Scott Design » copywriting

4 ways to make Google love your site

Kirsti Scott — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 22:25:55 +0000

Google is pretty straightforward in its mission: To connect people searching online with the most relevant, speedily delivered, comprehensive, fresh information available. To get Google to love your site and put it at the top of the search results, you should create content that someone searching online is going to love.

Here are 4 ways to get the love:

1. Relevance: Someone doing a search on Google is looking for information that is trustworthy, from an expert or enthusiast who knows the topic well, and includes original content. This original reporting, original research, and original analysis are top qualities in Google’s eyes, so create the one-of-a-kind content your audience is looking for.

2. Speed: Website visitors are not a patient lot. Studies show that users are happier with faster sites and less satisfied with slow sites, so speed is now a factor in Google site ranking. Make sure your web coding is lean and mean, uses the latest web standards, and uses CSS to minimize bulked-up code.

3. Comprehensiveness: Web users want to get all the information they need in one place. Include plenty of helpful information about your subject and links between content on your site so users can find everything they need without having to search elsewhere. Be smart about your tags, meta descriptions, and site architecture, and include relevant keywords in your copy to help Google find your content and rank it higher.

4. Freshness: Web searchers are looking for the latest information on a given topic, so Google ranks sites that have regularly updated content higher. While Google will crawl virtually every page on the web eventually, the more frequently your content changes, the faster Google comes back. Regularly create content with catchy headlines and cool stories covering the latest information on your specialties.

Remember: If Google doesn’t deliver, searchers will go elsewhere to find what they need, so it’s in Google’s best interest to deliver what searchers want: relevance, speed, comprehensiveness, and freshness. Make sure your site delivers these and Google will love your site.

Resources:

Learn why you shouldn’t launch your website without SEO and the art and science of SEO. Catch details about getting Google to love your site in the Marketing Profs class What Marketers Should Know About Google. And Google Webmaster Central is a great place to get all the inside help you need to optimize your site and keep your loving relationship with Google going strong.

Case Study: Adobe Acrobat

Scott Design — Tue, 06 Apr 2010 16:57:29 +0000

Our client’s challenge:

Adobe Systems wanted to present its Acrobat solutions to enterprise customers, university professors, higher education IT personnel, and K-12 educators. Adobe also needed to provide effective messaging and strategies to the field reps and distributors who interact with customers.

The Scott Design solution:

Scott Design has developed numerous print, web, and online pieces that focus on the benefits that speak most convincingly to the targeted audience for each campaign. Scott Design also created a series of animated Flash product demos for Acrobat on document sharing, feedback and approvals, and protecting information. The imagery, graphics, headlines, copy, and narration always keep the specific benefits front and center in the customer’s mind.

Awards:

Gold Award, Horizon Interactive Awards—B2B Interactive Multimedia
Silver Award, BMA Beacon Awards—Multimedia Product or Training
Silver Award, Silicon Valley ADDY Awards—B2B Interactive Multimedia
Bronze Award, Silicon Valley ADDY Awards—B2B Interactive Multimedia

Case Study: Verisign

Scott Design — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 20:55:00 +0000

Our client’s challenge:

VeriSign sought to communicate features and benefits of its solutions to a wide variety of audiences, including C-level executives, marketing professionals, and IT directors. VeriSign wanted to compel potential customers to learn more about its services using interactive tools that allow sales reps to explain solutions quickly and easily.

The Scott Design solution:

Scott Design developed easy-to-navigate Flash-based product demos for Verisign solutions. These streamlined presentations address customer pain points and clearly explain VeriSign’s solutions. Scott Design created the storyboards, wrote the script, created the artwork, directed the voiceovers, and produced the Flash for Verisign’s Consumer Authenticated Service demo and Verisign’s Managed PKI for SSL demo. Scott Design also created the packaging and direct mailer for the demos.

Awards:

Silver Award, Horizon Interactive Awards—B2B Interactive Multimedia
Silver Award, BMA Beacon Awards—Digital Media

Words (and punctuation) that should be retired … or sent to rehab

Pete Scott — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 23:23:58 +0000

Any hired wordsmith worth his salty prose must do his darnedest to steer clients away from words that don’t work, words that are overused, and words that have been abducted by Genghis Cliché and his merry band of Message Marauders.

Here’s a list of words I’d like to see retired, or, in some cases, sent off to rehab. They’ve lost their voice, never had it, or have been used and abused to the point of uselessness, especially in technology marketing.

INNOVATIVE
Back in The Day, this one was a looker. It turned heads. It introduced something exciting, something that was bound to make a difference. Then folks started using Innovative to describe anything new. Then they started using Innovative to describe anything. Now, it’s time for Innovative to go away for a while, maybe to that place where we sent Cutting Edge. It’s time for a more innovative adjective.

UTILIZE/LEVERAGE
These useless cousins have always been that way. They’re the darlings of people who want to sound highfalutin but aren’t. Utilize is so useless it can be defeated by a cliché: Never utilize “utilize”; always use “use.” You might need Leverage if you’re moving a mobile home or want to get that speeding ticket erased, but you probably should avoid Leverage when you’re writing.

STRATEGIES
Wow, any campaign with Strategies must be huge, and a bit mysterious. Like Cold War spying, or the time Delta House was placed on Double Secret Probation. Strategies suggest Intrigue. Right? Well, not anymore. People have touted Strategies so much that it’s about like bragging your company has transitioned to computers.

INTERACTIVE
Not too long ago — post-DOS — Interactive meant an online visitor could become involved. Words were typed, links were clicked — and amazing stuff appeared. Conversations happened. Answers were revealed. But then folks decided it was easier to call your product Interactive than to actually make it Interactive. Now, it seems, every website is Interactive. Stores are Interactive. Menus are Interactive. Radio shows are Interactive. Sorry, but when I’m driving, there’s nothing Interactive about a sports radio show. The steering wheel is Interactive, and my coffee is Interactive — I pour it down my throat, and it wakes me up. … The Interactive cup is empty. I say retire this one. Put it in the rest home with Virtual.

VALUE/QUALITY
More useless cousins. People love to claim that their product or service delivers Value or Quality. I’ve never known what those claims mean. Do they mean bigger, stronger, faster? Instead of proclaiming Value or Quality, how about cutting to the chase and explaining why your stuff is better?

! (a.k.a. EXCLAMATION POINT)
Exclamation Point used to proclaim excitement. Now, Exclamation Point proclaims the end of a sentence. Isn’t that Period’s job?

SOLUTION
And finally, the most overused word in the business world. Solution used to mean a service or item that answers challenges or fixes perplexing problems. But soon, Solution became the coolest marketing word ever. Now, anything sold is a Solution. This word has been sold out.

Got any to add? Please do.

Two little words: Subject Lines

Kirsti Scott — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 00:15:29 +0000

The key to getting your e-mails read may depend on how good your subject line is. Having a strong, compelling headline can make a difference in open rates. A subject line on your e-mail performs the same function as a catchy headline on a magazine: it can make you open the magazine or pass it over.

So, what kinds of subject lines work best?

Marketing Sherpa did an audit of their own e-newsletters and compared open rates and came to the following four conclusions:

1. A subject line where the first 2 words express value to the reader gets opened more. The 10 top-performing subject lines included those that started with the phrases such as Top 12, Best Time, 6 Actions, and How To. Make sure the first two words let your user know there’s something of value inside.

2. Use trigger words. Include names, numbers, unusual words in your subject line. Magazine headline writers have used these tricks for years to get their publications opened.

3. Don’t ask users to do something. Marketing Sherpas worst-performing subject lines all asked users to take a survey, watch a podcast, nominate someone, or register for something. Your e-newsletter should be a gift for the reader, not a request for work.

4. Including a hot brand name can increase open rates. Some of the best performers in Marketing Sherpa’s list included the words Google, Wikipedia, and Facebook.

Once you think you’ve got your subject line done, be sure to pare it down to the minimum. Remember to keep your subject line under 39 characters (see more in our post “Getting your HTML e-mails opened” — don’t forget your mobile users), make sure they’re the best 39 characters you can come up with, and the most important two words are at the front!

Apostrophe abuse: the most basic rules are often the most neglected

Bill Merikallio — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 00:09:32 +0000

With our hectic schedules, it’s easy to pour all of our energy into content, and to skip little niceties that distinguish our message from the dozens of others that bombard our readers on a daily basis. Type crimes aren’t only in your document, but all over the place, on signage, advertisements, and in restaurant menus. Punctuation is decidedly critical, but is often used with wild abandon, which can be a major distraction from the message. Nothing seems to subtly whisper “amateur” in a reader’s ear more than an apostrophe out of place, and two mistakes that drive me bananas are its misuse in possessive vs. plural, and in a contraction (particularly maddening is a right-facing apostrophe in the two-digit year).

An apostrophe’s main job is to show a possessive, but they’re far too often exploited in a variety of erroneous ways—the most common is to insert it before the s in a plural (e.g. American’s, Wine-down Wednesday’s). The confusion may be a result of the contrary: the apostrophe is considered correctly used in “dot your i’s and cross your t’s”, “she got all A’s on the test” (when following a single letter or number), and “1980’s” (yes, even though this is plural). In a contraction, the apostrophe is curved toward the missing letters (e.g. can’t, where ’ is in place of “no”), and should be treated no differently when used in an abbreviated year or shortened word. The apostrophe—also known as the single closing quote—should curve left, to replace “20” in ’08, or “th” in ’em.

To dive even deeper, curly apostrophes differ from vertically-shaped primes like a fine Pinot differs from a carafe of house red. Without a doubt, I’d serve the Pinot from the cellar—it’s just the more distinguished thing to do. In the same way, the elegant curvature of curly apostrophes, also called “smart” quotes, is something of an ethical decision. Note that certain typefaces are less curly than others—see Apple’s iLife headline, set in Myriad Pro semibold—but left-facing nonetheless. And, as with most english grammar, there are the exceptions: when indicating feet and inches.

To set options in MS Word to automatically create curly quotes and apostrophes, from the Tools menu, choose AutoCorrect Options and check the boxes to replace straight quotes with smart quotes.

Smart quotes key commands on a Mac, or in a layout program such as InDesign or Quark:
Single open quote: option-]
Single close quote: shift-option-]
Double open quote: option-[
Double close quote: shift-option-[

Smart quotes key codes using Windows (the character doesn’t appear until alt is released, and you must use the number pad on the right side of your keyboard):
Single open quote: alt-0145
Single close quote: alt-0146
Double open quote: alt-0147
Double close quote: alt-0148

Test your apostrophe savvy—play the Eats, Shoots & Leaves punctuation game!

Watch your language in your e-mails!

Kirsti Scott — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 16:17:17 +0000

Want to make sure your e-mail isn’t trapped by someone’s spam filter? Then, here are some words to avoid in the subject line, the body of your e-mail, alt tags, and in the file names of your graphics:

$$$, 4U, 50% off!, Act Now!, All Natural, All New, Amaze, Amazed, Amazing, Amazing, As Seen On…, Avoid Bankruptcy, Buy Direct, Call now!, Cash, Cash Bonus, Casino, Click, Click Here, Collect, Compare, Complimentary, Consolidate Your Debt, Credit, Discount!, Dollar(s), Don’t Delete, Double your income, Download, Earn $, Easy Terms, Eliminate Debt, Free, Free!, Get, Get Paid, Give it away, Giving it away, Great offer, Guarantee, Guarantee, Guaranteed, Hidden, Income, Information you requested, Instant(ly), Join millions, Limited time (offer), Loans, Lose Weight, Meet Singles, Million Dollars, MLM, Money, Multi level Marketing, No cost, No fees, No-cost, Offer, One time, Online marketing, Online pharmacy, Opportunity, Order Now, Please Read, Price, Profits, Promise You, Punctuation Marks (%, !, #, $), Removes, Reverses Aging, Sale, Satisfaction Guaranteed, Save up to, Saving, Search Engine Listings, Serious Cash, Spam, Special Offer, Special Promotion, Stop, Stops, Subscribe, Subscribe, Time limited, Unsecured debt or credit, Unsubscribe, Vacation, Value, Viagra, Visit our web site, While Supplies last, Why pay more?, Win, Winner, any words in all CAPS, Work at home, You’re a Winner!, You’ve been selected

Using quotation marks, dollar signs and exclamation points in subject lines will frequently trigger mail filters, as well as using all capital letters (shouting). You should also never put a toll-free number in the subject line, since that will also cause your email to be filtered out by many Spam filters.

Our writing philosophy: Produce clear messages that motivate target audiences

Pete Scott — Tue, 14 Oct 2008 22:30:08 +0000

Clients come to a design firm because they want their communications to have a greater impact on their target audiences. A good firm can help its client succeed through careful planning, creative design, and clear writing.

Here are some basic guidelines for producing a written message. These guidelines apply to any project — ad copy, HTML e-mail, website content, a business letter, etc. And these tenets apply regardless of the target audience, whether the copy is for a high-tech company, a retail store, or a children’s website.

Always keep it clear
Sometimes, you want to inform. Other times, you want to persuade. Often, you want to do both. In any of these scenarios, you’ll fail if the writing isn’t clear and to the point. At the same time, the message should be compelling.

A design firm should follow a careful process to ensure your message is crystal-clear and compelling. The firm’s writers should work with you as a team, and never forget that it’s your message and your audience.

Plan and strategize
You must know the players and purpose if a writing project is to succeed. Before writing begins, conduct research and meet with the firm you have selected as much as necessary to answer these questions:

Why are you writing this? (Define the communications challenges and the message that is to be delivered.)
Who is going to read this? (Identify the target audience and its characteristics.)
What do you want the reader to do? (Determine what action you want the audience to take — buy something, learn something, sign up for something, etc.)

After these questions are answered, brainstorm with the firm to determine specific messaging points. The design firm should then brainstorm about solutions. Open, energetic brainstorming is the launch pad for effective writing.

Tell the story — and make it personal
Now it’s time for you and the design firm to actually compose a message (or story) with a beginning, a middle, and an end. It’s often most effective to write as if you’re speaking to an individual. Use “you” in writing. Write conversationally and simply, but never dumb-down the writing.

Strive to be creative — without forcing it. It’s great to use examples and comparisons. It’s also effective to appeal to the senses by describing how things look, sound, smell, feel, and taste. These connections bring a message home. They make it relevant. They make it personal.

Revise and edit … and edit some more
Now, the words really matter. If they’re used incorrectly or inappropriately, your message or story can be ruined. You lose your credibility if you have grammatical mistakes or misspellings. You bore your audience if the writing is full of jargon (overused industry words that really mean nothing). You lose your audience if you’ve written too much.

Now is the time to get rid of the mistakes. Get rid of the jargon. Get rid of excess copy. Get to the point.

It helps immensely to have the editing “basics” down. It saves time in all phases of the writing/editing process to know which rules cannot ever be broken. There aren’t many, so don’t worry. They won’t hinder creativity. Knowing them well will actually enhance it.

Here are some editing absolutes:

Be correct in spelling, grammar, usage, and punctuation.
Be consistent in style, approach, tense, and tone.
Be coherent — use meaningful entry points, smooth transition, and well-placed (unforced) sub-titles.
Remove redundancies; eliminate quotes that simply parrot a previous thought.
Trim some more — get rid of adjectives and adverbs that don’t work; shorten sentences; narrow the focus to the most important messaging.

A final question
When you think you’re finally done writing and editing, ask this question (as if you’re a reader examining the content for the first time): Is the message clear? The answer must be a resounding yes — or you’ve still got work to do.

(PDF: 171K)