Your N.H. business website’s 3 seconds to fame is…

Written by in Online Marketing
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Many New Hampshire business owners have a website to showcase their companies, products and services… but do they ever get the attention and results from it they expected when they signed the big fat check to the web designer?

I’ll call it the Business Website’s 3 Seconds to Fame.

You see, when a person is searching for a specific word using Google, Bing, or any other search engine, they’re typically looking for a specific answer to their burning question.

In other words, they want answers, and they want them fast.

That’s where your Business Website’s 3 Seconds to Fame comes into play.

Because studies have show that after the average web user goes to a website displayed in the search results, they’ll only spend about 3 seconds on the page to see if that site can answer their question.

If they decide the site can’t help them, they go to the next one on the list, all without blinking an eye.

That’s it! Only 3 seconds!

And 3 seconds is not a lot of time… so you need to make sure it counts!

In 3 seconds, your website needs to let your reader…

  • Know they’re in the right place
  • See that you can help them solve there problem
  • Begin to build a trusted relationship
  • Know your solution is the best one available and how they can contact you.

You need to do all of that in 3 short seconds!

Does your website do this?

If it doesn’t, maybe you should get a comprehensive web strategy analysis to find out how you can make it better.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

One local SEO tip for getting found on the Internet

Written by in Online Copywriting
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If you own a New Hampshire business and have a website, I bet you’ve wondered if there was a fast and easy way to make sure your website comes up higher when someone does a local search for your service or product.

For example, someone going to Google, and searching for a plumber hooksett nh or portsmouth nh small business lawyer.

Unfortunately, there’s no magic pill for improving your search ranking, but there is one simple thing you can (and should) do that can help you improve your rankings over time.

And it’s so basic, you may slap yourself in the head and say…

“Why didn’t I think of that?”

Simply make sure your company name and address is displayed somewhere on every page of your website. This includes your city and state. Use text and don’t embed them in a graphic or picture.

Always remember … The search engines read words – just like we do.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

Differentiate your website… with the right words

Written by in Online Copywriting
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When you think about the qualities of a great website, what do you think about?

Is it the slick graphic design? Or the really cool, sexy Flash intro? Or maybe some genius programming skills that make the site do something unique?

Do theses techno gizmos make a business website, (maybe even yours) stand out from the competition, or attract and convert more sales?

Um… No!

Granted. Many, if not most websites use these things today, and they are necessary, but without one missing crucial component, it cant truly stand out.

So how can you differentiate your website from the rest?

Simply put – Hiring a web copywriter to writing the right words in the right place on every page on your website.

Granted… words sure aren’t as sexy as the latest technological wizardry and programming, but since most web copy completely sucks, a copywriter can make your site stand out from the crowd, and great web copy will actually attract new prospects and customers. The technology can’t.

A good web copywriter will more than pay for themselves, and let your website show the world (or at least your local community) how they will benefit from using your products and services.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

Marketing is not the most important thing in your life

Written by in Online Marketing
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Since the recent death of my son, I’ve come to the overwhelming realization that marketing and business is not the most important thing in the world.

Your life and family is the most important thing in your world! (at least, it should be)

It’s been 5 weeks now, and my mind and heart is still riding an emotional roller coaster, with just about every emotion known to mankind.

And with all those powerful emotions running around inside, it hit me like a ton of bricks…

I’ve come to realize the things in life that are really important, and the things that don’t mean a damn thing in the overall scheme of things.

And you know what? Over the last 5 weeks – marketing, which is my business, hasn’t even existed in my world.

It’s amazing the things I’ve come to realize that just don’t matter at all.

Taking care of my wife and the rest of my family and friends have taken complete priority, and will continue to do so.

Now that doesn’t mean I won’t work my business hard. Of course I have to… the bills still have to be payed.

It just means that I’ll work hard and pay more attention at taking care of love and life itself while I’m still around.

Business will happen.

Unfortunately, it took my son’s suicide for me to learn this valuable lesson.

What does all this have to do with marketing and business and generating leads?

Probably nothing at all.

But I feel a lot better sharing this so maybe you won’t be writing a similar story in your lifetime.

And in case you’re wondering… You’ll start getting new marketing and business tips in this blog soon. As soon as my brain says…

Let’s GO!

Thanks for listening, your cards, prayers, and your support…

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark

Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

One simple change to pictures on your website can increase web traffic

Written by in Online Copywriting
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It’s a fact: Most websites display at least one picture.

Did you know by changing a simple setting on your website pictures, your website could get found more often?

But more importantly, search engines such as Google, will scan this setting and take it into consideration when displaying the search results page. This could result in your site being shown higher in the rankings.

In techie talk…it’s called the “alt tag”.

And every picture on your website has one.

In non-techie talk, it’s a place where you can include text to describe the picture. So when someone’s computer can’t display the picture, it will show this “alt tag”, so you know what it is, even if you can’t see it.

Unfortunately, when most websites are created, these fields are often left blank.

Generally, pictures don’t help Google figure out what your web page is about, so it looks for the “alt tag” for that information.

So what I recommend is to put an “alt tag” on every picture on your site, so Google will see it.

And use your keywords in the alt tag anytime you can, as long as it’s relevant to the picture.

Just make sure it’s descriptive and accurate, though.

Example: If you’re a plumber in Boston…

Let’s say you have a picture of yourself in the sidebar to give your readers a face and a personality to your site.

You’d create an alt tag that says:

“John Smith – Master Plumber in Boston MA”

Google will see this text (and also some great keywords), ultimately helping improve your site’s search rankings.

To see if your pictures have alt tags or not, just move your mouse over the picture for a few seconds, and see if a little text box pops up.

If it does, it will be your alt tag. If nothing happens, the picture probably doesn’t have one.

Your web people can help you make these changes, and a good web copywriter can give you the right text for them.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

The new debate about using “Click Here” on your website

Written by in Online Copywriting
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As long as I’ve been writing web and SEO copy, there’s been a general copywriting rule of thumb.

And it says: Don’t use the words “Click Here” with a hyperlink, because it doesn’t include any keywords in the link text.

And keywords in your links and anchor text are a good thing.

So that’s one train of thought – which does make sense.

But when you want a web visitor to click on a link, sometimes it’s tough to come up with the right combination of keywords in the link text that are strong enough to persuade them to click.

Another thing that’s crucial to getting a click is a powerful and compelling call to action.

A call to action is what you tell your prospect to do next.

Click Here is a pretty darn strong call to action, but doesn’t include any keywords.

The latest debate centers on using Click Here or not using Click Here as the link text.

Hmmm… The SEO side … or the strong call to action side?

Personally, I try to use keywords in my links whenever I can, and if my primary goal is to get people to click on a certain link, I’ll use Click Here if I can make it sound good, too.

Like everything else in life, I think balance is the key.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

Attract more qualified traffic to your website by avoiding this common mistake

Written by in Online Copywriting, Online Marketing
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Do you want to get more qualified visitors to your website, and convert more of them to paying customers?

Of course you do! Or at least most business owners do. I mean – that’s why you have a website to begin with.

So…assuming you do, too, I’m going to tell you about one optimization change you can make that could increase your traffic by as much as 30…40…even 50%.

It’s a mistake I see almost every day and it has to do with how people search for your products or services.

Companies that have multiple products and services often lump all of those descriptions onto one web page.

And that’s bad. It’s bad because one web page can only have one page title, only one description meta tag, and only one keyword tag.

The problem is you can’t put all your products and services in one title, description, or keyword tag.

Special note – To find out exactly why these factors are so crucial for your website getting found by the search engines, check out my new book for local search marketing advice.

The most effective strategy is to create a separate web page for each product and service you offer. Then you can optimize a persuasive page title, page description, keywords, a powerful headline, and great copy that’s completely laser-focused on each product and service.

Those are crucial elements on your web pages that will attract the search engines.

Why? Because the service names and descriptions are usually what people will be searching on, and if you have a specific page for each one, you stand a much better chance of having that particular page rank higher than your competition, maybe even higher than your home page.

Think about it… When you search for something, you’re only searching for one specific thing, not a whole bunch of things.

So start by taking your services page that lists 5 or 6 or 10 or however many services you provide, and create separate pages for each one.

You can see a good example of this at www.maguirehealthbenefits.com.

He could have lumped employer health insurance, supplemental insurance, and individual health insurance and supplemental insurance onto one page. Keep in mind employers and individuals have completely different wants and search on different keywords.

Instead, each is logically separated on its own page so the copy can be focused on each one.

And he’s reported to me that it works very well.

Product and service specific pages definitely works. If you want more details about how it could affect your website, contact me.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

Are you losing sales from lack of online and email follow up with interested prospects?

Written by in Online Marketing
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Personally…there’s nothing more irritating than leaving a message for a business you want to give your hard-earned money to, and never hearing back from them…

But it really ticks me off when I send an email or take the time to fill out a contact form on a business website – and never get a response – ever!

Come on folks…this is Marketing and Business 101. Not to mention Courtesy 101.

And it’s just plain rude to not respond to a legitimate request from a prospect.

Do these companies really have so much business that they cant find the time to follow up and respond to a possible client’s request for information or answer a question. Jeesh!!

I think not.

It seems to me that it’s becoming more and more frequent to ignore online requests for information, and it’s too bad for those that businesses, since they’re the ones losing out.

More and more people like to do research and get information online before they contact a vendor to make a purchase.

So why ignore them, and run the risk of losing them as a client forever?

Dunno, but it sure happens a lot.

The moral to my rant is this:

If you have an email and/or a contact form on your website: Make damn sure your company follows up with the people who spend their valuable time contacting you!

And if you don’t want anyone to buy anything from you, then get rid of all your contact information from your website. At least you’ll save people the aggravation of wasting their time on you.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

Drive more traffic to your NH website with this inexpensive technique

Written by in Online Copywriting, Online Marketing
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Do you wanna know how you can drive a ton of new traffic to your website?

In a word… Postcards.

Now before you get all worked up thinking it sounds counter-intuitive to using an offline technique to generate more visitors to your website, let me explain.

First, the postage to mail a 4×6 postcard to your ideal prospect is only 28 cents each.

Plus, you can get postcards printed pretty darn cheap, even at your local print shop. And they don’t have to be fancy, either.

To get the best results from a postcard mailing, with the purpose of generating new traffic to your site…

Here’s what you need to do:

First – come up with a physical mailing list of your ideal prospects. Buy one, rent one, or create your own (the cheapest way).

Second – come up with a special offer just for them that’s so irresistible, they’d be crazy not to respond.

Third – make sure you have a powerful call-to-action that tells them to go to your website to get your offer. (You should even create a special web page just for this postcard offer)

Finally – mail them out and start tracking your results.

Just make sure your postcard copy adheres to direct response copywriting and marketing rules.

What I mean is – use a great headline, convincing copy, offer them something they want, and tell them how to get it (go to your website). And don’t forget to test.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

Improve SEO results on your NH website with quality incoming links

Written by in Online Marketing
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There are a number of ways to effectively increase your website’s exposure to the search engines, and at the same time, increase your Google Page Rank.

Today, I’m just going to talk about one of them.

It involves getting more incoming links (also called backlinks) to your website.

The main idea is to get other businesses to put a link to your website on their website. And the more you get, the better off you’ll be.

As long as the links are from respected and trustworthy sites that are somewhat relevant to your website and business. You can even create incoming links from other pages on your own site.

For example: If your site sells custom dog coats, you’d come up with a list of other business sites that also cater to dog owners, but sell different products – doggie cookies for instance.

Contact the website owner, and ask them if they’ll do it. Better yet, put a link to their site on yours first, then contact them. The law of reciprocity can be a powerful motivator.

Granted this can be a tedious, time consuming, and ongoing project…but over time, can be well worth it.

But please don’t fall for the link exchange services where someone promises to put links to your site on thousands of useless sites for a fee. You might as well flush your money down the toilet.

Matt Cutts from Google recently stated in a video that they are getting real good at sniffing out those types of links, and they wont be rewarded at all. And sometimes, Google even penalizes sites that try that technique.

Be smart, stay persistent, and stay on the up-and-up, and over time, you’ll see your rankings and traffic trend upwards.

What are your thoughts?

To get more traffic to your website with search engine optimization (SEO), or more persuasive web copy, to get help using your website and mail marketing to get your message your prospects, easily and affordably, or to learn about my direct response web copywriting services, e-mail me or call me at 603-686-5140.

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

Merrill Clark
Web, SEO, and Direct Response Copywriter

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