Copyright © 2010 James Roome 2010-07-30T07:34:53+0100 2010-07-30T07:34:53+0100 http://www.i-com.net/blog/ Leading Manchester SEO, SEM and web design agency blog. http://www.i-com.net/blog/ http://i-com.net/images/icom-net.gif http://www.i-com.net/blog/ Leading Manchester SEO, SEM and web design agency blog. I-COM International blogmaster at i-com dot net James Roome James Roome en SEO, SEM, Web Design, Web Development 1440 http://www.i-com.net/blog/iain-banks-iphone-app-fad-or-fiction-369/ It certainly sounds like the latest attempt by the ailing publishing industry to engage with new media and sell more books - this being the news that Iain Banks' latest novel Transition will provide readers with access to an iPhone app containing extra content, the writer's notes, character backgrounds and more. God knows the industry needs a kick up the backside, always seeming to be one or two steps behind the rest of the business world when it comes to embracing the modern approach to information sharing and gathering. But is granting readers access to background information about the writing process really the best way to do that? The app's creators certainly seem to think so. Speaking in the Independent, TradeMobile's Jen Porter had this to say:  "We wanted to put people who love books in touch with their creators. People enjoy reading a printed page, and many have smart phones to investigate information online or keep in touch with friends. What we're doing is using a digital device as a gateway to a companion to a novel."In my personal opinion, reading a good book isn't about getting in touch with the creator, it's about getting in touch with the characters, the story and the imagery and taking what you will from it. This kind of transparency only serves to spoil the illusion, in the same way that a piece of artwork is often spoiled by the tendency to consider it in the context of the artist's life. Surely, if the author has done his or her job properly, you don't require extra information to enjoy a novel? The implications of the writing are enough, your imagination will do the rest, making each book a truly individual experience. The iPhone app seems a step too far, and there's a 'bandwagonesque' element to it that I'm sure is apparent to many. I welcome the likes of the Kindle and am truly excited, not only about having the ability to carry 1000s of books around with me on a small pad, but also about the paperless future of books (they just need to come down in price a little).Perhaps once the e-reader launches properly, the publishing industry will be able to lower prices and make books more accessible to all - no doubt large, stuffy book shops are intimidating to some, who would otherwise read books given the anonymity of internet downloads.The extra content iPhone app seems faddish to me, and in my opinion will add little to the reading experience. What will push the industry forward is cheaper e-readers and easy availability of a huge catalogue of books for reasonable prices - now that would be good. Copywriting 2010-07-06 08:53:05 http://www.i-com.net/blog/iain-banks-iphone-app-fad-or-fiction-369/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/do-screaming-bus-stops-sales-367/ From time to time, an annoying advert or jingle can be beneficial for a brand, but it's an extremely fine line between an endearingly irritating, yet catchy song ('we buy any car, we buy any car...') and something so bad it makes everyone hate your product. If anyone's seen the advertisement currently festooned across a certain Cross Street bus stop, just outside Boots, they know what I'm talking about. The advert that seems to periodically scream its brand name; or perhaps it senses when people are looking at it? Either way it's a horrendous idea.Imagine - for this advert to have been approved, several things must (perhaps in some parallel universe where logic is inverted) have happened: An employee of the firm responsible for this monstrosity has come up with the idea, and been sufficiently impressed with their advertising nouse to forward it to their manager. The manager has said to their employee, "You know what, you might be on to something there." The manager and the employee have pitched their idea to the client, who shall remain nameless, and the client has said, "Good idea guys, let's do it!" The whole motley crew has paid ridiculous sums of money to have the advert installed in bus stops. They've all sat back and felt satisfied. And what have they achieved? Everyone (surely) hates the advert, hates the product and will probably avoid it in shops for the rest of their life. Whilst this obnoxious advertisement does make people take notice, it doesn't make them take notice in anything like a good way. Both the brand name and the actual nature of the product have come second to the 'concept', and are subsequently difficult to make out - I am still unsure exactly what the advert is for.This kind of advertising, believe it or not, is actually founded on a sensible idea. Make your advertising slightly annoying, slightly obnoxious, and people will take notice. They may not like it at first, but it will quickly become a talking point (see: this blog post, although I haven't mentioned the brand itself) - it's the adage: "any publicity is good publicity."The problem is, when a company produces a small-minded interpretation of the aforementioned idea, all they achieve is mass annoyance and subsequent brand-death. And if anyone thinks these bus stop adverts are a good idea, please, please explain to me why using the comments box, and I'll try and get my head round it. Internet Marketing 2010-06-29 08:39:18 http://www.i-com.net/blog/do-screaming-bus-stops-sales-367/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/endangered-punctuation-the-apostrophe-364/ The favoured bugbear of the lonely grammarian, the apostrophe has become a source of fear and derision amongst the general population - a symbol of snooty intellectualism and the steady decline of traditional grammar.In fact the apostrophe is, like the vast majority of punctuation, essential to reader comprehension - if you want people to understand what you're going on about, you need to know how to use these properly. The vast majority of people will only ever be required to use the apostrophe in one of two ways:1. Contractions: A contraction occurs when two words merge to form one, and are typically used in written dialogue and informal writing. For example: 'Who is' becomes 'Who's' 'There is' becomes 'There's' 'Had not' becomes 'Hadn't' 'It is becomes It's' 'Do not' becomes 'Don't' 'You are' becomes 'You're' 'Would have' becomes 'Would've' (not 'Would of') 'Could have  becomes 'Could've' (not 'Could of') The apostrophe is used to show where letters have been removed. 2. Possessives: You'll also need to use apostrophes to denote possession. The most common example of the use of apostrophes to demonstrate possession is in business and shop names, for instance 'Jim's Butter Shop', 'Crawley's Apothecary', 'Mindy's Olde Sweet Shop'. The names at the beginning of each of these shop names are examples of singular nouns - if a singular noun possesses something, an apostrophe is used to demonstrate that possession. If the singular noun ends in 's', simply include a lone apostrophe after that 's' to show possession, for instance 'James' Big Wheel'.You may also see this from time to time, 'James's Big Wheel', but don't panic, it's simply a matter of preference; grammatically, either is correct. Just make sure that, whichever you decide to use, you are consistent. If you need to demonstrate that a plural noun possesses something, for example children or women, simply add 's, e.g. 'The children's books were ruined', 'The women's group met for the first time.'EXCEPTIONS TO THE RULE: two common exceptions to the above rules spring to mind, 'its' and 'whose'. Because it's is a contraction of it is, an apostrophe is not used to denote possession when using its, e.g. 'The cat was sick. Its paws had turned green.' Same goes for who's and whose, who's is the contraction, whose is the possessiveAnd that's pretty much it! Incorrect use of apostrophes can drastically alter the meaning of a sentence, for example 'The jockey's meal had gone cold' or 'The jockeys' meal had gone cold' - where the first is a meal for just one jockey, the second is a meal for many jockeys (perhaps a buffet).Mastering the apostrophe (it's not that hard) will improve your writing no end - no one likes an incorrectly used apostrophe, particularly not snooty grammar types like me. Test your apostrophe skills here. Copywriting 2010-06-24 10:41:20 http://www.i-com.net/blog/endangered-punctuation-the-apostrophe-364/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/endangered-punctuation-the-semicolon-360/ Observe, if you will, this most magnificent of punctuation marks in its natural habitat: tending to its young, nestled in-between two independent clauses, its offspring growing to maturity and venturing into the big wide world of punctuation, separating items in complex lists and generally having a glorious time, unaware of the threat to the future of their species. Sadly, as the English language moves into the 21st century, the semicolon is rapidly becoming an endangered species. It survives in small pockets of grammar enthusiasm, as tenuous as the rapidly disappearing rainforests, and the zoos of the punctuation world - universities (thanks to their seeming ability to operate outside time). Please, take a moment to learn the rules of semicolon use and begin using them in daily life (if you want to pronounce them, the correct way is 'fgun'). The semicolon is a relatively simple punctuation mark to master; it can be used in two distinct ways:Separating Items in a Complex List: "Sire, I present to you McDiarmud Daffyd, King of the Eastern Kingdoms; Elaine Rodriguez, High Valet to the Prince of Underwood; Malawi Yusuf, Head of the Three Tower Collective and Esker Taskalot, Chief Medical Officer of the Boreal Empire." The semicolon here presents a definite break between each individual's name and title; without the semicolon it would be a total mess of names and titles and, as the sentence progressed, it would be much more difficult to tell which name went with which title. Separating Closely-Related Independent Clauses: The semicolon can also prove as a link between two closely-related sentences which could stand alone, but make more sense when linked - it is perhaps easiest to think of it as somewhere between a comma and a full stop. For example: "When the carriage pulled away I could still hear her sobbing; as the vehicle receded into the darkness, a white handkerchief was tossed from the window, landing softly on the grass verge." These sentences are thematically linked to the extent that a full stop here "sobbing. As" seems too final; better to have the run-on allowed by a semicolon. Without our help, the majestic semicolon could die out within the next decade. Help us get it off the endangered punctuation list by learning how to use it and including it in your sentences (where appropriate of course). Copywriting 2010-06-08 09:52:15 http://www.i-com.net/blog/endangered-punctuation-the-semicolon-360/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/a-condem-nation-of-twitter-promoted-tweets-352/ When Twitter promoted tweets was launched recently, there can be few people at the grass roots level who welcomed the news. Of course, on the other hand it's a great boon for online marketers - imagine, being able to target your tweets by trending topic, ensuring your tweet stays at the top of the tweet-list promoting a great new offer/your brand to people who are tweeting about related concepts. Or is it? When searching in Twitter trending topics today I came across this (click the image to open in a new window): My trending is set to London, I'm searching on a UK-specific topic (for those of you who haven't heard, the Conservatives and the Lib Dems have formed a coalition and Cameron is the new PM. Joy), 'Con/Dem Nation', however who do I see promoting their tweets at the top of the list? Why it's only @VirginAmerica, telling me that, should I happen to be in Washington DC today I can send them a picture of my favourite monument. Apparently they're showing up purely based on the fact that their tweet includes the word 'nation'. Are @VirginAmerica getting value for money and generating new business and followers with their promoted tweet? No. Am I pleased to see this promoted tweet hogging the space at the top of a totally irrelevant trending topic? No. I'm not dead against promoted tweets, but poor keyword targeting is not only annoying for users, it's bad for the business who's tweet it is. In the words of the Daily Star, 'SORT IT OUT YOU CLOWNS'. Social Media Marketing 2010-05-12 09:46:31 http://www.i-com.net/blog/a-condem-nation-of-twitter-promoted-tweets-352/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/what-can-copywriters-learn-from-poetry-2-use-of-imaginative-language-348/ Poetry is an incredibly refined form of writing; every word is carefully considered, agonised over, every word must contribute to the poem's overall conceit. At the same time word choice must be imaginative, unusual, something that will pique the reader's interest. Take for example, this poem by Spanish surrealist Federico Garca Lorca, Landscape of a Vomiting Multitude. Whilst it is perhaps not the most lucid of poems, as far as its language is concerned it is a complete, surrealistic joyride: Landscape of a Vomiting Multitude The fat lady came out first,tearing out roots and moistening drumskins.The fat ladywho turns dying octopuses inside out.The fat lady, the moon's antagonist,was running through the streets and deserted buildingsand leaving tiny skulls of pigeons in the cornersand stirring up the furies of the last centuries' feastsand summoning the demon of bread through the sky's clean-swept hillsand filtering a longing for light into subterranean tunnels.The graveyards, yes the graveyardsand the sorrow of the kitchens buried in sand,the dead, pheasants and apples of another era,pushing it into our throat.There were murmuring from the jungle of vomitwith the empty women, with hot wax children,with fermented trees and tireless waiterswho serve platters of salt beneath harps of saliva.There's no other way, my son, vomit! There's no other way.It's not the vomit of hussars on the breasts of their whores,nor the vomit of cats that inadvertently swallowed frogs,but the dead who scratch with clay handson flint gates where clouds and desserts decay.The fat lady came firstwith the crowds from the ships, taverns, and parks.Vomit was delicately shaking its drumsamong a few little girls of bloodwho were begging the moon for protection.Who could imagine my sadness?The look on my face was mine, but now isn't me,the naked look on my face, trembling for alcoholand launching incredible shipsthrough the anemones of the piers.I protect myself with this lookthat flows from waves where no dawn would go,I, poet without arms, lostin the vomiting multitude,with no effusive horse to shearthe thick moss from my temples.The fat lady went firstand the crowds kept looking for pharmacieswhere the bitter tropics could be found.Only when a flag went up and the first dogs arriveddid the entire city rush to the railings of the boardwalk. Throughout the poem Lorca surprises us with his choice of words and descriptive phrases, 'The fat lady / who turns dying octopuses inside out', 'with the empty women / with hot wax children'. We are left unsettled, perhaps a little unsure of what to make of the poem, but most importantly, we are interested. Thanks to his artful use of language we are never sure where Lorca is taking us, and this is what keeps us interested.SEO Copy Clients usually provide stringent brand and stylistic briefs within which a copywriter must operate if they are to create satisfactory web copy. It is therefore up to the copywriter to take these briefs and twist them, use them imaginatively to create interesting and original copy with the power to improve the stickiness of a web page and drive conversions. Working within the confines of keyword research and brand brief, the copywriter is required to write content that uses language imaginatively and interestingly, whether this means using a conversational tone or slang (where appropriate), seamlessly working core brand values into a page of content or livening up stuffy legal copy with occasional use of unusual phraseology.So What Can We Learn from Poets' use of Imaginative Language? Poets' use of language demonstrates ways to break the rules of language without sacrificing an overall conceit. Therefore, if it is a copywriter's aim to sell an apartment in a city centre, they should be able to use language imaginatively to do this, rather than relying on tired old marketing and advertising clichs. Imaginative language is more interesting for the reader and the copywriter, and has the potential to help clients' sites stand out in even the most competitive of SERPs. Copywriting 2010-05-05 09:44:58 http://www.i-com.net/blog/what-can-copywriters-learn-from-poetry-2-use-of-imaginative-language-348/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/seo-is-sexy-its-a-fact-341/ Following the startling news that Apple's iPhones and iPads actually make you more attractive to women, the SEO team at I-COM decided to conduct their own research into the unsupported but long held theory that a well SEO'd site actually makes male business owners more attractive to women. The iPhone study, conducted by respected independent scientific think tank Phones 4U, suggested that women actually found men with iPhones to be "more reliable" and, according to one teacher, "very good at his job." So the predominantly male team at I-COM asked 3 women a series of questions, in an attempt to discover not only whether good SEO = sexiness, but also whether male SEO consultants and copywriters are, by default, more attractive than their counterparts, who have chosen to practice less sexy professions. The results were encouraging: Our study found that 100% of the women we asked in the I-COM office believed that a well SEO'd site was an indication that the business owner was a sculpted Adonis. We also discovered that 66.67% of the women included in the study would definitely get in touch with the owner of a business with a well SEO'd site and arrange for a date that very evening, whilst the other 33.33% would leave it 24 hours before deciding. When asked about the attractiveness of SEO Consultants, 100% of women said that discovering a man was an SEO Consultant or copywriter would make them "hot under the collar", and that they believed he would definitely be "more of a gentleman". So men, could you really need any more evidence that your business needs SEO, or that you should definitely quit that job as a solicitor and come work for I-COM? Sorry women, we're not sure it works for you. Do your own study! Search Engine Optimisation 2010-04-21 13:53:00 http://www.i-com.net/blog/seo-is-sexy-its-a-fact-341/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/what-copywriters-can-learn-from-poetry-1-poetic-form-337/ Well, apart from the usual stuff like a more acute awareness of the world around you and how to impress fellow intellectuals, there's a great deal both copywriters and SEO copywriters alike can learn from poetry.Poetic Form Traditionally poetic form requires poets to write to strict guidelines. Take the Villanelle for instance, one of the poetry's more challenging forms:Villanelle: A Villanelle is 19 lines long, and consists of 5 tercets (or 3 line stanzas) and a concluding quatrain (4 line stanzas). The first and third lines of the poem rhyme and are repeated throughout, alternating as the last line of each stanza and, finally, are used as the last two lines of the poem. In addition, the second line of every stanza must also rhyme. Got it? It's the poet's job to take this incredibly strict and complicated form and use it to create something beautiful, seemingly effortless. The most famous example of a Villanelle is probably the funeral favourite, Dylan Thomas' Do Not Go Gentle Into That Good Night. SEO Copy The copywriter is required to do a similar thing when writing meta descriptions, adhering to Google guidelines which enforce character limits of 156-158 characters, whilst at the same time squeezing in relevant keywords and making the whole thing read like a real sentence, rather than spammy and keyword-stuffed. In short, making it look effortless. Similarly, optimised website content requires relevant keywords to be inserted into the text in their complete form (for instance, SEO Manchester) to achieve the best results. This can often mean using punctuation imaginatively to separate the first half of the keyword from the second half, for example: "If you are in need of SEO, Manchester is the ideal place to start your search." "Online in Manchester: SEO, Blogging and Social Media" This is a technique often used in Villanelles to breathe new life into consistently repeated phrases.So What Can We Learn from Poetic Form? Poetic form can teach us new ways to get keywords into optimised content, by demonstrating interesting ways to punctuate sentences, retaining or altering the original meaning. Writing to strict poetic guidelines also helps copywriters practice the art of writing taut, self-contained, grammatically correct and well-optimised meta descriptions. If you're interested in finding out more about poetry and poetic form, the following websites are great: Poetry Archive Poem Hunter Copywriting 2010-04-19 11:43:58 http://www.i-com.net/blog/what-copywriters-can-learn-from-poetry-1-poetic-form-337/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/how-to-get-a-job-as-an-seo-copywriter-331/ An SEO copywriter writes all the textual content for a digital marketing agency. This can mean anything from website content to blog posts, press releases to articles on a given subject specific to a client's business. Its a creative position within one of the UK's few boom industries, and is therefore a great opportunity for recent Arts graduates who are unsure of how their degree can be useful to them in the business world. However, if you wish to secure a position as an SEO copywriter, knowledge and experience will prove just as important as your degree. I've put together a list of online resources that are (mostly) free, which, if used to their full potential, will set you apart from the crowd when you start applying for positions. Copyblogger's SEO Copywriting Tutorial: In 2008 Copyblogger was ranked amongst the world's Top 50 most powerful blogs, and it's an accolade that still rings true today. Copyblogger can tell you everything you need to know about writing content for the web, and their SEO Copywriting tutorial is perfect for online content first-timers who are starting from the bottom knowledge-wise. Read through their tutorials and you're already a step ahead of your competitors in the job market. Investigate Google's search tools: If you're going to become an SEO Copywriter, you're going to need to know how to use Google's search tools, chiefly Google Analytics, Google Adwords: Keyword Tool and Google Insights. Basically, these are the tools of the SEO trade; they enable SEO Consultants and copywriters to find out what specific keywords people are searching for, allowing them to target online content accordingly. Read about them, have a play around and see how they work. There's no need to be an expert - a working knowledge of these tools will be enough to impress potential employers, particularly if you have no prior experience of SEO. Engage with your local online community: Bloggers, digital content creators and SEO Consultants like to arrange little get-togethers for themselves. For example, in Manchester there's the annual Blog Awards, a new event for digital content creators like copywriters called THERE WILL BE BLOOD and a monthly SEO meet up organised via the Manchester SEO blog. These events tend to be free to attend, and are a great opportunity to chat with people already working in the industry in which you're hoping to gain employment. Start a blog: Starting a blog through Google's Blogspot service or Wordpress is free and easy, and will demonstrate to potential employers that you are serious about digital content creation. It's also a great way to learn about tools such as Google Analytics, which are easy to install. Just make sure that you have an interesting topic to blog about - perhaps start a blog chronicling your growing relationship with the world of SEO Copywriting. Alternatively, write music reviews, post creative writing, anything you like! Society for Editors and Proofreaders: If you have the time, money and inclination, the SfEP offers a series of training courses which can help you brush up on your language, editing and proofreading skills. Indulge in a little self-promotion: If you haven't already, familiarise yourself with the major social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. Social media is steadily growing in importance in the online marketing world, and is currently being integrated in a more complete fashion into the results pages of the major search engines. Advertising your interest in gaining experience of SEO copywriting on your social media accounts might even bring in some enquiries, particularly on LinkedIn. Be prepared to value experience over a hefty wage-packet: Don't be afraid to take a low-paid job if it means gaining experience of your desired profession. Experience is extremely valuable, and could lead to you getting a much better job in the long-run. Sites like Copify offer extremely low rates of pay, but are free to join and could provide you with the experience you require to secure a permanent position as an SEO copywriter with a digital marketing firm. SEO copywriting isn't for everyone; you may find that, after looking at the above links, you realise that it's not the job for you. However, if you are still interested, the above information should provide you with everything you need (bar a degree, a good CV and good interview technique) to secure a job as an SEO copywriter. Good luck! Copywriting 2010-04-06 11:20:40 http://www.i-com.net/blog/how-to-get-a-job-as-an-seo-copywriter-331/ http://www.i-com.net/blog/why-should-i-bother-adding-more-content-to-my-site-323/ So you've got a page on your website about the history of your company, you've got a couple of pages describing your services and a page with contact details, that's it, right, you don't need any other content; you can sit back, relax, smoke a pipe and have a G&T? Actually, that's wrong. In the vast majority of cases, there is always more content which can be added to your website, and the benefits far outweigh the effort required to get it up there in the first place:Better User Experience First and foremost, the more content you have on your site the more specific it will be. If you are a solicitor and you populate your site with general information about claiming compensation for 'personal injuries', your clients will be left wondering if they can claim for their specific injury. It is much better therefore, to have a page which is specific to each injury, for instance head injuries, injuries during birth, accidents at work, road traffic accidents and so on. By reassuring your potential clients that they can claim for their specific injury, you are far more likely to convert a site visitor into a paying client. It is also worth remembering that information on your site needs to be broken down into manageable chunks. There's no point having all the above information on your site if it's all condensed onto one page - since when has a huge, unbroken block of text looked appealing to a reader? Break the information into sub-pages, making it easier to digest. Breaking information down into sub-pages also allows you to:Target More Keywords The more content and sub-pages you have on your site, the more keywords you can target, and thus the more customer searches you will appear for in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages). Treat every page like a landing page; find out what keywords are specific to the content of that page (for instance, keywords for a page about claiming compensation for an accident at work would be something like 'accident at work solicitor', 'accident at work compensation claim', etc.), and insert a call to action, and your company's expertise and contact details will be accessible to thousands more potential clients, hopefully leading to more business.Appear Knowledgeable The more information you have on your website, the more knowledgeable you appear, and thus the more likely a potential customer is to trust your business. Think about including helpful content alongside your generic sales pages, such as FAQ's, articles and blog posts about your industry.Generate More Links Including useful, helpful and engaging content on your website means you are far more likely to inspire other internet users to link to your business. If a page is particularly authoritative or covers a niche topic in a fresh and interesting manner, you may find that your website will be shared and linked to by social media users. And of course, links are still the life blood of the internet.Convinced? You should be. Adding more content to your website builds trust in your brand, helps your site to rank well in SERPs for a wide range of keywords specific to your industry, improves user-experience and, ultimately, has the potential to grow your business and brand online through the generation of high quality links. And, at the end of the day, you could have the best looking website in the world, but if your content is poorly spelt and rambles incoherently without telling the customer what they want to know, you don't stand a chance. Copywriting 2010-03-16 14:36:47 http://www.i-com.net/blog/why-should-i-bother-adding-more-content-to-my-site-323/