The Twisted Road: Motorcycles, Money and Mayhem with Austin Rothbard

The open road. The open market. Where the two shall meet; anything is possible. And nobody knows this better than Austin Rothbard, founder and enthusiast behind TwistedRoad.com. It’s the answer to Uber, to Airbnb: supporting modern motorcycle rental worldwide. And it’s the one-man adventure story that’s as curious and inspiring as it is hardcore and innovative. Rev it up, because this is The Corner Booth!

Article first published here: The Twisted Road: Motorcycles, Money and Mayhem with Austin Rothbard

THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD & EVIL: WHITE HAT vs. BLACK HAT SEO

The battle between good and evil never ends. You might be tempted to join the dark side of SEO, but you should keep in mind that, sooner or later, the SEO Jedi will find you and will “kill” your website.

SEO is necessary if you want to properly market your website, but going black hat doesn’t come without any consequences. The truth is that you have a choice.  Black Hat SEO practices may be tempting but are not really worth the risk.

In this article, we explore some of the differences between White Hat and Black Hat SEO. We tell you what each one offers, what you should expect and which path we recommend you tread.

Spoiler alert: White Hat SEO is always the best choice.

Black Hat SEO

A black hat SEO strategy uses deception as a means of achieving higher rankings. Those who use black hat strategies are willing to break the rules if that means faring better with search engines.

“Well-executed” black hat SEO is not always easy to detect, but there are some tell-tale signs that will often give it away:

Lots of unrelated keywords 

Random keywords that pop out of nowhere may make for a good laugh, but get annoying pretty fast. Talking about Donald Trump in your tips and tricks for a healthier garden blog post is probably not such a great idea. Unless Donald Trump is into gardening. We don’t know.

Doorway pages

These pages are loaded with random keywords, ranking high as a result. Problem is, they don’t come with any meaningful content. Once you click one of them, you are immediately redirected to a different page.

Content automation

This includes both random words in the body of the post and/or on the comment section as well. This text is usually randomly generated and makes absolutely zero sense.

Cloaking

This is another deceptive black hat SEO technique. It hides the actual content of a web page, tricking search engines into displaying content that is irrelevant to the search in which it appears.

Invisible text and links

There are many techniques one can use to hide text and links inside a post. One way to do it is by adding white text. White text is invisible to the reader but is picked up by search engines. Other ways include setting the size of the font to 0 or burying links in tiny characters, such as full stops, colons, semi-colons etc.

These practices are generally frowned upon, and for a good reason. People (and yes. search engines too) do not appreciate deception, so make sure you play fair.

Using any of these to give your website a boost in the rankings is a recipe for disaster. They might work for a while, but as your rank increases so does the likelihood of you getting caught.

If you do get caught, you risk getting your website banned from the search engine’s result page. Avoid black hat SEO like the plague!

White Hat SEO

White hat SEO is black hat’s benevolent twin sibling. They are techniques that are honest and transparent. Focus is placed on quality content and effective marketing. Here is what white hat is all about:

• Quality: Black hat SEO can only get a website so far. Real growth lies with good content that appeals to people. Better content and better marketing strategies translate into more traffic: Visitors enjoy your content and what your site has to offer, meaning there’s a higher chance that they’ll share your posts and products with others.
• Effective usage of keywords: Keywords are key to higher rankings. But not just any keywords. The keywords you use must be relevant to your content and appear at optimal frequencies. Consider weaving in some long-tail keywords into your text. Being a bit more precise means that you can rank higher with more targeted and specific searches.

• Backlinks: Backlinks bring traffic to your website and can also lead to higher search rankings. It always helps when the sites that link to you contain similar content that also ranks high.

• Internal Links: Internal links are great as long as they’re not overused. They give value to your content and make you seem more credible. Most SEO experts call for a maximum of 2-3 internal links per page.
• Meta Description: This is the first thing that appears under the title of your page. It is also the first thing your potential visitor sees. Meta descriptions need to be clear and succinct. Come up with descriptions that accurately describe what the page is about. Don’t stuff your description with keywords or make it too long. Make it sound as human as possible. You want people to be clicking your title over others.

Doesn’t sound too hard, right? White hat might not be as effective as black hat (at least short-term) but really does pay off in the long run.

Choose Your Side Wisely

White and black hat SEO promise similar things: increased visibility and traffic. You may be tempted by the seemingly effortless way with which black hat catapults sites to the top of the search results.

If you use black hat SEO, sooner or later, google will know. As per Williams: “The fall from grace is steep and swift, and when you land, it does not make a sound, because you are alone.” And you’ll be alone because your site will be banished to the depths of search engine hell, where no one goes and no one clicks.

Does that sound horrible enough? Good. That was the point. What we’re trying to say is that black hat is not worth the risk. It pays off to play fair, so do that.

Most big companies and marketers know this already, which is why they choose white hat over black hat SEO. Results don’t come as fast or as easy, but in this battle between good and evil, Google is an ally you cannot afford to lose.

Article first published here: THE BATTLE BETWEEN GOOD & EVIL: WHITE HAT vs. BLACK HAT SEO

FIVE STEPS TO COPYWRITING SUCCESS

Copywriting: noun: ‘the activity or occupation of writing the text of advertisements or publicity material’

Copywriting: reality: ‘a science and art form of strategically composing and delivering text to entertain, inform and encourage readers to perform certain actions. Provide web copy and content across all platforms.’

Without copywriters websites would be bare. Adverts would be empty. Search engines would have nothing to search for. The internet would be irrelevant.

That’s a pretty big statement to make! But one that is entirely true. Words are as important to human existence as air, water and food. Without words history would have been forgotten, the future could never be written and life would be a quiet, lonely, colourless existence.

The earliest forms of written text date back to more than 5,000 years. That’s five thousand years of human knowledge passed on from generation to generation! Of course, we have long moved on from the cuneiform script created in ancient Mesopotamia. But the core essence of written communication remains the same.

Now that we have that history lesson out of the way for all of you ‘word nerds’ out there, let’s get down to business.

Today we are going to explore the five steps to copywriting success to show you exactly what it takes to tick all of those content and copy boxes.

1. Headline, Headline, Read All About It

You could create an absolute masterpiece. Something that the world’s most renowned writers would be proud of creating themselves. But if your headline doesn’t spark interest, chances are that it will never get read.

And vice versa. If you create a kick-ass headline but sub-par content, people are going to hit that back button within seconds.

So. Why are headlines so important? The answer is simple. People need persuading. Even if you have a huge audience out there, you need to give them a reason for them to give you their attention. And this is where headlines truly help.

A great headline will be catchy, easy to understand and explain the content right off the bat. Avoid excessively long headlines and keep things simple… which leads us nicely on to the next copywriting tip.

2. Stop Being a Word Wizard

You clearly have a way with words, otherwise you wouldn’t be a writer of substance. But here’s the thing. You may love to indulge in a little linguistic word play, in-jokes and puns… but if your audience doesn’t get it, you are going to alienate them.

Think of clever words and styling as the salt that you put on your meal. Too much and it’s ruined! Of course, if you are writing in a technical niche then clever words could be just what you’re looking for. But for the most part, clear, concise and easy to understand writing is what most people appreciate.

This isn’t to say that your audience needs you to dumb things down for them. The aim of the game is to provide easily digestible content that is a pleasure to read. The less confusion there is, the more likely they are to come back again and again.

3. Grammar is Everything

Grammar can make all the difference between what you say and how people take it. Fail to use it correctly at your own risk! But be warned, the end result can be read completely the wrong way. Here are a few examples of why your grammar needs to be on point.

Capital Letters for Proper Nouns

‘I helped my uncle jack off a horse’ Vs ‘I helped my uncle Jack off a horse’

One will have people thinking you’re a pervert, while the other will have them thinking you’re a decent person. You decide what you prefer.

Punctuation

‘I like cooking dogs and children’ Vs ‘I like cooking, dogs, and children’

One makes you sadistic while the other makes you likeable.  Another great example of this is a post-argument apology.

‘I’m sorry I love you’ Vs ‘I’m sorry, I love you’

Your/You’re and Then/Than.

‘Your dinner’ Vs ‘You’re dinner’

One leaves you fed, the other leaves you dead!

‘I’d rather eat my eyes then my dog’ Vs ‘I’d rather eat my eyes than my dog’

Don’t let people think you’re a lunatic. The correct word makes all the difference!

4. Know Your Audience

By knowing who your audience is you can tailor your content toward them. As an example, if you are putting together a piece about ‘organic gardening, ’you will want to do a little bit of demographics research to find your target audience.

If the majority of your current audience are more into mechanics, cooking or retail you will need to find a way to angle your article to cater to them. At the same time you want to be attracting more new people to your content.

Ultimately, demographics will reveal that all-important data about who is looking for what. Knowing this information makes it so much easier to write in a style that your intended audience will love while ensuring that the content is shown to the right people.

5. Copywriting That Stops the Search

At the end of the day, the most important thing about producing copy for websites and ads is to stop the search.

But what do we mean by stopping the search? Basically, you need to do your research to find out what your target audience is searching for and then provide all of the information that they need.

Answer the questions that they have. Answer the questions that they haven’t even thought of yet. Give them a reason to stay on your page rather than go to a competitor.

Stopping the search can be one of the most difficult things that a copywriter has to try to achieve. By providing well-thought-out, thorough, and easy to understand content, people will know that you are an authority on the subject.

And ultimately, this is exactly what a copywriter always aims to achieve. If you are new to the world of copywriting and looking for more fantastic tips, tricks and advice on improving your writing skills, check out this blog for more. 

 

Article first published here: FIVE STEPS TO COPYWRITING SUCCESS

A Quick Guide To Writing Better Blogs & Articles

It all starts with a spark; an idea… something that needs to be said. It may be because no one else has ever thought or written about it before. Or it could be something completely original and inspired.

It may be your opinion or someone else’s. Maybe you’re promoting a product or maybe you’re writing for your business. Maybe you’re just that excited about homemade sourdough bread that you want the whole world to know.

Whatever your reason for writing, you can make sure your blog or article stands out by following our simple, yet effective, tips.

Remain focused

You’ve got an idea. Now you need to focus and consider the bigger picture. What is your article or blog post trying to achieve? Depending on your answer, you may have to structure your piece so that it reflects that goal.

To do that you will need a clear plan and a defined outline. As long as you remained focused, it won’t be too hard to stick to your plan.

Know your audience

This one’s a bit tougher, mainly because it’s something you might not be aware of right away. If you’re just starting out, it might be hard to know who your audience is and what they want to read.

Maintaining a close relationship with your readers is important, and you can always guess what kind of audiences your writing is likely to attract. You can always start somewhere and see where it goes.

It always helps to think of your readers when writing. If you know your audience, everything seems more intimate and personal. The more your content resonates with your readers, the more likely it is that they’ll be coming back for more.

If you’ve already attracted a considerable following and want to try out something new, you can always ask for your readers’ opinion (by creating a poll, for example).

Be you

This piece of advice may sound cliché and unoriginal, but it’s probably the best advice we can give you. We’re all special in our own way. By putting forward the real you, you’re making a statement: This is me and here’s what I know and can do.

In the battlefield that’s called authorship, honesty and originality are your two biggest weapons. Sure, your readers will come to your blog for information and knowledge acquisition, but let’s be honest. You’re not Wikipedia. No, that would be boring.

We’re not saying that Wikipedia is boring, but if your readers wanted that kind of knowledge they would just use Wikipedia instead. Your readers will keep coming back to your blog because of you.

You may think that this only applies to personal blogs, and while it’s true that intimacy works best in these kind of contexts, companies and business owners can benefit from similar approaches.

No ‘erorrs alowed’

See what we did there? No matter how interesting and informative your blog is, spelling errors, as well as  grammar and style mistakes, will stand out and can have a negative impact on your blog’s image.

Make sure you proofread everything that you write more than once. It’s considered good practice to have someone else go over your text before hitting that submit button. You can always use online grammar and style checkers, but make sure you’re not relying just on software.

Some errors will inevitably make it through final versions, which is fine. After all, we’re only human.

Formatting is also crucial.  Make sure you use fonts that are appropriate to your content and that you list everything coherently with enough spacing in between. This ensures that everything looks neater and is easier on the eye.

Images attract more visitors

You probably know this already, but we’ll say it again: Images make all the difference. Apparently, it’s all about psychology. This is what Allan Paivio’s dual-coding theory claims in something he calls the picture superiority effect.

In short, Paivio claims that pictures are accessed by our memory with much more ease than words are. Words are loosely tied to concrete objects (and are often used to describe more complex abstract notions and ideas), while on the other hand, images offer a much more vivid and self-explanatory insight to the world.

An image can be used to break the monotony brought on by chunky wordy passages. An image can be refreshing, visually pleasing, and is, of course, worth a thousand words.

Okay, maybe not, but you get what we mean. Don’t be afraid to add some extra pictures to your own articles and blog posts. It will make your content pop, and your readers will thank you for it!

Don’t forget SEO

The SEO Gods demand worship. Luckily for you, the only sacrifice Google demands of you is that you take some time to ensure maximum SEO optimisation when you compose text.

Why is it so important? Well, statistics show that most people don’t even type web page URLs by hand anymore.

As far as online searches are considered, it comes as no surprise that everybody uses Google’s search engine. Keywords are important, but “content is king”. And you need to play fair because meddling with the dark arts and black hat SEO techniques could lead to penalisation.

Another way to ensure of bigger traffic is to optimise your content to be mobile friendly. With more searches on mobile than on desktop, it’s imperative that your articles and blog posts are optimised and formatted correctly in both mobile and desktop.

Last word

And that’s about it for today. Blog and article writing doesn’t have to be complicated. There are of course many more things to consider, and what works for one writer might not work for another.

Just remember to keep writing and to have fun while you do it. It is this format that gets people talking.

 

Article first published here: A Quick Guide To Writing Better Blogs & Articles