But site copy? Anytime that topic is brought up, most clients proudly boast that they have already posted their brochure’s information on their site and that works just fine.

Well, it doesn’t. Content optimization is a skill that few people possess. Words sell, images don’t. You need to get the user to take action! So, in that spirit, here is a list of things to do and ones to avoid:

Things to do:

• Use the main keyphrase you are targeting on every page, except for the home page.
• Use keyphrases in your hyperlinks.
• Create a page title that is intriguing and eye catching. Remember words sell, graphics don’t.
• Limit your keyword usage to 2 or 3 keywords per page. Otherwise, you may get tagged for keyword spamming.
• Create supplemental content like FAQ pages, how-to pages, industry glossary and related articles about the product.
• Use the description meta tag. Google refers to this when it can’t find content or a listing in DMOZ.
• Always keep an eye on competitors and how they rank for the same keywords.
• Focus on the the pages that have your best conversion rates.
• Think like a reporter, asking the five W questions (who, what, when, where, why).
• Display your location. Studies indicate that people look for local vendors, even when online.

Things to avoid:

• Inserting keywords into copyrighted material.
• Forgetting what your audience is looking for.
• Leaving the title of your page as “Untitled”.
• Using too many graphics.
• Waiting to implement copy changes for expected seasonal sales. You need 6-months when optimizing seasonal content to give the engines time to adjust to your alterations.

Content optimization is a continual process of monitoring and updating. By staying true to this course, you’ll see the results in your sales.

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss

Well, the Television is the “First” screen, the PC is the “Second” screen, and next up: The Cell phone, PDA and Blackberry.

These are the hand-held devices that almost everyone in the world has, and since they are portable, they can become more important than the TV and PC.

Why should you be concerned?

Coding for third screen is a different monster to tackle for developers - unless they build the entire site in CSS (Cascading Style Sheets) - then the screen size doesn’t matter, since the technology will automatically adjust to the screen size.

So how can you possibly “optimize” for third screen?

As any technology emerges, there are many players who try to define the industry by taking the lead by providing better service, results or products. There will be sites that will house content where third screen viewers will visit to get their content.

Whether it’s from Yahoo or some newly created portal site that becomes a leader, getting third screeners to those sites will be a new challenge that will have tremendous payoffs.

Besides making content easily accessible, but buidling site functionality that functions on a cell phone will determine the life and death of the next Amazon.

Have you ever tried to look for anything on the Internet through your cell phone? The easier a user can find what they want, the more likely they will return to your service to re-use it.

Third screeners who find valuable sites will gladly enter their cell number to get updates from trusted sources.

By ignoring the third screen, you could potentially be ignoring billions of potential buyers of your product or services.

-To your online success!

Paul Bliss
www.SEOforGoogle.com