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How big is the Internet? Digital copywriter advice

May 30, 2014, Posted in Content Marketing, Copywriting | No comments

The Internet is undeniably big. So big that even Google cannot seem to decide how much content is out there. In 2008 the official Google blog claimed there were over 1 trillion webpages (1,000,000,000,000) in existence. But by 2012 they were only indexing 50 billion.

The worldwide web is growing every day.

Maybe the de-indexing of content farms helped streamline the Internet a bit, but we’ll never know for sure. Especially seeing as everyone gave up trying to count the web in 2012.

The exponential growth of web content is great news if you are buyer. Much less so as a seller. With literally billions of webpages to compete against, how can your business stand out?

Digital content writing must be exceptional

Let’s face it...

3 tips to regain your own copywriting voice

March 6, 2014, Posted in Blogging, Copywriting | 2 comments

Yesterday one of my copywriting contacts blogged about how writing for clients and adopting their tone of voice meant that she had lost her own personality. Although Rachel can write compelling text for her clients, she noticed that her own blog posts lacked a certain zing.

A picture of a sparkler symbolising the lost creative copywriting spark

Lost your copywriting mojo? Here’s 3 tips to reignite that spark

Has she lost her soul in the process of channelling her clients wishes?

Unless Rachel is working for Lucifer himself (it is possible – I’ve never seen her client list), the answer is no. Here’s my tips for getting her mojo back.

1. Stay diverse

An extremely successful copywriter once told me it is far better to specialise in a niche, than to be a jobbing writer for all trades. And he was probably completely right.

But for the professional researcher/writer

“Scroogled” – When assassination by copy fails

November 29, 2013, Posted in Copywriting, Marketing | 2 comments

Some time ago I wrote a short series of articles about different copywriting techniques you could use to distinguish your business from the competition. One of those techniques I named “Assassination”, because the aim was to discredit your competitor through unfavourable copy (or by being downright nasty).

Apparently software giant Microsoft didn’t read that article before launching their new “Scroogled” campaign though. “Scroogled” is a multi-channel assault on search giant Google, criticising their approach to collecting and mining personal data. The Scroogled campaign has appeared in print, on TV, online and on billboards. Most surprisingly of all, Microsoft even saw fit to launch a range of Scroogled merchandise, available from their US website.

An example of Scroogled merchandise from...

“Not provided” and how to screw Google back

September 27, 2013, Posted in SEO, Website Content | No comments

Google has announced plans they say are designed to protect the privacy of people using their search engine. The idea is to encrypt the search terms we use, thereby preventing anyone from spying on what we are looking for. In future webmasters will see nothing but “not provided” in their website logs.

Google already uses the same technique to encrypt searches performed by users of their other services, such as Gmail or Drive. Anything you search for is encrypted so that not even website owners know exactly what you were looking for when you land on their site. The idea is to extend this same privacy to anyone using Google search.

Picture of a question mark in response to "not provided" from Google Analytics

What are your visitors searching for? You’ll never know thanks to “not provided”.

But this promise of privacy is, of course, complete rubbish...

Copywriting tip – What happens when the PPC budget runs out?

August 5, 2013, Posted in Content Marketing, Copywriting, SEO | No comments

By far the easiest way to get on the first page of Google is to pay for a sponsored results listing. Choose your keyword, set a budget and watch with delight as your website pops up at the top of matching searches. Amazing!

PPC search results are great. Until you run out of money.

Your site will continue to appear in the sponsored search results section at the top of the page and your account will be debited the pennies or pounds quoted for your chosen keyword. Until you hit your budget limit. When you run out of PPC funds, your sponsored links immediately disappear, which is a problem if your site does not have some great search engine optimised (SEO) content to rely on.

Great content is what helps your website climb up the Google rankings “organically” (your hard work is recognised by G...

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