“Original” Fixes for Dealer Product Pages

May 11, 2011Joanne Costin2 Comments

Panda Update Poses a Problem for Dealers

The Komatsu PC108 Excavator sold at Kirby Smith in Oklahoma City, Okla. is the same as the PC108 Excavator sold at Road Machinery in Phoenix, Ariz. So it would make sense that the product pages on each dealer’s website would be nearly identical, right?

Of course. But it is exactly this kind of duplicate content that is negatively impacting search engine rankings for many businesses. The problem began in March, when Google made some changes to its algorithms in what was dubbed the Panda Update.

Many e-commerce retailers whose products are sold on multiple sites, experienced a drop off in traffic after Google initiated the changes. (Click here to read this discussion forum set up on Google.)

In their efforts to find the best and most relevant results for its users, Google has decided to place more value on original content–content that is not aggregated or syndicated from other sources. As a dealer, you can’t control the specs of the machine or the algorithm, but there are ways to build original content into your product pages and boost your search engine rankings once again:

Add Product Reviews:
Let your customers do the talking by allowing them to post reviews on machines they own or rent.

Add a Video, Podcast or other Descriptive Content: Video your salesman or manufacturer’s rep as they conduct a walk-around of the machine explaining all if its benefits. Focus on the types of applications that you are likely to see in your market.

Video or photograph the machine undertaking a specific task: Document its productivity. I like this demonstration of the Wacker Neuson Rebar Tier. Think of how you might conduct a similar test in your own market.

Provide a Side-by-Side Comparison: Do customers often waiver between two different machines? Put together the comparison specs and weigh the pros and cons of each model. What does each model do best? What is the cost/benefit analysis? Add this information to your product pages.

Add Additional Info:
What is the estimated cost of the machine over its useful life? How easy it is to do routine maintenance or change an attachment? These are questions you have probably already answered that can be easily added to your product information online.

In the wake of Google’s Panda Update, it’s more critical than ever to review your website’s analytics and determine what content and keywords are working and what’s not. Take an inventory of the content that already exists, identify what items can easily be added, and what you need to create. Let us know if we can help.

Create More Readable Copy through Testing

May 4, 2011Joanne Costin2 Comments

Is your compelling online content lost in long sentences and confusing text? One way to test the readability of content is to read it aloud. It’s easy to spot long, run-on sentences when you find yourself gasping for air. But that’s not all you can do. Consider conducting a quantitative test of readability as a more definitive guide. I recently discovered a readability scoring system built right into Microsoft Word called the Flesh Read Ease Score.

Developed by author and writing consultant Rudolf Flesch (1911-1986), the score objectively calculates readability using a formula that takes into account the average number of words in a sentence and the number of syllables in the passage. Scores range from 0 to 100. You don’t need to know the formula, just how to interpret the scores. A score of zero would be most difficult and a score of 100 easiest. Scores in the 60 to 70 range are considered readable by the average reader.

To put the scores into context, Readers Digest has a Flesch Reading score of 65, while the Harvard Business Review has a score in the low 30s.

Another measure called the Flesch-Kincaid formula, also available in Microsoft Word, translates the readability score to a grade level. A score of 65 correlates with the 8th to 9th grade level and a score of 55 indicates a 10th to 12th grade level. Scores between 0 and 30 represent college graduate level readability.

Scores are obtained automatically when you run a Word document through a spelling and grammar check. However, you have to adjust the readability options in Word to have the test results appear.

How to Set the Readability Options in Microsoft Office Word 2007

Click the Microsoft Office Button , and then click Word Options.
Click Proofing.
Make sure Check grammar with spelling is selected.
Under When correcting grammar in Word, select the Show readability statistics check box.

While your B2B audience may be highly educated, your website is probably not the place to impress them with five syllable words and long cumbersome sentences. If your score is coming up too high, break up longer sentences and replace words that may be causing confusion. Potential buyers want to find information fast, and you can help them with clear, concise and readable text.

How does your website content score on the Flesch Reading Ease Test? Here’s how my text scored on this blog post.

Flesch Reading Ease 56.8
Flesch-Kinkaid Grade Level 9.1

With Listening, Comes Clarity

April 29, 2011Joanne CostinLeave a comment

Before you write a word of content for your B2B website, listen to your customers.

Carve 30 minutes out of your schedule, leave your preconceived notions about your business at the door and call a customer. Instead of worrying about selling something, focus on listening. Listen to their questions and answer them. Hear their problems and ask yourself if you have a solution. Ask about the process they went through before they purchased. Ask how they felt afterward. Ask what motivates them to buy. Ask what you could do better. Ask them to describe your products and services. Ask what makes your business stand out from competitors.

Take notes.

When we do this for our clients, what we need to say and how we need to say it becomes much clearer. Unlike people close to the business, customers won’t tell you everything about your product, but they will tell you what’s important. And that’s what is most helpful to a writer.

You have seconds to communicate your message and you must be clear. You cannot try to communicate too much or people will shut down. Visitors won’t bother to call and ask a question. They will move on to another website.

Don’t let language be a barrier. Use their language not yours. Worry less about industry experts writing content, and worry more about providing clear and understandable content.

What would you like to see on Content for Biz? I am listening.

Storify Content Tool Gathers Social Media Reactions

April 25, 2011Mary KlestLeave a comment

Storify, a content curation tool, went public today. Storify allows you to search multiple social networks including twitter, Facebook, and YouTube from one site, grab entries, and organize them into a story. Businesses can compile customer reactions to products, services or events. Go to the Storify website and open an account or sign in using your twitter account. Add a title and brief introduction text, then start selecting entries from social networks. Click on the embed story button and insert the code on your site, much the same way as inserting a video from YouTube. Here is what I created in just a few minutes time.

Included are some tweets, a blog post, and a video from YouTube. See what you can do or ask a content writer for help in creating a story for you. A content writer can add context and help you choose what entries are best for meeting your business goals.

Save Time and Make Blogging Easier

April 14, 2011Joanne CostinLeave a comment

What can I write about?

Most companies understand the benefits of a B-2-B blog. But when it comes to writing blog posts week after week, they falter. While a lack of ideas, enthusiasm, and ability may be the problem, more often, it is a lack of time that sabotages their efforts. Writing is time consuming. Here are some ways to streamline the blogging process.

Decide on a topic. This often involves research. After you have read what is written on a topic, you need time to figure out how you can create your unique viewpoint. Finally, there is the actual writing and editing time, which can vary considerably, depending on the degree to which your efforts are interrupted by other responsibilities. If time constraints are keeping you from producing a better blog, consider how hiring a professional writer can help you.

1) A professional writer can help you organize your B-2-B blog content using an editorial calendar.

Take a cue from B-2-B editors who find they deliver better content when they follow an editorial calendar. An editorial calendar includes a brief description of what you will publish and when. Instead of letting things fall to chance, you might decide to feature a case study on Wednesdays and a Q&A with a company expert on Fridays. You may have six key topic areas to plan around. Stop scrambling to find a topic the day the blog post is due.

2) A professional writer can research a blog topic for you.

Much of a professional writer’s job involves finding credible sources of information—weeding through a multitude of sources and conversations on the Internet. While your company experts are likely to be the No. 1 source of information for your blog, following other experts in the field, competitors, keywords, relevant research and news can be extremely valuable. Consider hiring a professional writer to research a topic or customize and organize market intelligence for you. With everything at your fingertips the writing process becomes more efficient.

3) A professional writer can edit your blog posts.

If you or your team have great ideas but don’t have the time to give your writing professional polish, you can hire a writer to review and edit your work. With an editor’s thorough review process you will avoid embarrassing misspellings and grammatical errors. A good editor will help you communicate clearly and concisely, without losing your “voice.” A writer knowledgeable in search engine optimization can also edit your blog copy to integrate important keywords that will drive traffic to your site.

4) A professional writer can develop and write blog posts for you.

People often wonder how someone can write about an industry or topic they are not familiar with. However, professional writers successfully do this every day by thoroughly researching topics and formulating the right questions to ask company experts and industry insiders. In contrast, those who are so close to a topic often overlook the obvious questions that potential customers might have.

If time is keeping you from fully realizing the benefits of a blog, consider hiring a content writer to handle a portion or all of your writing-related tasks. Content for Biz offers all of these writing, editing and content development services. Check out the “Work with Us” tab to learn more or give us a call.

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