Search Engine Copywriting: Get Past Lumpy

As a writer of copy or content online, knowledge of search engine optimization is fast becoming a basic requirement.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2005). Design>Web Design>Search>Search Engine Optimization

Set Yourself Apart From The Ordinary

When visitors arrive at your site for the first time, the best outcome you can hope for is that they think, 'Excellent, I’m in exactly the right place. I can find what I’m looking for right here.' The problem is, the more you write the page to suit the needs of the reader, the less character it has.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Seven Tips on Writing a Web Site Landing Page Sequence

Much has been said and written about how to optimize individual landing pages. However, when you want a web site visitor to take an action, if often takes more than one page. So how much work do you put into optimizing not just the primary landing page, but also the pages that follow? Here are some tips to keep in mind as you write and optimize a landing page sequence.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2006). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Should Writers Be Held Accountable for Web Page Performance?

Ask print direct response copywriters if they are held accountable, and they'll say yes. That was my own life for 15 years. I wrote direct mail packages and was judged not on my past reputation, but on the performance of each piece I wrote, one mailing at a time.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Marketing>Writing

Show a Little Character

There's a small problem online. An over-abundance of boring writing. Boring writing in emails. Boring writing on Web sites. Excruciatingly self-indulgent and boring writing in Web logs. Boring newsletters. You get the idea. But does it have to be this way? And do commercial emails and newsletters in particular have to be so boring?

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Show a Little Character

There's a small problem online. An over-abundance of boring writing. Boring writing in emails. Boring writing on Web sites. Excruciatingly self- indulgent and boring writing in Web logs. Boring newsletters. But does it have to be this way? And do commercial emails and newsletters in particular have to be so boring?

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2002). Design>Web Design>Writing

Tell Site Visitors What To Do

Being sensitive to the fact that the user is in control, many sites simply present as many options as possible on their home pages. The thinking apparently being that the more choices you show on page one, the more likely you are to present something that connects with as many visitors as possible.

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2003). Design>Web Design>Usability>User Centered Design

Three Reasons to Add Articles to your Web Site

Even if you're selling furniture or herbal supplements, the addition of a large number of articles to your site offers several benefits.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Three Reasons Why Content is Still King

Back in the late nineties, the phrase ‘Content is King’ was repeated and repeated and repeated by site owners and marketers alike. The belief was that the more content you had, the greater the number of visitors you would attract. Of course, the content had to be well written, relevant and easy to find. Many sites built very successful businesses as a result.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Three Steps to Great Copy

There are some simple steps you can take which, when taken in the right sequence, can improve your copy.

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2001). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric

Three Ways To Find Out What Your Customers Want

The Web is interactive, whether you like it or not. And your customers are live participants in the marketing process, whether you like it or not. And as participants, they want something that most companies find hard to deliver. Your customers want you to listen. They want you to tune in and hear what is on their minds.

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2001). Design>Web Design>User Centered Design>Usability

Trust Your Instincts As You Write

As I write, and even after I have finished and am proofing my work, I have to be sure to be tuned in to a diminutive little editor who sits to one side of my mind.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2002). Articles>Writing>Editing

Two Different Approaches to Writing Web Pages

It took me a while to realize this about my own approach to web page writing, but I have two different ways of writing.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing

The Untapped Potential of Voice

Think back a few years, to a time when most enewsletters were text-only, packed with useful information and carrying the unmistakable voice of the writer.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Articles>Writing>Rhetoric

Use Product and Service Names as Keywords on Your Web Pages

I am quite surprised by what I have learned about the effectiveness of product names as organic search keywords.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2006). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Metadata

Watch for the Moment When You Hit Your "Confident Writing Zone"

When you have written a few pages that came out easily, and are all in the same confident, relaxed tone, that's the time to sit back and see what you have done. Re-read those pages. Become intimately familiar with the tone and style you have adopted. And then...at least this is what I did...go back and edit your earlier pages, particularly those which no longer seem to ring true, or feel quite right.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Web Page Headlines - Keep them Clear and Simple

If a web page doesn’t have a clear, simple headline at the top, it should. A headline is the fastest way to help a new reader find out what the page is about. It’s a clue, it provides direction.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2005). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Web Site Copy is about More Than Keywords

For writers who focus too intently on keywords and phrases, there is a danger. A danger in optimizing your pages for good keywords? Yes, I think so.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Search

What Kind of Web Writer are You?

Web writers are divided up into two groups: content writers and copywriters.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2005). Articles>Web Design>Writing

When Customers Want You to Close the Sale

The voice of commerce grates terribly online when it is misplaced. When I'm reading someone's weblog, I do not want to be offered the opportunity to buy a t-shirt or baseball cap.

Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2002). Design>Web Design>Usability>Marketing

When Keywords Don't Deliver

If you’ve been working with keyword optimization for a while, you know there are times when some great keywords drive tons of traffic to your site, but the resulting conversion rate is terrible.

Usborne, Nick. nickusborne.com (2004). Design>Web Design>Metadata>Search

When You Write a Site Build It Web Page, Give It The "Help a Friend Test"

Acting in your capacity as a friend, as well as an expert, you would probably ask a few questions first, just to be sure you really understand the problem. And when you did start offering some advice, you would want to be helpful. You would want to offer some genuine guidance. And if you did have some services you could offer, you would recommend only those services that were directly relevant to the problem.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing

Where is Email 2.0? And Why is Commercial Email So Boring?

I don't recall the last time I received a commercial email that made me take notice or smile.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email

Where to Find Content for your E-Newsletters, and How to Use It

I am amazed by the number of places you can find content for your newsletter. Some of it takes the form of free articles. Some of it you pay for, and can request any kind of content you like. One way or another, whatever your industry and the focus of your e-newsletter, there are plenty of places to get good content for every issue you send.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Writing>Newsletters

Why "Best Buddy" Emails Work So Well. Sometimes.

The best buddy approach works within specific product and service sectors, where readers can easily be tripped into a state of dissociation...because they have problems that the writer promises to solve.

Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Business Communication>Correspondence>Email