Before Google unleashed the penguin and panda updates there was a trend for less stringent copywriters to stuff pages full of keywords. It was an attempt to win higher search engine rankings without offering any real value or putting in much effort. Even for conscientious copywriters there was the concept of ‘keyword density’, i.e. you had to include a certain percentage of keywords for the copy to work as intended.

Many websites who use underhand methods like keyword stuffing and other over-optimisation tricks with their copy now face penalisation from Google, as well as the ever-present danger of irritating their visitors. Is the whole concept of optimised copy dead? Can the SEO copywriter still offer value now that the secret (keyword density is dead) is officially out?

Well, yes they can, as long as the copywriters are willing to adapt along with search engine algorithms.

Relevance

Keyword stuffing has been out of fashion for a long time, but keywords are still important for SEO. They are the distillation of a site’s purpose. It may seem harsh to define an entire business with a list of five words or short phrases but by basing your copy on proper keywords it will stay focussed and relevant.

Remember that SEO isn’t just about getting up the SERPs (search engine results pages) – it’s about making your content easy to find by the people who want or need to find it. When they’ve reached your site, the content should reflect what they were searching for.

The SEO copywriter can include keywords in a way that sounds natural and is clear to read. This could mean coming up with an FAQ page to catch some long tail keywords and provide a valuable service to your visitors. It could mean re-writing product descriptions to help them match appropriate search terms.

Social sharing

Embracing social media can be a useful addition to your SEO strategy. SEO copywriters (and indeed all kinds of copywriters) can formulate social media updates to attract visitors and links to good web content.

Content posted on Google+ can be especially valuable as shares and +1s affect Google search results for logged-in users.

SEO copywriters should take advantage of the possibilities here by creating content for the company profile including a full ‘about’ section and using the page regularly to update and re-share quality articles, images, videos and documents.

Fresh content

Fresh content is loved by search engines. SEO copywriters can write for their company blogs or news feeds as well as periodically refreshing the main site content to keep search engines interested.

The social sharing can also help with this process as fresh content can be shared and indexed quickly.

Today I was reading some research from the Content Marketing Institute all about what types of content are popular for businesses and what the people hiring copywriters are looking for.

The results were encouraging, suggesting that skill and quality trumped speed and cheapness for a significant majority of marketers. It also revealed that outsourcing of content production was mostly due to increase and that blogging and social are the most popular types of content for online marketing.

Cheap prospects

The majority of my work is in these areas, producing blog posts and social media content for clients. I also prefer to write good quality articles and I despair when I see job ads requesting ‘50 articles with SEO keywords for $2 per article’.

This type of copywriting, thankfully, is running out of steam, although there are still plenty of people willing to pay (very small amounts of money) for low quality writing aimed purely at harvesting search engine traffic.

Thank you Google Panda!

Ironically, it is partly due to Google that this breed of copy is dying. The infamous Panda algorithm update has changed the way Google assesses pages and makes it harder for low quality copy to rank in search results. As Google has such a massive influence on digital marketers and online businesses, it would be foolish to ignore these changes.

Other reasons for preferring good quality copy should, frankly, be obvious. All copy published by, or on behalf of, a business represents that brand and business.

Web traffic is human

Just because you’ve designed something to appeal to search engines doesn’t mean it only gets seen by search engines. The ‘traffic’ you want to attract is made up of real people and they won’t be impressed by an article that’s full of typos, grammatical errors and poorly constructed ideas.

In traditional publishing, specifically PR press releases, there was a similar shift from old-fashioned ‘puff’ – full of hyperbolic gushing about how awesome a company is – to modern, news-based articles. That is because newspapers (shockingly) wanted to publish things that people will actually want to read. And online is no different.

The point being you can’t just write any old rubbish and hope it has the desired effect. Poor quality copy that’s been created without the audience in mind will always fall flat.

You can’t boast about the mass of articles and links you have online (for only $100!) if they’re not creating any value for your business. The value lies in informing and entertaining the people who visit your web pages, considering their needs and showing that you prize them.

Remember, there is a difference between traffic (i.e. visitors to your site) and conversions (sales, subscriptions, etc.).

Ingredients:

• 8oz unsalted butter (at room temperature)
• 6oz caster sugar
• 20z dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons poppy seeds
• 1 tablespoon of candied peel
• Finely grated zest of two clementines or one large orange
• The juice of one clementine or half an orange
• 8oz self raising flour
• A splash of milk

Method:

1. Preheat the oven to 190°C
2. Cream the butter and sugars together with a fork, until they are well mixed and light
3. Add the egg, vanilla, candied peel and zest and beat in with the fork
4. Carefully stir in the flour and add milk if it gets too stiff (it should be quite thick but not impossible to stir)
5. Spoon the mixture into a greased cake tin and put it in the oven
6. Turn the temperature down to 170°C and bake for 35 minutes
7. Remove from the oven and test with a knife or cake pin. If it’s cooked, drizzle over the orange juice
8. Remove the side of your tin (if you can) and leave it on a cooling rack for a few minutes before turning out

I like this cake on its own with a cup of coffee but it would probably be nice covered in hot orange and cardamom syrup with a little clotted cream on top. Add your serving suggestions below!

Ingredients (to serve 2):

• 2 large red skinned potatos, chopped into wedges
• Rapeseed oil, or vegetable oil for coating the wedges
• Salt and pepper
• 1 teaspoon of crushed chilli flakes
• 1 teaspoon of szechuan peppercorns, crushed
• 2 beefburgers
• 2 large flat mushrooms, stalks removed
• 2 slices of white onion, 1/2cm thick
• Ketjap manis or soy sauce
• Mayonnaise
• Wasabi (or horseradish)

Method:

1. Roll the potato wedges in the oil and spices and put them on a baking tray into a 200°C oven
2. Set the timer for 45 minutes
3. Lightly oil the mushrooms and put them open-side up in a separate baking dish
4. Top with the peeled onion slices and pour ketjap manis or soy into the mushroom cavity so that the onion slices go dark brown
5. Mix mayonnaise and wasabi in a small bowl to serve as a condiment with the burgers
6. When the oven timer has 15 minutes left, put the mushrooms in the oven and start cooking your burgers under the grill or in a dry frying pan
7. Serve the mushrooms on top of the burgers, or vice versa, so that the juices mingle
8. Add wedges, wasabi mayo and ketchup* on the side

*It’s OK, some authentic Japanese recipes use ketchup too!

With this example in mind I came up with three tips to help people create useful (and easy to use) video content.

1. Add a ‘contents page’ to your videos

I’ve seen some people list the main takeaway points, or items covered, under their videos and that’s a decent starting point. Include the times at which each item starts and you have a useful guide that will help viewers scan and break up your content to find what’s relevant to them in the shortest time.

2. Provide a text alternative

Some people like to learn by reading rather than watching. It’s easier to re-read a sentence or paragraph than to stop and rewind the video, especially on some mobile devices or in areas with low connectivity. For ‘how to’ videos a list of bullet points can provide a handy alternative for people who’d rather read. For longer presentations, a carefully formatted transcript or précis is useful.

3. Don’t waste people’s time

With video content it’s easy to get carried away. People want a fancy graphic as part of the intro, then they need to explain the content, as if they were giving a live presentation. What they forget is that videos posted online have titles and descriptions. The textual ’support’ for your video should make the purpose apparent within a few seconds, negating the need for a lengthy spoken introduction.

As for those introductory graphics, remember, you’re not making a TV show and these are not your opening credits. Of course you should feature your brand but not in a way that interferes with the actual content of your video!

You also need to think about your audience when you’re scripting or planning a video. If you think about the people you want as viewers you’ll know what content should and shouldn’t be included. For example, if you’re talking to web developers don’t p*** them off by telling them how to open a Word document before getting down to the main points.

Do you have a top tip for creating great videos? Add it in the comments (but keep it clean)!

Having spent time on both sides of the recruiting fence I’ve come across so many problems. Hiring and being hired is a tough business and a poor hiring process lets down both sides, badly!

In some ways, jobs are like dating. You usually end up kissing a few frogs before settling down (or not) with Mr or Mrs Right. Matching your personality to another person is tricky enough, imagine trying to match it to a whole company! That is what we do all the time. We find a job and a company that seem OK, then we move in with them and quickly become bitter and disappointed, or stay deliriously happy. The company goes through the same thing.

When it comes to hiring programmers there is some excellent advice, detailed in this article by Jeff Attwood. It’s the kind of solution that’s needed for other roles!

Before I skipped out of the 9-5 office into the heady world of freelancing, I went through a few different jobs and recruitment processes. Agents and companies have assessed me and others many times and always seemed to fail. Here are the classic tests and recruitment methods and why they suck:

1. Basic maths tests

OK, this could be useful if you’re hiring someone straight from school with dodgy GCSE grades. If you’re hiring a post-grad with a decent B in GCSE maths it really shouldn’t be necessary. Yes, I can add and subtract and I know what the basic buttons are on a calculator. Do you actually need to waste my time and yours on that?

2. Basic literacy tests

As above, if you’re hiring a post graduate with degrees in English this really shouldn’t be necessary. Also, you should get a decent idea of my writing ability by looking at my CV, portfolio or application form with its personal statement and ‘why I’m good for the job’ sections.

3. So, what are your strengths and weaknesses?

My strengths are detailed in my CV/application form, which I was kind of hoping you’d read. My weaknesses are inter-personal skills, making a good impression during pointless interviews and answering dumb questions.

Ask me how I would approach a specific problem or project. Ask me how I interact with people. Don’t let me fob you off with generic answers for generic questions.

4. McQuaig tests

Perhaps my problem here is that I’m too keen to please. I can’t help but answer the questions how I think the employer will want them to be answered.

I’m not stupid. I have an imagination. I think about what they want and I answer questions in a way that indicates I have those qualities, even if I don’t. There’s a little arrogant streak inside of me that says, “yeah, you could do that even if it does contradict your personality.”

5. Telephone interviews

These could be fine, depending on your candidate. I have done telephone interviews for roles that didn’t involve much  phone work but because I get nervous and stressed out I do badly and don’t get any further in the interview process. But how I am on the telephone does not reflect how I am in person or how I perform at my job.

I would rather be interviewed via IM on Skype, email, or even face to face. Why not give people options? Am I being too picky?

6. Deceitful advertising

Make sure your candidates know what the job really entails.

I have spent time and money preparing for and getting to a job interview only to find out it was completely different to what I’d been led to believe in the advert.

Note to employers, if you want someone to stand in a shopping arcade handing out flyers, don’t advertise for a ‘marketing assistant’.

Don’t skimp on the details either. It doesn’t add a sense of excitement or mystery, it makes me suspicious and less inclined to apply. The more I know, the better I can decide if the job will be right for me and if I’ll be right for the job.

An informed candidate is a better candidate!

7. Recruitment agents

In my experience recruitment agents are all lazy and unscrupulous. I hope this isn’t a universal fact but that’s just my view based on the many agents I’ve had personal contact with. I’ve had a lot of problems with them!

• They push candidates into roles they’re not suitable for or keen on.
• They don’t offer the sort of things you’re looking for.
• They give bad advice on salary expectations because they want to place you as quickly as possible and claim their fee.
• The checks and tests they do are often repeated in the interview process, thus making them a pointless waste of everyone’s time. (Also, if the company you’re applying to through the agent puts you through different tests, it means that the agency hasn’t helped at all apart from forwarding your CV, which you could have done yourself).
• They also tend to lie about vacancies to encourage candidates to come in. You might see your perfect job on their website and apply immediately, then they call and you get excited. Then you go in the next day with your passport photocopy and every other form of ID you possess only to be told that the vacancy (posted yesterday) is gone, but how about this great admin role for 3k less?
• I’ve also had agents call me up months or a year after registering. One of these agents had never put me forward for a single role. What did they want? Just to see if I was still job hunting. You can imagine how reassured I was to hear them tell me they’d “keep looking”.

It’s harder to find jobs direct because you have to trawl the newspaper and a lot of websites but you shouldn’t rely on recruitment agents. They can find you work but usually not the work you want. They also charge a large percentage of your new salary so whoever hires you will have to fork out twice if you go through an agent.

For companies looking to hire, don’t imagine the recruitment agent will take the hard work out of the process. Direct advertising and recruitment processes can yield good results. You might get less candidates but they’ll probably be more suitable and more enthusiastic because they took the time to search for your role and company.

What’s your classic recruitment screw up or bugbear? Add them to the list and don’t be shy with your solutions either!

Matcha is powdered green tea and you can buy different grades, suitable for baking or drinking. Because you consume the tea leaves, unlike other types of tea which rely on infusion to transfer their flavour, you consume more antioxidants. I expect that also means you get more caffeine but I didn’t notice it when I was eating the cake. It’s just ridiculously moreish.

If you want to make it it’s worth checking a few different suppliers online to get a decent price and remember that you only need food grade matcha, so there’s no need to go for the super-duper expensive versions.

The recipe below makes a small round cake with a single layer. If you want a double-layer cake just double the quantities and add some chocolate ganache. You could also make cupcakes with this mixture by reducing the cooking time to about 15 minutes and (again) topping with ganache.

Please add your own matcha recipe suggestions in the comments.

Ingredients:

• 3 and 1/2 oz SR flour
• 1/2 oz matcha powder
• 4 oz unsalted butter
• 4 oz caster sugar
• 1 heaped dessert spoon of cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
• 1 egg
• A dash of milk

Method:

1. Beat the butter and sugar together until smooth and pale, then beat in the egg and vanilla
2. Add the flour, cocoa and matcha powder and whisk into the butter mixture
3. Add milk if the texture seems too dense and is hard to whisk
4. Pour the cake batter into a greased cake tin and bake at 170°C for 25 minutes
5. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes before taking it out of the tin to cool completely on a wire rack
6. Cut a generous wedge and serve with tea or coffee

Ingredients for 4-5 wraps:

• 4-5 soft flour tortillas
• 1/2 a red onion, roughly chopped
• 2/3 a red pepper, roughly chopped
• 2-3 spring onions, sliced
• 2 large handfuls of fine beans
• 1/2 a can of refried beans
• 1 heaped teaspoon of smoked paprika
• 1-2 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon of dried chilli flakes
• Olive oil for frying
• Strong cheddar, grated (quantity to taste)

Method:

1. Put the refried beans in a pan on a medium heat and stir in the spices
2. In a frying pan, cook the onions for a few minutes in olive oil before adding the pepper and fine beans
3. When the vegetables are cooked but still crunchy and the refried beans are hot, remove them from the heat
4. Add a tablespoon of refried beans to a tortilla and spread, leaving a gap around the edge
5. Add some vegetables in a rough line down the centre and sprinkle with cheddar
6. Fold up the bottom edge and then wrap over the two sides so that only one edge remains open
7. If the wrap won’t stay folded use a little bean mix to stick it shut
8. Sit your filled wraps close together on a baking tray or dish and bake at 200°C for 5-10 minutes until the tops are lightly crisped
9. Serve with generous splodges of guacamole and raita or sour cream

All true but I would also argue that panic is a massive motivator.

Imagine this scenario:

A friend contacts you because she’s worried – in fact scared – about her health. She doesn’t know what’s wrong but the symptoms sound like they could be serious.

After you’ve finished panicking and trying to be reassuring and supportive (and hopefully after your friend has seen the Doctor and been assured it’s nothing serious), how do you feel? What do you do?

I realised that there were projects close to my heart that I’d been afraid to act on.

For a long time I’ve been writing novels and occasionally I send my first one out to various publishers hoping to get lucky. It’s a lot of hassle printing out hundreds of pages, changing them each time to fit the specific formats of the publishing house and then posting them out. Then I wait weeks for a note (or for nothing at all) telling me “thanks, but no thanks”. I don’t pretend my fiction writing is any good – because I really don’t know. I like it but I have no idea how other people would respond.

So, I’ve decided to publish chapters from the first novel as a test case. How it goes will help me determine my next steps in the publishing field. If people like it, I’ll keep publishing chapters. Or I might put the whole book into the Jottify store.

I’m also working on a new blog, which I hope to put live soon. It’s a little short on articles at the moment but I’ve been working on that and I did some more today.

Procrastination caused by fear makes you stressed. Be brave and take the plunge.

If you’d like to read (and hopefully give feedback) on my novel, the first chapter is live on Jottify.

Have you ever had a serious health scare or know someone close to you who has? How did it affect your life?

We are all encouraged to share the content we like. It’s the online equivalent of the sort of conversation you might have in real life, along the lines of “did you see that story in the paper…?” For brands, content curation and sharing can bring multiple benefits but if that’s the only content you’re offering, it can make you look uncompetitive too.

To share, or not to share?

There are plenty of benefits associated with curating and sharing content.

Linking to other people’s blog posts, retweeting and posting third party news feeds can be a useful source of inspiration for your own content. The inspiration for this article came after viewing an article in Forbes, which had been shared on Twitter.

It’s also a method of interacting with people who could be customers, peers or industry partners.

Another important consideration is that nobody likes a spcial media show off. If you’re not sharing anyone else’s material and only talk about what you’re doing you could come across as an arrogant corporation, all “me, me, me”. It’s just not very…social!

The downside of sharing and curating comes when that’s your only or main source of content. Are you constantly retweeting every Mashable article you come across and failing to publish your own perspective? Do you have a Zoo that’s full but never used for anything else?

What makes you stand out?

If you’re worried about drowning among the cacophony of other new and re-shared content, don’t be. With creativity and resourcefulness you can create your own content that reaches people, in the same way your re-shared content does. And this time you’ll have the added bonus that people will be appreciating your creativity and your thoughts – not just thinking of you as a parrot working for other brands.

Creating your own content also gives you control over what is said and you can tailor the message for the audience you want. By producing your own content you’ll be able to speak from the heart of your brand, offering your unique insight and perspective on the issues affecting your industry. And you can still get expert help from others, such as copywriters, marketers or PR execs.

Balance works

There’s nothing wrong with a few shares balanced out with your own (good quality) material. For content that is self-produced or curated you should make sure it’s well written (or filmed, or photographed), useful and interesting.

Gain a reputation for quality with your content as you do with your products, services and everything you do or make.