I know. I know.

You thought you left grammar lessons behind when you graduated from high school. But as more and more of us communicate through writing (think emails, Facebook, Linkedin, etc.), it’s critically important to keep your grammar in check. Why? Because silly errors undermine your credibility with your clients and prospects.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have no problem with breaking some of the conventional rules of grammar. For instance, it is often thought that beginning a sentence with “and” or “because” goes against the rules; or that ending a sentence with a preposition, such as the word “for,” is a recipe for bad grammar.

But I’m all for breaking these conventions if it makes what you’re saying clearer and easier to read for your audience. In fact, a casual, conversational tone is generally more effective than formal, corporate language, especially when you’re writing things like blogs, emails, or online articles.

That being said, there are some major grammar mistakes that you should avoid in any instance – whether you’re writing an article for your company newsletter or a formal business proposal.

Here they are:

Its vs. it’s

Wrong:
Its going to rain outside.

Right:
It’s going to rain outside.

“It’s” is a contraction of "it is"; while “its” is the possessive form of “it.”

To vs. too

Wrong:
Mary wanted to ride in the limo to.

Right:
Mary wanted to ride in the limo too.

In this instance, “too” means in addition or as well. But it can also mean extremely or very, such as in: "Her boss wasn't too pleased with all her spelling mistakes."

There vs. They’re vs. Their

Wrong:
There going to see the new action movie.

Right:
They’re going to see the new action movie.

“They’re” is the contraction of “they are.”

Wrong:
There mother was going to call them on Saturday.

Right:
Their mother was going to call them on Saturday.

“Their” is the possessive case of “they.”

Who’s vs. Whose

Wrong:
Who’s jacket is this?

Right:
Whose jacket is this?

Who’s is the contraction of “who is”; “whose” is the possessive form of “who.”

Than vs. then

Wrong:
He’s a lot taller then his brother.

Right:
He’s a lot taller than his brother.

This can be a tricky one. Use “than” when comparing objects or to express a choice or diversity – “I’d rather have chocolate than vanilla.” Use “then” to describe something that happened subsequently.

Affect vs. effect

Wrong:
His mother’s illness didn’t seem to effect him.

Right:
His mother’s illness didn’t seem to affect him.

Wrong:
His mother’s illness didn’t seem to have an affect on him.

Right:
His mother’s illness didn’t seem to have an effect on him.

Affect means to have an effect upon; whereas an effect is a consequence.

Insure vs. ensure

Wrong:
She checked her work to insure she had filled out the form correctly.

Right:
She checked her work to ensure she had filled out the form correctly.

Only use “insure” when you’re talking about insurance, as in home, life, medical. When you’re talking about making sure or certain of something, use “ensure.”

Misuse of apostrophes

Wrong:
He was born in the 1950’s.

Right:
He was born in the 1950s.

Wrong:
I love riding in fast car’s.

Right:
I love riding in fast cars.

Just because a word is plural, doesn’t mean it needs an apostrophe!

Infer vs. imply

Wrong
The man’s words inferred his disapproval. 

Right
The man’s words implied his disapproval. 

Infer means to deduce or draw a conclusion; while imply means to indicate.

It’s no secret that the very best way to optimize your website content is to build your site with your audience in mind. Provide compelling, targeted, and relevant information to them so that when they go to your site, they find what they need.

That being said, there are things you can do to optimize your website.

In previous blogs, we’ve talked about optimizing the text on your website. Now it’s time to get a little more technical and talk about best practices for optimizing your HTML code.

Title Tags:

A title tags is the text that appears at the top of a web page in your browser. For instance, for my blog page, the title tag is:

 “The Constant Writer Blog: Tips for Writing Copy”

For your site, you should write a customized title tag for each page. The title tags should include your keywords or keyword phrases for that particular page (Tips for Writing Copy), as well as your company name (The Constant Writer). Keep it short though; no more than about nine or 10 words.

Meta Tag Descriptions:

A meta tag description is the summary that describes information on a particular page of a website. These descriptions are not necessarily important for optimizing your website, but they are important for getting people to click on your site.

So, for instance, if you Googled “freelance copywriter buffalo,” you’d get the following meta tag description for my site:

Award-winning copywriter in Buffalo, New York providing compelling and informative content for websites, brochures, direct mail campaigns, press releases, and more.

You should write customized meta tag descriptions for each page of your site. They shouldn’t be any longer than about 25 words.

Meta Tag Keywords:

Meta tag keywords are the list of keywords and phrases that are typically encoded in every page of your site to help search engines figure out how to index your site. To view a website’s meta tag keywords, simply click on View Page Source. Keywords are under the page title and meta tag description. 

Most SEO experts agree that the use of meta tag keywords is no longer that relevant, especially for Google, which is the most used search engine. In fact, some experts even warn against using meta tag keywords in your HTML code so as not to tip off your competitors about what keywords you’re trying to rank for.

Others say that meta tag keywords are still somewhat relevant for search engines like Yahoo. One way you could use these meta tag keywords is for common misspellings of keywords you want to rank for, but don’t necessarily want to include in your page content.

The bottom line, though, is that either way, meta tag keywords will not make – or break – your SEO efforts.

Alt Tags:

An alt tag is the "alternative text" that accompanies an image. It is visible when your mouse hovers over an image on a website. Originally, these tags were meant for screen reader software used by visually impaired people; nowadays, though, it is considered useful to include keywords or keywords phrases in your image alt tags. 

So, if you own a company that manufactures fishing lures, alt tags for your product images might go something like this:

• Bass-fishing-lure.jpg
• Walleye-fishing-lure.jpg
• Trout-fishing-lure.jpg

Rather than just:

• image1.jpg
• image2.jpg
• image3.jpg

Search engine optimization is far from an exact science. Hopefully, though, by reading these blog posts, you've gained a better understanding of how search engines work and what you can do to increase your website's visibility. 

Ok, so I took a couple weeks off from my blog writing to enjoy the beautiful Buffalo spring weather. I’m back and ready to tackle Part 2 of optimizing your website content. This time, we’re talking about keyword placement.

By now, you should have between two and four strong keywords or keyword phrases you’ll be focusing on for each page of your website. So, now the question is, how do you incorporate them into your content?

Here are some tips:

(Like I mentioned in Part 1 of this post, readability is of prime importance. Don’t write something chock-full of keywords that reads as gibberish to your end user.)

Include Keywords in the Header

Be sure to include keywords in your main header, or headline. It’s a balance to write a headline that is both marketing AND SEO-oriented. But it’s doable and just might take a few revisions.

So, for instance, if you custom manufacture fishing lures in Buffalo, your page header might read something like:

“Get Hooked on Buffalo’s Best Custom Made Fishing Lures”

Include Keywords in the Subheads

Write subheads throughout the page copy that includes the keywords. Subheads actually serve two purposes:

1) Subheads help optimize your content; and

2) Subheads also break up the content so it’s easier for your end user to read.

Include Keywords in the First Paragraph

Be sure to include keywords within the first few sentences of your page content. It is thought (again, nothing in SEO is written in stone) that the first 20-30 words of your copy are weighted more heavily by the search engines.

Also, be sure to include variations of keywords throughout your content. For instance, in one sentence you might say “we make custom fishing lures,” while in the next paragraph, you might say, “our fishing lures are custom made.”

Incorporate Text Links With Keywords

In addition, make sure to properly use text links. For instance, if you’re writing content for the About Us page, and mention your products, be sure to link to your Products page.

But don’t just say something generic like:

“For more on our products, click here.”

You should, instead, say something like:

“Learn more about ABC Company's custom made fishing lures.”

Using keywords in your link text helps to optimize the page the link is pointing to, as well as the page the link is on. So, essentially, you kill two birds with one stone.

In addition to linking to other pages within your website, consider adding links to other outside websites. These kinds of links are called outbound links. For instance, if you are certified by the Fishing Lure Association of America, point that out in your content with a link to that association's website. 

Incoming links are also one of the best ways to optimize your website. Incoming links are links on other websites that link to your site.

So, back to the example of making fishing lures. Ask the company that provides you with your materials to consider linking to your site. You may also ask other vendors or partners you work with to consider linking to your website, as well.

Other ways to building incoming links include:

• Writing online articles for an industry e-zine, and having them link to your website.
• Creating a valuable, content rich blog that other industry websites will want to link to.
• Be a guest writer for other blogs within your industry and have your posts link to your site.
• Submit your site to a directory.
• Be active in related forums and include your website address in your signature.

Keep in mind that you only want quality, reputable websites linking back to your site.  

Include a Footer With Keywords

Include keyword phrases in the footer of your content. They can be either plain text or a text link, although a text link works better.

For example, the footer on your homepage might read something like:

“Manufacturing custom made fishing lures in Buffalo, New York”

(See an example of a footer on my freelance writing homepage. It starts with "© 2009 The Constant Writer.")

Once you’ve written your copy, go back and check your work.

Make sure you didn’t miss any opportunities for keyword placement. For instance, instead of regularly referring to your company as “our company,” be sure to use the actual name whenever possible. Instead of talking about “our extensive line of products,” be sure to say, “ABC Company's extensive line of custom made fishing lures.”

You get the picture.

Some say there is an industry standard for keyword density (the amount of keywords you should use throughout your copy). I don’t know if that’s true or not, but many effective, well-optimized sites have varied keyword densities throughout their sites. So just use some good, old-fashioned common sense.

• If your copy sounds unnatural and stuffed with keywords, it’s too dense.
• If it sounds focused, reads naturally, and you have used keywords throughout, then you’re probably right on the mark.

In my next and final blog post about optimizing your website content, we’ll get a little more technical and talk about alt tags and page titles.

Content rich. Keyword dense. Page titles. Metatags. These phrases are enough to make your head spin!

While optimizing your site for the web can seem like a dizzying task, it doesn’t have to be. It’s true that search engine optimization (SEO) is dynamic and ever-changing, but there are some best practices you can follow in order to get your website noticed by the big search engines.

Easy Reading

Before we dive into the first best practice, though, let me digress for a moment to talk about readability. While it’s important to use keywords and phrases when optimizing your website content, it’s even more important to write for your end user. And they don’t want to read content that sounds like it was written explicitly for a search engine.

Nope.

They want to read well-written content that is compelling and informative. It’s a fine line to walk, but it’s key to a successful website.  

Ok, so back to the first best practice of optimizing your website content….

Best Practice #1: Research, research, research.

Keyword research is vitally important to any SEO effort and there are many ways to find the appropriate keywords for your content. Your first step should include brainstorming keywords that you think your customers and prospects would use.

(A NOTE: When doing this, avoid using industry jargon or abbreviations that your customers may not know. In essence, take your CEO or manager cap off, and put your customer cap on.)

So, for instance, if you own a chocolate shop in Buffalo, New York, you might consider keyword phrases like:

Chocolate shop buffalo

OR

Buffalo chocolate shop

Once You Make a List, Check it Twice

Once you have a list of potential keywords, check their search volumes and look for other keyword ideas and variations using tools such as Google’s Keyword Tool or Wordtracker. You can also use websites like Bruce Clay's Check Traffic tool, which tells you approximately how many queries per day there are for your search term.

Next, narrow your list.

To narrow your list, consider creating a spreadsheet so you have a visual account of things like search volume and conversion rate, factors you should have determined using the keyword tools discussed above.

Be sure to include targeted terms.

While general search terms (like chocolate shop) are ok to use, make sure you include more targeted search terms on your final list (like buffalo chocolate shop); otherwise, your customers may not find you.

Also, be sure to include keywords for all your website pages.

For example, if your chocolate shop sells chocolate pretzels, sponge candy, and chocolate covered strawberries, you may want to consider having separate pages for each product, with content on each page using the appropriate keywords.

So, how many keywords should you have at the end of this process?

Well, it depends. Usually, it’s around 10-20; however, if you have an especially large site with many products or services, it may be more. The rule of thumb is to have two to four strong keywords or key phrases for each page.

Ok, now that you have all these keywords, what the heck do you do with them? Stay tuned for my next blog post, which will discuss keyword placement.

So, I was watching The Celebrity Apprentice on Sunday night. That night’s challenge for the remaining five contestants was to create a jingle and a 30-second radio spot for Chicken of the Sea tuna.

Well, one team, KOTU, had Clint Black on it. In case you’re not familiar with him, he’s a Grammy-award winning country musician who writes much (if not all) of his own music. The other team, Athena, consisted of a poker player and a former Playboy Playmate, both of whom were self-described as “tone deaf.”

Needless to say, Team Athena was in near panic, while Team KOTU thought they had the challenge in the bag.

Well, they were wrong.

KOTU came up with a great jingle that was slow paced and (surprise!) set to country music a la Clint Black. Athena, on the other hand, came up with a snazzy, jazzy, catchy jingle set to more of a pop beat. While the marketing executives from Chicken of the Sea liked both jingles, they ultimately chose Athena’s, passing over Clint Black’s attempt.

Why?

Well, not surprisingly, Black’s jingle was all country (beautiful though it was) and the marketing executives weren’t certain it would have the mass appeal that Team Athena’s would have.

So, what happened?

In this challenge, Black couldn’t see the forest for the trees. He is so immersed in the country music world that he never even thought about taking the jingle in a different direction. While the end result was a beautiful piece of music, it wasn’t effective – and Black got fired.

With no musical background, members of Team Athena, on the other hand, had completely fresh perspectives. They were able to take their market research and produce an effective jingle that would impact the company’s target audience.

This is the type of “perspective” that a professional copywriter can offer you.

Sometimes you get so busy that you lose perspective about your company – and about what makes it unique in the eyes of your customers and prospects. But a professional copywriter can bring fresh eyes – and fresh ideas – to the table. They are not caught up in the day-to-day inner workings of your company or your industry and can therefore, many times, do a better job of communicating “big picture” concepts about your business.

If you want people to read your marketing materials, then you need to understand the difference between writing for print vs. writing for the web.

Think about it.

When you read a website, do you read every word, like you would in a newspaper article? Or do you simply skim? Most people (79%, according to one Stanford University study) skim and ignore details in order to get through the content faster.

In fact, the longer the text, the less likely it is that web browsers will read it. That doesn’t mean you have to have less content, it simply means it needs to be formatted in a different way.

To improve your website’s readability, consider these tips:

•    Use bullet points.
•    Highlight key words.
•    Incorporate bolded subheads to break up copy.
•    Be succinct and write shorter paragraphs.
•    Instead of having one long web page that visitors to your site need to scroll, scroll, scroll through, consider breaking the content up into several shorter sub pages.

This last point will accomplish two goals.

1)    It will make your content easier to read; and
2)    It will help you better optimize your content for higher search engine rankings. (This is a topic I will discuss in more depth in my next blog post.)

So, that means no more big blocks of copy, like the following:

The Buffalo Niagara region is filled with a variety of internationally recognized attractions, drawing large crowds of people every year. The area truly has something for everyone and some of the most popular places that people visit include Niagara Falls, The Albright Knox Art Gallery, the Buffalo Zoo, the Whirlpool Jet Boat, the Buffalo Museum of Science, Martin’s Fantasy Island, and Shea’s Performing Arts Center.

Instead, consider writing something like this:

Buffalo Niagara has something for everyone – including a variety of fun-filled attractions, such as:

•    Niagara Falls
•    Buffalo Zoo
•    Whirlpool Jet Boat
•    Albright Knox Art Gallery
•    Buffalo Museum of Science
•    Martin’s Fantasy Island
•    Shea’s Performing Arts Center
•    And so much more!

See the difference?

One of the writing tips I always read on various blogs and websites is to make sure you use spell check on all your written work. While it's not a bad idea to have your word processing program run a quick spelling and grammar check, it is a mistake to rely on it.

Consider these examples:

•   Form vs. From
•   Scared vs. Sacred (This one can be particularly devastating, depending on what you’re writing about.)
•   Dairy vs. Diary
•   Uninformed vs. Uniformed

Your automated spell check program will not pick up on these errors because the words are not misspelled – they’re misused.

Besides that, spell check doesn’t verify information like phone numbers or mailing or web addresses. Imagine sending out hundreds of direct mail postcards, only to realize after the fact that you mistakenly inverted the last two digits of your phone number. Instead of contacting your business to request information about your services, potential customers are calling the Chinese restaurant down the street.

So, to help you avoid such disastrous consequences, here are a few tips to follow to properly proofread your work:

When in doubt, check it out.
If there’s a statistic, phone number, or any nugget of information that you’re not 100% certain about, then you need to double check it.

Read your work out loud.
I know it sounds completely corny and when I first started doing this, I felt silly (especially considering that, at the time, I was in an office setting full of people). But it works – and that’s what matters. Reading your work out loud forces you to slow down and actually read each word, versus just glossing over the text, which can cause you to miss silly typos.

Read your work backwards.
Read your work starting at the end and working your way to the beginning. When you read work from beginning to end, many times your brain will automatically fill in content or ignore a typo. By reading your work backwards, though, your focus will be entirely on the spelling of each word.

Have a friend or co-worker read your work.
He or she will have fresh eyes and may be able to catch errors that you missed.

I know. Proofreading your work can be a little bit time consuming. Some people might even call it (gasp!) boring. But trust me, when you find a big error, you’ll breathe a sigh of relief knowing you caught it before it could do any damage.

And, as always, if need help proofreading or editing your work, please contact The Constant Writer anytime.