When writing for search engine optimization purposes it is easy to neglect your content. Targeting keywords can sometimes make it challenging to write freely, and by focusing too much on SEO, you can lose some of your content’s value. By avoiding these common mistakes, you can be sure your content matches the quality of your website.
- Not proofreading your work – While incorporating keywords into your content is important, it is also necessary to pay close attention to spelling and grammar. Poorly written content can turn potential customers away and leave them doubting your credibility.
- Making your paragraphs too long – Including large chunks of text on your website can be an easy way to incorporate keywords, but it can be intimidating to the reader. Break up text with white space, images and videos.
- Offering only generic information – If someone is interested in a product/service you offer, give them more than just basic information. They probably already know the basics; include valuable content that presents new and relevant information. It is easy to keep repeating the same information, but people want their questions answered, so use your content as a way to answer them.
- Targeting the wrong audience – By writing content that is too technical or complicated to read, you could actually be ignoring the needs of your target audience. By gathering a basic understanding of your audience, you will be able to write better content that is geared for your target market.
- Ignoring the negatives of a product/service – While pointing out the negatives in your product/service may seem like a bad idea, acknowledging the flaws allows you to maintain control of the situation. You can create content that illuminates the issue and your continuing effort to turn the negatives into positives.
- Keyword stuffing – Always a bad idea, keyword stuffing can dramatically reduce the effectiveness of your content. Readers will feel as though your content does not answer their questions or provide any value, making them distrust your brand.
If you go back to basics and focus on creating quality content, you should never run into any of these unforgivable content errors. However, if you have been guilty of any of these, take the time to correct your mistakes and avoid them in future writing.
2 Comments »A brand new year is before us and resolutions are being made for business and personal goals.
Television, that most ubiquitous medium that is seen in most every home in America at least several days a week, should be an indicator of things to come on the Internet – growing video consumption by every age group! From instructional videos, music videos, political & social commentary videos…to product & service videos, humor videos, and videos that promote specialized visual techniques and effects artfully…web video will continue to grow and become a recognized powerhouse for communicating ideas, branding, and sales generation.
Consider these stats as you think about how your business can benefit from Internet video marketing in 2011:
- 1 billion videos are watched per day on YouTube
- 60% of web traffic today is based on video
Fathom has an entire division devoted to Internet video production. We continually improve our processes and technologies as well as devise new video strategies for our clients and their video projects with us. From concept to script creation, production to post-production to distribution, we look forward to helping your business firm achieve greater success in the new year through online video communication.
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome. »Fathom is searching for an entry-level technical writer with impeccable writing and self-editing skills, and a passion for understanding technical subject matter. Our preferred candidate has experience writing manufacturing and technical/software content.
We are looking for a technical writer who is detail-oriented with a go-getter attitude. You must be able to write content that is clear, compelling, persuasive and conversational. Our new technical writer is someone who is a fast-learner and can work with little supervision while producing high-quality work.
Daily activities for this position would include:
• Create new content for highly technical websites
• Optimize existing website content using search engine-specific strategies
• Create press releases for distribution to digital media outlets
• Develop white papers, case studies, guides and articles on various topics
• Write content for opt-in email campaigns, strategic landing pages and pay-per-click campaigns
• Eagerness to learn the Search Engine Marketing industry
Qualifications:
• Associate or Bachelor’s degree (preferred), but advertising or journalism experience may be accepted
• Passion for technical subject matter. Technical writing experience a plus.
• Excellence in grammar, spelling and English language composition
• Strong attention to detail, with the ability to self-edit
• Ability to adhere to demanding deadlines in a fast-paced environment
• Ability to write in a variety of styles on a wide range of subjects
• Familiarity with Microsoft Office
If you have an absolute passion for technical writing, tell us about it. Send your cover letter to careers@fathomseo explaining why you are our ideal candidate, along with your resume (no phone calls, please). Resumes sent without cover letters will not be considered.
Qualified applicants will be sent an email questionnaire for further consideration.
** All in-person interviews will require an onsite writing test. **
No Comments yet, your thoughts are welcome. »Message From Fathom's President & CEO
We lost our founder in March. Bill Fox was our friend and colleague, for over a decade to many. Bill was my business partner as well as one of my best friends. We talked almost every day about Fathom, future opportunities, relationships and whether or not using WD40 on fishing lures was ethical! We had many heated debates and laughed even more. We spent a lot of time in and out of the office together. We caught walleye on Lake Erie and grouper in Key West together
In 2011, Email Marketing is Free. Just Pay For Sales.
As many of you know by now Fathom is a leading email marketing firm. In addition to that we are the only email marketing firm in existence that offers pay-only-for-results email marketing. What does that mean?
SEO in 2011
Though 2010 is officially in the rear-view mirror, our SEO team at Fathom made some great strides in building the foundation for a tremendous 2011, all while keeping our talents on the shores of Lake Erie. You may oftentimes hear, "At least there's next year," but at Fathom we are saying, "This is going to be a great year!"
Social Media Goes Mainstream in 2010 - Now What?
The year 2010 may be looked at as the year that social media finally became a part of the larger culture. The movie "The Social Network" became big box office not only because it was an excellent movie, but also because enough people were familiar with Facebook.
The Best ROI Ever for Pay-Per-Click. That's Right, Baby!
2010 was a great year for us in pay-per-click. Our clients have never been happier, we have had a very strong year of revenue growth, and MOST IMPORTANTLY, our clients' Return on Investment has NEVER been higher than right now.
The subject line of your email campaign is the first thing subscribers see when they check their inbox, so shouldn't it be a winning one? A good subject line has anywhere from 25 to 40 characters. That's an average of 6 to 8 words. Do you think you can say all you need to say in that amount of space?
Here are a few guidelines to follow:
- You have your subscriber's first name, use it. As marketers we love the idea of collecting data and leveraging it to optimize the performance of our email campaigns. One of the fields you should collect when a subscriber signs up to receive your email is their name, or more importantly, their first name. The placement of your name in the subject line is valuable space that should be utilized for keywords that are highly relevant to your email message.
- The exclamation point is not your friend. You may have a great offer you want to share with your subscribers, but the last thing you want to do is add an exclamation point to the ending of your subject line. If it's a great offer it should be able to stand on its own. Plus, the exclamation point is a good way to get your message spammed.
- Your name should be in the From field; don't put it in your subject line, too. It's so important to keep your subject line short and relevant. If your company name is in the From field, use your subject line to tell us what great offer you have.
- The shorter the subject line, the better. Okay, let's not take this too literally. Obviously, a subject line like "Enroll Today" or "Shop Now" is not beneficial and may look suspicious to your subscriber. It could even get them to ignore or unsubscribe. However, a short subject line with 6 to 8 valuable keywords grabs the attention of the subscriber faster than it would if it were long and drawn-out.
- Test your subject lines constantly. Run split tests on a regular basis to determine the best strategy for your database.
Following these simple rules will help your email marketing generate more conversions and revenue. Remember, you only have a couple seconds to catch the attention of your subscribers. Utilize the small amount of time to serve up a compelling, unique and fun subject line.
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