Author Archives:

Why you need a powerful headline on every page of your website?

Written by in Online Copywriting
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

You absolutely need a great headline!

Every page of your site should include a headline that attracts attention.

After all, a great headline has 2 major purposes. (actually it has a few but these 2 are critical)

#1. It quickly has to convey to the visitor that they are in the right place, depending on what they’re looking for, and…

#2. A great headline has to act as the “ad” for that particular web page, compelling your visitor to read further or to take the specific action that you intended them to.

I know I said 2 reasons, but a third one that’s also important is for SEO and getting organic (free) traffic from the search engines. The top ones such as Google often look at the H1 headline tags as part of their algorithm.

For more information, about how I can help you setup a more effective and usable site and improve your search engine results for your website, shoot me an email or call me at 603-686-5140.

To your website’s success!

Merrill Clark
Web SEO Copywriter and Online Strategist
www.webcontentnh.com

And if you need offline direct response marketing copy and advice, go to www.crestviewmarketing.com

Simple website design tips encourage visitors to stay longer

Written by in Online Copywriting
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

Can your website visitors read and scan the pages easily?

An important factor in how long someone stays on your site is the ability to see the content without having to squint or magnify their screen.

The easiest sites to read have a white or light colored background with black or dark text. As a rule, the more contrast between the text and the background, the better.

The font should be a standard serif like Times Roman or a sans serif like Arial or Verdan, and the size should be big enough to read but not huge.

Far to often, people want to use color and font combinations that show off their artistic prowess but in doing so, make it difficult for the average person to read the words.

I understand certain sites are designed to enhance the product or company, and that’s okay – as long as you keep readability in mind.

The purpose of your website is to get people to read it, not force them away because they can’t read it.

Remember, not everyone’s eyesight is 20/20, so keep away from the purple background and blue text and moving pictures that completely distract the casual visitor.

For more information, about how I can help you setup a more effective and usable site and improve your search engine results for your website, shoot me an email or call me at 603-686-5140.

To your website’s success!

Merrill Clark
Web SEO Copywriter and Online Strategist
www.webcontentnh.com

And if you need offline direct response marketing copy and advice, go to www.crestviewmarketing.com

Tags: , ,

Incoming links very important to SEO

Written by in Online Marketing
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

How many websites related to yours include links to your site?

Of the many off-page SEO factors that search engines such as Google use to determine the results of a search query, incoming links from other relevant sites are one of the most important.

That means sites containing content that pertains to your business that also have a good history with Google.

It doesn’t mean bulk reciprocal link swaps or paying to get links on sites that have absolutely nothing to do with what you offer. There are many rip-off artists that will promise to put links on thousands of sites, but be aware…you’ll probably get penalized by Google if you do that.

The best way to get good quality links are by creating profiles on online business directories, submit articles to online article directories such as ezinarticles.com and putting your link in the resource box, answer questions in online forums or respond to blog posts related to your business and include a link.

To get more details about how Google thinks, here’s the link for their Google Webmaster Guidelines:

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35769

And the best part – most of them are free, you just need to put in a little time and the results will improve over time.

There are many factors, on-page and off-page, that determine your placement in the search results, but the more “high quality” sites that have been around that link to your site, the better.

For more information, about how I can help you write more effective sales copy and improve your search engine results for your website, shoot me an email or call me at 603-686-5140.

To your website success!

Merrill Clark
Web SEO Copywriter and Online Strategist
www.webcontentnh.com
www.crestviewmarketing.com

Why does your website need SEO content?

Written by in Online Copywriting
6 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

SEO…

What is SEO and what does it mean to the effectiveness of your website?

SEO is a term that’s often thrown around as haphazardly as a 5 year-old kid throwing a frisbee to a dog.

It stands for “search engine optimization”, but in practical terms, it means:

The processes, copy, other content, and some programming of your website – the strategy by which your prospects and customers find your website on the internet. (driving traffic to your site and not paying advertising costs).

And SEO isn’t a one-time thing. It’s not just stuffing some keywords into the page (but that’s one component) and then it’s done. It’s an ongoing process systematically making small changes is what makes it most effective.

There’s page titles, heading tags, subheads, alt tags, descriptions, incoming and outgoing links, and on and on.

Mostly small things, but quite a few of them and to get good search results often takes time, sometimes months.

Your sales copy is one of them. Sales copy in each of your web pages has to be written to take advantage of the search engines, namely Google.

But where most people make mistakes is writing ONLY for the search engines and not writing copy that your visitors want to read.

That’s where an experienced web copywriter comes into play. He can write copy that gets recognized by the search engines (computers) PLUS gets read by and converts your visitors.

Copy that only does one or the other will probably not be as successful as copy written for both.

If you want your website to get more free traffic by getting found more often or if you want more information about how I can help you write more effective sales copy for your website, shoot me an email or call me at 603-686-5140.

To your website success!

Merrill Clark
Web SEO Copywriter and Online Strategist
www.webcontentnh.com
www.crestviewmarketing.com

Four essential questions your website needs to answer – quickly

Written by in Online Copywriting
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

Once visitors get to your website, no matter what path they followed, you want them to stay on it, and convert them to either leads or customers.

In order to maximize conversion rates, there are 4 important questions that need to be answered by your site.

1. Why are they there?

Does your homepage answer that quickly? Potential customers should immediately know that they are in the right place by scanning the headline, the page title, or copy bullets.

2. What do they want?

Does your homepage have what they came for? You can only know that by proper research of your market and knowing what they want in the first place, then giving it to them.

3. Is it easy to use?

Your visitors must be able to easily move around your site from one page to another in a logical way that makes perfect sense to them.

4. Do they trust you?

In order to gain a new lead or customer, they need to trust you first. It’s just like any other kind of relationship. Don’t go right for the throat, start of by nurturing them and offering some valuable information or advice to build on your relationship. Remember, people buy from people they like.

If your website answers these 4 questions with a resounding “YES”, then you have a good jump-start on an effective website.

For more information, about how I can help you write more effective sales copy for your website, shoot me an email or call me
at 603-686-5140.

To your website success!

Merrill Clark
Web SEO Copywriter and Online Strategist
www.webcontentnh.com
www.crestviewmarketing.com

What's the primary purpose of your website?

Written by in Online Marketing
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

Do you know exactly why you have a website?

Or what you want it to accomplish?

If you don’t, you’re certainly not alone.

I’d estimate that 75% of my clients didn’t have any idea about what the purpose and goals of their websites originally were. That’s before I consulted with them, of course.

But not having a purpose or goals makes it virtually impossible to develop any kind of online marketing strategy that will work towards a successful site.

Planning a website that’s effective at doing what you want it to, whether it’s to generate leads, offer information, directly sell, or any combination, is just like building a house. You have to know what the finished house will look like in order to draw up a plan to get there.

The same goes for a website: You have to know what you want it to do in order to develop techniques that will achieve you goals.

Another words, if you have a good overview of the website goals, you can use many different tactics to improve the effectiveness if the site.

On the other hand, if you don’t really have a clear vision of your site’s purpose and goals, you’ll be sure to miss out on valuable tips to improve it. It’s tough to improve something when you don’t know what you’re improving.

Plus you’ll be spinning your wheels, getting poor results from your website, and wasting a ton of energy and money.

You’ll benefit much more by letting a professional web strategist help you determine what your goals really are, and in the process, you’ll be able to make changes that will increase the effectiveness of your site.

For more information, about how I can help you write more effective sales copy for your website, shoot me an email or call me
at 603-686-5140.

To your website success!

Merrill Clark
Web SEO Copywriter and Online Strategist
www.webcontentnh.com

Tags: ,

Web copy tips that attract and engage your visitors

Written by in Online Copywriting
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

“Welcome to ABC Company!”

In your internet travels, you see many sites.

How many of them start off with this type of headline?

From a prospect’s perspective, much too often.

But what possible benefit does that headline offer to their visitors?

What purpose does it serve? (other than wasting valuable real estate on the page)

NONE! All it does is to make the owner feel good seeing his company name in big letters on the internet.

Then it’s usually followed by “we are the greatest, the best, the cheapest, blah blah blah”.

The problem is not only do people not care about your company name and the fact you think you are the greatest, they’re usually bored to tears after the first sentence.

And what happens when people are bored? You guessed it – they leave, usually for good.

So what should the headline say instead?

Start with a great headline that shows a benefit, or uses curiosity, or a question about an issue that is important to your visitor. Engage them.

Then, instead of telling them how great you are, tell them instead of the great benefits they will receive when they use your products or services.

Make your site all about them… Not You!

You’ll find you get more leads and inquiries than ever before if you follow these simple tips.

And if you are looking for a copywriter to write clear, concise, and persuasive copy to get your phones ringing off the hook, get in touch with me.

For more information, about how I can help you write more effective sales copy for your website, shoot me an email or call me at 603-686-5140.

To your website success!

Merrill Clark
Web SEO Copywriter and Online Strategist
www.webcontentnh.com

Tags: , ,

The first thing on your website your prospect needs to see

Written by in Online Copywriting
0 Comments - Leave a comment!

.

How many websites do you visit that shout out to you in big, bold letters…

Welcome to XYZAcme Company?

Sadly, way too many. And I’m sorry if I’ve offended you becuase your website’s headline is your company name.

But Im sure you’re asking right now – why is that a bad thing?

The reason is simple: People don’t really care about your company name.

Your prospects are on the internet looking for a solution to their problem, and if they don’t see you can solve it within 3 or 4 seconds, poof, they are gone forever on to the next site.

Your website’s headline needs to deliver a big benefit and show what you can do for them immediately.

I call it the me-me factor. So if you want better search engine results and want better sales conversion rates, come up with a compelling headline showing what you can do for your prospect.

If you would like more information about this post or about how I can help you write more effective sales copy for your website, please email me or call me at 603-686-5140.

To your website success!

Merrill Clark
Web Copywriter and SEO Consultant
www.webcontentnh.com

Newer Posts »