Brainstorming SEO tactics

This past August, I got an email from a colleague who had worked with me as an SEO writer then moved on to start her own business. She had a “small business client” who needed help but she was too busy, so referred him to me. Steve Lones had started an e-commerce business for artificial Christmas trees and needed a new page of content about Christmas tree lights to boost his website ranking on Google.

During our initial phone consultation, we brainstormed several ideas that in addition to new SEO web content would boost his ranking in creative ways. Steve was so engaging and open to constructive criticism, it was a delight working with him. he was was willing to try several of my ideas, and we got some impressive results.

Based on Google Analytics, the bounce rate has improved 10% after we tweaked the home page. In short, over 15% of the visitors left the site without going any further (which makes it tough to sell anything). After our brainstorming session and subsequent tweaks, the bounce rate is down, meaning more people are staying, browsing and buying...a 10% improvement.

13.89% Bounce Rate (11-9 - 11-23)
Previous: 15.31% (10-25 - 11-08)
(-9.29%)

After that first conversation, I ran some research on relevant terms and found a highly searched keyword phrase he was not utilizing. I simply suggested he change his category reference on the home page to include it. A few weeks later, I got this email from him:

“Kimberley, Your advice was an example of a little tweak causing significant increased exposure for a popular term I was missing altogether. Great Occasions wasn't even on the map for the term Outdoor Christmas Decorations...now it’s up to page 3! You found a very popular term my audience was using, but I was not.”

It was this little paragraph on his home page made quite a difference:
Outdoor Christmas Decorations
unique lawn decorations
and great outdoor holiday decor

Next time you’re looking for a way to improve your advertising or marketing materials without a huge investment in time or money, contact me. You'd be amazed at what a good freelance copywriter and SEO writer can do for your business.

At 3 million per spot, can marketers afford the Super bowl?

With advertising rates for the Super Bowl running as high as $3 million for a 30-second spot, some marketers are wondering whether during these tough economic times they can afford the big game.

FedEx is concerned that shelling out big bucks --and holding out to see if it can get a bargain. FedEx's hesitation is raising eyebrows on Madison Avenue because it has advertised in 12 of the past National Football League championship games.

Advertisers taking a pass on Super Bowl XLIII altogether include beleaguered General Motors, which has been in 16 games, and Garmin Ltd., the maker of GPS devices, which had advertised in the past two games. A company spokesman for Garmin says its decision to sit out was "unrelated to the economy."

General Electric's NBC had sold most of its Super Bowl ad inventory by early September, prior to the meltdown on Wall Street. Advertisers gobbled up the available slots even though NBC raised its price sharply, compared with the previous Super Bowl.

NBC is in better shape than Fox was during the past recession. In 2002, Fox, whose parent also publishes The Wall Street Journal, had about 10% of its ad time unsold just two weeks before the game.

The Super Bowl has shown no signs of flagging in the ratings. The nail-biter between the New York Giants and the New England Patriots drew 97.4 million viewers, the biggest TV audience for a U.S. sporting event.

Advertisers in 2009 will include Anheuser-Busch, CareerBuilder.com, Hyundai Motor, PepsiCo, Viacom's Paramount Pictures, Cars.com and Coca-Cola.

New marketers include Pedigree, the dog-food brand owned by Mars. Even Monster.com, the online job site owned by Monster Worldwide, is currently in talks to jump back into the game after sitting out the past few years.

Read the details and full article from the Wall Street Journal here: