Powerful Articles For Your Website

I am often asked by clients to write SEO articles for their websites – something I enjoy immensely. Original articles are a great way to add quality content to your websites – when they are relevant, with correct keyword placement – search engines love them.

Once you have posted them to your site, you can then submit them, or variations of them to directories and networks. You can repurpose them into various Web 2.0 incarnations like Squidoo lenses or Hubs on HubPages.

On niche or affiliate blogs, they can make up the bulk of your content as posts.

Website Pages Are Different

Articles, however, should not be confused with authority website pages e.g. your static landing page (Home), Product or Services Pages, About, Privacy Policy etc.

To write the copy for these pages takes considerably more time and research in order to get the content just right. The style of writing is different, more informative and authoritative. It is usually designed to instill confidence in the visitor – to detail your bona fides, and professionalism.

Articles That Support Website Copy

Many of my internet marketing clients, once I’ve created their SEO website copy, will then request a package of SEO articles to support each page.  Often they will have a “/articles” or “/blog” section on their website, sometimes visible to readers, sometimes not – but always visible to the search engines.

They will then add these articles to directories like ezinearticles.com or goarticles.com, or to article networks – all linking back to different pages on their websites.

Understanding The Difference Helps

When briefing an outsourcer who is experienced in SEO, it is vital that you both understand the purpose of the content you are wanting.  If you have an authority site where you want copy that relates specifically to your business, products or services, to be used as informative website pages – be very clear about it.

If you ask for SEO articles instead, then you are sure to be disappointed with the result.

For most affiliate marketers, quality SEO articles will likely be all that you need to attract search engine love, but when you are looking for corporate or personal branding, you need to invest in a little more.

(This post is more information to listeners following my interview with ABC Radio on Wednesday 14 July 2010)

I remember when my mother used to work from home. She was a seamstress, and every week a clothing manufacturer would deliver her the components of dresses which she would then assemble. It was called ‘piecework’, and she was paid a pittance for the long hours she worked.

Her big industrial sewing machine would be whirring when I got up in the morning, and when I went to bed a night. There was great excitement for we kids when she was delivered pieces with sharp pleats – there was always pleated tissue paper involved, which made soft landings for somersaults and crude facsimiles of hula skirts.

My aunt took in ironing, and our neighbour created amazingly complicated hand-knits that carried high price tags in shops, but for which she received little.

It was in these ways that the women of my mother’s generation “worked from home”.

How The Internet Has Changed Things

I have been a full-time worker from home now, for almost 3 years, after a period of juggling it with another job. Deciding to free myself from the shackles of travelling time, set working hours, limited variety of work and creating profits for my bosses instead of myself, was the best decision I’ve ever made.

So what do I do? I work online – doing lots of different things. And the more I learn about the opportunities available, the more options I have. In fact there are so many ‘shiny lights’ of opportunities to distract me, its sometimes hard to stay focussed!

Writing For Others

My core business is providing written material for other internet marketers. In order to get their sites ranked well with the search engines like Google and Yahoo!, they need to have a steady stream of quality, original content added to their sites.

I provide this in the form of short articles and blog posts. There are definite techniques used in their creation, which is something that I’ve mastered over time. I also write online media releases, website page content, and the site/business owners’ bios for their sites.

Are You An Expert At ANYTHING?

Write an eBook and sell your knowledge

If you have specialised knowledge or expertise in anything – from knitting to fishing to 4 wheel driving – there are others in the world who need your knowledge.  Writing an eBook – which can be anything from 20-500 pages, you can share your knowledge and profit from it as well.  The beauty of the eBook is that you write it once, and it can keep selling for years without you lifting a finger.  eBooks are delivered to the purchaser digitally, immediately their payment has been processed by an international payment processor like PayPal.

In 2009 I wrote an eBook, which, after the initial launch, continues to sell several copies each week.  That may not seem like much, but I do absolutely nothing anymore to generate those sales – this is residual income.

Coaching

I have created a 50 page eBook, Overnight Writing Income, that shows people the opportunities that are available for writing online.

Most importantly though, I have created a three part coaching program, SEO Content Coach, which teaches both internet marketers and writers how to create SEO content in different forms.

Affiliate Marketing

One thing that people should realise is that they don’t have to have a product or service to do business online. Through affiliate marketing you can promote other peoples products and services – like mine – and receive an affiliate commission for doing this.

Affiliate marketing is an ideal way to get started in internet marketing.

>> Here is a free affiliate marketing training multi-media resource.

A Little On The Side

In my internet marketing journey, I have invested in hundreds of domains – www’s. On some I have built websites (yes, I’ve learned how to do this too!), but others were left empty.

I realised that these are wasted resources that should be monetized to reach their full potential, but finding the time to do it was a problem. So I outsourced this. In the process of so doing, I discussed this with colleagues, who were all in the same situation: lots of domains, lying fallow.

So I recently launched DomainNameAction.com – a service that will build affordable sites on my clients’ empty domains, with their affiliate banners added as well. This is a whole new business model, that no-one else is doing (yet!).

What Others Are Doing

I have colleagues who are providing accountancy services, graphic design and consultancy services to people online – all from home. Others have products or services that they are marketing online – to an audience of ‘the world’ rather than their home town.

People with disabilities who have trouble getting to a work environment because of physical or psychological hardship, are doing well with internet marketing.

Here are some free videos that provide more information about internet marketing.  >>Access Free Videos<<

I learned about doing business online from my mentor, and client, James Schramko, who is holding is second and final workshop for 2010 in Sydney in September 2010. It is an ideal launchpad for anyone wanting to learn about internet marketing, and the opportunities that are available (with loads of pre-event training material supplied for the complete novices!)   It is an intensive 3 day workshop.  Learn more >> here <<.

Don’t Do It Alone

If you are keen to become involved in internet marketing, my advice is to find a mentor, as I did.  Finding an expert in the field to get you in touch with the basics, and who can take you to the next level as and when you are ready is vital.  Please feel free to contact me for suggestions.

Good luck

Kerry

One of my clients, Internet marketing genius James Schramko, recently announced the schedule for his Fast Web Formula 2 workshop happening in Sydney from September 10 to 12, 2010.  James is arguably the best hands-on trainer of internet marketers in the world.  The information is real, up to date, and proven to work – and it is this he shares in his workshops.

I have been invited by James to be one of his guest presenters, to build on what I revealed at the first Fast Web Formula in March 2010.  Because of this, and because I am so impressed with James’ mentorship, I am offering a sensational FastWebFormulaBonus only for people who buy through me.

Since the strategies he will be revealing are going to be different from what he taught participants early this year, James is now giving away his previous mindmap along with other valuable training material as his Fast Web Formula Bonus.

Why Fast Web Formula

Like most Internet marketers, James started out as an eager neophyte who started learning the ropes of this business from scratch. Armed with the right mindset and perseverance to succeed, James spent years studying Internet marketing, testing and measuring tools and applications until he hit the right formula for success.

It is the same formula that James is teaching in his workshops and because the system is simplified for you, you’ll see visible results almost instantly, thus the name “Fast Web Formula”.

Tips for Increasing Productivity

Aside from taking the right action immediately, James also identifies time wasters and recommends the following tools and systems as well:

• Fast Internet connection: Accomplish more in less time with the fastest Internet connection that you can afford. It is a basic investment for your business and will pay for itself.
• Whiteboard: Leaving visual reminders where you can constantly see them and revise them is an essential for any business.
• Double screen: Successful Internet marketers with multiple businesses consider these important assets.
• The right cart: This enables your affiliates to sell your products easily while you focus on other businesses.
• Outsourcing: Get other people to do the grunt work of Internet marketing for you while you focus on finding new clients, establishing joint ventures and starting new business models.
• Management system: Run a virtual office from anywhere in the world and manage a team situated in various countries easily using a system like Basecamp. This sophisticated application also allows you to run your team on autopilot without a hitch.

Training bonus

James is also throwing the following for free:

* Fast Web Formula 2010 training set of 12 DVDs
* Business Internet Formula
* 60-day access to SuperFast Results
He is giving these resources for free because Fast Web Formula 2 will be more comprehensive and advanced than the first. By getting the Fast Web Formula Bonus now, you can immediately transform your business even before attending the second training workshop from September 10 to 12, 2010 in Sydney.

If you ARE looking for elite level internet marketing and can be in Sydney for September 10-12, 2010, then purchasing a seat at Fast Web Formula 2, could be the best investment you ever make.

>> More information on FastWebFormula2

Successful internet marketers have realized the value of submitting online Media Releases, and rightly so – they are extremely powerful for both traffic and links:

• When expertly crafted they can make ‘news’ out of an everyday business operation
• When distributed through premium quality services, they are picked up by the top online news agencies – all around the world
• When laid out with expertise – headline, summary, body, quotes, images, they have the power to become worthwhile content for online news sites
• When using well-researched keywords and anchor text well, your search engine rankings will soar

Writing and assembling a successful online media release requires employing strategies that are different from other types of SEO content writing, and even old-school offline media releases.

As well, there are different platforms and services that can be used for media release distribution and each will deliver different results.

I offer two packages for Media Releases:

1. Supply only of Media Release

2. A comprehensive service that includes:

The price for either service rests with the business niche concerned. For example material on a highly technical or medical nature, that requires more research time, may incur an extra premium.  For specifics on what is included in each, please go to the Online Media Releases page.

To demonstrate actual, recent, results – here are some examples of media releases I have prepared for clients.

The first reflects results in Google just 10 days after the release:

In case you find the number of results for this exact search term difficult to read, it is:

But the thing about online media releases is that they go viral, and continue to work for you for weeks, even months after they are first published.  Here is a real gob-smacking result from a media release I prepared for a client – the results are 5 weeks after first publication:

This release has proved immensely successful for my client, adding, they believe tens of thousands of dollars to the value of their business by virtue of their improved Google ranking.  Just to make the page results quite clear:

These results are obtained through the professional construction of the media release, but to do so a writer needs to understand clients’ businesses.  In both of the examples above, the clients had also invested over time (and continue to do so) in a variety of SEO content services with me, which has enabled me to really understand what they were trying to achieve with the online media release.

For specifics on what is included in each, please go to the Online Media Releases page.

To enquire about having me prepare and publish an online media release for you, I invite you to contact me.

All internet marketers want as many links to there sites as possible, and from as many different sources as possible. Here is something to try as an alternative to the usual suspects when publishing articles.

Document Sharing Sites allow you to add articles in PDF form, as slide presentations, or even Word documents. And most of them allow you to include live links within the body of the articles.

Many people who use document sharing sites have demonstrated that their articles rank faster and better than if they posted to article directories.  The documents are indexed by Google especially, very quickly – sometimes within minutes – and achieve good rankings that improve over time.

One of the best things about document sharing sites is that you are not inhibited by Gestapo-like approval processes – you document is published immediately.  But that is not to say there is no editorial review.  In fact these sites have terms and conditions to which you must adhere – they are all different.

Another bonus is that you can include images within your document and spend some time on a nice layout, improving the look of your document.

Would you like to know more about these sites?  In the next few days I will be sending out a list of these sites to everyone who has subscribed to receive my free ebook “What the **** does that mean?” – Grab your copy by filling in your details below.

Here is some nice news from ezinearticles.com regarding the publishing of your SEO content on your site and with them – and proof they they don’t consider this ‘duplicate content’.

After testing it in Beta mode for a while, ezinearticles.com’s WordPress plugin has now gone live.

After installing this pluging you are able to publish your blog posts to EZA as articles – so those confused about whether EZA sees your site content as duplicate content can now rest easy.

There are some things to consider though.

1. Resist the temptation to post to your blog and EZA at the same time. Always post to your own site first – you don’t have to use the EZA option right away.

2. You do have to be careful of keyword density of in your blog posts for this to work – most of us know that EZA are crazy strict on limiting keywords to 2% density. In my experience keyword in heading, first and last paras and once more is adequate for SEO, and should fit with the EZA guidelines.

3. Also if you are engaging in self-promotion and mentioning affiliate products etc in your blog post, EZA will likely reject them. So only use informative, non-promotional posts for use with this plugin.

I suspect this is one way that EZA are veryifying the source of what may appear to them to be ‘duplicate content’, so in my opinion is a good way to avoid any unnecessary clarification communication with them. If it comes from your site, they will see that it is yours.

I am going back through various posts now to see which I can use to test this plugins efficiency, but for you to learn more, here is the video link: EzineArticles WordPress Plugin

I am often asked why I have two price points for my 400 word SEO articles, so I thought I’d clarify why this is so, and why it is necessary to have two different types of articles for successful internet marketing campaigns.

1. Authority SEO Articles

These are the articles that you would want to put your name (or your client’s name to).  They are well researched, and provide valuable information on your topic.  Keyword placement is at the level to make it acceptable by article directories like ezinearticles.com.

Now this keyword thing can be a bit tricky.  Let’s assume that your keywords are, for example, “learn about internet marketing”.  When writing an article on this topic, it is only natural that the words “internet marketing” will appear often, without you even trying to stuff them into your article.  Regardless of intent however, some publishing sites will reject such an article because of overuse of keywords.  So to avoid this, limit your keywords to the heading, first and last paragraph and once more in the body.

Substitute Words

In our example above you might find that words like “online marketing”, “IM”, “online business”, “e-business” and “e-commerce” can be substituted if you need to reduce the number of keywords used.  I find it best to write the article as I think it, and then go back and replace keywords if necessary.

2. Backlink Articles

While these articles should make sense when read by a human, chances are they won’t be read at all.  These are the articles that you will send to article networks and blog networks. These networks offer your articles (with links intact), to members, for use on their sites.  The members need content for SEO – that is the benefit to them.  But the benefit to you is that all of those sites will have links to yours – and the search engines will see this and rank your site as an ‘authority’ for your keyword.

With these articles you are able to use your keyword a little more generously, but most networks will restrict you to three links for a 400 word article.  Because they are so powerful, it is good to have a second keyword in these articles, or link them to a second page within your site.

Save Money

It is important to have both types of article as part of your internet marketing plan.  A cost effective option is to write or purchase a set of quality, well written “Authority” SEO articles, and then have them rewritten to create the backlink articles.  Many of my clients do this.

There are many more ways to use your top quality articles – and this is a process that I am taking my SEO Content Coach students through right now.

You know, it doesn’t matter whether you are going to create your own content, if you are going to outsource it, or if you want to create a business out of being an SEO content creator, you need to know what is involved.

Why Do Internet Marketers Need To Know This?

Many successful internet marketers do outsource their content creation – SEO articles, blog posts, Squidoo lenses, transcriptions, video, audio (the types of content that can be used on websites continues to grow).  But the ones who do this successfully, do not blindly throw work at outsourcers and accept what is returned.  They KNOW what is good SEO content, and what is not worth publishing in any form.

They know what makes a great SEO article, and they know how to ask for exactly what they need – content that has been assembled correctly, with keyword placement that will endear them to the search engines.  They have learned the value of good, well-written, quality articles.  Take one and rework it for many different applications.

The Birth of SEO Content Coach

It is this that I teach in SEO Content Coach.  I find that many of the newer internet marketers for whom I provide content, are missing the ‘need to know’ stuff about SEO Content creation.  They rely on me to know what they need.  Now that’s fine for as long as they are my clients.  But for those whom I have to waitlist or turn away (e.g. I rarely accept two clients within a competitive niche), they really need to know what they need to ask of outsourcers.

I explain what article marketing is, and how it can be one of the cheapest forms of SEO marketing – if you start off with quality material.

I show you how to:

• create an optimized article
• post it to an article directory for best results
• convert that one article into a Squidoo lens, eHow article, MP3 and more
• rewrite the article for submission to an article distribution services – really powerful stuff if it is backlinks you want, and YOU DO!

For Writers

If you are a SEO content writer, or an aspiring one, then you will find SEO Content Coach an invaluable guide to how best create worthwhile content that your clients, and the search engines, will value.

But especially for you, I have included a section on running your business -

• Where to find work
• How to bid on projects
• A copy of my Brief
• Setting up your business website…… and loads more,
• Including links to all the resources you will need.

I’ve been sharing my SEO content creation knowledge for sometime now, and am sure that both internet marketers and writers will benefit from purchasing my SEO Content Coach program.

If you enjoy writing, then learning how to write SEO content is a great career move – every website needs fresh, original content if it is to rank well with the search engines.  AND if you are an internet marketer, but content creation is not your think – you also need to know how to create it – if only to be able to brief your outsourcer! My 3-Part SEO Content Coach program has been created to help you get the most from every piece of content you create.

>> Discover how to write for your internet marketing project at  SEO Content Coach

Standing in front of 220 super-motivated internet marketing stars in the making was electric!  Those attending James Schramko’s Fast Web Formula internet marketing training workshop were treated to three days of comprehensive instruction on the latest strategies, techniques, tips and tools from a variety of speakers.

Guest Speakers

Breaking with his previous formula, for this event James invited some guest presenters – experts in their field – to share their knowledge with participants.  The speakers also made themselves available for chats during the breaks and some great bonds were formed.

Speakers included:

Dean Hunt from the UK, a real Buzz Marketer who had the audience tittering over his ‘package’

“SEO” Steve Ovens, a home-grown Aussie SEO expert, who injected a little ‘geek’ into the mix

Affiliate marketing wiz, Peter Parks, flew in from Canada to whisper his secrets into any ears that turned his way

The unassuming Sydney-sider Kyle Tully, had the audience captivated as he described the opportunities available for consulting to offline businesses

And then there was me…..

I enjoyed sharing what it takes to create a good article, and outlining how one well-written article can be morphed into many different incarnations – including video and audio.  It was a real eye-opener, even for some of the more advanced internet marketers present.

SEO Content Coach

This was the perfect opportunity for me to launch my 3 Part Training Program, SEO Content Coach, and the response was overwhelming!  I am so looking forward to working with my first 30 students and keeping them up to date on new opportunities for stretching their articles further!

>> Learn more about SEO Content Coach