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4 Examples Of B2B Content Marketing Executed With SEO Best Practices In Mind Search Engine Land According to the 2012 MarketingSherpa Search Engine Marketing Report, of all SEO tactics available, “content creation works the best, but takes the most work,” says Kaci Bower, Research Analyst, MECLABS. B2B Internet marketers need new content to … Web Copywriting 101: 12 Tips for Creating Strong ContentEverything PR all 2 news articles »

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I have less than 30 seconds to capture your attention with this post, so here goes: if you read some, most or all of the next 750 words or so, you will know how to write Web copy that is more useful to readers of your blog or Web site.

As we reported yesterday visual content is continuing its steady rise in dominance over written content. But that doesn’t mean we should give up on good writing: if anything, it means we need to think harder about how we write for online readers.

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Online Readers Are Different

Seems pretty obvious, right? But the fact is, many of us still write the same way online as we do for books, magazine articles and other long-form and traditional print mediums. Research hightighted in books like Reading In The Brain shows that online readers use vastly different sections of the brain than offline readers. In short, the brain is conditioned to skip around when online reading, as clicking on a link, for example, will reward the brain with new images and content.

With offline readers, we can take our time and develop points with long blocks of text and narrative, and with fewer visual elements. Offline reading rewards the brain that slips into a state of deeper concentration.

In Plain English, Please

Your writing – offline or online – is effective when readers take away your message. Writing effectively online doesn’t mean that every reader reads every single word that you write (and even if they done, Dale’s Cone of Experience argues they’ll ownly remember 10% of what they read). It means they can quickly and efficiently get the information that is most important to them and move on.

People who read our blog posts come from all over, and from a wide range of backgrounds. The reason they choose to read a particular post will vary from reader to reader. Your job as the writer is to make sure they can find the information that is most important to them and move on to using that information.

Best Practices

I’ve spent a good portion of the past two years researching reading habits of online readers and have been sharing that research with writers, bloggers and journalists, as I did during my presentation at BlogWorld East last May and as I continue to do with my students at the college where I teach.

I can talk for hours on the subject, but if asked for the most effective ways to get online readers to read what you write, I would offer these strategies as the most important, which are backed up by eye-track studies as being an effective way to get your message across to online readers:

1. Write compelling but clear headlines: Don’t get cute. Online and in print, the headline is almost always the first thing readers look at. Make sure it is clear and gives a good idea of what the post is about, while still leaving the reader wanting more.
2. Write in the active voice: Effective online writing is all about getting to the point, and on a line-by-line basis, the most effective way to do that is to use the active voice, which naturally lends a sense of urgency to your writing. The easiest way to do that is to start each sentence with the subject, immediately follow that with a strong, active verb, and then follow that with the direct object. Avoid adverbs: they’re a telling sign that you chose the wrong verb.
3. Online writing is visual: Long, dense paragraphs turn off online readers. Create white space in your copy by keeping paragraphs short and using bulleted lists when appropriate. Use bold text to accent key information and use block or pull quotes to draw readers into the copy.
4. One main idea per sentence: Keep sentences on point. Avoid multiple clauses and phrases, and lots of information stops and commas. Make sure each sentence has one idea, and not much more than that.
5. No sentence without a fact: Every line you write needs to move the story forward. If a sentence doesn’t have a fact, cut it.

How long should it be?

I hate this question and always offer a smart-aleck answer: as long as it needs to be. If every sentence has a main idea and no sentence is without a fact, keep going. I do, however, recommend the 3-2-1 formula. For every 1,000 or so words that you write in an online article or blog post, be sure to include:

• Three subheads: Subheads are bold, one-line headlines that break up long chunks of text and organize information. Keep the same headline-writing rules in mind when you write subheads.
• Two links: Links offer additional information for readers who want to go deeper, and they also give your post authenticity and transparency about where you information came from without getting into long, narrative attributions.
• One graphical element: A photo, a chart or anything else visual helps readers. Whatever you use, make sure it advances the story: don’t just put a photo in the post for the sake of posting a photo.

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Dextre, the Canadian-built robot on the International Space Station, completes the first stages of practicing refueling with a dummy satellite, a job that could help reduce the orbiting junk pile above our planet.
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5 Best Practices for Global SEO ClickZ The hreflang tag allows you to specify for each page what the language and intended country audience is; similar to how you can control these settings within Google Webmaster Tools (covered below). Implement geo-specific schema tags.

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Nine Best Practices For Optimized < title > Tags Search Engine Land When I do an SEO audit on a webpage, one of the first things I check is the. and more »

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www.businessol.com Ray “Catfish” Comstock discusses common duplicate content issues that affect SEO. This presentation was from the February 2008 Online Marketing Summit.

Not even 24 hours after Apple reported its jaw-dropping Q1 financial results, the company found itself the target of some relentless investigative journalism by the New York Times. In particular, as part of an ongoing series about Apple, the Times published a detailed investigation of some of the tech giant’s biggest overseas suppliers, ugly labor abuses and all.

From deadly plant explosions and poisonous screen-cleaning chemicals to unsafe working conditions and long hours, the report was anything but forgiving. In response, there is a small but growing chorus of consumers asking Apple to do more about these issues. A petition demanding a more ethically-built iPhone 5 and other products is said to have amassed 40,000 signatories in its first 24 hours.

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Apple has already made some efforts to improve labor practices among its suppliers, something the Times article acknowledges. It has thoroughly audited its suppliers, in many cases pressuring them to change more egregious practices. This year, the company even published a list of its suppliers for the first time, in an effort to be more transparent. Still, as the Times report illustrates, many abuses persist.

The company, like others that make consumer electronics, remains in an awkward position as its quest to meet growing demand clashes with the ethical concerns that naturally arise when the manufacturing is done in countries that lack the U.S.’s labor laws. Apple has stated that achieving the level of efficiency they now boast simply wouldn’t be possible in the United States, where manufacturing has waned, labor is costly and regulations too strict to allow for lightning speed turnaround on last-minute changes. To stay competitive, it needs to keep its operations in places like China.

E-Signatures vs. Wallets: Which Votes Count More?

Forty thousand signatures may sound like a lot, but it’s a drop in the bucket compared to 37 million. That’s how many iPhones Apple sold in its last quarter, in addition to more than 15 million iPads. The pressure from consumer and human rights groups may well ramp up in the coming weeks and months, but for the time being the number of people voicing their concern is only .07% of the number that bought iPads and iPhones in the last quarter. That’s not counting iPods and Macs.

To make a substantial impact, there would need to be an actual boycott of Apple products widespread enough to make a noticeable dent in their sales numbers. Some may decline to buy the iPhone 5, iPad 3 or iTV in protest, but probably not enough to make a difference.

Alternatively, the issue would need to turn into a much bigger PR problem for Apple, leading consumers to think twice or forcing the company to preempt an exodus by pressuring suppliers to shape up.

This isn’t to suggest that a concerted enough Web-fueled protest couldn’t generate the pressure required to encourage change. We saw it happen in more ways than one with the SOPA and PIPA debate. Still, this is Apple we’re talking about. Rather than asking citizens to phone their representatives, such a protest would be asking millions to break their addiction to some of the most popular consumer electronics products of all time. These are devices that have woven themselves deeply into our day-to-day lives.

If people were to flee Apple, where would they go? To one of Apple’s competitors? They’re not exactly innocent either.

What do you think? Are labor rights issues enough to cause you to reconsider buying devices like smartphones and tablets? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.

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simurl.com [The Twelves Basic Practices Search Engine Optimization (SEO)] The Twelves Basic Practices Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 01. Create unique, accurate page titles 02. Make use of the “description” meta tag 03. Improve the structure of your URLs 04. Make your site easier to navigate 05. Offer quality content and services 06. Write better anchor text 07. Use heading tags appropriately 08. Optimize your use of images 09. Make effective use of robots.txt 10. Promote your website in the right ways 11. Make use of free webmaster tools 12. Take advantage of web analytics services That’s All – The Twelves Basic Practices Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Digital Bhoomi Super Singer Contest – The Rules, How To Prepare and Submit Singing Voice Recording File – can be read at simurl.com

Everything PR

Coming In February: PR News Digital PR Next Practices Summit Everything PR Dedicated to offering key social media communications, SEO knowledge, PR measurement and digital engagement with the media, among other topics, the summit packs a lot of punch for a one day affair. The PR News Summit this year will be led by key PR …

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Market Target, San Diego's #1 SEO Company Releases Best Practices Guide for 2012 San Francisco Chronicle (press release) Market Target, a leading provider of SEO San Diego, San Diego SEO Services and San Diego SEO Consulting has issued their 2012 edition of their 'SEO Best Practices Guide for 2012,' a step-by-step guide to dominating Google and Bing through search engine … and more »

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