Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume and quality of traffic to a web site from search engines via "natural" ("organic" or "algorithmic") search results. Usually, the earlier a site is presented in the search results, or the higher it "ranks," the more searchers will visit that site. SEO can also target different kinds of search, including image search, local search, and industry-specific vertical search engines.
As an Internet marketing strategy, SEO considers how search engines work and what people search for. Optimizing a website primarily involves editing its content and HTML coding to both increase its relevance to specific keywords and to remove barriers to the indexing activities of search engines.
The acronym "SEO" can also refer to "search engine optimizers," a term adopted by an industry of consultants who carry out optimization projects on behalf of clients, and by employees who perform SEO services in-house. Search engine optimizers may offer SEO as a stand-alone service or as a part of a broader marketing campaign. Because effective SEO may require changes to the HTML source code of a site, SEO tactics may be incorporated into web site development and design. The term "search engine friendly" may be used to describe web site designs, menus, content management systems and shopping carts that are easy to optimize.
Another class of techniques, known as black hat SEO or Spamdexing, use methods such as link farms and keyword stuffing that degrade both the relevance of search results and the user-experience of search engines. Search engines look for sites that employ these techniques in order to remove them from their indices.
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Monday, November 17, 2008
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Kindle - Amazon's Wireless Reading Device
Product Overview
Revolutionary electronic-paper display provides a sharp, high-resolution screen that looks and reads like real paper. Simple to use: no computer, no cables, no syncing.
Wireless connectivity enables you to shop the Kindle Store directly from your Kindle—whether you’re in the back of a taxi, at the airport, or in bed.
Buy a book and it is auto-delivered wirelessly in less than one minute.
More than 190,000 books available, including more than 105 of 112 current New York Times® Best Sellers. New York Times® Best Sellers and New Releases $9.99, unless marked otherwise.
Free book samples. Download and read first chapters for free before you decide to buy.
Top U.S. newspapers including The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and Washington Post; top magazines including TIME, Atlantic Monthly, and Forbes—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
Top international newspapers from France, Germany, and Ireland; Le Monde, Frankfurter Allgemeine, and The Irish Times—all auto-delivered wirelessly.
More than 1000 top blogs from the worlds of business, technology, sports, entertainment, and politics, including BoingBoing, Slashdot, TechCrunch, ESPN's Bill Simmons, The Onion, Michelle Malkin, and The Huffington Post—all updated wirelessly throughout the day.
Lighter and thinner than a typical paperback; weighs only 10.3 ounces.
Holds over 200 titles.
Long battery life. Leave wireless on and recharge approximately every other day. Turn wireless off and read for a week or more before recharging. Fully recharges in 2 hours.
Unlike WiFi, Kindle utilizes the same high-speed data network (EVDO) as advanced cell phones—so you never have to locate a hotspot.
No monthly wireless bills, service plans, or commitments—we take care of the wireless delivery so you can simply click, buy, and read. Includes free wireless access to the planet's most exhaustive and up-to-date encyclopedia—Wikipedia.org.
Email your Word documents and pictures (.JPG, .GIF, .BMP, .PNG) to Kindle for easy on-the-go viewing.
Included in the box: Kindle wireless reader, Book cover, Power adapter, USB 2.0 cable.
The Future of epaper
Thirty-five years in the making, electronic paper is now closer than ever to changing the way we read, write, and study — a revolution so profound that some see it as second only to the invention of the printing press in the 15th century. Made of flexible material, requiring ultra-low power consumption, cheap to manufacture, and—most important—easy and convenient to read, e-papers of the future are just around the corner, with the promise to hold libraries on a chip and replace most printed newspapers before the end of the next decade. This article will cover the history, technology, and future of what will be the second paper revolution.
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Saturday, November 15, 2008
Writing Effective Ad Copy
Writing Effective Ad Copy
By Amrit Hallan
Advertising copy is all about selling. Whether you are selling a product, a service, a tourist destination, or an event, the sole purpose of an advertising copy is to spread the word in order to generate business. The "business" need not always be money. The right result is the nirvana of a good advertising copy. Advertising copy can also be used to establish a brand, but then again, in the long run, brands help generate long-term business gains.
I think advertising copy is one of the trickiest writing jobs available. In a few seconds, you have to grab the attention of a reader who is bombarded with scores of ads every day. Then you have to put your point across in as few words as you can manage, and then stimulate the reader enough to act on your words.
So what makes a killer advertising copy? There is no scientific or statistical formula as such. Anything can click at a particular time. Every advertising copywriter has his or her own style, but if you follow some fundamental rules in the beginning, you can keep defining your own way of writing advertising copy.
SET THE OBJECTIVE
This is the beginning. You can never write convincing copy unless you know what it needs to achieve. A better understanding of the objective helps you coalesce your thoughts and focus your skill. It's just like charting a roadmap to a destination before embarking on a long journey.
BEGIN WITH HEADLINES AND SUBHEADINGS
Headlines and subheadings contain words those are most critical to your message. So choose them carefully. Only an interesting headline makes one read further, so consider it the most vital part of your assignment. Your most important words should appear there. Your headline should give the reader a fair idea of what the remaining copy comprises. If you can, prompt the reader to perform the desired action in the headline itself.
On the other hand, the headline doesn't always have to make sense. You can write an attention-grabbing headline just to make people react. Or to confuse them so that they are forced to think about it. For instance, you can ask a question such as:
"Haven't you always wanted this?"
"What have I always wanted?" the reader will think, and read further.
BE SPECIFIC
Coincidentally, while I'm writing this article, my brother-in-law has sent me a link to a website so that I can tell him whether the website is offering a genuine business opportunity or not. I'm going through their "online presentation." I have read four pages. I still don't know what business opportunity they are talking about. All I can make out after four pages is that there was this couple who was very poor but once they got involved with this business opportunity they started earning $35,000 per month in a span of a few months. They have a dream home. They have an assortment of dream cars, and their expensive boat is lying somewhere. What business they do? I have no idea. I can know this only after I purchase their business kit. I've told my brother-in-law to give this "once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity" a skip for the time being.
WRITE IN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR AUDIENCE
Like the HSBC tagline says, "The world's local bank," you have to adopt the local nuances while writing your advertising copy for a region-based audience. It doesn't mean learning a new language from scratch with every consecutive copywriting assignment. You just have to stick to those words and phrases that a population is comfortable with. Nobody has time to learn words in order to understand the benefits of the product or service you are trying to promote.
USE WORDS THAT ARE STRONG BUT STRAIGHTFORWARD
Words and phrases like "money," "immediate benefit," "save $150," "protect your child," "find love now," and "lose weight in two weeks" sell like hot cakes. They may sound clichéd to you, but if you notice, they promise you a tangible result. They give a clear picture of what your copy intends to convey. Avoid ambiguities and jargon.
PROVIDE A SOLUTION
We all need immediate solutions, to be frank. If I want to improve the way I live or earn my living, I want to know in simple words whether your product or service can help me achieve that or not, and how fast and at what cost it can be done.
TOUCH YOUR AUDIENCE EMOTIONALLY (I don't mean to say youemotionally blackmail them into buying your product) Advertising copy is about strumming the emotional strings of your audience. Whether you like it or not, emotions rule the world. Great wars and revolutions are unleashed under the aegis of emotions. Use them, rightfully.
BE CREDIBLE
Don't promise the stars if you are selling the candles. Do not make exaggerated claims. Believe me, they do nothing but put off the reader. Sound sincere, be frank, do not patronize your readers unnecessarily and tell exactly what your product or service does for the consumer.
ADDRESS THE PERSON
Talk directly to the person. Use as much "you, your" as you can and use "us, we, I" as little as you can. The reader is not interested in knowing what all your product or service can do. He or she wants to know what all your product or service can do for him or her. Focus on the reader, not on your product.
Copyright ©2003 Amrit Hallan
Amrit Hallan is a freelance copywriter, copy editor and a writer. He also optimizes web page content for higher search engine ranking. For copywriting and copy editing services, visit: http://www.amrithallan.com. Read his weekly essays and articles by subscribing to amritscolumn-subscribe@topica.com.
By Amrit Hallan
Advertising copy is all about selling. Whether you are selling a product, a service, a tourist destination, or an event, the sole purpose of an advertising copy is to spread the word in order to generate business. The "business" need not always be money. The right result is the nirvana of a good advertising copy. Advertising copy can also be used to establish a brand, but then again, in the long run, brands help generate long-term business gains.
I think advertising copy is one of the trickiest writing jobs available. In a few seconds, you have to grab the attention of a reader who is bombarded with scores of ads every day. Then you have to put your point across in as few words as you can manage, and then stimulate the reader enough to act on your words.
So what makes a killer advertising copy? There is no scientific or statistical formula as such. Anything can click at a particular time. Every advertising copywriter has his or her own style, but if you follow some fundamental rules in the beginning, you can keep defining your own way of writing advertising copy.
SET THE OBJECTIVE
This is the beginning. You can never write convincing copy unless you know what it needs to achieve. A better understanding of the objective helps you coalesce your thoughts and focus your skill. It's just like charting a roadmap to a destination before embarking on a long journey.
BEGIN WITH HEADLINES AND SUBHEADINGS
Headlines and subheadings contain words those are most critical to your message. So choose them carefully. Only an interesting headline makes one read further, so consider it the most vital part of your assignment. Your most important words should appear there. Your headline should give the reader a fair idea of what the remaining copy comprises. If you can, prompt the reader to perform the desired action in the headline itself.
On the other hand, the headline doesn't always have to make sense. You can write an attention-grabbing headline just to make people react. Or to confuse them so that they are forced to think about it. For instance, you can ask a question such as:
"Haven't you always wanted this?"
"What have I always wanted?" the reader will think, and read further.
BE SPECIFIC
Coincidentally, while I'm writing this article, my brother-in-law has sent me a link to a website so that I can tell him whether the website is offering a genuine business opportunity or not. I'm going through their "online presentation." I have read four pages. I still don't know what business opportunity they are talking about. All I can make out after four pages is that there was this couple who was very poor but once they got involved with this business opportunity they started earning $35,000 per month in a span of a few months. They have a dream home. They have an assortment of dream cars, and their expensive boat is lying somewhere. What business they do? I have no idea. I can know this only after I purchase their business kit. I've told my brother-in-law to give this "once-in-a-lifetime-opportunity" a skip for the time being.
WRITE IN THE LANGUAGE OF YOUR AUDIENCE
Like the HSBC tagline says, "The world's local bank," you have to adopt the local nuances while writing your advertising copy for a region-based audience. It doesn't mean learning a new language from scratch with every consecutive copywriting assignment. You just have to stick to those words and phrases that a population is comfortable with. Nobody has time to learn words in order to understand the benefits of the product or service you are trying to promote.
USE WORDS THAT ARE STRONG BUT STRAIGHTFORWARD
Words and phrases like "money," "immediate benefit," "save $150," "protect your child," "find love now," and "lose weight in two weeks" sell like hot cakes. They may sound clichéd to you, but if you notice, they promise you a tangible result. They give a clear picture of what your copy intends to convey. Avoid ambiguities and jargon.
PROVIDE A SOLUTION
We all need immediate solutions, to be frank. If I want to improve the way I live or earn my living, I want to know in simple words whether your product or service can help me achieve that or not, and how fast and at what cost it can be done.
TOUCH YOUR AUDIENCE EMOTIONALLY (I don't mean to say youemotionally blackmail them into buying your product) Advertising copy is about strumming the emotional strings of your audience. Whether you like it or not, emotions rule the world. Great wars and revolutions are unleashed under the aegis of emotions. Use them, rightfully.
BE CREDIBLE
Don't promise the stars if you are selling the candles. Do not make exaggerated claims. Believe me, they do nothing but put off the reader. Sound sincere, be frank, do not patronize your readers unnecessarily and tell exactly what your product or service does for the consumer.
ADDRESS THE PERSON
Talk directly to the person. Use as much "you, your" as you can and use "us, we, I" as little as you can. The reader is not interested in knowing what all your product or service can do. He or she wants to know what all your product or service can do for him or her. Focus on the reader, not on your product.
Copyright ©2003 Amrit Hallan
Amrit Hallan is a freelance copywriter, copy editor and a writer. He also optimizes web page content for higher search engine ranking. For copywriting and copy editing services, visit: http://www.amrithallan.com. Read his weekly essays and articles by subscribing to amritscolumn-subscribe@topica.com.
The Merge to Internet Marketing
The explosion of social marketing and Internet marketing is upon us all. If you are in the advertising business, you either get on board and offer your clients new and exciting ways to market their products, or get left behind in the times. There are now thousands of ways to market products via the Internet. Search Engine Optimization is now vital to anyone looking to attract viewers to their website. SEO is the key to getting your website on the first few pages of the search engines. Pay Per Click advertising is a must for any new business. Google AdWords is one tool to take a look at when it comes to pay per click. Other search engines like Yahoo, MSN and even YouTube are also now offering pay per click advertising. Social marketing is now also a great way to promote a website. There are endless social marketing sites now, but the top few are leading the way to huge streams of networked communities that share their personal and business information in a real time environment. Sites like Myspace, Facebook, Twitter and Friendster are showing the world that we can, and do communicate online in virtual communities. That is a powerful thing my friends...
Peace leads the way!
Brian Hanson
Peace leads the way!
Brian Hanson
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