August, 2011 | Content for Biz Inc.

Internet Marketing Begins with Quality Content

One of the ways quality content can work in Internet marketing is to position your company as a knowledge center. Your knowledge space supports your brand and your customers’ need for information. Planning, creating, and publishing relevant content serves as a pathway for successful Internet marketing.

Visitors to your site are in need of fast answers. Your knowledge space should be helpful to your audience (market segments, customer profiles), be easy to navigate and include news, business insights, and community.

News

Offer outside reference sources as well as your own news. A content writer can write press releases, conduct interviews, find relevant timely links and keep this page updated daily. The page can serve as a kind of business radar uncovering business intelligence from a variety of credible sources. For an example of one such source see the Wall Street Executive Library.com

Business Insights

In this section describe methods. Include case studies, research papers, best practices and standards. A content writer can create and edit such materials, describe new tools and re-purpose existing content as blog posts. Content can take on various other formats. These may include profiles of companies (your suppliers, customers) and interviews with individuals who are leaders in the field. See Accenture’s Latest Thinking page for an example.

Community

Add a forum to your site for members to exchange information about trends, methods, and key issues of the day. At Evernote there are multiple forums for different platforms and audiences. Tips and suggestions abound.

Creating a robust presence through social media sites is another way of inviting visitors to participate in a community created by your company.

What is most important is that you deliver relevant content in a way that your prospects can find and understand. Your company’s true value proposition becomes apparent. The big promise to visitors of your knowledge space is to improve business performance. This is true no matter what product or service you are selling.

Having trouble positioning your company as a knowledge center? We can help.

Does Your B2B Company Blog Need a Makeover?

You start a company blog to increase web traffic by sharing industry knowledge and perspectives. Understandably content development should be your primary focus when launching a B2B blog. But once your company blog is up and running and your content is flowing smoothly, it’s a good idea to take a step back to examine the blog’s effectiveness. Are visitors subscribing? Are they sharing your info? Are they clicking on other areas of your website? Are you getting as much search engine traffic as you could? If the results aren’t what you think they could be, you may be in need of a blog make-over? Here are some questions to help you find out.

1) Is it easy to subscribe?

Put your subscription box in a prominent place and allow visitors to subscribe vie email or RSS feed.

2) Do you offer an incentive to subscribe?

Encourage subscriptions by providing an offer for something useful and valuable. Create a landing page with the offer and an easy signup process.

3) Do you make it easy for people to share your information?

Include buttons so posts can be shared on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter.

4) How does your blog read on a mobile device?

Mobile usage is growing dramatically. WordPress now has some plug-ins that will do this for you, or consider a new theme that is already mobile friendly.

5) Do you encourage people to visit other areas of your site?

Once someone’s interested, get them to stay longer on your site by promoting some of your most popular posts.

6) Are you optimizing posts for your keywords?

Learn how to write titles and metatag descriptions to improve rankings on search engines.

7) Do you make it easy for people to learn more about your services?

Provide links directly to your services or products. Make it easy for people to buy.

If you answered “no” to any of these questions, you could probably benefit from making a few changes.

For a complimentary review of your current blog email me. We’ll be happy to provide you with some suggestions for a blog makeover. Content for Biz can help you take your blog to the next level.

How to Find a Web Content Writer You Like

More than eighty million results. That’s what turned up on Bing when I entered the term content writer. No wonder you feel overwhelmed looking for a content writer. When you work in publishing, writers come to you, but for business marketers and business owners it isn’t easy to find the right person. How do you find someone who knows your business or is willing to invest the time to learn? How do you find a content writer who understands what you want to accomplish? How do you find someone who can deliver web content that will raise your company’s search engine rankings, increase your traffic and generate leads?

Here are five ways you can separate the good content writers from the bad.

1) A content writer should have credentials.

Look at where a content writer’s work has been published. Are the publications or websites familiar to you? Is the content writer focused on the needs of consumers or business? Who are their clients? I would also look for some professional affiliations that identify their areas of interest such as the Construction Writers Association or the International Foodservice Editorial Council .

2) Writing should be clear, concise and understandable.

Check out the content writer’s examples of web writing. Is the copy clear, concise and understandable? Does the writer offer a benefit, answer the visitor’s questions and include a call to action? Is the writing free of spelling and grammatical errors? Can the writer provide examples of blog posts, email newsletters and other online marketing initiatives?

3) A content writer should be creative.

Evaluate web writing samples, and ask for the submitted Word files for the project. You want to find out how much editing was required. Does the content writer make an effort to draw the reader in with a creative headline or lead? Does the content writer offer a unique or unusual perspective? Is the website content unique, or does it look very similar to other competitors in the space?

4) A content writer needs to understand SEO.

Does the content writer have experience in writing copy that is optimized for search engines? Does the content writer research keywords and key phrases for your business? Ask what traffic results the writer achieved? What does the writer’s own website look like? Is it well written and easy to navigate?

5) A content writer should be easy to work with.

Good content writers become invaluable when they are responsive, timely, and take the initiative to develop original content ideas. They welcome your feedback and suggestions. A good writer makes a concerted effort to accommodate your schedule and meet tight deadlines. Ask other businesses, agencies, web developers, marketing and PR professionals in your industry for recommendations. Talk with prospective writers and their clients. For a long-term assignment or if you have ongoing writing projects, I think it’s fair to ask for a small writing sample geared towards your specific needs. Do your due diligence and you will find a writer you like to work with.

And don’t forget to call Content for Biz to discuss your content writing needs.

3 Best Sites for Tracking Content Trends

Content writers and industry professionals need to track trends to stay current, find topic ideas to write about and learn what terms people are using to search the Internet. You can gage what keywords and topics are trending outside and within your industry, today, last month, and annually using these three best sites for content trend tracking. This is a routine I find effective as a content writer and communications strategist.

First, check out Google Trends. Early this morning some trending topics were “gold prices,” “Nestle” and “Stephen Hawking.” The price of gold is surging to new heights. If you are in the finance world, adding the words “gold prices” to your blog post, e-newsletter, or social media titles today will likely increase your traffic.

You can change the date and see what the search trends were any day in the last year. Lots of people search for the Dow Jones Industrial Average using “djia.” Use the right abbreviations/terms and you have a better chance of connecting with your audience. Google Trends is updated every hour. You can subscribe to “Hot Trends” through an RSS feed.

Trends Buzz gives a great overview of the most searched words at the moment on Google, Yahoo, Twitter, Alexa, Blogpulse, Wordtracker, Wikipedia and more. Clicking on the term link opens up a listing of content on the subject.

My other favorite site for reviewing trends and topics is Alltop. The home page has popular articles by good writers. You can search by industry or keyword to get all the most searched for topics. It’s sometimes hard for me to get off this page. It shows how great headlines draw reader interest.

Use these sites for tracking content trends and audience patterns emerge. Understanding how popular content fluctuates can help you plan your content accordingly. Knowing what words people use to search and the power of a good headline are added benefits of monitoring these 3 best sites for tracking content trends.

How are you using Internet trends to drive traffic to your site?

Is Your Content Writer Asking the Right Questions?

Do you have the right content writer for the job? The questions a content writer asks will tell you a lot about a writer’s ability to drive traffic to your site and convince prospects to take the next step.

1) Do they ask for the objectives of the website or of each page?

Without clear objectives it will be difficult for a content writer to satisfy your needs.

2) Do they ask for the keywords and keyphrases you are targeting for your business?

If your writer doesn’t ask about keywords it’s a clear sign they don’t know much about search optimization . Without the right keyword and keyphrases, your firm’s content won’t improve search results.

3) Do they ask for the names of clients to contact, to learn more about your product or services?

Good content writers know that the most powerful testimony for any product or service comes from the customer.

4) Do they ask for the names of product or service experts to contact?

Asking for additional resources to contact demonstrates a writer’s willingness to delve deep to get a firm understanding of the product or service.

5) Do they ask for the names of your competitors?

A good content writer will ensure that your website content is unique. Checking out the competition is smart strategy.

6) Do they ask you to describe the tone and feel you want for your site?

Will it be informal, formal, or humorous? A good content writer saves time by finding out up front.

7) Do they ask for the names of websites you like?

Sometimes it’s hard to describe what you like. Showing someone what you like can be an efficient way to communicate it, even if it’s completely unrelated to your industry.

8) Do they ask for previously written literature or successful promotions?

A good content writer will want to know what has worked in the past, and what hasn’t. There is no sense repeating a mistake.

9) Do they ask how you will measure the success of what they do?

Asking this question demonstrates a writer’s commitment to achieving results, not just creating words for a page.

A good content writer asks a lot of questions, and seeks out the answers. If your content writer isn’t asking those questions, your content is likely to show it. Is there anything a writer shouldn’t ask about?