Beyond the Elements of Style

Google Never Forgets

Help! I’m on the run from children’s Christmas ideas!

Let me note right away that I do not have children. What I do have, however, is a search engine optimization business, and not long ago I did a rather thorough evaluation of a website for a company that features children’s clothing, accessories, and furniture. We did not end up working together, but my computer … remembers.

The reason my computer remembers is because of Google. During the time I was doing this research, my ISP, for reasons unknown to anyone but itself, decided to stop sending my emails. I therefore relied on my Gmail account to correspond with the prospect and work on the website evaluation.

And Google, as we all know, Never Forgets.

So now as I meander around the web, pay-per-click advertising for this company is never far away. I check out the TV schedule and it reminds me about kids’ pajamas. I consider purchasing a book online and it’s right there telling me about a special on children’s dressers. I look into a writing contest and it wants me to pay attention to Christmas décor ideas for the kids’ rooms.

Inanely grinning child models are stalking me as I move through the net, haunting my every click. I want to run screaming from them, but they’re actually intruding into the real world, too. When someone mentioned the company name at a recent party I attended, I started looking around for the hidden microphones.

I could draw some political parallels, of course; but this column isn’t about politics, it’s about words. And today’s cautionary word-related tale? Be careful where and how you use your words, because Google Never Forgets. I’m lucky: I only have child-merchandise pursuing me. But the words you leave out there are there forever. It’s a great reason to think before you type.

Do that, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

There’s Search … and Then There’s Good Search!

Imagine searching the web, the way you do every day … but with a twist: what if your search included donations to your charity or nonprofit of choice?

I probably shouldn’t say this, since as an SEO goddess (a title I most humbly claim as my own) I make my living from people worrying about Google, Yahoo! and MSN; but now there’s a kinder, better way to search: GoodSearch.

Powered by Yahoo!, GoodSearch donates a penny per search to the nonprofit organization you designate. If you’re like me, this can amount to a couple of dollars on almost any day! You can use GoodSearch the same way you’d use any other search engine, and your charity or nonprofit of choice will reap the benefits of your research or curiosity.

To get started, just navigate over here: GoodSearch. Enter your favorite charity or nonprofit name into the space that reads “enter your charity here.” And voila!

Stuck on Google? Forget to do the right thing? Make GoodSearch your home page or add it to your web browser toolbar. Either way, you’ll be helping someone … and will find yourself far, far beyond the elements of style!

To Quote, or Not to Quote … (Copywriters: Read This, Please!)

I have to admit it: I have a new favorite blog out there. The marketing world — in which I spend a fair amount of my time — loves loves loves scare quotes. Almost as much as it loves to choose certain random nouns and give them initial caps. Almost as much as it loves choosing words it thinks will drive customers to action and capitalize them completely. And then there are the exclamation marks …

You end up having sentences like these: All of “our” Fine Sports Wear is ON SALE!!!!!!!

Okay, so that’s a slight exaggeration, but honestly –– only slight. Good copywriting isn’t about tossing eye-catching punctuation like errant confetti over your content: good copywriting is supplying good content. Period. And for you SEO mavens out there, all this extraneous stuff is horrible at attracting spiders. Do so at your risk and peril.

But I digress. There are, thankfully, two or three other people in the world who feel as I do, and one of them has a blog! Youpie!

When you’re ready for a slightly different take on the use of scare quotes as we all unhappily see them every day, do go visit The “Blog” of “Unnecessary” Quotation marks..

You’ll have a lot of fun: I guarantee it! And you’ll also be … beyond the elements of style!

If Content is King in SEO, it Rules the Universe in SMM!

I often talk about content being king. I even have a monthly newsletter titled Limitless Content (sign up for it at http://www.customline.com), and for good reason: content is the point of the web. People go online to do a great many things – make purchases, meet friends, look up information, learn a language, sell an heirloom – and every one of those actions is predicated on there being some content on the site where they ultimately do whatever it is that they’re doing.

Every time Google dances and other SEO experts go swooning over page ranks and links and so on, I order another latte. I don’t care. Page rank is so 2005, folks, and links can be manipulated more than golf scores. But content – good, solid, reliable, authoritative, changing content – that’s what will bring visitors (and customers!) to a site.

The social media sites, no matter which one you choose to consider (and new ones spring up, literally, daily), are all about content. They’re frequented by people who are generally less educated but far more web-saavy than those who are attracted to pre-web 2.0 sites, and these users know all about links – and aren’t about to play that game. You can’t ask for links in this world, and you can’t buy links, either; you have to earn them.

And you earn them through great content. I’m starting to sense a theme here.

The social media world focuses on experience rather than on destinations. It focuses on connections rather than on sales pitches. And it values creativity above anything else. The best way to get noticed is to do something new, something cool, something insanely great – and tell somebody about it. Tell everybody about it.

Who do you tell? Ah, that’s the other catch. To market to these communities, you have to be part of the community. You cannot communicate to web 2.0 denizens unless you’re one of them, unless you’ve spent the time and taken the effort to be there. You have to grow a bit of a thick skin, for social media sites can feature some very mean individuals (read Digg for a few pages and you’ll see what I’m talking about); as is true everywhere, it is generally the people who know the least who attack the most. So you’re going to get some slingshots. You need to have humor and a sense of balance out here – it’s not for the faint of heart.

Let’s get back to content, though. Because social media has changed the way content is presented: even though it must be even better than ever in terms of quality, the quantity rules have changed:

• First, your content has to be bite-sized. Say what you have to say, say it well, remind people of what you just said, and get out. If you can’t do this well, hire someone who can (maybe even a copywriter like me!): it’s essential.
• Secondly, your bites need to be in a lot of different places. Study the sites. (I’m not going to list them here; those lists are available elsewhere – check out SEOMoz’s fine articles on social media marketing, as an example.) Everyone wants something a little different. Modify your bite-sized bits of content to suit the specific audience.
• Finally, and this is where all your old creaky SEO skills come in: change content. All the time. Follow up your bite-sized nuggets with other ones. Experiment with doing a series of such nuggets on a given site. Keep creating this great content and tossing the articles, lenses, and tidbits out into the social media you select. They won’t all stick; but some will.

Remember that you’re not going to make any sales out here: social media sites aren’t going to buy anything from you. But put out content that is creative, dynamic, and intriguing, and if you’re any kind of decent marketer, you’ll draw people in to where you want them to be … and encourage them to do what you want them to do.

Do that, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Is Your Content a Prince or a Pauper?

Is Your Content a Prince or a Pauper?

There’s a saying in search engine optimization: content is king. If that’s true, why then is there so much stale, repetitive copy circulating on the web?

Everyone talks about content being king in SEO, but does anyone really go beyond inserting appropriate keywords into their content and calling it a day? Content that is SEO-friendly is user-friendly, so we should start at the other end: create *great* content, content that is the *point* of the website, content that is creative and will attract visitors over and over again … and the SEO will follow.

The point is this: Content has to rule. Content should never be a last thought, or an afterthought:

* Hire a real writer, not just someone who can do advertising copy, so that the website actually *says* something. Good web copy is a combination of business, marketing, and creative writing. (And make sure grammar/usage/spelling are correct!)
* When looking at content, always ask the question: so what? Everything should have a point.
* Change content regularly. Train people to come back over and over again. Offer continuity and follow up on it (series, etc.).
* Consider using blogs; they force you to have frequent content changes and are a good way to fit things in that don’t fit elsewhere.

… and then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!