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Hippo Newsletter 2: Ideas for Content
Last Newsletter of 2005 is here!The year 2005 is practically gone! How has your website (or websites) changed? Are you keeping it updated? Have you been adding fresh content? Are adding more information that will be of benefit to your audience? These are the things we have been working hard on here. In fact, we have actually started several new websites this year. In harmony with our Internet Marketing, we have created Hippo Sent Me. We have also redesigned our primary site (this one). As some of you know, we also are involved in shopping search. Along those lines, we have updated Shopping Search Information and Froogle Tools. There are several more projects in the works for 2006. Whatever your industry, please make plans now to add to your content. You may remember that was our subject in last week's newsletter (Content Is King). This newsletter adds information along that same topic. Namely, ideas for content... Ideas for adding Content to your siteBy now, you know that "Content is King" and that you should therefore add content to your site. You know that it helps your chances on the search engines. Ideally, it helps your visitors as well. So what exactly do we mean by content? What are some examples? Let's list a few ideas... 1. ARTICLES: As mentioned last week, an article that uses a target search phrase in the title and several times in the text is probably an ideal page of content. These articles should have 300-400 words of text, 2-3 subheadings, and use the phrase throughout, but not too much. It may also be good to use the phrase in bullet points, and perhaps in bold and/or italic. Some feel strongly that target phrases should be used toward the top of the article. 2. PRESS RELEASES: Similarly, you can create simple press releases and post them on your site. These can follow the same guidelines as above and even be submitted to the usual online PR sources. See our other site for press release websites. 3. NEWSLETTERS: If you write a regular newsletter, be sure to post the information on your website. (Like I do here.) 4. TECHNICAL INFORMATION: One of my clients has created unique pages that center around specific Windows Security Log Events. Each one of these pages serves as content and draws many visitors searching for this info EVERY DAY. We have worked together to get these visitors to sign up for his newsletter. He then continues to provide valuable information to them and markets his Windows Security Seminars to them. It works! Do you have similar information in your trade? 5. BLOGGING: Creating a simple blog and adding general on-topic comments on a regular basis builds content. 6. OTHER IDEAS: The list goes on and on. Try discussing it with your web developer or another trusted friend. Discuss your target audience. Discuss your target keyword phrases. The ideas will start rolling. Most importantly, just get started!! Don't think too much about it. Just start writing. The sooner you get started, the more the ideas will come. Don't wait for the "ideal page of content" to hit you. The more you write, the easier it will be come, and the more ideas will come to you. My RecommendationsOur favorite find of 2005 for us at Hippo is a new program that creates websites easier than anything we have ever seen! It's called XSitePro. We love it so much here that we have four versions of it installed in our office. In fact, two of our employees have got versions working at home as well. Why is it so great? Basically, it makes building websites easier than ever before. You can determine the look and feel of the site, but the strength of it is how easy it is to add content. (See the relation to the above comments yet?) I could go on and on about this program. But the links on our Hippo Sent Me website say it all already. Click here to learn more about XSitePro. Big Changes at Hippo!Big changes are happening here! Starting in January 2006, we are making many new services available. This is in response to an overwhelming need for Internet Marketing training and consulting, especially in our area of Asheville, NC. Beause of this, we are changing from being an "Internet Marketing Company" to offering "Internet Marketing Consulting and Training". You will note on our site that we now offer a Mentoring program that starts at only $200 per month. This program includes personalized custom assistance to your website. We are also now offering a very interesting (and inexpensive) package to outsource Keyword Research to us. Another exciting development is our new Google Groups discussion forum. I'm happy to say that several have signed up and we are having some great discussions in there. Please let me know if you would like to join us. You can see some of the latest topics here. As for my wife and I, we are leaving tomorrow for Massachusetts for a week to visit my family. When we return, my 17 year old niece will be coming back with us to live in North Carolina for a week and a half. That should be fun. I hope all is well with you and your family. See you again in 2006!! Please be sure to sign up if you got to this page some other way. Corey Creed |
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