 Content Development Tips
StraightUpSearch
SEO copywriting assignments may require you to wax poetic about subjects you barely know (or care) much about. So to avoid mashing your keyboard in frustration, or crafting paragraphs full of fluff, try these tips from Jared (as cribbed from late English professor and linguistics expert Paul McHenry Roberts).
First, find facts to bolster your content. "At times, copywriters avoid the meat and potatoes of a subject; they become lazy and opt out of creating tangible writing for writing that's general and unspecific," Jared says. "Uncovering and sharing useful facts can help when you run out of things to say."
And don't let a word count box you into choosing more words than you actually need--keep it clear and simple--and let the conversions make the case for why you trimmed the fat. Lastly, it's your job to make even the blandest topic seem interesting. "Try a new approach, new language, new anything to engage your website visitor/reader in an interesting way, to get them impassioned about your products or services," Jared says. - Read the whole story... Google, Mozilla Ink Deal Extension
WebproNews
Google and Mozilla have added another three years to their search partnership, meaning Google will still be the default search engine for Mozilla's Firefox browser, and Mozilla will continue to earn a significant portion of its overall revenue from the deal.
Doug Caverly digs up the most recent figures that illustrate just how important Google's search revenue is for Mozilla's bottom line. In 2006, "Mozilla received about $56.8 million--or 85 percent of its revenue--thanks to the deal," he says. Numbers like that are what enable Mozilla to keep developing products like the Firefox browser, which has gained favor with nearly 20% of all Internet users in the U.S., according to some reports.
And while the deal extension gives Mozilla bit of breathing room to either launch its own revenue-generating product (as Firefox is free) or find another well-paying partner, it will likely serve as more fodder for critics who feel that the company's ties to Google are already too binding. - Read the whole story... How Has Automatic Matching Been Performing For You?
SEM Clubhouse
Jim Gilbert and Mike Churchill offer some examples of how well (or not so well) campaigns that have been optimized using Google's Automatic Matching have been performing, along with some best practices for making use of the feature.
In one case, Automatic Matching increased the cost of a particular ad group by 600%. About 88% of all resulting clicks came from the automatically matched keywords--and yet only about 30% of the traffic the ad group generated was actually relevant. All those wasted, poorly targeted clicks "effectively made the CPC of the keyword buys in this AdGroup 3.5 times more expensive with Automatic Match turned on," Gilbert and Churchill said.
So keep an eye out for the Automatic Match switch to be turned on in the coming weeks, as the feature will be enabled by default, as per an official Google email. "Automatic Match does not start spending immediately... once activated, it takes up to a couple weeks for it to learn what it thinks it should do," Churchill and Gilbert said. "So... Keep tabs. It could take off like a rocket at any time." - Read the whole story... Ask Revamps Kids Portal, But Are The Sponsored Links Safe?
Bill Hartzer
Ask has gone live with a revamped Ask Kids section, offering kids a search engine that's easier to navigate (more clicking than typing) and safe. And while the improved navigation and indexing make it great for kids on the hunt for info for upcoming projects, etc., Bill Hartzr notes that there are some discrepancies when it comes to sponsored content.
For example, a search for "Texas" yields info on the state's population, state bird and song, but also features sponsored links right in the middle of the screen. "I know Ask.com needs to monetize their search engine, but to put up sponsored results right there in the front and center like this?" Hartzer asks. "Do you really think that kids have the ability to support those sponsors?"
Meanwhile, a search for "Viagra" doesn't return "unsafe" sites within the organic results, but the sponsored links that show up could lead kids to an adult-oriented site. "Should AskKids.com, supposedly the best 'kid friendly' search engine show sponsored ads for Viagra?" Hartzer asks. - Read the whole story... The Rundown On Meta-Search Engines
Search Engine People
Ann Smarty reviews 10 meta-search engines, including newcomers like Clusty and IxQuick, as well as old-timers like Mamma and DogPile, highlighting some of their unique features and the value that they can add to a searcher's experience.
For example, FuzzFind combs regular search engines and social media sites for query responses, while Mamma crawls all the engines and multiple content types, including video, images and IYPs.
Still, while the idea of a search engine aggregator seems good, Smarty notes that "most (if not all) meta-search tools are no better than an individual search engine as neither of them seemed to develop an effective blending technology and relevancy leaves much to be desired." - Read the whole story... Test Paid Search Before You Target With SEO
SEOmoz |
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