About This Blog
Sara Lancaster here. Thanks for visiting the No. 2 Pen blog where I talk all things website content for small businesses. Have a question about your web content? Send it my way and I'll respond in a post.Project Hound
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Archive for the ‘No. 2 Pen Blog’ Category
Reminder: Jargon Will Not Improve Search Engine Ranking
Thursday, July 29th, 2010
If you hope to rank high in the search engines, you need to write straightforward website content. Adding jargon will fill your pages with that essential amount of website content, but it doesn’t incorporate valuable keywords or the essential context around those keywords.
I’m not saying you should stuff your pages with keywords. Never! All I’m saying is that you should not waste valuable website space on meaningless words. Focus on words your customers can relate to and words that you just might rank for in the search engines. (more…)
Say No to Jargon – Delete These 7 Generic Statements from Your Website
Thursday, July 22nd, 2010
We know you provide the best product for the best price, but what else?
In this second post in my series of posts on how to avoid industry jargon on your website, I’m assigning you a task. Delete the following generic statements from your website content.
1. Company dedicated to quality.
2. We are the best in the industry.
3. Services tailored to your needs. (more…)
A Campaign Against Industry Jargon
Thursday, July 15th, 2010
Your website called. It’s annoyed with all those buzzwords, acronyms, and six syllable words in its content. Your website said that it’s dying for creativity and language that the search engines can actually do something about. Most importantly, your website said you’ve scared away customers with all that jargon.
In the next several posts I’ll be talking about how industry jargon and buzzwords bring down your website and your marketing efforts. First up, let’s talk about what it all means. (more…)
A Guide to Social Media Planning
Monday, July 5th, 2010
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve talked about social media planning and how small businesses need to think about their goals online. I’ve created a free, downloadable guide to complement those blog posts. The guide walks you through the process of developing a social media plan as well as providing a few tips on how to effectively use social media.
Download your Guide to Social Media Planning from my writing freebies page.
Reduced Price Marketing and Website Content Writing for Animal Rescue Organizations
Thursday, July 1st, 2010
Not long ago my husband and I adopted a beagle from The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA). We went from people who wanted more exercise and a cute companion to baby-talking idiots who couldn’t stop cuddling up to this guy.
Because we’ve realized how much fun beagles and other hounds can be, we’ve decided to offer specially priced marketing and website content writing services to hound rescue organizations through something called Project Hound Marketing. Please help us spread the word!
Social Media Planning, Objectives, and Buckets – Part 2
Monday, June 28th, 2010
In the last post I left off talking about buckets in social media planning. A bucket holds everything that will go into achieving a single objective including the places you will hang out within social media (e.g., Facebook) and the tasks you complete within those accounts.
Fifth, decide who and for how much time
Maybe you are the person who spends 30 minutes every morning on social media or maybe you have several people in the office responsible for monitoring your social media accounts every day, all day. Whatever the case, keep it consistent. An abandoned Facebook fan page will have the opposite impact you are looking for. (more…)
Social Media Planning, Objectives, and Buckets – Part 1
Thursday, June 24th, 2010
If your business wants to incorporate social media into its marketing mix, then it must come up with a plan. All effective marketing is backed by a plan.
Do you have a social media marketing plan?
First, decide on your goal. Think about your mission statement. What is the one thing your business hopes to accomplish? Take that idea and pull it into social media. For instance, I want to help small businesses create killer web content. Using social media, I connect with small business owners to offer marketing ideas and my services. (more…)
Where to Find the Expiration Date on Your Web Content
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Did you look on the bottom? What about the label? No expiration date anywhere?
You can’t find the expiration date on your web content, because it’s not there. However, there are a few ways to look at web content and decide on when it should be updated. But that’s probably not what you want to hear. You want to hear a concrete answer on web content expiry. I get that.
So before I get into the long “it depends” conversation, let me give you the short answer. Small businesses should revise there web content at least once a year.
That’s just the minimum effort. Now for the long answer. (more…)
Essential Questions for Your FAQ Page
Thursday, June 17th, 2010
Most small businesses need a page devoted to frequently asked questions on their website. The questions you list should be the questions your customers commonly ask (obviously), but if you’re just starting out, then you might know what questions your typical customer will ask.
If that’s your case, start out with the 10 questions below and update the FAQs when appropriate. (more…)
5 Website Errors that Could Ruin Your Business
Monday, June 14th, 2010
Did I get your attention with this dramatic headline?
Good. Turns out the following five errors may not ruin your business, but they certainly won’t help your business or your brand. I suggest read close and then head to your site to make improvements.
1. Broken links
Before publishing a page or a post on your site, always test the links to make sure they work. Additionally, run a link check on your site every month. I rely on the Xenu’s Link Sleuth to tell me about my broken links. Broken links can hurt your SEO ranking and create a poor user experience. (more…)