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How is Writing an Article Different from Writing a Press Release?

Articles and press releases, along with the blog content are the
three main ways in which the inlinks to the websites can be developed
using the content. Interestingly, all three of these are written in
different ways. However, it is the articles and the press releases which
are submitted into the other resources and have to adhere to the
stipulated guidelines of these resources. There is a distinctive
approach adopted by seo services providers for writing an article and a press release. Here are the key differences between these two:

1. Though both the articles and the press releases are required to be
informative in nature, the style of writing varies for the two. The
press releases are basically announcements of some news or events about
the company or its offerings. The articles, on the other hand, are
informative and are not in the nature of announcements.

2. It is quite common for the press release to have words such as
‘the company’ or the name of the person. Even the quotes from the person
can also be incorporated in the press release. However, the seo service provider
does not get the articles written in this way since these can get
rejected in the article directory. So, this leeway in writing with style
variation is given by the press release.

3. Contact details are provided in the press release but not in the
article. This is the difference in the format between the press release
and an article. You can view the published sample of a press release here and note that full contact details are provided at the end of it.

4. A press release is written from the focal point of the company or
the business but the article has to remain neutral. Articles are not
written with the company focus, otherwise these have the danger of being
labelled as promotional and hence getting rejected by the article
directories. A press release makes an allowance for the use of the
company name but it shall not be used in such a that tells reader to
take its seo services. Rather, it shall be in the nature of
announcements.

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By Seosmo PPC – April 2, 2012


Online Reputation Management: a Lot Depends on the Strategy

Internet is open to be used for maligning the reputation of any person,
organisation or brand. There is no fool-proof way to ensure that
internet is not used for these mischievous acts. The competitors can
play the dirty game and start saying all sort of negative things about
you through the internet medium which can adversely affect your
reputation. There could be some disgruntled customers or even the
employees who can take a dig at your reputation. The net surfers are
most likely to take the feedback or comments on face value and, without
much reasoning or going into the details, might be inclined to believe
these. The companies, which care about their image and brand value, take
the necessary steps to stem the rot in time. The online reputation
management is all about doing all the necessary activities which can
stop these malicious and mischievous attacks on the reputation of a
person or organisation. The methods of SEO
can be used quite effectively for this purpose, which is quite an
uphill task and a lot depends on the strategy used for the same. This
article discusses some of these strategies, which could be the
following:

  1. Keep
    Mum: Sometimes, doing something to prevent the reputation might be
    feeding the readers with wrong notions. Your actions might, in
    fact, be proving counter productive. The issues on which it is
    better to maintain silence are the ones which are not material, or
    significant enough to be considered worthy of comments. As the time
    will go by, these trivial issues might be forgotten. However, it
    is important that the company knows which issues need to be
    responded back and where response can be avoided. At the same time,
    the company shall not get complacent about taking some material
    issues as trivial ones since taking no action then prove to be very
    costly.
  2. Be neutral: The SEO services
    providers also take up the strategy of neutral marketing of a
    person or product if there has been an attack on his reputation.
    This is done by way of not providing positive content but rather
    being neutral in overall tone and tenor. Here again, it is
    important to understand what is the nature of attacks. Generally, this
    strategy is used when the nature of attacks is quite serious and
    therefore, there is need to push down the negative comments using the
    SEO methods. Why are positive things not said? If positive things
    are said, there is a chance that the readers will believe that
    there must be something negative being said about the person which
    is prompting a positive response. Therefore, it is better to be
    neutral in tone and tenor of the language while adopting this
    strategy
  3. Defend: When there are issues which are quite
    glaring but have arisen due to miscommunication or
    misunderstanding, then the company or the individual under attack
    might feel important to defend the same. This defense could be done
    by posting the clarifications with sound conviction in the very
    same forums which have been used for attacking.
  4. Counter attack: This is a strategy which is
    not normally used. This is so for two reasons. At first, the
    identity of the person who has posted the adverse comments or
    remarks is not clear, so the counter attack can not be done.
    Secondly, using counter attack might actually mean walking into the trap
    laid by the other, when the identity of the person or organisation
    behind the mischievous act is known.

Before using the SEO services for reputation
management, the company must thoroughly investigate whether the nature
of complaint or the remarks are true and to what extent. If these are
true, then it is far better to admit the lapses and assure the readers
of the steps being taken to correct these. SEO services
providers make use of the internet forums for managing the reputation
effectively using the right strategy in coordination with client. In a
way, it is SEO providers doing the PR work.

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By Seosmo PPC – April 1, 2012


Using Social Media And PPC To Improve The Rankings

I deviated from the traditional way of marketing the website using the classic SEO
approach while doing a number of activities to see what all results I
would get. I have worked for a number of SEO services companies in
Australia, UK and US, doing all sort of stuff primary aimed at
developing links, site authority and getting top SERPs position. Now,
this is something which many other companies are already doing and I
wanted to change the approach. It might be that this methodology might
be known to many of you who are already doing the SEO with a creative
mind.
With own website, I decided to base my whole structural edifice on
content from the very beginning and then marketing it to the readers who
frequently visit some of the key web resources. So, the aim was not to
go whole hog the traditional way of SEO services
providers, mindlessly embarking on manual submissions. But, the first
step was to define what audiences you want to target, just as a true
marketing professional does. Second step was to define what all web
resources I need to develop in order to do the needful. This obviously
meant creating profiles on some key resources. Third step was to define
what all activities would need to be done in order that captivate the
visitors to the resource.
Even while the thought was to develop the links from these resources, it
was never the first intention to promote the site. On the contrary, the
aim was to promote the web resources on which the profiles were
created. This did take a lot of my time but I could see the results for
real. Also, I wanted to try out my hand at the PPC along with the social
media activity. With only one-and-a-half month of activity I was able
to jack up my rankings from nowhere to 67th position on some high
competition keywords (having 8-9 digit competition).
This provided vital inputs that the use of social media resources, such as Facebook, Twitter,
Blogger, Social Bookmarking resources and the Articles directories were
able to produce results with minimal use of the PPC ad campaigns. These
produced the business leads and the efforts were combined with the
thoughtful email marketing activity to successfully gain a few projects.

All these efforts were completed single handedly and in relaxed time
framework. The essence of the whole activity was the content- superior
quality and thought-stimulating content.
This experimental effort has been instrumental in developing a low-cost
price budget (under $500 per month) for the companies who can not spend
huge sums of money for long term projects.

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By Seosmo PPC – March 30, 2012


SEO Copywriting: The Art of Producing Search Engine Friendly Content

With worldwide focus on SEO increasing and businesses are hunting the spaces on search engine result pages (SERPs). The strategy of developing the inbound links to the site and the wise usage of content are important considerations for any service provider. The term – SEO copywriting – is used for all the content related tweaking that is done both on the website pages as well as on the off-website resources. In simple terms, SEO copywriting includes the following:

ü Insertion of keywords in the website content.

ü Insertion of keywords in the off-page content activity such as articles, press releases.

ü Insertion of meta-tags, header tags, alt tags and other coding related alterations which are required to make the site SEO-friendly.

For these activities to be carried out by a SEO Copywriter, there is a need to be familiar with the web development and scripting languages and also with the usage of optimised content for the various off-page activities.

The individuals providing the SEO copywriting services shall be knowledgeable about the following:

ü Keyword density within a particular content. It shall be well known to the writer as to where the keywords shall be placed and what is the maximum number of times a keyword is used in content? Using it too much could result in spamming.
.
ü Style of writing. This refers to the knowledge of what will work on which resource. Essentially, it means deciding on where the promotional content could be written and where the informative content will work. It also means how the content in the tone of announcement of news shall be written. Therefore, the content writer has to be very skilful in writing these for the different online media since, if not written as per the rules, these can get rejections.

ü Grammar is another vital aspect which has to be taken care of. There are difference in the UK and the US English and the SEO copywriter has to understand these well. Since most of the big and reputed content directories are US based and follow US English, the problem arises when the content is written in non-US English. The SEO copywriter shall be aware of these issues and shall write the content is such a way which minimises the issues.

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By Seosmo PPC – March 30, 2012


SEO Copywriting: The Art of Producing Search Engine Friendly Content

With worldwide focus on SEO increasing and
businesses are hunting the spaces on search engine result pages (SERPs).
The strategy of developing the inbound links to the site and the wise
usage of content are important considerations for any service provider.
The term – SEO copywriting –
is used for all the content related tweaking that is done both on the
website pages as well as on the off-website resources. In simple terms,
SEO copywriting includes the following:
ü      Insertion of keywords in the website content.
ü      Insertion of keywords in the off-page content activity such as articles, press releases.
ü      Insertion
of meta-tags, header tags, alt tags and other coding related
alterations which are required to make the site SEO-friendly.
For these activities to be carried out by a
SEO Copywriter, there is a need to be familiar with the web development
and scripting languages and also with the usage of optimised content
for the various off-page activities.
The individuals providing the SEO copywriting services shall be knowledgeable about the following:
ü      Keyword
density within a particular content. It shall be well known to the
writer as to where the keywords shall be placed and what is the maximum
number of times a keyword is used in content? Using it too much could
result in spamming.
.
ü      Style
of writing. This refers to the knowledge of what will work on which
resource. Essentially, it means deciding on where the promotional
content could be written and where the informative content will work. It
also means how the content in the tone of announcement of news shall be
written. Therefore, the content writer has to be very skilful in
writing these for the different online media since, if not written as
per the rules, these can get rejections.
ü      Grammar is another vital aspect which has to be taken care of. There are difference in the UK
and the US English and the SEO copywriter has to understand these well.
Since most of the big and reputed content directories are US based and
follow US English, the problem arises when the content is written in
non-US English. The SEO copywriter shall be aware of these issues and shall write the content is such a way which minimises the issues.

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By Seosmo PPC – March 29, 2012


Pros and Cons of the New Feature of Google− Blocking the Websites

Google has introduced a new feature for its search engine result pages.
For the people who are left aghast at the useless information coming at
the top of the result pages, can now have the option of blocking the
irrelevant sites from appearing in their SERPs.

This feature is, supposedly, in line with the basic principle of
upholding the supremacy of user experience for the websites and
featuring those websites higher on the SERPs which are liked by them.
So, Google is giving the option of filtering the results of searches in
hands of the users. The use of +1 button to like the website and now the
feature of blocking the website for filtering out the unwanted stuff
from search results are two tools for the users which can determine the
attractiveness or usefulness of the website for the users.

But, stop there! There is another and an altogether different aspect to
it as well. There is a good likelihood that the website which is being
blocked by a number of users will have its ranking go down. Though it is
not certain yet that the SERPs will be allowed to be affected by
blocking the sites, it is certainly a feature which will cause a hue and
cry. Precisely how many blocks will it take to dethrone the site
ranking is not yet known. That is a grey area. Another grey area is that
what weight will be attached to this feature vis-à-vis the ethical SEO
work. Suppose a company uses the SEO services to get good ranks, will a few blocks erode all the good work?

Imagine a scenario that in the highly networked age of internet, I get
the people from my networks to block the site from their SERPs. If the
ranking is to go down, then I will make my competitors face the music. I
might embark on witch hunting and keep on blocking other sites in the
similar way. Well, looking at the other side of the coin, even I might
get the same treatment. So, in the ultimately analysis, the focus turns
from creative digital marketing or SEO work to the negative marketing.

Considering the many grey areas and the potentially harmful situations
which it can lead to, I do not think that the SERPs will be allowed to
be affected with this feature, even as, at a more individual level, this
feature is useful to the users.

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By Seosmo PPC – March 28, 2012


Analysis of Keywords Forms the Backbone of SEO

People type certain words in search engines to
find whatever they wish to find. The more carefully thought of are the
words, the better are the chances of finding the right thing in the
least possible time. This fact brings us to two crucial conclusions.
First, the basic premise on which the search engines function are these
keywords and the other is the fact that these words assume a lot of
importance by the SEO marketers in their service delivery. It is inevitable for both the search engines as well as the SEO services providers to base their operations on these words.
From the search engine perspective, if the
keywords are to be dispensed with, then what could be the other possible
method or means which can be used to locate whatever a person wants to
find? A quick thought about some other alternatives, apart from the
written content, can make it abundantly clear that this is perhaps the
only way which is practical, easier and all encompassing in the scope of
description of the things or ideas which have to be used for searching.
Since these words become the inputs on the
basis of which the whole edifice of the search engines are based, it
becomes even more important for the SEO services
providers to analyse these correctly based on the type of the business
of the client, the objectives which the client wants to achieve and the
understanding of the target market. This calls for thoughtful conduct on
the part of the SEO marketers while approaching the SEO for a particular project.
It is generally considered to be a good
approach to use the keywords as close to the type of business as is
possible in the optimization efforts, whether on-page or off-page.
Longtail keywords, or the keywords which are a combination of a number
of words, usually in the form of a phrase which better describes the
search query of the users, are considered to be better for turning up
accurate search results. Therefore, SEO services
providers find it important to include these longtail keywords in their
optimisation requirements. But, it would be wrong to assume that only
this could bring is results. There are a number of other considerations
which play an important role in keyword selection. This is covered in
the other posts of this blog. 

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By Seosmo PPC – March 27, 2012


How to do Keyword Research for SEO? - the Three Golden Rules

SEO is the game of keywords. The better the keywords you choose,
the more are the chances of achieving the objectives with a well
directed online marketing campaign. There are many free and paid tools
which can be used for this purpose. Google’s keyword tool and Overture
are two of these which are used by a larger number of people. The
research on the appropriate keywords depends considerably on the nature
of business and also on the short and long term goals of the business.
This can be explained better with an example. Imagine a company into the
designer garments manufacturing business which goes for SEO services to get more clients.
The SEO service provider
shall be able to analyse the nature of the business (designer
garments), identify the niches in which it operates (rich and famous
people, speciality stores) and then determine which keywords would be
typed by the people in the search engines looking for products of this
nature. Invariably they would be typing the words such as “designer
garments manufacturers” or the likewise. However, there might be some
SEO companies who would be using the more common keywords such as
“clothing” which might be inappropriate. So, the first rule of keyword
analysis is that it shall be relevant.
Now, there might be some keywords which could be used by users who
are not-so-particular about the choice of keywords. They might be
beating somewhere about the bush. In our example, they would be using
the keywords such as ‘speciality garments’ or the ‘special occasion
wear’ which is the purpose for which the designer garments are meant.
So, the SEO
services providers must take into account all these diffused keywords
which could be used by the users. Therefore, the second rule for finding
the keywords is that it shall be reasonably broad based to include the
related keywords which the prospective customers might be using.
Another important factor for keyword analysis is the number of
people who search using a particular keyword globally or locally. It is
quite natural to include those keywords which are being used by maximum
number of people. However, this is also the point where it is important
to balance the relevance-number of searches equilibrium. This means that
some keywords might be having a good search volume, say the keyword
‘clothing’, but the same may not be relevant for marketing of the
business. At the same time, there might be some highly relevant keywords
which might be having very small search volume which might be ignored
by the services providers. So, the third rule for search engine services
providers is to make sure that the equilibrium between the relevancy
factor and the search volumes is maintained. It is always better to
include the relevant keywords even if the search volumes are less.
The use of skills, knowledge and experience is vital while applying
these rules to make effective marketing efforts for the clients. This
is attained over a period of time and by virtue of doing a number of
different projects. These parameters could also be the differentiating
factors between your company and the other SEO services providers.

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By Seosmo PPC – March 26, 2012


Keywords can Kill: Be Careful in their Selection for SEO

You simply can not get the SEO
right when the keywords selection is poor. Right keywords selection is
the first important brick in building the foundation of SEO. It is
simple to do but needs far deeper thought than is usually put in by the SEO services
providers. Not surprisingly, therefore, achieving the objectives looks
to be a tall order. However, by adopting certain principles, the correct
selection of keywords can be made. These are:
1. Relevance to business: This is the first principle to be
observed in keywords analysis. Even if a keyword has a very high level
of competition, if it is important and directly related to the business,
then the same shall be taken into account. The order of priority for
the keywords shall be made so that the important ones are not missed
out.
2. Number of searches for that keyword: The tools used for
finding the keywords provide the metrics of global and local monthly
searches for a particular keyword. Naturally, this does not take much of
thought if the keywords have a high search volume. However, there is
often a decision to be made on whether to take those keywords which have
negligible monthly search volumes but are very relevant for business.
Some providers prefer to neglect these while some others give greater
weight to the relevance factor and consider these positively.
3. Keep future goals of business in mind: This is one factor
which is often not considered. If there is some new product or service
to be launched in the time period for which the SEO is to be run, then
the keywords related to it shall be found out. A miss on this score
could mean that their promotion gets delayed by a number of months.
4. Focus on the multilingual keywords: If there are certain
products which are to be sold in some areas where people use different
languages, you can even opt for the selection of some keywords of that
language. This is of particular importance in the promotion of
multilingual sites.
5. Long-tail keywords or short-tail ones: For effectiveness of the SEO services,
it is suggested that the long-tail keywords shall be used. These are
the keywords which are made from more than one word. These become more
specific in nature as more words are added. For example- beaded evening
tops-is a long-tail keyword. There might be too much of competition in
the use of short-tail keywords since these are quite common but there is
likely to be less competition with the long-tail keywords. These are
more specific in nature and can be used for better targeting of the
desired customer base. However, there is a note of caution. These shall
not be too long since there would lesser number of people making
searches with these keywords.
The underlying idea behind the selection of keywords is that these shall
bring the relevant traffic to the site, capable of generating business
for the site. Hence, it directly affects the SEO efforts.

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By Seosmo PPC – March 24, 2012


Take the First Right Stride in the SEO Process: Understand Client Business

Before the beginning of any SEO project, understanding of the client business is important. In fact, if you have understood this part well, you have determined the path that you want to tread while doing the SEO. It is interesting to note that many of the SEO services providers do not spend enough time on this aspect. They are aware of the activities which they would be undertaking and do not want to go any further. Lack of understanding of client business results in problems, such as:
Inappropriate delivery of client’s brand to the web resources, resulting in lowering of brand image. This happens because of the inferior choice of web resources for good brands and this, in turn, is the result of inappropriate understanding of the client business.
Wastage of effort, time and money. There is a tendency among many of the SEO India services providers to go as per their well defined SEO practices. Where a little more thought could have reduced effort and saved time and money with same results, the chance is lost by being stereotypical.
Wrong market-targeting: There have been many cases where the delivery of actual results has fallen short of expectations. This is precisely because the wrong markets have been targeted. This is a direct fallout of the inability to understand the business and hence the markets of the client.
Inappropriateness of the client business results in the SEO services India providers to commit the following mistakes:
Wrong keyword analysis: When there is need to find the niche markets with long tail keywords research, the SEO services provider might be finding the wrong ones since he misjudged the product of the client. This is the most common mistake made. Since the first important is wrong, the whole edifice of the SEO building would be on wrong ground.
Wrong choice of off-page activities: While your standard and time tested procedures might work well with most of the project, some others might require a different strategy. This can not be known if the project is not understood in entirety.
Inefficiencies, Delays and rising Costs: Imagine that you get a project from a client who owns great brands. Since this is a pricey project, it would mean that the brand can not be dragged some of the most commonly used web resources. It has to be promoted differently and using an entirely different approach which is in line with the brand value and brand image. Further, there might be some projects which have already made use of the common resources and, for these, the inefficiencies and duplication of effort needs to be avoided.
What the SEO services providers need to do is to ensure that they are having the right managers who have an understanding for most of the business and the likely markets for these. At the same time, there needs to be brainstorming on each new project so as to develop the right strategy and minimise the costs. Regular meetings also provide fresh inputs to the projects and are helpful in determining the right approach. 

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By Seosmo PPC – March 22, 2012