Content Really does Count -

Just  few short years ago now if you hired a SEO expert to engineer your website, you could be almost guaranteed an increase in your website traffic without having to do too much in the way of actually writing good and relevant content for your website pages.  Tweeking the SEO stuff seemed to be the magic bullet that got you back on target.   

Then something happened to all of that and the search engines kept changing the rules.  SEO tricks no longer produced the desired results, in fact engaging in SEO tricks  would get you even further behind in search rankings.  Justice at last!  Gasp! People actually want and need to find honest and useful information on line.  

Fast forward to right now, and good website content is being rewarded as never before.  Not just good content but all your on-line activity in the form of social media use, website updates and other measures of an active and vibrant web presence are now what gets rewarded by the Search Engines.

A lot of the special rules were we told to apply to on-line writing don't matter as much.  What really matters is the truth and passion you exhibit  on-line and how you connect with  your audience.  Videos, photos, engaging content, social media presence and participation, all these things add up to a more real and less contrived experience.  

 Google+ activity and engagement will reward you with better search rankings on Google and help drive your traffic numbers in the direction you want - Up!

Plan to spend time each week on a regular basis engaging in content creation for your site, blogging, using relevant social media and thinking how best you can serve your audience.   Put these activities into your on-line calendar and make sure to do the work - it doesn't take long, it just needs doing.

As an on-line copywriter I help clients do just that.  Too busy to write your own content? then farm some of it out.   I specialize in writing content for the arts and crafts business, alternative health,  fitness, and baby boomer marketing . 

My Bad - No Blogging for 9 Months! Yikes

I've been so busy helping others with their website content and blogging that my own blog about writing has gone unloved and completely ignored  for 9 months!  I'm shocked that it has been that long - but the Blog posts don't lie.  I've even had it on my "to do" list but still.... it didn't get done.  So when clients come to me for help with getting it done, I can more than relate to the time warp that happens in our minds.

Setting up a consistent schedule for writing for my own blog and website will now have my full attention.  Just committing to myself to do it out here in "public" should help.  We'll see:)

Until next time...

Pet Peeve - Garbage Content in the Name of SEO

Here’s hoping that Google’s recent focus on improving their search results to feature websites that actually provide decent, original content is a trend that continues.  This focus needs to become even more discerning.  The proliferation of sites that put out regurgitated useless content, all laced with an over abundance of keyword driven links in every paragraph, may now decline – at least in the results that show up on the front page of a search.

As users of information, we want quality information.  Don’t insult us by using the same old story, thinly disguised as something new. Most of us have pretty well trained B.S. detection systems by now – and we are not fooled. 

What does this mean to you as a website owner?  It means asking yourself this question “Does my site content address the concerns and needs of my site visitor? Am I giving my visitors/readers the information they want and need? “  If you care about them returning to your site, the answer needs to be “Yes”.

As a frequent user of on-line information I recently signed up for a weekly e-zine.   The first issue arrived.  I was expecting lots of good advice, news and suggestions. I got two paragraphs driving me to links, to more links, all promising me the information – which I never got.  After 4 link clicks, I gave up and immediately Unsubscribed.

This large on-line information company spent a lot of time and money getting me to sign-up – only to loose me immediately because of garbage content. 

Web site content doesn’t need to be written by John Steinbeck – just make it authentic, original and useful.  Keywords and links can be placed to help with your SEO needs, just don’t let these needs drive the content over a cliff and make the whole thing unreadable and annoying to your visitors. Amen. ‘nough said.

Sue Elliott

Web Content Copywriter

http://www.sueelliott.com

How Saving the House Cleaning Money led to Art Education for Kids

“All great journeys start with a single step” – and so it is with the story of how the Youth Art Scholarship Fund got started at the Mountain Art Center in Ben Lomond, California.

Ten years ago, one of the local community members made a lifelong dream come true by starting the Mountain Art Center Youth Art Scholarship Fund.  Shari Edwards,  a single Mom of 3 small children,  wanted to take art classes as  a child, but her family was unable to afford it.  Over the years she kept her dream  of art alive in her heart for other children and finally found a way to help.  Shari noticed that  The Mountain Art Center (an Art Education non-profit organization) employed a cleaning service to keep the Gallery and Studio  neat and tidy.  She volunteered her cleaning service  with the condition that  the money that had been used to pay for cleaning  now be  deposited into a  Youth Scholarship Fund instead.

From this small beginning, the Youth Art Scholarship Fund continues to attract support from many quarters.  Local businesses, such as the New Leaf Market , make donations via “Community Days” where they provide a portion of their market sales.  The Ben Lomond Market donates via market card signups.  The Earth Matters Foundation donates in June of each year to make sure sufficient funds are available for the Summer Art Camp Scholarships.  Numerous individuals and other businesses and non-profits continue to give generously to make the dream of art a reality for local children.

The Fund provides 20 to 30 Youth Scholarships each Year.

The Youth Art Scholarship works with Valley Churches United and the Valley Resource Center to determine who shall receive a Scholarship.  Youth from families in financial or other crises; those interested in art.  All are carefully considered as scholarship recipients.

The Ripple in the Pond Effect

Shari could never have anticipated the effect her initial donations have had upon the lives of the many children who have since benefited from the Youth Art Scholarship Fund.  The ripple in the pond effect is powerful.  If you wish to add ripples of your own, you may contact the Mountain Art Center via their website at www.mountainartcenter.org – your donation is tax deductable.

Article written by: Suzanne Elliott – Freelance Writer – www.sueelliott.com

Beginners Mind

Help!  I forgot How to Paint Plein Air!

It’s been a long Winter and most of us haven’t been out plein air painting much.  In fact, it may have been months, depending on where we live.  But now things are looking up and the weather is nice enough to start venturing out there again.

But something has happened to our hard won skill of getting our gear together, setting up our equipment and then, actually painting.  We have become unaccustomed to all of it after the long plein air painting drought – we are rusty!

We can feel like beginners all over again.  We may even feel we don’t know how to do this anymore and get discouraged.

Be comforted and know that even the most seasoned and expert plein air painters feel this way from time to time.

It may even be a good thing.  It keeps us humble and with a Beginners Mind.

Zen masters strive for this Beginners Mind in everything.  It keeps us open to new ideas – eager to try fresh approaches and techniques.

Getting set in our ways as artists is a recipe for dull work and blunted creativity.

So let’s embrace the feeling of “I don’t knowness” and see where it takes us.  A new mix of colors?  A new canvas size or format?  A different type of composition that is daring and unusual?

It’s all  good, and part of the ever evolving journey as artists.

The more we get out there and paint, the more we love it.  Build it into your weekly routine and make time for art.

Here’s wishing all of us a good dose of Beginners Mind at the start of another glorious plein air painting season.

Join us in the Monthly Painting Challenge and see where it takes you.  We are all cheering you on and want to see your progress each month.

Here’s wishing you a good dose of Beginners Mind at the start of another

Tips on Article Writing or How to Sneek in Sideways on the Writing Bogyman

The subject of Article writing causes fear and loathing in many people but that can be overcome with regular practice. And a few tricks – so keep reading.

1.The number one trick to get started is to really know your writing topic. If you are writing an article about your business, you are the one who knows your business the best – you certainly have a passion for what you do. As it happens, feeling passionate about a subject is the best “starter fuel” to get you off to a good beginning with your writing project.

2.Pick a subject that is a hot topic in your business right now. Decide to get some off the top of your head notes down in a document on your laptop. Nothing formal – just random notes that can be expanded upon over the next day or so.

3.Write in 30 minute segments. Set your timer and stick with it for that chunk of time. As a professional writer, this is how I get most of my project writing done. 30 minute chunks over the course of a couple of days and you will be surprised at how much you can get accomplished. By sneeking in sideways on the writing bogyman, we make it less frightening and are thus more likely to get it done.

4.There are many great tips on article writing out there – do a little research and use one you like as a guide or template for your own writing. Don't allow the overwhelm of information to create another block to writing – this happens way too often.

5.When in doubt, get into action and “just write something”

Articles Build In-Bound Links and help with SEO

This is all about building in-bound links to your website to drive more and more traffic your way – and it's totally free if you do it yourself.

Some folks just can't get through the “writers block” - for them I recommend hiring a freelance writer to do the job.

Do not be conned into purchasing software that promises to take one article and “spin” it – re-configure it into many different formats. The Search Engines are onto this and will penalize you in Search results for using duplicate content.

Keep it real, keep it fresh and keep it unique. Over time you will build your site traffic and, who knows, get to enjoy writing so much that you become the next Hemingway as a result.

To contact Freelance Writer, Sue Elliott go to: http://www.sueelliott.com

Learn SEO the right way – at an affordable price, online and on your schedule

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Attend weekly classes on-line starting Nov. 22, 2010 and ending March 28, 2011 – a new module each week for 8 weeks. Each new module of learning is supported by online group coaching sessions by your instructor, Tom Petty, President of Bay Area Search Engine Academy. All sessions will be recorded so you may review them later – in case you miss the class. I know Tom personally and can attest to his knowledge and no nonsense approach to SEO.

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