writing advice Archives

seo, writing a blog, writing advice, writing for accessibility, writing for readability

5 Modern Ways to Write for SEO for Business

1. Choose your keywords carefully – To write for SEO for business, gone are the days of targeting one or two words. Now, with more competition, long-tail phrases (generally three to five words) give you an edge.

Popular key phrases show where searchers are at in the buyer’s journey and help you plan content around them. For instance, “How to” phrases show the searcher is in the consideration phase — between “awareness” and “decision-making” — and they want to solve a problem.

Beyond web pages, consider your keywords for social and video platforms such as YouTube, which rely on them in titles and descriptions.

Hashtags in social media posts help searchers find them on those platforms. LinkedIn shows the number of followers for certain keywords, and lists of popular social media hashtags are available. To reach a wider audience, mix general and specific hashtags. The number of keywords that affect social media post algorithms varies, so experiment.

To help screen readers pronounce words correctly, write multi-word hashtags in CamelCase.

2. Focus on placement – The title and the top of a web page or a blog post are often the best places for your keywords. (HubSpot suggests you keep titles under 60 characters.)

But have you considered the format of your piece? A clear structure with descriptive keywords, especially in your primary heading, eases navigation and can improve engagement, accessibility, and rankings. Analyze pages that rank for your targeted keywords to decide on the format, such as a list or an article with subheadings.

3. E-A-T: Expanded Edition – Google’s E-A-T is now E-E-A-T, which stands for experience, expertise, authoritativeness, and trustworthiness. Search algorithms change regularly, however, this aspect has become more important as Google seeks to filter low-value content.

To rank pages higher and build authority, credit and link back to credible sources you used to answer questions and solve problems. And preferably, have experience with the topic.

Compare the content of similar pages with your keywords and decide which information to add to make it more complete.

4. Writing meta tags – These short web page summaries appear in search engine results. If you write them well, they will persuade searchers to visit your pages. They also appear on social media when you post links.

HubSpot suggests they contain one to two keywords, describe the page content exactly, and be at least 155 to 160 characters long. Write one or two clear, descriptive sentences. Moz’s Title Tag Preview Tool and The Digital xx’s Title Tags blog offer helpful advice.

Example: Quality Behavioral Health: “Quality Behavioral Health offers counseling and medication management in Warwick. Call today for help with anxiety, depression, ADD, ADHD, and more.”

5. Describing link text – “Click here” is clear for navigation, but it’s not enticing, nor does it aid a page’s search ranking. It also fails to meet Web Content Accessibility Standards for people with disabilities.

Instead, hyperlink to a phrase of at least three words, when possible, that describes the content you link to. To write for SEO and gain more business, add a benefit to the text to encourage clicks.

Example: Shop the holiday gift guide for the perfect present.

An experienced SEO writer who keeps up with the latest trends can help your content “click” with your target audience.

BUILD CONTENT AUTHORITY

How do you write for SEO? Feel free to comment below.

Quotes

“On-page SEO is no longer satisfied by raw keyword use. Matching keywords to searcher intent is critical.” ~ Rand Fishkin

“My rule of thumb is build a site for a user, not a spider.” ~ Dave Naylor

Published: March 7, 2023
Last updated: September 19, 2024

branding, language, language usage, language use, messages, writing advice

5 Steps to Consistent Brand Messaging, Language, and Style

1. Check your mission statement – Ask yourself some questions to explore your brand messaging, language, and style: Why are you in business? What are your core values? What’s your Unique Selling Proposition (USP)? If you have one, borrow keywords from your mission statement. Otherwise, follow the next step and create one through finding your “why” to keep your brand messaging, language, and style consistent.

2. Make it personal – Who do you want to reach? Think of the people you want to appeal to when you write your content, their problems, or what might keep them awake. In the process, you could have a story to tell. Add keywords and descriptions from it to your tagline, your website or blog copy, social media, press releases, and other marketing materials.

3. Find your voice – What kind of tone or mood do you want to convey in your marketing? What voice will you use to speak to your ideal customers? What kind of personality do you want to project? And does it align with your mission statement and values? Thinking about these aspects can help you arrive at more specific wording that can increase your brand recognition and form your overall messaging.

Example: In a brief video, Michael Monteforte, Jr. of Monteforte Law P.C. tells potential clients what motivated him to pursue estate planning, how he works with clients, and helps them. Also on their “About Us” page, the firm effectively explains what separates it from others; many firms don’t differentiate themselves from their competitors well. Michael comes across as a plain-spoken, clear communicator who cares about finding the right solutions for his clients.

4. Create a company style guide – It can help you clarify your wording, punctuation, email formatting, and other content, which can guide you or any employees. It may also set your design standards, from the logos and fonts to the colors you use. Update it regularly.

5. Enforce company communication policies – Once your style guide is in place, include it as part of an overall communications policy to ensure all your messaging stays on brand. Don’t stray from your talking points, which form the image you want to project. Do regular content or messaging audits. Your communications policy may also outline strategies for responding to a crisis.

Need help with your messaging to build your image and boost your success? Consider a free business writing coaching consultation.

BOOK A COACHING SESSION

How do *you* keep your brand messaging consistent? Feel free to comment below.

Quotes

“Define what your brand stands for, its core values and tone of voice, and then communicate consistently in those terms.” ~ Simon Mainwaring

“If you don’t give the market the story to talk about, they’ll define your brand’s story for you.” ~ David Brier

Published Feb. 7, 2023

writing advice, writing apps, writing better, writing tools

5 Writing Apps to Improve Your Content

1. Relatedwords.org – If you need the right word, a more specific term, or a synonym, this is among the writing apps that will find related terms for you. It works as an electronic thesaurus or a word association generator.

For example, the top results for the word “energy”:

Kinetic energy
Work
Radiant energy
Vitality
Electricity

And the word lists can run long. You may click on each for a definition with the option to find more related words. They can help you compile article topics and outlines.

2. Ludwig.guru – This app shows how to use a word or phrase properly in a sentence and offers definitions and alternate terms. It works in other languages, too, such as Latin. And you can even find out which terms are popular to get a better sense of common usage. For example, “Take a shower” is used 80 percent of the time versus “have a shower” at 20 percent. The premium version gives you unlimited queries and more search results, together with an advanced filter library. Desktop or mobile versions are available.

3. Headline Generator – This tool by Content Row will create headlines based on one word. It scores their quality on a 1-100 scale and can analyze them for their strengths (their word count, whether it’s positive, negative, or neutral) and for improvement. It also filters the results by category, including whether a headline qualifies as “clickbait.” Other tools in the kit include lists of trending topics, a word counter, and a title case converter. To make headlines and use the editor, you must register for free.

4. Wave Web Accessibility Evaluation Tool – This browser add-on helps you find which parts of a document are missing alt text, which can affect whether people with disabilities can understand it. It also analyzes design elements, including contrasting colors, font sizes, and navigational structure. It covers many of the common Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). You can also enter a website address for analysis.

5. Searchresponse.io – This tool offers results based on terms you search for to reveal what people ask in search engines, their related searches, and keywords. It’s like a combo of Google, Google Ads’ Keyword Planner, and answerthepublic.com. Under the free plan, searches are limited. Other apps, like Ahrefs and BuzzSumo, go one step further and veer into content analysis for engagement based on search terms. But this app helps you gauge your options and the level of interest in a topic, especially for Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

Have you tried every tool and are still unhappy with your writing? Get help turning your gibberish into everyday English.

BOOK A FREE COACHING SESSION

What are your favorite writing tools? Feel free to comment below.

Quotes

“Having a set of writing tools helps when you get lost in your writing process. And we all get lost sometimes.” ~ Leigh Shulman

“You have certain writing tools but generally creating something from nothing makes one quite mad and Cynthia and I are quite mad, you know.” ~ Barry Mann

Published December 6, 2022

writing for accessibility, writing for readability

5 Ways to Write for Accessibility and Readability

1. Images – Create clear descriptions or “alternative text” for them in web pages, blog and social media posts, and e-newsletters to aid the visually or cognitively impaired. Add as much detail as possible within any limits on the number of characters. Alt text, however, isn’t the place for a link, a source citation, or more information irrelevant to the graphic featured. Write for accessibility — remove phrases like “image of” or “picture of” and get to the description in a complete sentence. MailChimp suggests avoiding images entirely if you can convey the same information in writing.

Example: NASA won praise for its 126-word alt text in a Twitter post featuring a photo of the early universe taken with the James Webb telescope. It begins: “The background of space is black. Thousands of galaxies appear all across the view. Their shapes and colors vary.” Yours don’t have to be that long, but they should be long enough to create a picture in someone’s mind.

2. Hashtags – Perkins Access suggests you capitalize the first letter in each word in a hashtag to help screen reading software pronounce it correctly.

Example: #EmailMarketing instead of #emailmarketing

3. Email headlines – Subject lines with specific wording can reveal the reason for and the topic of your message.

Example: Picked for you: light wash jeans (Levis®)

4. Links – Avoid the phrases “click here” or “learn more” in favor of words that describe the purpose of the link. Adding a benefit can influence clicks.

Example: Read more about planting healthy petunias.

5. Overall – When you write for accessibility, consider the entire language and structure of your piece. Is the wording clear and easy to understand, free of jargon and slang? If someone can’t see colors, images, or video, is the message still clear? Can someone skim the document and absorb everything?

Depending on their settings, some screen readers might not interpret punctuation correctly. For clearer sentences, punctuate properly. An “Oxford” or “serial” comma distinguishes items in a series (example: grapes, apples, and bananas).

Need help improving your content? A “makeover” can boost your engagement and help you get the right leads.

POLISH YOUR WRITING FOR BETTER RESULTS

How do you write for accessibility? Feel free to comment further below.

Quotes

“I do not care much about speaking in some jargon that perpetuates inaccessibility.” ~ Malebo Sephodi

“You might ‘know’ the person you’re writing to is not disabled. But you cannot guarantee your email will not be sent on to someone who is. Being inclusive from the start removes the risk.” ~ Elisabeth Ward

Published November 1, 2022

business communication, business writing, content, content ideas, writing advice, writing better

5 Best Practices for Repurposing Content for Business

1. Check your tags – When repurposing content, add hashtags to social media posts and vary the amount. More or fewer can influence the results. Tag people or companies who may be interested in your content or any you name in your post.

2. Add images – A picture can stoke curiosity. Nielsen Norman Group studies indicate online photos should be informative. People tend to ignore decorative pictures and favor those with real people. Also, some social posts perform better with or without photos. Experiment.

3. Track links – Generally, those at the top of an article or newsletter, where people tend to look first, may perform better than ones in the middle or at the end. Also, it depends on the platform. LinkedIn posts with offsite links might not see as much exposure, so links in the body of a post there can get fewer impressions than those in a comment.

4. Test your headlines – If you resend an e-newsletter or recycle a post, try another headline. If possible, include an emoji. For blog posts, which are sometimes optimized for search engines, research keywords people search for and questions people ask to tweak your headline and help increase your visits or impressions.

5. Edit – Rewriting your content to improve it can increase the odds people will read it. A social media algorithm may prefer a well-written post over one with errors. Editing especially helps blog posts, which can benefit from more precise keywords and to follow Google algorithm trends, in-depth, research-based text.

Need help reposting or repurposing content? A content repurposing service can make over your business content to improve the results and help you gain the right leads.

BOOST YOUR ENGAGEMENT

How do you repurpose your content? Feel free to comment further below.

Quotes

“Rather than waste or eliminate items which you don’t currently use, discover a new way to improve and enjoy their value.” ~ Susan C. Young

“Content repurposing is about getting the maximum return from every single piece of content you create. Content repurposing can take many forms, and there are lots of different and creative ways you can repurpose your content, but every content creator must repurpose.” ~ Amy Woods