One of the biggest challenges that copywriters and marketers face is writing content optimised for the search engines, yet still appealing to the readers. When we search online for the best SEO copywriting tips, we get answers like use a keyword tool, write quality and long-form content, create a meta description and so on. While these tips can help, they are meant for those who don’t know much about SEO. This post will give you more advanced SEO copywriting tips that successful digital marketers use to create quality, attractive content.

Take an Online Course

This idea is much too underrated, yet it is so helpful. An online course provides you with the tips and techniques you need to shape up your content. Companies such as UDemy and Alison offer courses featuring a wide variety of topics, including SEO copywriting. If you go to UDemy, for instance, you will find a lot of results related to SEO courses. Each result has a brief description of the courses on offer as well as a star rating and the amount charged for the course. You can pick two or three courses that have high ratings. Look into each one of them and slowly pick on small things as to why people are spending their money on them. Choose a course that has great and convincing reviews.

Use Content Pattern to Write Efficiently

A majority of copywriters do not understand what a content pattern is. In simple terms, a content pattern is a layout that repeats itself quite a number of times in a post. A typical example is a list-type post where every item has text and an image. These elements will repeat themselves in the same order and in the same formatting. A content pattern enables you to create blog posts in a structured manner and beat writer’s block.

A content pattern will also benefit your audience. It allows them to easily read your content however they want. If your audience wanted to skim through the post to read important items without missing any crucial information, they could easily do so. They could even just read the headlines and understand what the content is all about.

A good content pattern should help you create a blog post that has an introduction, body, and conclusion. The introduction is where you explain what your post is all about to the targeted audience and why it is worth reading. It basically highlights the benefits the reader will get from reading your content. The body is where you explain your ideas, provide step-by-step guidelines and outline your strategies. The conclusion is where you close off your posts. It is where you tell the readers what to do next. It also summarises the key ideas in the post.

LSI Keywords

LSI keywords, also known as Latent Semantix Index keywords, are a group of keywords that have a close link with the main keyword. Let’s take, for example, a keyword like “SEO copywriting tips.” Possible LSI keywords would be “digital marketing,” “content creation” or “blogging.”

But how do LSI keywords help you? Search engine web crawlers usually skim through your page looking for links, keywords and other things to get a rough idea of what your page is all about. The LSI keywords give the crawlers a magnifying glass, telling them where to look to get an idea of the primary purpose of your page. These keywords also make your post easier to read and increase the average time visitors spend on the page.

Trigger Emotions

Do not shy away from using emotional triggers in your content. Emotional triggers evoke reactions out of people, which will most likely lead to actions. Social triggers are especially useful when used in a headline. A phrase like “Tired of Being Lonely? Use These Tips to Get a Girlfriend/Boyfriend” will evoke reactions from your readers and make them curious about the article, decreasing your bounce rate in the process.

Communicate Your Points Well

Back in college, I used to write long essays talking about something that can be said in two or three sentences. I managed to get away with it because the professors back then were very patient, had long attention spans and were extremely knowledgeable. But in this age, in digital marketing, it’s hard to get readers to pay attention to lengthy content. People have become very impatient and rarely take more than five minutes to read the content. Many people do not have large vocabularies, making it difficult for them to read posts that contain jargon and complex words.

When writing, make sure your content can be read and understood by someone in 6th grade. To capture their attention quickly, you need to explain the key points of the post at the beginning and round it up with a call to action if applicable.

Choose Keywords Wisely

Most copywriters use Google Keyword Planner to help them find the right keyword combinations. However, when it comes to those golden keywords that can make your page rank highly in Google, you need to take a different approach. The first and most important approach is to use long tail keywords. For instance, if the main purpose of your page is to sell or help readers find football boots, don’t use “football boots” as the main keyword string. Instead, use “where is the best place to find football boots” or “where can I get football boots.” Customers nowadays use conversational keywords when looking for something online. You will most likely be left out if you don’t use long-tail and conversational keywords.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Though keywords are beneficial for your post, it is important you don’t go overboard when using them. Keyword stuffing was used by content creators a few years back to rank highly with Google, which forced them to introduce an algorithm that would penalise web pages that do it. When you are penalised because of keyword stuffing, it means you will have to start your content marketing strategy from scratch. This can be really frustrating, especially if you have invested a lot of resources and time on it. So, avoid keyword stuffing and try as much as possible to write naturally.

The tips discussed above are sure ways to improve your SEO copywriting skills. It doesn’t cost anything to adopt them, all you need is to be ready to learn and explore new tips and techniques.

Being told to work smart, not hard all the time is not easy. Especially for someone who comes from a culture that prizes hard work above all else. Sometimes, working too hard can lead to problems, and the Japanese even have a word for that – karoshi – which is death from overwork.

Working smart means you have a clear strategy on how to prioritise the most important tasks on your list so you can end your day feeling satisfied with the work that you do. I personally feel that one should work smart, as this not only increases productivity but also reduces stress and frees up time for important matters.

Here are five easy tips that you can follow for working smart, not working hard – because there is a huge difference.

Don’t Start From Scratch

It’s not the man that invents the wheel that gets the credit, it is the man that makes the car that gets the kudos. A famous saying that holds true: you don’t need to stress yourself out on this and you don’t need to start from scratch. Instead, you should take it upon yourself to use something that somebody has already created and make it many times better and more useful. A case in point is that many artists themselves say: Bad artists copy, great artists steal.

Of course, crediting the source goes without saying.

Love Yourself

The time will come
when, with elation
you will greet yourself arriving
at your own door, in your own mirror
and each will smile at the other’s welcome,

and say, sit here. Eat.
You will love again the stranger who was your self.
Give wine. Give bread. Give back your heart
to itself, to the stranger who has loved you

all your life, whom you ignored
for another, who knows you by heart.
Take down the love letters from the bookshelf,

the photographs, the desperate notes,
peel your own image from the mirror.
Sit. Feast on your life.

-Derek Walcott

 
The poem that you have just read is Love After Love by Derek Walcott and is also my favourite poem of all time. It goes beyond being my favourite poem; it speaks on a much deeper level to those of us who live in this day and age. Nowadays, people are constantly on the move, with no time to stop and smell the proverbial flowers. This poem urges you to love yourself, first and foremost, and forget about the insubstantial things we are chasing, like money, fame and power.

How does this tie into working smart? You simply work for yourself, and by loving yourself; you create a space that is conducive and safe for you. This then increases your productivity and without you going too hard on yourself, you still get the job done!

Pomodoro Your Time

Have you heard of this famous technique? It has been purported to be an effective time and focus increasing trick. Pomodoro comes from the Spanish word “tomato” and was invented by Francesco Cirillo in the late 1980s.

Essentially it’s:

1. Decide on the task to be done.
2. Set the pomodoro timer (traditionally to 25 minutes).
3. Work on the task.
4. End work when the timer rings and put a checkmark on a piece of paper.
5. If you have fewer than four checkmarks, take a short break (3–5 minutes), then go to step 2.
6. After four pomodoros, take a longer break (15–30 minutes), reset your checkmark count to zero, then go to step 1.

You can find out more at the official site here.

Use GPS (Goal, Purpose, Scope)

No, it’s not the global positioning system but it’s definitely a great way for you to find your way when doing your tasks. Here’s what each one means:

Set A Goal: Exactly what it says on the tin; setting a goal is important. Setting goals big and small are also important. What’s even more important is setting small goals to help you achieve that big goal.

Find Your Purpose: It’s said that we were born to give purpose to our own lives, and whether you agree or not, finding a purpose in life helps you to set a series of goals to achieve that purpose.

Widen Your Scope: There’s nothing sadder than a narrow-minded person and you should always widen your scope. Try something new!

Time Theming

It’s not the man that invents the wheel that gets the credit, it is the man that makes the car that gets the kudos. A famous saying that holds true: you don’t need to stress yourself out on this and you don’t need to start from scratch. Instead, you should take it upon yourself to use something that somebody has already created and make it many times better and more useful. A case in point is that many artists themselves say: Bad artists copy, great artists steal.

Of course, crediting the source goes without saying.

WordPress has come a long way since it was first launched in 2003. Statistics have shown that it powers 38% of all the websites on the Internet. 

Whilst being an easy-to-use platform, is not without its security risks. Most people know that to login to your site, they need only put in /wp-admin/ or /wp-login.php/ in order to brute force (a term describing how hackers use a database of guessed passwords and usernames) and force their way into the site. There are, however, several ways you can prevent this from happening. Here are the top 10 tips to protect your WordPress website:

1. Limit login attempts

Limiting login attempts is the first thing you must do to ensure that your website is safe from brute force attacks. Limiting login attempts from a particular IP address for a set period of time helps to significantly decrease the number of unauthorised users and may buy you some time to block those IPs from ever entering your site.

2. Change URL to login page

Of course, the most obvious solution is sometimes the one that is most overlooked: By changing from the default login URL to something that is unique and known only to you, you will be able to limit the number of people who know what your login URL is. Here is a handy guide from WordPress themselves on how to do so.

3. Limit users

Like limiting login attempts, limiting users on your WordPress website obviously helps to reduce the number of people that have access to your site. Give credentials only to people you trust and ensure that you change their passwords frequently so that should they decide to “give” the account to someone else, your security is less likely to be compromised. Which brings us to our next point…

4. Change your password and username frequently

Another obvious point to take into consideration as that while many people claim that this is the best practice, they never actually practice it. But you should. By changing both your password and username more frequently, you’re ensuring the security of the website and making it more difficult to guess what either your password or username is.

5. Update software, themes, and plugins regularly

Keeping your core WordPress, themes and plugins regularly updated ensuring that you have the latest patches and bug fixes, making it much harder for a hacker to enter your site. Checking for compatibility of your themes/plugins with WordPress before installing is ideal, as it will not only run more smoothly but will keep your WordPress more hacker-free.

6. Use two-step verification

This is a common security step you see implemented not just on WordPress websites but many other applications as well. A two-step verification is defined by this site as: “an extra layer of security that is known as “multi-factor authentication” that requires not only a password and username but also something that only, and only, that user has on them, i.e. a piece of information only they should know or have immediately to hand – such as a physical token.” With your piece of secret information, it is nearly impossible for a hacker to login to your account.

7. Logout idle users

There’s that saying that an idle mind is the devil’s workshop. They should upgrade that saying to note that an idle user is the devil’s advocate. Many times it is these “idle” users that cause trouble. By logging them out after a set period of time, you will be able to prevent them from causing more trouble to your site.

8. Limit dashboard access

With great power comes great responsibility. By limiting dashboard access to users that you need onboard but don’t fully trust with the entire site, you’ll be keeping your users away from any temptation. WordPress has many different levels of functionality for each user role and by setting unique roles with unique powers, you’re able to tell who did what or narrow that list down a lot if somebody tries to take advantage of your site.

9. Install a Firewall on your computer

Having an antivirus is not enough nowadays with hackers constantly stepping ahead of the game. Installing a powerful, paid firewall will do wonders for your WordPress site and your computer itself.  Security should be your utmost priority as well as investing in a firewall will be one of the many important steps you can take towards securing your site.

10. Backup your site

Last but not least is the most important aspect of protecting your site against hackers. If all else fails (and before it does), you should constantly backup your website in order to prevent data loss, which is the single most important thing that hackers look to disrupt when going after your sites. Keep your backups in as many secure places as possible, both digital and physical – and do it constantly; we cannot reiterate how important it is for you to keep your website fully backed up.

Here at Ooze Studios, we are dedicated to ensuring the safety of your website.  By following these tips, we hope that your site will stay safer and easier to use. Should you require any assistance with any part of your website, be it in the beginning, middle or end, you can contact us here and request a quote. We’d be more than happy to help!

As business owners, we all know that marketing is the key to the successful growth of a company. It’s an effective way to engage with customers, boost sales and build your brand’s reputation. Without proper marketing, your company won’t get the recognition that it needs to grow and stay afloat.

The scary part about owning a new company is knowing that roughly nine out of ten businesses fail within their first five years. These staggering numbers make it even more crucial that you hire a marketing firm to help with such an important component of your business.

There are tons of marketing agencies that you can choose from, which can make hiring the right one both confusing and daunting. After all, you don’t want to wind up spending more money than you need to or being stuck with an internet marketing firm that isn’t going to get the project done.

Here are five signs of a great internet marketing firm, consideration of these points should help you to hire the right agency:

Their Level of Experience

The internet marketing firm you choose to hire should ideally have several years of experience under their belt. Every company needs to start out in order to become a success, but you want a trusted and experienced firm to work with. Most marketing firms will outline their portfolio, which gives details of the different companies and projects they’ve worked on in the past. If they don’t have this information readily available, it could mean that they’re still a new company. Don’t be afraid to contact past customers and get details on what the company was like to work with. People who pay for services are often unbiased when it comes to giving their unique and true opinion. In general, the more experience that a company has, the better they will be at work on your projects.

The Size of Their Team

If you hire a marketing firm that has only one or two people on its team, the turnaround time for projects is probably going to take longer than you’d like. The more people on the team, the quicker your projects will be realised. Each member of the marketing firm’s team will probably do something different for their customers, giving you a more detailed and expert experience which will ultimately benefit your company’s growth and recognition. This doesn’t mean that you need to hire an agency that has hundreds of workers, which will prevent you from having a personal experience; however, you want an internet marketing firm that has enough people on its team to get projects done quickly and efficiently.

Their Offered Services

Marketing is a multifaceted industry, and you need an internet marketing firm that integrates a range of different services to help your business expand. For example, an agency offering just social media campaign marketing will help, but only with this specific form of advertising. Instead, look for a company that offers a range of services so that most things are done in-house and fully integrated. This eliminates the need for hiring multiple companies and spending more money than you need. For instance, the company you hire might offer search engine optimisation, website design, social media campaigning and marketing as well as pay per click advertising. These companies often offer services as a bundled deal to save you money.

Payment and Prices

The price you pay for your marketing will either make or break your company. It’s important to realise that marketing can be quite pricey, especially if you require a full range of services. If you’re on a tight budget, you might want to buy a bundle of services or go with one type of marketing at a time. Many firms work to budgets, so you should be upfront about what you can afford before signing anything. No two marketing agencies are alike, and one might offer their services at a more reasonable fee but be more expensive in the end, while another is just plain overpriced. Don’t go with the first agency that you find, research is essential. Be aware of how the company takes payments to avoid an unsecured financial situation. Be wary of companies that promise the world and want everything paid by money order. Also, most companies will do the work first and then expect payment, so be cautious with any business wanting money upfront.

Turnaround Times on Projects

As a business owner looking for a marketing strategy you obviously want to grow your company and get it off the ground. If the marketing firm you hire takes months for the project, this is months that you’re waiting to bring in valuable revenue. Be sure to ask the company you’re looking to hire how long it will take for the project to be done. You need a firm date for when you can expect the marketing to be finished and start bringing in new clientele so that your business can start to expand.

It can be awfully confusing to hire an internet marketing firm, especially considering the fact that many of them make promises and guarantees that you can’t be sure will be honoured over time. It is vital that you do your research beforehand so that you can be sure you’re hiring a reputable company, one that is going to offer superior services. If need be, read reviews on the company and ask past customers what they experienced when they worked with the agency in question. Contact the marketing firm and ask them any questions that you have before signing any type of contract.

In the world of business, the phrase ‘brand identity’ should not be an unfamiliar term. A strong brand identity is essential to the success of your business as it’s designed to communicate who you are, what you do and what’s your company’s overall message. 

Every famous business has its own unique identity, and this is often regarded as the key to a continuously successful business. However, as time goes by, the identity of your brand may become outdated, and failing to realise and correct it may lead to the eventual downfall of the business. Keep reading, and you will see 10 signs showing that you need to update your brand identity.

What exactly is brand identity? Well, it means the way the business wishes to be perceived by consumers. The logo of the company, its tone or even the name of the business itself can affect the brand identity.

1. You want a growing business

It is indeed exciting news when your business is flourishing. Maybe this is due to a new service or product or change of demographics. In this case, you will need to refresh your brand identity. This can help you communicate to your customers that you are changing, and tell them what you are changing. At the same time, your customer will gain more confidence with the brand as they are witnessing its growth. This can, at the same time, assist the growth of the business.

2. Keen Competition

Competition is everywhere in the battleground of firms. How can one beat their competitors? By showing others that you are better—it can be products of higher quality or better services. This is also a great chance to evaluate your current identity and to decide whether or not you differentiate enough from your competitors. If you find that your website and messages are fairly similar to your counterparts, this is not a good sign, and you need to review your brand identity.

3. Company Value not clearly communicated

Getting customers to agree with your company values can be a huge advantage since it means they will be loyal to you. But before that, you need to make sure that the values of your company can be clearly communicated to them. For example, customers should know how your product helps them. If you receive feedback claiming that customers do not actually know what the company is about, then you need to do something.

4. New product or services 

This one seems obvious. Launching a new product or introducing a new service can be a fundamental change for the company, especially if the new product is not entirely relevant to the existing market of the company. If you do not refresh your brand identity here, customers may get conflicting messages from the company—Is this company selling books or food? Does this company target the children’s market or the working class? You will certainly want to give a firm and clear answer to customers in this situation.

5. Difficulties in reaching the target audience

A business cannot appeal to everyone—this is not hard to understand. Therefore, companies need to have a target audience. As time goes by, you may find it very hard, if not impossible, to reach out to the target audience that you have selected. This may be due to (some changes in the ideas of your business – not quite sure what to fix) or in the demand of customers. In this case, review your statistics to see who is buying your products and determine whether or not you need to update your brand identity.

6. New company values

This is even more obvious. If the most fundamental values of your company have changed, it is a must for you to communicate it to your customer. Otherwise, customers may find that the actions and behaviours of the company are off track from what the company claims they will do. This can lead to a quick loss of customers’ loyalty and can be potentially fatal to your business. You do not want to confuse your customer in such a way, do you?

7. Overcomplicated brand identity

You may want to update the identity of your brand too if your current brand identity is too vague or complicated. A clear and sharp brand identity is preferred so that customers will not get confused. How can you know whether or not your current identity is too complex? Simply do some surveys and ask the customer to tell you what they think the values or the company is in one sentence. If most of them fail to do so, then it is a red flag for you. Similarly, if most of your answers include ‘maybe’ or hesitations, it means that your message is too vague. Clarify your message as soon as possible!

8. Competitors have updated their identity

The business world is a cruel one. One cannot stay on the same ground without stepping forward—because your competitors do. If you notice that your competitors have changed or updated their brand identity, then you should stay alert. Re-evaluate yours as well to see whether their new identities would mean that you are now not distinguished enough from them. Remember, if you want to be the winner in your industry, then you need to be the leader in determining the pace of evolution of your industry.

9. Your current brand is too obvious

What? Shouldn’t the brand identity be clear? Well, yes—but clear does not mean obvious. Imagine a company with a value of ‘We sell apples’—probably customers will find it too straightforward, and therefore boring. Your brand identity is the core message of your business, and it needs to grab the attention of potential buyers. For example, if your company logo is easily mistaken with other businesses, then you should do something about it.

10. You haven’t updated identity for a long time already

If none of the above potential hazards applies to you, it is already a good sign—congratulations. However, even so, be aware of the dynamic environment. The longer you have not updated your brand identity, there is more risk that your identity is outdated. Be hard-working in collecting feedback from customers and marketing research. You may find out something important that you have overlooked.

Of course, the list is not exhaustive and there are far more signs that indicate a necessity to update your brand. What you need to do is to be observant and look into your business and the market from a macroscopic view. Brand identity is the glue that sticks your company with the market, and potential customers, and whether or not your company can survive to a very large extent depends on an up-to-date message received by your customers.

Establishing and sustaining a business can be challenging. There’s no magic formula in achieving overnight success. You need to invest in marketing to grow your brand and beat out the competition. Luckily, the internet is here to help you market your business without breaking the bank. 

However, how a business person can exploit the internet are enormous. For people operating small businesses such as retail outlets, small hotels/ restaurants or a hair salon here are some online marketing tips that will help you reach your customers efficiently. With the right internet marketing strategies, you will not only retain your loyal customers but will also attract new clients.

1. Be Familiar With Your Target Audience

Be very specific about the people you want to reach with your advertising campaign. Based on the characteristics of your products, you will know exactly whom you want to sell to. Your target will be based on social position, age, gender and financial position. When defining your target, you must know the benefits that your service or product offers and who will greatly appreciate and benefit from the service.

2. Evaluate The Content And Have A Clear Goal

Remember that your main aim is to have more people visiting and liking your website. Break down the goals into small bits that can be achieved efficiently, and can then be measured to keep track of your progress. With online marketing content is king, that is not about to change. The material should be unique and useful, but most of all, it should be informative, giving people a chance to learn new things. An Internet marketing company will help make sure that the content is regularly updated. Let the content match your goals.

3. Blog And Keep Blogging

It does not matter how good your website is without regular blogs that are chatty, informative and unique, rather than sales pitches; you will lose followers. Establish yourself as an expert in your field through blog posts that keep your customers updated. Blogging regularly increases your websites chance of being found on search engines. A good SEO copywriter will you introduce more traffic to your site, which will eventually translate to more customers. A call to action appearing somewhere on your blog will definitely encourage people to visit your store to see what you have to offer.

4. Utilise Analytics Tools To Measure Your Progress

With marketing, you need to be at the top of the game at all times. You need to know where your clients come from, how long they stay on your site and the things they find interesting when they get there. You need to utilise analytic techniques that you can find free on Google. You will then be in a position to track every lead. You can use a dedicated phone number to keep in touch with all the website visitors who call you. If you don’t have such a phone number, contact an internet marketing company who will issue you a unique number then forward all your incoming calls. This will ensure that your customers’ needs and queries are dealt with promptly and efficiently.

5. Plan Your Budget Well

After knowing what to say and to whom, you need to come up with a budget that will work for you. One of the best ways to do this is by choosing activities that complement each other. Don’t keep spending money on ideas that are not working. By monitoring the results, you will know which parts of your plan to drop and which ones to improve. Make content that is mobile friendly so that your target can see your content even when they are away from their home or work computers.

6. Don’t Forget To Utilise Social Media Marketing

This has become a prevalent method of marketing, if you are not already using social media, start right away. Through platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Google+ businesses get double the marketing leads produced through traditional trade shows and direct mails. Facebook, for instance, is one of the platforms where a small business can create a meaningful relationship by sharing relevant information. You also get a chance to comment and respond to your fans queries. In America, people spend one in every seven minutes on social media.

7. Know What Your Competitors Are Doing

Visit your competitors’ website regularly to see if your keywords are being used there. This is an easy way to keep track of what is going on in your circles. You will also learn a few tips to employ on your site to bring in more traffic.

8. Concentrate On What Is Happening In Your Locality

Your company should be available on Google Maps with frequently updated information. And there are other online search directories that you can use to create a local digital footprint for your company. For significant local influence, let your internet marketing company publish blogs that focus on local news and gossip. When writing your content, be location-specific.

9. Utilise Short Videos

The benefits of using videos cannot be overlooked. Make use of YouTube or Metacafe to keep your clients informed. When using video marketing, use popular platforms that will maintain your business image and still reach your target.

10. Leverage On The Power Of Mobile Marketing

According to Google, mobile marketing is no longer an option. It is compulsory. Most people are now using smartphones, so make sure that your site has content that is mobile friendly. Ensure that people can access your content when using all the different mobile phones available and that the apps that you use will be accessible to your customers.

11. Be A Unique Brand

Online users are particular and knowledgeable about what they want, so don’t try to fabricate information. Be real. Authenticity is key. If your customers suspect that your content is not genuine, then your goods and services will suffer. For a seamless digital presence, consider personalising up to date communication. Be there on Twitter and all other platforms and be sure to respond to your customers promptly.

Applying the above tips will make you stand out in your industry because your competitors may not even be aware of them. Note that you can hire an internet marketing company to handle all the work for you, especially if you are not familiar with this sector or you are understaffed. Internet marketing is an essential element of modern business, even when you do not conduct your sales online. Consumers trust online reviews from fellow consumers, so make your online presence heard loud and clear.