PLAIN TALK: SEM - Regal Info

I said before that the core reason for existence of the Web is content. Many people say "Content is King." But for the business person promoting a web site, what does this mean?

The simple answer is the stuff on your web site that conveys information. This includes text, pictures, video and audio.  The latter three are important for retaining visitors and converting prospects into customers, which we will talk about another time, but for search engine marketing purposes, text is the important content to focus upon. 

Information - What you say must have value.

When potential customers come to yours site, they are looking for relevant and current content. They will make a decision within 8 seconds of reaching your site as to whether they will stay on your page.  Filling a page with lots of search engine terms and nonsense links will only turn them off and drive them away.  So your goal is to produce information-rich, constantly-evolving text that will instantly hook your prospect. It is also important that your text  be consise, easily scanned by readers, and non-promotional. To do this, follow these rules:

• Write content that is short and to the point, with one main idea per paragraph
• Since reading from a computer screen is 25% slower than reading paper and more unpleasant, produce text that has fifty percent (50%) of the word count of its paper equivalent (and provide links to more detailed information)
• Write objectively, get rid of "marketese" like "this is the best thing ever!" or "Internationally recognized!"
• And keep your writing free of typos, grammatical mistakes, and spelling errors so as not to lose credibility with the reader
  

Only after your information is worthwhile, and effectively presented, do you want to consider other aspects of search engine marketing.

Some good resources on writing for the web:

Writing for the Web  -  from Sun Microsystems in 1999, still relevant
How Users Read on the Web - by Jack Nielson
Web Writing Reference

Joseph Franklyn McElroy, Money Correspondent:

Joseph's column, Plain Talk published regularly to Gather Essentials: Moneyis a bi-weekly article advising readers how to use web based tools and the power of social networks to build their business.

Joseph Franklyn McElroy is President of Corporate Performance Artists, a Search Engine Marketing and Web Construction business based in New York City. He is also an experienced entrepreneur, technologist, networker, and artist. 

You can find all of Joseph's Plain Talk columns at http://www.gather.com/plaintalk

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