Time to deal with a few SEO copywriting myths that cause trouble at every level of business.

MYTH 1: Search Engines Are More Important Than Your Readers

Oh dear! This assumes search engines are more important than your readers; which will never do. Plenty of keyword fodder may drive traffic to your site but if readers leave in droves the moment they arrive because your content sucks then what’s the point of SEO at all? Ensure you know what your readers will like and know the content meets that objective. Yes, keywords are important but never more so than relevant and valuable reader-focused copy.

MYTH 2: You Must Insert Keywords As Much As Possible Into Every Landing Page

This is very 1999. Back in the days when search engines could only identify relevance by the frequency of certain words on a page keyword density writing worked (although many articles read as if they were written by complete idiots). Today keywords and phrases still matter, but heavy keyword density is out in favour of more scientific methods like TF-IDF. Too many incidences of keywords on a page will be considered keyword stuffing – another black hat tactic that could get your website penalised or banned from search engines.

MYTH 3: Post Your Content And The Job Is Done

This is more wrong than ever! Today it’s more important to add good content regularly to your website. And it makes sense. Not only will search robots come back to visit your site more often, your readers will too. Regularly adding quality content also offers distinct advantages for your social media marketing because, if it’s good, people will share it.

MYTH 4: Just Post Whatever Content You Can

Yes, adding to your content is good practice. But it must be good. Content development is essential, especially if you operate where Web competition is fierce. But you must still make sure it is relevant and of value to your readers. And don’t post duplicate content (even if it is good) because search engines will pick it up and may mark you down for it.

MYTH 5: Good Keywords Drive Traffic

Not quite – backlinks drive traffic. Well researched keywords and phrases are important, but what really matters are the backlinks you get from other websites. What’s the best way to garner quality backlinks? Make sure your content is relevant and valuable to visitors and that other webmasters recognise it as such.

Remember This One SEO Copywriting Truth

Even though search engine marketing is developing all the time, the key is to remember it’s people who matter most.

Caring about your readers and producing content that addresses their needs will always outshine cheap messages delivered apathetically.

Bear this in mind and you’ll be ahead of the pack from the get go.

The post 5 SEO Copywriting Myths Laid To Rest appeared first on Write Concepts.

There are thousands of types of content, and thousands of ways still to deliver them – which can make it tough to know which will work for you best.

So why not start with some proven favourites that continue to pass the test of time?

The post 10 Favourite Content Devices of Successful Marketers appeared first on Write Concepts.

Making that shift means getting people throughout the organisation aware of audience and content. This will drive not only content ideas and production, but also make clear what tactics will best connect you with your current and future customers, prospects and influencers.

The post Become a Superstar Content Publisher in 6 Steps appeared first on Write Concepts.

Every great social media marketing campaign is underpinned by a basic wisdom:

That is, social media platforms will never market your business on their own.

Pretty simple on the face of it… You must first work out whom you need to connect with, then identify what content will get them to engage with you. Then deploy that content where your audience go to hang out – very often that will be their social media accounts.

Content Marketing Strategy Before Social Media Strategy

Know what to say before you decide where to say it. Social media marketing can be an incredibly powerful tool. But it must be delivered with a content-first approach if you are to avoid a disjointed delivery that quickly descends into misperception or gratuitous self-promotion.

Before you start reaching out to your public, ask yourself:

1.    What are our business and marketing objectives?
2.    Which groups and personas make up our audience?
3.    What content will best connect us with them?
4.    How can we best produce that content?
5.    On which social media platforms will we find our audience?
6.    How will we deliver our content on these social media?

If particular social networks present themselves as valuable then include them in the mix. If they don’t, chances are they’ll be a waste of time.

Stay Ahead of Changes in Social Media

Observing a content-first strategy means you don’t have to be at the mercy of the ever-changing social media landscape. Because your starting point is content and its delivery you simply choose whatever social media platform promises the best performance, and disregard the rest.

Who Owns Your Social Media Content?

From time to time you should curate useful content created by others. After all, sharing and contributing are essential aspects of social media. But your main focus should always be on delivering your own content, based on what will connect you with your audience. Content marketing should deliver your brand beliefs, values and experiences. It must help establish you as an authority. If you only share others’ content you will be helping them to success, not yourself.

Create Value-Added Social Media Content

With the right structure you can create content that suits an overall purpose, but also repurpose it in other spaces. This affords you more bang for your buck from each piece of content while enhancing the consistency of your delivery. A white paper can be repurposed into a series of blog posts. Each of those blog posts can be sliced up into social media updates. They deliver the same message, but in different ways that suit different media.

With the right value-added content strategy (and inventory) you don’t have to fret about saying something meaningful before your next social media deadline. You’ll have a war chest of quality content, ready to be reshaped and tailored for your audience across all social media.

Content Should be Part of Your Business Culture

A fruitful social media presence demands a swift and coherent response to events. If no one is driving production of the right kind of content, or knows what do with it, then you may as well draw a veil over your social media activity.

The answer? Get into a publisher mindset – make content a universal component of your business culture and thinking. If everyone in the organisation is aware of a need to contribute ideas and material you will naturally sound more present and authentic – because you are.

Follow and Measure Your Content Across Social Media

Be measuring all the time. And be ready to reshape your social content tactics where necessary. With accurate analysis tools you can identify what is working and what isn’t, and quickly make tweaks to optimise your social media performance.

The post For Great Social Media Marketing, Think Content Marketing First appeared first on Write Concepts.

You’ve written your sales copy and are nearly ready to unleash your masterpiece of persuasion on the world … Hold on! First imagine your readers will be responding to your copy with a few rude questions. If you do you’ll uncover a little extra gold that makes your pitch stronger, and more likely to win business.

Rude Question 1: ‘What’s In It For Me?’

If there’s one truth we copywriters have to accept pretty quickly, it’s that no one reads our work for literary delight. In most cases people would rather be doing something else entirely than reading sales copy. That means you have to keep readers engaged with a promised payoff that serves their self interest. Work out what fuels that interest, deliver it with power and you’ll find your reader more likely to follow your words to the last, and respond.

Rude Question 2: ‘So What?’

You won’t galvanise a reader into action by offering weak claims and vague promises. Making shallow statements like “we have many happy customers” or “our bicycles are built to last” is unlikely to impress anyone. If you really want to influence, use some hard facts and statistics you can back up with proof. Use genuine testimonials from real people (with a photo, if you can), be specific about your product’s features and benefits and work on getting verification from an independent authority. Saying “94% of Our Customers Come Back Every Month” or showing “5 Ways Our Bicycles Travel Further” will carry much more credibility.

Rude Question 3: ‘Why Should I?’

At some point in your delivery you will want to ask your readers to do something – your call-to-action. This might encourage them to buy now, download free content or give you their email address. One of the most powerful ways to improve response rates is to give people a reason why. For example, rather than offer the insipid “sign up for our newsletter” make a promise and say “You’ll be better informed with our news updates!”

Imagine They’re Selfish and Just Don’t Care

However convincing you believe your marketing materials to be, you can sharpen your copy considerably if you first assume your readers are plain sceptical and disinterested. Put yourself in your reader’s place, remove all powers of patience and concentration and start to think up ways of convincing even the grumpiest of folk. Then see how much more convincing you become …

The post Does Your Marketing Answer These 3 Rude Questions? appeared first on Write Concepts.