glenn Murray of Divine Write for almost three years now. We met over a tweet about SEO of all things. I was looking for some good quality resources to learn more about SEO, and he was kind enough to offer me a copy of his book SEO Secrets.

Being a creative, writing-obsessed, information addicted, quirky soul with a passion for SEO like me, we hit it off instantly and spent a good chunk of time talking about…I don’t know…something. Anyway, despite the fact that we’re technically competitors, we’ve become colleagues, and most importantly, great friends. We’ve worked together and helped each other more times than I have fingers and toes. (Might explain why I don’t know how many times we’ve helped each other out!)

You’ll never find another copywriter more interested in talking about the industry and willing to help. He’s smart, knows what he’s talking about, and is certainly ahead of the game compared to most in the industry. Naturally, I was excited and flattered when I got a sneak peek at Practical SEO copywriting.

Glenn and Writing

Perhaps one reason Glenn and I get along so well is that we have the same methodologies, techniques, and ideas when it comes to SEO copywriting and running our businesses. (They say imitation is the best form of flattery )

Well, we do argue about one thing: I’m a firm believer in the idea that contractions should be used to improve the flow of the writing, but they should be mixed with the long form to add variety and emphasize various points. He doesn’t. As a result, it has become one of our favourite arguments that I poke him with just often enough to keep him on his toes. (I keep meaning to write a post about that…)

Ok, ok. He uses a lot of funny words that remind me of Crocodile Dundee, his spelling is a little off (who spells tire with a ‘y’ anyway? ) and he’s made me go digging through an Australian/Canadian dictionary for a translation more than once, but I digress.

In short, Glenn has written a book that contains the teachings I would have included in a book about SEO copywriting. He is an extremely talented copywriter, successful, and someone I look up to very much.

Practical SEO Copywriting

I absolutely loved the way Glenn formatted and set up the book. Not only was there lots of pretty pictures and tables to look at, but it also meant I could absorb more information by reading less. Who doesn’t like that?

The problem with writing about SEO copywriting is that it contains many problems you don’t encounter or think about until after you get going on it. This can make these situations a bit difficult to for someone new to the gig to understand. Glenn, however, handled it beautifully.

He explored each of the common issues in detail using simple and entertaining English. (I must say that ‘The sniff of an oily rag is the Honda ride-on mower’s equivalent of over-eating!’ is my favourite line in the whole book.) The problems, solutions, and examples included in the book made it easy to understand what he was getting at and how to solve them.

Glenn also covered a number of the dilemmas I was forced to learn through experience. I think this will give everyone wanting to know more about SEO copywriting a huge advantage that those of us who came before this book simply just didn’t have.

Everything you need to know about SEO copywriting is in this book and explained in a way everyone can understand! It’s far better than most of the multiple week training courses I’ve seen, and if you don’t think so, Glenn is more than happy to refund your money. (If it makes you feel better, I don’t remember Glenn ever having to give someone a refund on any of his books.)

What I’d Like To See In The Book…

Like the brain freeze that comes with ice cream, you have to take the good with the bad. On the bright side, the sugary sweet goodness more than makes up for the momentary discomfort.

First of all, Glenn doesn’t talk about himself or brag about himself near enough. I know him, so I know there’s much more to the story that I think others would have related to and found interesting. It would also have gotten readers to realize exactly how big of a deal he really is. (In case you’re wondering, he’s as big in the copywriting world as Oscar the Grouch is on Sesame Street. Wait…is Oscar still on Sesame Street? Never mind. You know where I’m heading with this. You definitely want to get to know him!)

I would have liked to see him dig a bit more into formatting text and the importance of bold, italics, colour, and underlining. On the Web, this can make or break your copy, as far as I’m concerned.

While making headlines and text scannable was mentioned in the book, I would have loved to have seen a section devoted to it. Other items such as studies, reports, statistics, etc that outline the habits of online readers (the first three words of a title, for example) would have been another great set of topics to consider, even if it was simply providing links to further reading.

The book doesn’t dig much into creating headlines, but at the same time, this is sort of a tough one to teach. You just need to practice. A pull file filled with great headlines you find along your travels can really help too.

I think those new to copywriting and websites would have benefited from a set of examples they could refer to. The book does have examples, but some people learn better when they can compare before and after samples in different styles. Perhaps it would have been even better to give some exercises at the end that we could work on and compare to the optimized version? That’s right, I need more dammit!

From now on, those who ask me about SEO copywriting will definitely be getting a link to this book.

So, if you haven’t already purchased Glenn Murray’s Practical SEO Copywriting, I strongly suggest you do so. You won’t be disappointed!

(Yes, these are affiliate links on an honest review.)

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Jim Connolly of Jim’s Marketing Blog and I had a great conversation a short time ago about the vulnerability of businesses and people in general. We’d both agreed that, while many of these people are great at protecting themselves in the real world, they seem to forget about protecting themselves online.

I have a theory about why this happens…

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Think Of Web Professionals Like Babysitters…Sorta

You see, I look at the online world and the real one as being the same. The only difference is that the Internet has put real life on demand and under a magnifying glass. Mistakes and the true characteristics of human nature are far more noticeable, but when it gets down to it, you’re dealing with the same types of people, who have the same goals and methods as those we pass on the street every day.

Think of the Internet like hiring a babysitter. Even if you hardly know this person, you leave her in charge while you’re gone because you feel she’s trustworthy and will keep your kids safe. I mean, if you didn’t, you’d never leave her there by herself, and certainly not with the children!

Plumbers and electricians are similar. They could be one of the gangbangers on the corner at night, but once they don their ‘day clothes’, you let them into your home without a single thought about your safety. You have some level of trust in them.

The Internet is similar, in my opinion. Once we allow it into our home, we still feel secure and trust it as we would a good friend. We get so caught up in all the benefits and how much *better* it makes our lives, we often forget about the bad. We simply don’t give the dangers the same weight in the virtual world that we do in real life. Why? It doesn’t look dangerous.

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We Lack the Visual Incentives That Trigger Self-Preservation

When walking down the street, it’s not unusual for people to clutch their purses and bring their kids closer as they pass a gang of kids in a parking lot. It’s not odd for some to cross the street when passing a homeless person. They look undesirable, and maybe even frightening.

Getting back to the babysitter thing, most parents would never consider hiring a homeless person and putting them in charge of the kids. That’d just be dangerous! At least they look trustworthy enough to make us feel safe, right? Well, in some instances, the homeless person might be the better choice.

On the Internet, we can’t differentiate between the ‘good’ and ‘bad’ people just by looking at them. Almost everyone ’seems’ nice. Well…what I mean is the creepy ones are kind of obvious, but it’s the dangerous ones who appear ‘nice’ that people need to be most wary of.

Things Sound Different In Text

The other issue professionals and businesses have is that even the most innocent of things can sound terrible when they’re typed and out of context (i.e. in a tweet or email). Sometimes, even the simplest of sentences can seem snarky, angry, or perverse. The same goes for someone who ’sounds’ trustworthy. Since we can’t read a person’s body language or hear their tone when they speak, a lot of our perception is based on previous interactions with that person and pure assumptions.

So where am I going with all this? Simple.

Don’t just hand money over to someone you’ve never met without checking things out first. If you don’t feel confident with a particular company or provider, or if there are any serious doubts about their reliability, move on.

Be diligent, for Google’s sake! If you don’t know enough about the process to be able to identify the scammers, get recommendations from someone you trust or speak with someone who does know about the process. Both the provider and the client can tell when the other doesn’t know as much about a particular subject as they should. Trust me!

The other point I’m making with this whole thing is that both online professionals and clients need to protect themselves. While things like deposits might be annoying and make both sides uncomfortable, they’re there to protect everyone involved. There are times when a full upfront payment is necessary, and times when it’s simply not needed.

Don’t believe everything you hear, either. This world is full of miscommunications and complications that might seem one way at the start, but is actually something completely different when you get down to it. I’m not saying you should disregard good and bad reviews, for example, but use each of the puzzle pieces you find while doing research to determine what the entire picture will look like.

In short, use your street sense!

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I want to respond to Kristi Hines’ post entitled ‘Protecting Your Content and Your Reputation’. While she does bring up a number of very valid points, I do have a number of points to add. After all, we’ve all had different experiences, learned a variety of different things, and I think we can all learn from it.

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Having Submitted Work Edited

In a recent post giving advice to site owners on hosting guest posts, I recommend site owners make writers aware of what they’re editing. Unfortunately, many of them don’t follow this advice. Now, as a writer, I have to admit it annoys the heck out of me to have work edited and cut for no reason. From a site owner’s perspective, however, I really dislike a writer freaking out when I edit their content.

Why do I do it? Several reasons, aside from spelling and grammar, there are space constraints, optimum length for my readers, to fit in with my site theme and focus, etc. It also depends if it’s my site or not. If it isn’t mine, I tend to edit out extremely controversial points for the sake of my client. Bottom line, editing is a fact of life for a writer, so if it’s vital that the content remain exactly the same, sharing content may not be for you.

Policies and Income Generation

I personally have a big beef with this one, and not Kristi’s points either. Terms and conditions are nasty if you fail to check these out before sending in work. However, there are a number of assumed laws to be aware of. For example, Australian writers hold the rights to their work even if they’ve sold it. In other countries, the rights change hands as soon as the money does. (I cover this in my contract.) You need to be just as cautious of the ‘understood’ rules as you do the printed ones. On the same hand, never assume anything. I’ve learned the hard way to always get everything in writing.

Posting your work on sites that use ad revenue are a waste of any serious writer’s time. Trust me. I’ve tried it and I’ve yet to find a method that works well with these sites save for one: mass produce a creepload of content and spread it everywhere. You’re far better off spending the time to write decent content and using it to directly market yourself via a website or blog.

So long as you’re getting something of what you consider to be equal value in return for your content, you aren’t exactly losing it. For example, links, traffic, and money are common currency in a writer’s world, and as far as I get what I agree on initially, I’m happy with that. The important thing is to make sure the tradeoff is worth it to you and that you get it in writing! Many times, I’ve traded copy for something else and not gotten it in the end. Protect yourself.

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Reputation Leakage and Image

This is a huge one in some respects, but not so much in others. You are definitely judged by the company you keep. Without a doubt! However, this works in both ways. Use your access to high-end sites to your advantage, but don’t fall into the common trap of marketing to your peers either.

You gain and lose authority according to your clients, not necessarily from your peers. They pay you, and what they care about is what kind of a job you can do for them, not how many invitations you get to the next major conference or who you sit with while you’re there. Don’t underestimate the importance of complementary businesses either. These can potentially generate a large amount of profits if you play your cards right.

And while I wouldn’t get into the habit of appearing on low grade sites, I think people put a little too much emphasis on negative PR. I’ve learned there really is no such thing as bad PR so long as you deal with it the right way. The short-term damage is often far worse than the long term.

In short, treat your online business as you would a brick and mortar store. If you conduct yourself in the same way, you’ll do fine and have nothing to worry about.

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I’ve written about the association between morals and business before. I even had an excellent guest post on the subject, so it’s no secret that my morals and values play an important role in my business decisions. However, I recently discovered these two things aren’t as cut and dried as I first thought.

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What Happens When You Know Too Much

Here’s the scenario: A client comes to you wanting to write a book on a subject you just happen to know a bit about. They give you the outline and main points for each chapter. Unfortunately, they’re wrong. And it isn’t a ‘I know I’m wrong but I just want to make money’. It’s a ‘I’m not wrong. I’m the expert’. Now, if you write this book, your name isn’t on it, but others will still be reading and learning from this book. Also, these mistruths aren’t glaringly obvious to anyone other than those who are familiar with the business, so it would be hard for anyone else to prove otherwise.

Do you write it, take the money, and shut up? Or do you turn away the cash and run with it?

The “Take the Money and Run Camp”

A lot of industry experts I’ve talked to about the subject say it depends on a number of things including whether or not their name is on it, how much money the project is worth, who it’s for, how big of a factual mistake it is, and many other variables.

The argument is that if it’s worth enough money, if the mistake isn’t that huge, and their name isn’t on it, they’d likely do it.

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“No Way In Hell Buddy Boy”

On the other side of the fence are those who say they wouldn’t take the job regardless. They don’t care who it’s for, what it could do to or for their career, or how much money they could make. They know what’s right and what’s wrong, and they refuse to allow something false like that from hitting the virtual shelves. They’d never be able to look at themselves in the mirror if they did.

“It’s Money. Duh”

The third opinion of this is that it’s a business transaction. This is doing a job for money. Nothing more. Nothing less. Their morals and values don’t enter into the picture because their morals and values aren’t for sale. They run a profitable business, and as such, they will do what keeps that business profitable.

Personally, I have to admit I’m torn. I really abhor the idea of writing the same garbage that I’ve argued against, but at the same time, I do have a family to support. From the client’s perspective, they may know I know about the subject, but they don’t know how much I know about. Also, they’re supposed to be the experts on the subject, not you. Why would they trust you?

I’m left in a position where I don’t want to touch the project because I know a portion of it is incorrect. The client won’t just change it because the writer said so either. There’s no real way to prove it, so what do we do?

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The Web is changing. Big surprise, right? Well, it might be for those who aren’t prepared or fail to see what’s going on.
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In recent months, Google has introduced social and real time results to its regular SERPs in addition to an increase in personalization. With more and more people out of work and bending under financial strain, new websites and competition are popping up everywhere. The big question is what are you doing about it?

In terms of basic SEO, there isn’t much besides keeping up with the changes and doing what you can. Social Media is definitely starting to play a much larger role in many marketing plans. In fact, the latest study suggests 66% of government agencies have even got onboard. But what about your marketing plans and the strategies you create for others? Are they changing with the introduction of personalization and an increase in competition?

The Internet Marketer’s Guide to Battling Personalization?

One thing is for sure, sites that don’t cater to the user are going to be left behind, if they haven’t been already. Site owners need to start considering how they’ll go the extra mile in order to make the user feel at home and become a favorite. On the other hand, webmasters also need to keep it profitable. No easy task, for sure.

Usability

Usability has become almost a trend word, but there really is something to it. After all, the more easily I can navigate your site and find what I want, the more money I’m likely to spend. You might be thinking your website is already quite user friendly, but like someone who smells his own body odor for too long, it can be hard to spot the obvious.

Having a usability expert is one way to fix this. And, if you choose a good one, you’ll find that he or she has the uncanny ability to spot things that most of us don’t think of until they’re fixed. If you can’t afford one, but would still like to make improvements, talk to a partially technologically-challenged person and have them test your site.

Sit down with them at the computer and watch as they go through your website completing various tasks. This could include purchasing an item, signing up to your RSS feeds, finding specific information, and many other seemingly simple actions. Take note of how long it takes them to complete each thing, where they look, and the items they click on. You’ll find that doing this with a few people will help identify trouble spots. (Bonus tip: When they first open the site, ask them what the site is about and what they see first. This can be extremely powerful information!)

Conversion Optimization

Often confused with usability, conversion optimization can be a long, drawn out process. Experts in this field use analytics, live tracking, and many other components and tools to figure out what types of visitors use your site, what they’re looking for, and where they’re going. From there, they will create defined paths customized to meet the needs of each type of (profitable) visitor in order to boost conversions.

While this is no easy feat, there are steps you can take on your own to improve conversions. Site testing, analyzing your own analytics by creating custom events, and using tracking codes to find out what your customers are up to, what they like, and what they don’t like. Then, you can make the appropriate changes and test it out.

Site Optimization

While this is technically part of usability, SEO, and conversion optimization, I think it’s important enough to deserve its own category. This covers the technical side of the website and makes it work more efficiently and more accurately. In my eyes, this breaks down into two areas:

Data Optimization — This is a big one for sites with large amounts of information that are accessed by the user (For example, online catalogs, complex structures with numerous departments). These techniques use various structures and code systems to organize this data, recall it faster, and more accurately.

Web Design Optimization — Techniques such as combining or separating images into PSDs, improving the focus on particular elements, and improving the loading of the CSS through Javascript make the site faster, improve usability, and boost conversions.

These things might not help you overcome the effects of personalization and an increase in competition, but they can certainly help. If nothing else, you’ll be able to make the most of the traffic you do get.

So, what are you doing to help counteract personalization and improve the performance of your site?

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I was very pleasantly surprised yesterday. My piece, ‘Don’t Blame the Snake Oil Salesman‘, has been nominated for a SEMMY Award in the ‘industry’ category! Voting opens on January 20th.

I wanted to thank them very much for the nomination. Being ‘new’ to the industry (especially in comparison to many others on the list) and a copywriter, I’m honoured to know that my post is considered one of the year’s best.

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The entire concept of people squabbling over the death or validity of SEO is absurd, completely ridiculous, and a waste of valuable time on all sides. If I hear someone tell me ‘they don’t use SEO because it’s evil and the Google gods will smite them and wipe them from existence if they use it’ one more time, I’m going to need one of these:

(Curious Expeditions)

You know what? If you own a website, you’re already using SEO. It might not be using the most effective tactics on the planet or be one of the worst methods to ever hit the WWW, but it’s still SEO. Don’t believe me? Answer these questions and assign one point for each ‘yes’ answer:

• Does your website have a URL?
• Does your site contain text?
• How about images? (one point for each pic)
• Do you give visitors the option to explore your site via navigation?
• Does your site contain any links to any other internal or external page?

Here’s the deal, if you scored ‘1′ or more on this test, you’re using SEO. And if you own a website and you’ve called SEO evil, denounced its existence, or said it’s dead, you’re an idiot. Congratulations.

URLs, text, images, navigation, links and many other features are all part of SEO. They’re just done well, poorly, or disgustingly.

SEO isn’t about title tags, anchor text, or what color hat you wear. It’s not dead because, last time I checked, it isn’t breathing, it doesn’t grow, and doesn’t have life. SEO isn’t about how good your buddies think you are, or whether you made it onto some list somewhere as the biggest marketer on the planet. Let’s knock off the bullshit and just cut to the nitty gritty shall we?

SEO is about usability. Period. It’s about making your website, content, ad, or whatever easier to use for both crawlers and humans. It’s about getting found for the right things and providing ‘good customer service’ from the moment finds your site until they leave. It’s no different than keeping the isles of your store clean, the shelves and racks neat, and someone at the cash register.

Got it? Good! So, now that we’ve got that sorted, let’s look at the two basic ‘rules’ of SEO.

If something makes your website more user friendly, easier to explore, and more effective, do it. If it makes the site impossible to identify, difficult to use, complicated, and just plain nasty, or if it clutters up the Web and becomes a pain in the Equus Asinus, it’s a bad thing. Don’t do it. No! Don’t! That’s enough of that silliness.

Now, I know this has been harsh, but it’s for your own good.

If I can’t use your site or have to fight with you to sell me something, I’m just going to go elsewhere and so will everyone else who might happen to stumble across your site while searching for ‘pink and purple polka dotted squirrels with eating disorders, bald tails, and bad attitudes’. (If your site provides information on pink with purple polka dotted squirrels with eating disorders, bald tails, and bad attitudes, you’re in luck.)

Whether you like it or not, you have to cater to your customer regardless of whether it’s a human customer or a bot.

I think most would agree that SEO is constantly evolving and changing. It needs to in order to continue to serve visitors of all kinds effectively. But, so long as websites exist, it will always be there in some way, shape, or form.

Done deal. Can we get on with it now?

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While our ‘twittership’ may have gotten off to a rocky start, Joshua the SEO and I have become great friends 140 characters at a time (I may or may not have accidentally unfollowed him on more than one occasion only to wonder why afterward…possibly. I plead the fifth!  ). But, he tweeted this:

Being an opinionated copywriter, I couldn’t resist voicing my difference of opinion. I really had to disagree with him…well, I’ll admit part of it may have been purely for the pleasure of arguing…anyway, this isn’t about me, this is about him being wrong My point is why should people be ‘outed’ at all?

So, Joshua, thanks for being such a good sport and arguing with me! You get points for being a willing victim (ok, ok, a small chance you may be the victor) and taking it all in stride…

My issue with the entire idea of ‘outing’ anyone, personally or professionally, is simple:

What gives one person the right to do so? If you have a competitor wandering off the straight and narrow path, what makes you the judge and jury? Also, is there really a point to ‘outing’ someone other than to be vicious? Is it worth what you might pay for it?

The Practice Of Outing Clients

In my opinion, coming out and screaming about a client’s mistakes or foul practices has a number of big downfalls that would cost you and your business far more than it’s worth.

Consider the real life example of an SEO company ‘outing’ one of its potential clients. Interestingly, they’ve chosen to remove the content now, but for those of you who don’t know what I’m referring to, I’ll explain:

The post consisted of not much more than a copy of a client email, which was a request for services sent to 51 of the top SEOs. It also included numerous (some horribly nasty) replies that were sent back and forth in response to the client’s request.

Now, I’ll admit the client was wrong in the way he contacted these individuals, and in how he handled the situation. This client showed that he not only made a stupid mistake, but he also showed he was uneducated about the SEO industry and had little respect for some of the industry’s leading members.

This was, without a doubt his fault. However, was this type of treatment the best idea? After battering him with numerous rude and snarky comments, was it really necessary to publish it on one of the industry’s hottest blogs for everyone else to batter and join in the entertainment?

I’ll give the SEO company some respect in this matter. After all, personal and identifying information was edited from the email. The SEOs who originally received the email had a right to feel somewhat offended, but at the same time, this client was burned by the industry. Then, there was the effect it had on other potential clients as well.

As far as I’m concerned, this little link bait stunt did nothing but damage the company’s reputation and that of the SEO industry. Sure, it shows that those involved are willing to stand up for themselves, but it also made people I respect look arrogant and egotistical. I know they generally aren’t that way, but to those who are unfamiliar with these individuals, it sure looked that way.

The industry already has a severely damaged reputation, and outing a client in this manner did nothing but further degrade the way many outside of the industry see SEO and SEO professionals.

I guarantee you that, if I was in need of SEO services, those who participated negatively in that little game would not be on my list of choices for fear of getting a similar treatment. Granted, I would never treat others the way the potential client had in his email, but that’s not the issue here.

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Here’s another good question: What did anyone gain from the experience?

Sure, a site, which already ranks well, picked up a few links, it created some buzz in the industry, and a few people had some laughs, but does this really seem worth it to you? Some would argue that making and example of the client served to educate others. You tell me who would walk away from that feeling educated? You know how it looks to a target audience? Some idiot went off the handle on someone. Most people aren’t aware of who you are and who you’re talking about. Sorry, but it’s true.

Did it make the company more of an authority in the industry? Well, they already carried a fair bit of authority previous to this incident, or they wouldn’t have been included in the email. And, it caused many people to lose respect for them. Lastly, if you’re looking to your competitors for validation that you know what you’re talking about, you’re barking up the wrong tree. Lets face it, ultimately, your competitors are in the game for one reason, and one reason only. This is NOT to see you succeed. Looking within your industry for authority and validation is extremely counter-productive.

The post certainly wasn’t written in an ‘educational’ light, and no one will learn from it. Don’t believe me? Do you remember doing your homework or schoolwork while having a parent or teacher standing over you yelling and berating you? Do you remember the last time someone told you mean horrible things after you made a mistake? Did you walk away feeling smarter, or did you walk away thinking about how much you disliked the experience and even what an idiot the other person was?

I’m not the only person to think this way, and I’ll also add that I’ve covered this topic before. In short, it turned a valid and important industry into a bunch of arguing, unprofessional individuals with no direction, self-control, morals, or values.

The SEO company is not the only one to enjoy this practice. Media outlets and PR companies have also been known for doing it. There are tons and tons of examples.

The Practice Of Outing Companies And Competitors

The concept of ‘outing’ competitors and other companies is nothing new either. It’s been done just as often (if not more so) for personal gain as it has for the protection of others. I have seen many scams as well as talked and helped numerous victims. However, there is a very fine line here.

Misinformation puts the company doing the ‘outing’ in the prime position for legal action. Slander or misrepresentation is no laughing matter. This benefits no one and the small amount of attention it would generate certainly won’t pay for the legal fees. And, no matter how careful you are, there is always that chance of being sued simply because, if you weren’t involved, you have no idea what exactly went on. You also don’t know the situation surrounding both sides of the argument.

Think of it like divorce. The husband tells others of the mistakes the wife made, the wife tells of the husband’s mistakes, and it may even be entirely one person’s fault. BUT, no one else really knows what happened or what caused the situation because other factors such as upbringing and life experiences often determine our choices.

Not everyone sees a situation the same way. Not only is this topic a good example, but consider heated topics such as abortion, gay marriage, politics, religion, and war crimes, to name a few. These topics all have firm believers on both sides, and both sides are convinced they’re right. When in reality, who’s really right?

I don’t know about you, but if you’ve ever broke up a childhood fight or have tried sorting out what happened during an auto accident, you know there’s always three sides to every story — the ‘victim’s’ story, the ‘perpetrator’s’ story, and the truth. For me, this works in situations concerning morals and values too…just because one person sees a tactic as ’slimy’ or ‘dark’ might not necessarily be viewed the same way by others.

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For example:

I really dislike the way a hosting company markets search engine optimization services and featured listings (their words, not mine). To me, it’s nothing but a low-blow, cheap cash grab because the techniques they push at unsuspecting, unknowing webmasters are out of date and useless. Their ‘featured listing’ programs are nothing more than poorly disguised paid links, which are against Google’s Terms of Service, have little value, and will not have any sort of ROI. However, I won’t ‘out’ this company because:

• These are my opinions. I’m not a search engine, nor do I own or run one, so anything I say is merely speculation.
• I’m not Google, and while I may not promote the practice, it doesn’t affect me if this company decides to sell links.
• It doesn’t have any benefits.
• Outing them has a bigger price than I’m willing to pay. I guarantee they have more money to fight the issue than I do as well.
• We all do things incorrectly because we aren’t educated enough, or make basic, human mistakes. I don’t know if that’s the case here, but outing them is NOT a good way to find out for the previous four reasons mentioned.

Then, if you’re outing a competitor, your intentions will always be questioned. Did you do it simply to secure a larger portion of the market share? Did you do it for pure revenge? Or, did you really do it to protect others and stop the practice? I guarantee you that, no matter how much you want to look like a martyr, that quiet little question will always be in the backs of people’s minds.

The option Joshua mentioned was outing the company in private first before going public. I agree partially with this. If you see something that’s just plain wrong or shady and you just have to say something, it’s important to say something privately to that individual or company.

BUT, I don’t agree with publicly outing them if you don’t get your way in the private discussion. Why? The general public and others who might read your outing have no idea what has gone on in private, so it won’t make a difference anyway. Even if you explain what happened in those conversations, what’s to say you aren’t lying?

Lastly, if you aren’t the legal system, law enforcement, or regulatory authority, what right do you have policing in the industry? This doesn’t mean you should stay quiet, but there are much better alternatives to simply outing a competitor or company for bad practices.

In short, unless you are a direct victim filing a report with the Better Business Bureau, or whichever authority you choose, stay out of it.

‘Outing’ Alternatives

Since outing someone has no real benefits, and doesn’t accomplish anything, it’s worth exploring some alternatives.

First, when you’re publicly outing someone through the media, on a social network, or your own website, you’re taking a chance that those in a position to do something about the problem will see it. This isn’t always the case, and when you think about it, this only makes sense. I mean, people complain all the time. How will the regulatory authorities see it? And, you might be the most honest person in the world, but how does the general public know you’re telling the truth and not omitting important information?

Therefore, if you’re truly bothered by the situation, file a report directly with those who can legally do something about it and are in control of the rules. This will give both sides a chance at fair representation, a fair investigation, and it takes the onus and danger off you.

If you have the need to educate the public or clients, do so in an educational matter by looking at the general problem. Making an example out of someone didn’t work to eliminate witches, the Jewish, school bullying, Robin Hood, or any other historic ‘examples’.

Look at the issues and offer valid solutions to the problem. Give constructive criticism. Don’t point fingers and out people. This just gets everyone stirred up and dilutes the effectiveness of your educational intentions.

Lastly, if someone who knows nothing about vehicles buys a used car without having it checked by a mechanic or test driving it, who’s fault is it if it’s a lemon? If they fail to wear their seatbelt because they didn’t bother to find out why they’re important, who’s fault is it that they got a ticket?

The consumer needs to realize that we no longer live in the 1700s when everyone was true to his or her word. We need to educate ourselves and walk into situations with our eyes wide open. I mean, who would pay for Social Media consulting, for example, if they have no idea what they’re paying for or how it works? As bad as it sounds, people need to take responsibility for their actions as well.

One last thing, make sure your own closet is clean before talking about other’s closets and nasty secrets

So, in short, ‘if you can’t say something nice, don’t say anything at all’, or ‘instead of complaining, do something about it’!

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