Want to Show Up in Search? Follow This SEO Checklist

Good content developers have learned to write both for people and search engines, using solid data to reach their audiences. 

But search engines have gotten a lot smarter. They’ve moved beyond individual keywords—they’ve learned to understand context. But writers still need to understand and deploy sound search engine optimization (SEO) principles. Apply this SEO checklist to every blog and landing page. 

Optimizing website content

To help your website show up in search engines, you need to optimize both content and select HTML source code. This includes page titles, metadescriptions, image alt-text, internal links, anchor text, URLs, etc.

The following checklist identifies those things you will need to address for every web page and blog. 

1. Metatitle. This is distinct from the headline on the page’s headline. It acts as a name tag for the web page.
   • It should in a keyword.
   • Maximum length: 50-60 characters.
   • Use your brand name. 
   • Use numbers, if appropriate.
   • Use how, what, why.
   • Provide useful info/create sense of urgency.

2. URL: This is what will show up in the page’s information bar. It’s important because search engines will be looking for this.

• Limit to 3-5 words.
• Include keywords.
• Try to avoid duplicating metadescriptions.

3. Blogpost. Search engines love fresh content, and writing and posting blogs are the best ways to keep your site updated with new content. 

• Use H tags for titles and subtitles: H1, H2 and H3.
• Add buttons and links to your social sites. 

4. Images: Label every image. Include name of your company and image description.

• Use alt tags: Include your company name plus description of the image.
• Use the correct size image for designated space—make sure images are not too big or your site will not load. Recommended sizes: 1500-2500 pixels. Those images you take with your smartphone? They’re generally huge files. If you plan to use these, resize them before uploading to your website.
• Each page should have an image. A carefully chosen, highly relevant image will enhance your story and provide visual texture. 

5. Body. Long-form content helps your site show up in search engines. Google needs words to rank. Think 1,000+ words. At the very minimum, 300 words. Frontload your content, with the most important information in the first paragraph. 

6. Keywords. Use Google’s keyword tool or others. Key in search phrases and see what words/phrases people are using to search for your term. Look for those with low-medium competition and bid price.

• Forget keyword stuffing. Good content is nonnegotiable. Use your target keywords in the first 100-150 words.
• Use semantically related words throughout body of content.

7. Internal Linking strategy. Create internal links among pages where there is a relationship. It encourages readers to stay on your site, drilling down through relevant pages.

8. Webpages:

• Check page-load time—if it takes too long, check image sizes. 
• Make sure your site is built with responsive design, adapting across devices.
• Avoid duplicate content. 

Do you need help optimizing your website? Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts. 

TikTok: The Social App that Comes with a Pentagon Warning

If you’ve tuned out on yet another social media application that you’re never going to use, it’s time to take a look at TikTok. TikTok is used to create and share short-form videos. Owned by Beijing-based parent company ByteDance, it was launched in 2016 and has become wildly popular among users, including celebrities, with more than 1.3 billion downloads worldwide. 

TikTok’s popularity is fueled by the fear of missing out (FOMO) and what seems to be an insatiable desire to be seen, to have an audience, if only for a moment. TikTok promises that you can “watch endless videos customized specifically for you. A personalized video feed based on your preferences.” 

But incidents over the past year have caused privacy experts to question how data from TikTok is being collected and used, and whether it’s being censored by the Chinese government. 

There’s that data thing again

In TikTok’s case, you’re sharing data with the Chinese government, and that’s the problem. I just looked at the privacy policy, and right up front, I see that I’m volunteering: 

• My age, username and password, language, and email and phone number.
• If you choose to find other users through your social network contacts (which of course you will—that’s what social is all about), they will collect your public profile information, plus names and profiles of your social contacts.

There’s more, but you get the idea

As a consequence, in a December message to all military branches, the Pentagon said there was a “potential risk associated with using the TikTok app.” It advised employees to take precautions to safeguard personal information. US military branches now have banned TikTok on government-issued smartphones in an effort to secure and defend their networks.

Despite the ban, troops continue to use TikTok on their personal devices

According to cybersecurity experts, this poses many of the same security threats that were present when the app was being used on government phones. 

Spies could use video metadata to track the movements of US personnel, potentially exposing a secret mission or endangering the lives of deployed troops. Phone hacking could expose personal finances, relationships or sexting that makes them susceptible to blackmail. 

A loosely defined policy about social media usage

Policy is somewhat loose; it advises personnel not to do anything that disrespects the Army. As long as they’re not promoting products in uniform, they’re operating within the law. 

More education on TikTok’s risks

Michael Nowatkowski, an associate professor of cyber sciences at Augusta University and senior research fellow at the Army Cyber Institute believes TikTok poses a greater risks than other social-media companies because of ByteDance’s Chinese ownership. He didn’t believe the military had the resources to enforce an outright ban on personal devices. 

Instead, Nowatkowski believes the military should educate troops on the risks of downloading TikTok on their personal devices. To that point, all Department of Defense personnel take annual cyber-awareness training about the threats that social media can pose. It may or may not be enough.

That data thing just keeps popping up. For help with your social media strategy, talk with Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

Influencer Marketing: Building Trust and Authority

We hear a lot about influencer marketing these days. If you’re paying any attention, you know that you want to be associated with influencers, to seek them out. You also know that you’d really like to be an influencer yourself. 

So what is an influencer? 

At its most basic level, an influencer is someone with a large social-media following. That following represents a lot of purchasing power. Your goal is to build a relationship with that person because you want his/her endorsement. Mentioning you and your great product on a regular basis in the influencer’s blogs and social media posts will help elevate your own status because that person is highly regarded, trustworthy and widely read.

What separates an influencer from a wannabe?

The most obvious differentiator is the size of a social following. But it transcends quantity. An influencer has integrity and experience. An influencer walks the talk, is an industry thought leader and has name recognition.

Let’s say that Sara is trying to be a travel influencer

Sara talks about her fabulous vacations and has a website and travel blog with endless photos of herself at glamorous destinations. Clearly, Sara doesn’t go anywhere without her selfie-stick. She loves resorts in Mexico and the Caribbean and apparently spends a lot of time poolside with frothy drinks. Her social media followings continue to grow, but there’s never any activity or comment. Her blogs receive very little response. 

Zoe, on the other hand, is an adventure junkie who’s been traveling all over the world for more than 30 years. She has a website, blog and more than 200K followers on her social sites. Unlike Sara, Zoe travels because she’s interested in how other cultures live. Their customs, history and politics, their food and architecture. She shares with her readers the best ways to get around—the tuk-tuks, chicken busses and trains. Where to find the best farmers markets, lodgings and interesting, off the track attractions. You trust Zoe’s recommendations because she’s built trust.

Zoe is an influencer

People want to be mentioned on Zoe’s social sites and blogs because she’s widely read by real travelers—not those who just hang out at resorts. Travel product companies love to be mentioned in Zoe’s blogs. They want to get recommendations about their pickpocket-proof clothing, convertible backpacks, the latest USB charging stations, etc. 

Influencers have Instagram accounts, YouTube channels, social sites, and blogs. They’ve spent time developing their communities and built their brands that make fellow travelers or wannabes want to follow them for their content—not just their words. 

Zoe keeps it light and lively, yet informative

Zoe has visited more than 30 countries on every continent. She has cultivated her community, and her loyal followers read and share her content. It’s lively and informative, and there’s always a nugget to tuck away for her readers’ next trip. 

Are you trying to build your brand and influence in the new year? Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing experts. 

What to Outsource? Your Weaknesses!

Debating what to outsource? I like this one: Outsource your weaknesses

Spending hours trying to balance the books when you’re terrible with numbers is a lousy use of your time and it’ll wear you down. 

To be thinking about: Will it move my business forward?

While cost is always a consideration, companies are now outsourcing as a way to develop strategic partnerships and integrate services that they couldn’t provide on their own. For entrepreneurs, outsourcing is a way to propel their startups forward faster and more effectively than they could do it alone or with their in-house teams. 

What to outsource:

1. Content marketing

Content marketing is an outsourcing natural. Content marketing includes your website, newsletter, blog, social media, print collateral and PR. It’s everything that’s external-facing, that touches potential clients. 

Charged with educating your target audience about your brand and generating leads, this role will also nurture and build relationships and trust. Not sure how this will work? Start small. Hire a freelance writer and start with a newsletter or blog. Having a consistent, smart marketing message will pay off. Give it some time.

2. Bookkeeping

What to say about this one except that you really don’t want to make mistakes when you handle the finances for your business. This is the most logical one to outsource. Find a bookkeeper you like and forget about trying to do this yourself. 

3. Payroll

Payroll gets complicated pretty quickly. There are requirements, regulations and tax laws. Payroll goes well beyond simply calculating the hours and salary payouts for employees. One mistake with payroll can trigger tax audits and cost thousands of dollars. Get this: In 2014, the IRS levied more than $2B in fines against small businesses due to mistakes, omissions and improper filings. Find a pro.

4. Conversion optimization

Most businesses generate leads through online marketing, and the content you produce works to convert them into leads. According to Search Engine Land, the average conversion rate across most industries is just over 2%, with the top 25% of sites seeing conversions at 5% or higher. There’s a lot you can do to improve your conversion rate, but it can be an extremely time-consuming process. Even a small lift in conversions can significantly increase annual revenue.

5. Scheduling and administrative tasks

We all know how easy it is to get bogged down in small tasks that eat up our time. I just spent an entire afternoon driving a couple of spreadsheets, trying to synch lists. Probably not the best use of my time. A virtual assistant would have freed me up to focus on more strategic tasks. 

Are you thinking about outsourcing your content marketing in the new year? Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and content marketing specialists.

Is there a new website in your New Year marketing plans? Here are the latest web trends for 2020 that you’ll want to be incorporating into your web design.

• Oversized lettering/bold typography. Huge typography is gaining in popularity, as website owners strive to simplify web design. 
• Big solid color blocks. Think of familiar Facebook posts with solid color backgrounds. Use these on your homepage in conjunction with photos. Each block can contain a key message, a testimonial or a call to action.
• Split screen content. Do you have several key messages? Easy. Line these up side by side. Think about adding a call to action in the center to tie the two together.
• Asymmetric layouts. Most websites are based on grids, generally (invisible) columns and rows. Web designs that stand out will display broken grid techniques, with design elements placed chaotically. 
• Background video. Animation instead of static background brings your platform to life. Video contributes to your Google authority, or SEO value.
• Hidden navigation. By tucking your navigation away, you can save a lot of real estate for other components. I struggle with this one. We put a serious amount of thought into the navigation so that it has the maximum SEO value and makes it as easy as possible for users to get where they’re going. Now we’re hiding it?
• Flat design. Flat design lacks shadows and gradients. It’s streamlined, efficient and easy to read, but it may be falling from fashion. Another trend that doesn’t make sense.

An overarching design theme: Large elements surrounded by lots of whitespace

White space remains a key design element to showcase a key image or content. Now that white space is making its way into the online form! Think about it–how many times/week do we fill out online forms—to order something, to generate feedback or to get more information. Forms are important components of web interactions; expanding a form so that it takes up more room on the page, making it more inviting, accessible, easier with which to interact improves the user experience. 

Global web trends

Altered reality. Stores and brands are implementing altered reality (AR) into their websites by allowing customers to virtually “try on” clothes, jewelry, makeup, etc. They’re allowing users to rearrange furniture to see how it would look in their homes or offices.

Microinteractions. Look for more microinteractions that are meant to delight us. They’re tiny automated signposts that you’ll see when you: 

• Upload a file, hit the submit button, and see an upload status bar go from 0% to 100%. That’s a microinteraction. 
• Hover over a Call to Action and the color saturates and the button gets bigger–that’s another microinteraction! 

Data. No matter what industry you’re in, it’s increasingly valuable to be collecting our user information, and more web designs will be based on that data.

If you’re thinking about a new website in 2020, contact Top of Mind Marketing.

We can help organize information, develop content, build the site, manage images and help it show up in search engines. We’re writers and content marketing experts.

Holiday Ads That You’ll Want to See Again

It’s the holidays, and we’re ramping up for another season of excess. I always hate the way the media sets us up for failure this time of year. Remember that not all of us are rushing from gala to gala, our arms loaded with expensive gifts. We’re not all getting cars for Christmas, as the ads suggest. I’m not sitting down to my holiday dinner surrounded by my loving family. My family is dysfunctional, and we haven’t seen each other in years. My holiday, as I expect it is for many, will be rather modest, yet I’ve learned to take pleasure in small things that make this time of year special—I love holiday music and lights and time with those I care about. Here are some holiday ads you’ll want to watch again

And those ads? Here are two companies that are totally nailing this

REI: #OptOutside

Last year, REI did something pretty astonishing—they had the temerity to close the doors at all of their stores on Black Friday, perhaps the biggest shopping day of the year. They invited their community to join their employees, taking Black Friday off to do what they love most: being outside! This year, they’re back big time with their #OptOutside campaign in full force. This is so smart—it’s getting attention from big names, including the National Parks Foundation, which is doing its own spin on this campaign. Let’s not forget that millennials are one demographic that love to support cause-driven brands. 

An ad from a German supermarket, Edeka, that’s restrained and endearing

This ad is a tear-jerker. It reminds us that what really matters around the holidays is spending time with those we love.

In the ad, an elderly man prepares to spend yet another Christmas alone

His kids cancel their planned visits at the last minute. We see his chopping carrots, preparing his solitary meal. The video then cuts to his various grown children—all busy with their careers. Then they receive a letter telling them their father has died. When they arrive home, however, they’re greeted by their very healthy father. He says, “How else could I have brought you all together?” The final scene shows the family laughing and talking around the table, sharing a holiday meal with their father.

Other than the delicious meal they share at the very end, there’s no hint that Edeka is a supermarket or that this is ultimately about food. This video generated 33.5 million views on YouTube within a week of posting. 

Good marketing tells a story, reaching people on an emotional level

It takes a commitment to make this kind of an ad. It doesn’t beat people over the head with special offers, free promos or phone numbers to call. The message is more subtle and needs time to develop. 

But stick with this, and you’ll be rewarded 

This is a powerful holiday message—slow down and be grateful for the things worth celebrating in your own life. Wishing everyone a happy holiday and a wonderful New Year.

Politics and Social Media: Who’s Accountable?

A “disinformation-for-profit machine” is Elizabeth Warren’s description of Facebook. Salesforce’s Marc Benioff said the social network “needs to be held accountable for propaganda on its platform.” Privacy regulators around the world don’t know whether to break Facebook up or clip its power. Politics and social media are inevitably intertwined. Who’s accountable? Apparently no one.

Germany has outlawed Facebook’s ad business. In Europe, the region’s top court ruled that individual countries could order the company to take down posts–not only in their own countries, but elsewhere. Several of Facebook’s partners on a cryptocurrency initiative dropped out after regulators complained. The age discrimination lawsuits, Congressional appearances and data breaches keep piling up. 

Zuckerberg remains unfazed by the responsibilities of his role 

Mark Zuckerberg insists that Facebook was founded on the premise of creating community, of giving people a voice. If this was his mission, he has more than fulfilled it. Social media has given us a platform for sharing every miniscule aspect of our lives. Zuckerberg made this a free speech issue, calling up civil rights leaders such as Martin Luther King. “I’m here today because I believe we must continue to stand for free expression.” He assured us that this was not about economics: Political ads are a negligible line item in Facebook’s $55.8 billion annual revenue.

In case you missed it, Facebook’s sweeping new policy states that they will not moderate politicians’ speech or fact-check their political ads because comments by political leaders, even if false, were newsworthy. 

Remember that Facebook played a role in the 2016 election

Let’s not forget that Facebook played an important role in the outcome of the 2016 election. Cambridge Analytica, driven by Russian hackers and God only knows who else used Facebook to deploy an aggressive campaign to derail the Clinton campaign. Given the toxic outcome of the effort, you’d think Facebook would be falling all over itself to make sure they remained clear of political associations in 2020. 

Twitter has apparently taken the high road

Twitter’s position is that they will not be posting any political ads. 

• Foreign nationals are prohibited from targeting political advertisements to the U.S.
• Political campaigning advertisers are prohibited from using foreign payment methods.

Not so fast . . . 

The policy may sound simple, but it involves judgments that expose the company’s politics. Twitter has apparently decided that climate change is a political issue, so get this–they will be banning ads about science. Apparently they will be remaining open to taking money from big oil to promote their climate-polluting brands. 

And it’s pretty hard to get past the fact that our country’s President uses Twitter as his primary communication channel. He uses it to hire and fire people and set policy. He’s now averaging 36 tweets/day and that number likely will escalate as the campaign season heats up. We have every reason to expect that he will continue to use Twitter. All of this leaves me a little skeptical of Twitter’s apolitical policy. While they may not be posting ads, their platform, like Facebook’s, will be influenced by politics.

As the year draws to an end, it’s time to think about new marketing efforts

New websites, new initiatives, new campaigns to reach new audiences. Contact Top of Mind Marketing. We’re writers and internet marketing specialists.