1. Every page needs a focal point

Every page on your website should have a focal point, a place where the visitor’s eyes are naturally drawn. It can be an image, a special offer, or a headline. In addition, that focal point should direct your visitors to act, a call-to-action.

Click here for free sample, for example.

Think of your pages as Billboards. Billboards are big, bright, and clearly direct you to take a specific action. You site pages should do the same.

Your focal points should include images and copy that is keyword rich and help the search engines find your site.

2. Headline can be very effective

Headlines organize your content by making a promise to the reader. It follows then, that your content must then deliver on that promise.

Using the “who-what-why” formula isn’t the only way to format your headlines, but it works. Think of your headlines as a promise, a commitment you make between you and your visitor.

There are many effective headline formulas out there, so you need never worry about repeating yourself.

Whether it’s on the page or in your meta data, headlines are an important SEO tactic.

3. Get 50% through the use of numbers

People are more apt to believe something when a number accompanies it. 51% of those surveyed believed something is more powerful than a majority of those surveyed believe…

Numbers grab our attention and are more credible than general terms. It seems people like specifics.

4. Use power words

Words like fast, easy, guaranteed and free are powerful copy.

    “Free is the most powerful word in the copywriter’s vocabulary. Everybody wants to get something for free.”

    -Robert W. Bly

In our email marketing we typically use headlines such as, “Free PDF…” or some other power word to increase click-throughs and, eventually, sales opportunities.

5. Think about your images

The cliché is “a picture is worth a thousand words” and it’s true. And if a picture is worth a thousand words then a video is worth ten thousand. Think long and hard about the visuals you use. Pictures and videos can supercharge story and include:

    * Photographs

    * Artwork

    * Charts and Graphs

    * Slidedecks

    * Video

    * Infographics

Make sure your images have an ALT description so the search engines know what it is you’re trying to communicate through your images.

6. Use Sub-Headlines

Would you read a newspaper if it had just one headline? Of course not!

We want information that is categorized and well organized.

If your text is longer than 250-400 words, you must use sub-headlines. No exceptions.

While the search engines give sub-headings slightly less impact than Headings, sub-headings remain an important SEO tactic.

7. Lists work

This entire post is a list.

Why do lists work so well? Lists are the building blocks of the thinking process, of ideas. To communicate your thoughts quickly and effectively, nothing structures the information like a well-thought out and logically organized list.

8. People love quotes

In my book Communication Wins, I opened every chapter with a quotation. Selecting the right quote for each chapter took up a significant part of my editing time.

Use quotes to organize your ideas and demonstrate that our major points are significant enough to have earned a historical quotation. If Abraham Lincoln commented on your major point, then it’s probably important enough for people to want to learn more about it.

9. Fun with font

Some people change fonts within their copy for emphasis. We think that’s a bad idea. To attract attention to a particular point or section of your copy, try using bold and/or italics.

The search engine can detect bold and/or italicized font in your copy and assume these are the important terms (keywords).

10. Your voice sells

There are dozens of good SEO copywriting techniques. We encourage you to learn and use them.

However, at the end of the day, you need to find your own voice. Your particular point of view, style, and tone, form the foundation for your audience appeal.

I love the way Peggy Noonan writes. She was President Reagan’s speech writer and has a lyrical style and velvet touch while, at the same time, the ability to cut like a knife, without sounding angry, through the foolishness that is served up to us on a daily basis as serious political discourse. Would I like to write like Peggy, you bet!

But I can’t. There’s only one Peggy and I’m not her. So I have to do my best to write like me. I’ve learned that my best writing is typically short declarative sentences that are easy to read and understand.

Do you agree?

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Nichebot - http://www.nichebot.com

Shopping.com Searches – http://www2.shopping.com/top_searches

AOL Hot Searches - http://hot.aol.com/hot/hot

Google Groups - http://groups.google.com

Craig's List - http://www.craigslist.com

Delicious Popular - http://del.icio.us/popular

Digg - http://www.digg.com

Google Catalogs - http://catalogs.google.com

Google Suggest – http://www.google.com/webhp?complete=1&hl=en

Technorati - http://www.technorati.com

If you want to focus exclusively on what’s selling visit the Clickbank Marketplace (http://marketplace.clickbank.net).

The web is constantly changing so it requires effort to stay current, to remain relevant.

As a marketing consultant it’s my business to stay abreast of web-trends. Feel free to call me if you’re having trouble finding the information you need.

Steve Hartkopf

800-707-9150

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1. Make a decision only when it's necessary. Every decision has a right time to be made. Don't rush decision making just because you want to check it off your to-do list. Something important might change between the time you want to make a decision and the time you must make a decision.
2. Be a good listener. Too many leaders (people) stop listening, which means they stop learning. I know you're smart, you wouldn't be Chief-of something-Officer if you weren't, but that doesn't make you infallible. Respect those around you by listening to what they have to say, then select your course of action.
3. Find your passion and pursue it with all your might. Life is more about happiness than your bank account. If you think it's all about the bank account, then you're shallow and probably not a very happy person. Life is short; get happy.
4. Find a career in a growing industry. In a growing industry when they have enough work for one and a half people they hire two people. The result is the quality of work increases, which brings more value to the customer, which makes them happy so they buy more...it's a virtuous cycle. Conversely, in a declining industry when they have enough work for one and a half people they hire one person and work him/her like a mule. If that person sticks around great, if not they bring in another mule. Don't be a mule.
5. Execution is where good ideas go to die. Good ideas are easy. Most of the people I know can rattle off a couple dozen good ideas in minutes. Execution is much harder and, therefore, more valuable. Focus on a few good ideas and learn to execute them well.
6. Nurture your relationships. Success requires other people - supporters, a team, employees, etc. If the relationship is intact you can navigate through rough waters. If you destroy the relationship people will go against their own self interest to undermine your efforts. Life is a journey so take some good people with you.
7. Take measured risks and have faith in yourself. Most of what you plan won't turn out exactly as you envisioned. That's ok. Accept curves in the road as normal and stop fretting over what might have been. Golf teaches us this point well; play the ball where it lies.
8. "There is no such thing as failure; there is only success and quitting." Eleanor Roosevelt said that when she was struggling against considerable odds to establish UNICEF. I think Mike Ditka said, "Until you give up you're always in the process of winning." Good counsel from two very successful people. Refuse to give up.
9. Live within your financial means. Money is not everything but you do need it to survive. A financial cushion can bring you peace of mind, safety and independence. I've never really worried about losing my job because, for most of my life, I've had a financial cushion to fall back on in emergencies.
10. Get over yourself. I know your Momma told you that you were great and I'm sure she's right. However, as a whole the world just doesn't care all that much and an ounce of humility, especially if you're talented, goes a lot farther than a gallon of hubris.
11. Give more and expect less. This is a good way to create balance in your life and avoid resentment. If you only give when you expect to get then you're being small, selfish and immature. Give freely and you will have deep relationships with good people. Be a taker and you will soon find yourself surrounded by takers, all trying to hustle the other. Does that sound like fun to you? It doesn't to me.
12. Avoid toxic people. Enough said.
13. Have (quiet) confidence in your self because if you don't no one else will.
14. Don't enjoy telling or be in a hurry to let someone else know they're wrong. If finding fault in someone else gives you joy then you need to understand why you feel that way. Do you think you're up just because they're down? That's twisted. If someone has a fault or is mistaken about something try to find a non-threatening way to help (coach) them. Who knows, you might find that you are the one in need of coaching...Oh, I get it, that's what you were afraid of in the first place.
15. Wag more; bark less. If you approach others with a kind and loving heart you can discuss anything. If you approach others with an angry or resentful heart then a simple "good morning" can be ill received.
16. If you have to prove you're always right, then you're always wrong. 

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Shortly after lunchtime my to-do list mind kidnaps me and I tend to scurry about from one short task to another. The mix of phone calls and emails clutters my cerebral-closet. Staying focused is a bear by late afternoon. It’s NOT my most productive time. By 4:00 I miss my morning and my writing world.

Many people can’t concentrate until the responsibilities of their day are met and the house is quiet. The night is their muse. To them, nighttime is built for dreaming, scheming and reflection on what might have been or what could be. It is a perfect time to write.

I read about a writer (can’t remember and couldn’t locate her name) that said she didn’t consider a story finished until she had a chance to edit it at different times of the day. She needed to see the story from all perspectives. I believe “All her selves,” is what she said. She was a full-time writer, unlike most of us.

My advice is to spend one week writing in the morning and one week writing in the evening. See what feels best and what produces the best work. Similarly, spend a week writing in the morning and editing in the evening and then reverse the approach. Learn by experimenting. Once you’ve settled on an approach, you’ll have more confidence in your ability to produce your best work.

Confidence is a requirement to motivation and success so nurturing your own (confidence) is important work.

Steve

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