Yes, deliberate mistake It grates when people write poorly, huh. When writers write well, the words almost become invisible. The focus shifts away from technical details, and onto the message. Is there an easy way to write better blog posts? E-mails? Web copy? Let’s take a look at three guidelines for web writing. 1. If You Can Say It, You Can Write It The Dilbert Mission Statement Generator - sadly now offline - comes up with convoluted gems this: “Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment so that we may continually negotiate performance based infrastructures” Satire, one would hope. However, the US Air Force uses the following mission statement: “The mission of the United States Air Force is to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests - to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace” “Deliver sovereign options”? Who talks like this? Well, apart from the US military. Nobody. Good web writing is the same as good spoken language. Use short sentences, short words, simple structures and a natural, predictable flow of ideas. Avoid waffle, hyperbole and words that hide meaning. Whenever you finish a piece of writing, read it aloud. Cut or rephrase phrases that sound clunky, because they’ll read clunky, too. Your writing will sound warm and human. The human voice is especially important online. Communicating at a distance, particularly two-way communication, is relatively new to humans. To help people connect with one another more easily, it pays to write in a warm, conversational style that mimics personal conversation when conducted in close, physical proximity. When you think about how you would say something, especially to a specific person, you choose words, expressions and structures based on that personal context. Try to imagine that person in front of you as your write. This approach works well for all applications - from formal legal sites, to personal sites. 2. Planning Planning what you’re going to say helps you to complete any writing task more quickly and easily. 1. Identify and list your goals. What is the message? What is the desired action you want your reader to take? What is the key thought you want your reader to take away? For example, a goal list might look like this: *inform people the last project went well, even though there were problems *highlight the good aspects about the project *highlight the problems *present ideas on how these problems can be overcome in the next project *get everyone revved up and excited about the next project 2. Think about the audience. Who is your audience? What do you know about the person or group? 3. Determine the right tone and format based on answers 1& 2 4. Write quickly. Don’t edit, even if your writing is a mess. Separate out your writing and editing functions. 5. Draw a solid conclusion. Calls to action work well. 6. Read aloud what you’ve written. Cut, fix and tighten. Writing comes alive in the rewrite. Solid blog posts sound spontaneous, but they’re not. They’re often structured, worked and reworked. 3. Hyperbole Doesn’t Work On The Web Hyperbole means extreme exaggeration. i.e. “All the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten this little hand”. Web readers tend to gloss over the flowery and the convoluted. On the web, people scan, so the shape of your writing - how it appears on the page - can be just as important as what you say. So think about the shape and form of your writing. Can you use bullets, headings and images to break up large blocks of text? Sometimes, the best thing to do is not write at all. Can an image convey your message? If so, use it. Also consider context. When visitors arrive on a page, a page deep within your site, do they know what your site is about from glancing at that one page? If not, consider using chunks of content to provide context. These chunks of information can be repeated on every page of your site, and should be self explanatory. Think directory entry. Your repeat visitors will become blind to it, but your first time readers will appreciate it. We could go on all day about web writing. However, we’d like to hear your tips. How do you approach writing on your site? Do you plan? Do you wing it? What style of writing gets the best results?

Excerpt from:
How To Write Good

Yes, deliberate mistake It grates when people write poorly, huh. When writers write well, the words almost become invisible. The focus shifts away from technical details, and onto the message. Is there an easy way to write better blog posts? E-mails? Web copy? Let’s take a look at three guidelines for web writing. 1. If You Can Say It, You Can Write It The Dilbert Mission Statement Generator - sadly now offline - comes up with convoluted gems this: “Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment so that we may continually negotiate performance based infrastructures” Satire, one would hope. However, the US Air Force uses the following mission statement: “The mission of the United States Air Force is to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests - to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace” “Deliver sovereign options”? Who talks like this? Well, apart from the US military. Nobody. Good web writing is the same as good spoken language. Use short sentences, short words, simple structures and a natural, predictable flow of ideas. Avoid waffle, hyperbole and words that hide meaning. Whenever you finish a piece of writing, read it aloud. Cut or rephrase phrases that sound clunky, because they’ll read clunky, too. Your writing will sound warm and human. The human voice is especially important online. Communicating at a distance, particularly two-way communication, is relatively new to humans. To help people connect with one another more easily, it pays to write in a warm, conversational style that mimics personal conversation when conducted in close, physical proximity. When you think about how you would say something, especially to a specific person, you choose words, expressions and structures based on that personal context. Try to imagine that person in front of you as your write. This approach works well for all applications - from formal legal sites, to personal sites. 2. Planning Planning what you’re going to say helps you to complete any writing task more quickly and easily. 1. Identify and list your goals. What is the message? What is the desired action you want your reader to take? What is the key thought you want your reader to take away? For example, a goal list might look like this: *inform people the last project went well, even though there were problems *highlight the good aspects about the project *highlight the problems *present ideas on how these problems can be overcome in the next project *get everyone revved up and excited about the next project 2. Think about the audience. Who is your audience? What do you know about the person or group? 3. Determine the right tone and format based on answers 1& 2 4. Write quickly. Don’t edit, even if your writing is a mess. Separate out your writing and editing functions. 5. Draw a solid conclusion. Calls to action work well. 6. Read aloud what you’ve written. Cut, fix and tighten. Writing comes alive in the rewrite. Solid blog posts sound spontaneous, but they’re not. They’re often structured, worked and reworked. 3. Hyperbole Doesn’t Work On The Web Hyperbole means extreme exaggeration. i.e. “All the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten this little hand”. Web readers tend to gloss over the flowery and the convoluted. On the web, people scan, so the shape of your writing - how it appears on the page - can be just as important as what you say. So think about the shape and form of your writing. Can you use bullets, headings and images to break up large blocks of text? Sometimes, the best thing to do is not write at all. Can an image convey your message? If so, use it. Also consider context. When visitors arrive on a page, a page deep within your site, do they know what your site is about from glancing at that one page? If not, consider using chunks of content to provide context. These chunks of information can be repeated on every page of your site, and should be self explanatory. Think directory entry. Your repeat visitors will become blind to it, but your first time readers will appreciate it. We could go on all day about web writing. However, we’d like to hear your tips. How do you approach writing on your site? Do you plan? Do you wing it? What style of writing gets the best results?

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How To Write Good

Yes, deliberate mistake It grates when people write poorly, huh. When writers write well, the words almost become invisible. The focus shifts away from technical details, and onto the message. Is there an easy way to write better blog posts? E-mails? Web copy? Let’s take a look at three guidelines for web writing. 1. If You Can Say It, You Can Write It The Dilbert Mission Statement Generator - sadly now offline - comes up with convoluted gems this: “Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment so that we may continually negotiate performance based infrastructures” Satire, one would hope. However, the US Air Force uses the following mission statement: “The mission of the United States Air Force is to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests - to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace” “Deliver sovereign options”? Who talks like this? Well, apart from the US military. Nobody. Good web writing is the same as good spoken language. Use short sentences, short words, simple structures and a natural, predictable flow of ideas. Avoid waffle, hyperbole and words that hide meaning. Whenever you finish a piece of writing, read it aloud. Cut or rephrase phrases that sound clunky, because they’ll read clunky, too. Your writing will sound warm and human. The human voice is especially important online. Communicating at a distance, particularly two-way communication, is relatively new to humans. To help people connect with one another more easily, it pays to write in a warm, conversational style that mimics personal conversation when conducted in close, physical proximity. When you think about how you would say something, especially to a specific person, you choose words, expressions and structures based on that personal context. Try to imagine that person in front of you as your write. This approach works well for all applications - from formal legal sites, to personal sites. 2. Planning Planning what you’re going to say helps you to complete any writing task more quickly and easily. 1. Identify and list your goals. What is the message? What is the desired action you want your reader to take? What is the key thought you want your reader to take away? For example, a goal list might look like this: *inform people the last project went well, even though there were problems *highlight the good aspects about the project *highlight the problems *present ideas on how these problems can be overcome in the next project *get everyone revved up and excited about the next project 2. Think about the audience. Who is your audience? What do you know about the person or group? 3. Determine the right tone and format based on answers 1& 2 4. Write quickly. Don’t edit, even if your writing is a mess. Separate out your writing and editing functions. 5. Draw a solid conclusion. Calls to action work well. 6. Read aloud what you’ve written. Cut, fix and tighten. Writing comes alive in the rewrite. Solid blog posts sound spontaneous, but they’re not. They’re often structured, worked and reworked. 3. Hyperbole Doesn’t Work On The Web Hyperbole means extreme exaggeration. i.e. “All the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten this little hand”. Web readers tend to gloss over the flowery and the convoluted. On the web, people scan, so the shape of your writing - how it appears on the page - can be just as important as what you say. So think about the shape and form of your writing. Can you use bullets, headings and images to break up large blocks of text? Sometimes, the best thing to do is not write at all. Can an image convey your message? If so, use it. Also consider context. When visitors arrive on a page, a page deep within your site, do they know what your site is about from glancing at that one page? If not, consider using chunks of content to provide context. These chunks of information can be repeated on every page of your site, and should be self explanatory. Think directory entry. Your repeat visitors will become blind to it, but your first time readers will appreciate it. We could go on all day about web writing. However, we’d like to hear your tips. How do you approach writing on your site? Do you plan? Do you wing it? What style of writing gets the best results?

See the rest here: 
How To Write Good

Yes, deliberate mistake It grates when people write poorly, huh. When writers write well, the words almost become invisible. The focus shifts away from technical details, and onto the message. Is there an easy way to write better blog posts? E-mails? Web copy? Let’s take a look at three guidelines for web writing. 1. If You Can Say It, You Can Write It The Dilbert Mission Statement Generator - sadly now offline - comes up with convoluted gems this: “Our challenge is to assertively network economically sound methods of empowerment so that we may continually negotiate performance based infrastructures” Satire, one would hope. However, the US Air Force uses the following mission statement: “The mission of the United States Air Force is to deliver sovereign options for the defense of the United States of America and its global interests - to fly and fight in Air, Space, and Cyberspace” “Deliver sovereign options”? Who talks like this? Well, apart from the US military. Nobody. Good web writing is the same as good spoken language. Use short sentences, short words, simple structures and a natural, predictable flow of ideas. Avoid waffle, hyperbole and words that hide meaning. Whenever you finish a piece of writing, read it aloud. Cut or rephrase phrases that sound clunky, because they’ll read clunky, too. Your writing will sound warm and human. The human voice is especially important online. Communicating at a distance, particularly two-way communication, is relatively new to humans. To help people connect with one another more easily, it pays to write in a warm, conversational style that mimics personal conversation when conducted in close, physical proximity. When you think about how you would say something, especially to a specific person, you choose words, expressions and structures based on that personal context. Try to imagine that person in front of you as your write. This approach works well for all applications - from formal legal sites, to personal sites. 2. Planning Planning what you’re going to say helps you to complete any writing task more quickly and easily. 1. Identify and list your goals. What is the message? What is the desired action you want your reader to take? What is the key thought you want your reader to take away? For example, a goal list might look like this: *inform people the last project went well, even though there were problems *highlight the good aspects about the project *highlight the problems *present ideas on how these problems can be overcome in the next project *get everyone revved up and excited about the next project 2. Think about the audience. Who is your audience? What do you know about the person or group? 3. Determine the right tone and format based on answers 1& 2 4. Write quickly. Don’t edit, even if your writing is a mess. Separate out your writing and editing functions. 5. Draw a solid conclusion. Calls to action work well. 6. Read aloud what you’ve written. Cut, fix and tighten. Writing comes alive in the rewrite. Solid blog posts sound spontaneous, but they’re not. They’re often structured, worked and reworked. 3. Hyperbole Doesn’t Work On The Web Hyperbole means extreme exaggeration. i.e. “All the perfumes of Arabia could not sweeten this little hand”. Web readers tend to gloss over the flowery and the convoluted. On the web, people scan, so the shape of your writing - how it appears on the page - can be just as important as what you say. So think about the shape and form of your writing. Can you use bullets, headings and images to break up large blocks of text? Sometimes, the best thing to do is not write at all. Can an image convey your message? If so, use it. Also consider context. When visitors arrive on a page, a page deep within your site, do they know what your site is about from glancing at that one page? If not, consider using chunks of content to provide context. These chunks of information can be repeated on every page of your site, and should be self explanatory. Think directory entry. Your repeat visitors will become blind to it, but your first time readers will appreciate it. We could go on all day about web writing. However, we’d like to hear your tips. How do you approach writing on your site? Do you plan? Do you wing it? What style of writing gets the best results?

Original post: 
How To Write Good

This is part of a series of stories from people who have shared how Google has helped them in their lives. Check back the rest of this week for more, and if you have a Google story, tell us about it . -Ed. I work on projects to help people communicate between languages—whether to read in foreign languages, write in different scripts or chat with people in other countries. Helping people understand information and each other, regardless of language, is an incredibly rewarding experience. This is why it’s always exciting to hear real testimonials from people who have used our language tools—especially in unexpected ways. Ryan, from Ottawa, shared this moving story of how he used Google Transliteration to learn his future fiancée’s native language: Received: 1/14/2010 From: Ryan In October 2009, I proposed to my wonderful girlfriend, Irina, and am happy to report we are getting married this Summer. Although we met and fell in love in North America, I am from the United States, while she is originally from Bangladesh. As our relationship developed, I naturally felt compelled to learn my fiancee’s native language, to better understand her life and to learn to communicate to her non-English-speaking family members. Recalling my junior high Spanish courses, I put together a list of English words I figured I should learn in Bangla and passed the list to Irina. After she had translated them for me, I clumsily began constructing awkward sentences and surprising her with them. To help push my education along further, I transferred my word list into a Google spreadsheet via Google Documents. Whenever Irina would use a Bangla word I hadn’t heard before, I would ask her what it meant, and then immediately put the word into my Google Document, which I titled “Bangla Dictionary.”; My dictionary grew and grew. Today it contains over 350 words and phrases. As much as I enjoyed this process, in less than a year I had reached a “peak” and learned as much Bangla as I would ever learn using this method. I realized that if I were ever to learn how to speak Bangla, I would need to become LITERATE in Bangla. That was when I discovered Google Transliteration. Irina had already shown me how to express Bangla words in English characters. By using your Transliteration feature I could spell a word the only way I knew how, and see immediately what it looked like in Bangla! With the help of a few online Bengali alphabet sites, I could now start learning the characters in the contexts of words and sentences I understood. I am happy to report that I am finally learning to read and write in Bangla. Thanks to your applications, I have learned a second language, become closer to my fiancee, and have opened the door toward building strong ties in my new Bangladeshi family. We’re always happy to hear how people are using our tools to achieve their goals and, in this case, build relationships with future in-laws across the globe. We wish all the best to Ryan and Irina and here’s to many more years of communicating in Bangla! Posted by Anjali Joshi, Director, Product Management

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Your Google stories: finding the right words

[ Cross-posted on Google Public Policy Blog ]� Bending, walking, breathing, hearing, seeing and sleeping are simple things that are often taken for granted, as are thinking, learning, and communicating. Twenty years ago today, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. This milestone legislation bans persons or companies from discriminating against anyone with limited abilities. It’s hard to imagine a world in which the right to participate in activities commonly enjoyed by the bulk of the population are denied or inadequately accommodated, but that was the case before ADA. The efforts of the advocates who came to Washington two decades ago to rally for their civil rights has transformed so much of the modern world around us. As someone who’s worn hearing aids since I was 13, for example, I very much appreciate that most television programs and DVDs or Blu-Ray disks are captioned. On my way home, I might pass through a door that I know is wide enough for a wheelchair — because the ADA set the building codes that require it. I see service animals on the DC Metro, accessible checkout aisles at my grocery store, ramps on sidewalks, and designated parking in movie theater lots: all there because of the important provisions included in the ADA. Whereas the ADA set legal standards for ensuring equal rights for Americans with disabilities, Google is keenly aware that technology can help all users better enjoy the world around them. From opening millions of titles of printed content to persons with visual impairments through Google Book Search , to providing ready and easy-to-use captions on YouTube , to including a built-in screenreader and text-to-speech engine in Android , to introducing new extensions on Chrome to make online text easier to read, we’re serious about honoring our mission to make the world’s information universally accessible and useful . You can keep up with our progress at google.com/accessibility . Congratulations to all those who work to make the ADA a living, breathing reality. For all the years I’ve been working on policy in Washington, it’s still rare to see a law that has had as positive and fundamental an influence on our lives as this Act. There still is work to be done to meet the goals of ADA, and we are committed to doing our part. Posted by Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist

Original post:
Honoring the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

[ Cross-posted on Google Public Policy Blog ]� Bending, walking, breathing, hearing, seeing and sleeping are simple things that are often taken for granted, as are thinking, learning, and communicating. Twenty years ago today, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law. This milestone legislation bans persons or companies from discriminating against anyone with limited abilities. It’s hard to imagine a world in which the right to participate in activities commonly enjoyed by the bulk of the population are denied or inadequately accommodated, but that was the case before ADA. The efforts of the advocates who came to Washington two decades ago to rally for their civil rights has transformed so much of the modern world around us. As someone who’s worn hearing aids since I was 13, for example, I very much appreciate that most television programs and DVDs or Blu-Ray disks are captioned. On my way home, I might pass through a door that I know is wide enough for a wheelchair — because the ADA set the building codes that require it. I see service animals on the DC Metro, accessible checkout aisles at my grocery store, ramps on sidewalks, and designated parking in movie theater lots: all there because of the important provisions included in the ADA. Whereas the ADA set legal standards for ensuring equal rights for Americans with disabilities, Google is keenly aware that technology can help all users better enjoy the world around them. From opening millions of titles of printed content to persons with visual impairments through Google Book Search , to providing ready and easy-to-use captions on YouTube , to including a built-in screenreader and text-to-speech engine in Android , to introducing new extensions on Chrome to make online text easier to read, we’re serious about honoring our mission to make the world’s information universally accessible and useful . You can keep up with our progress at google.com/accessibility . Congratulations to all those who work to make the ADA a living, breathing reality. For all the years I’ve been working on policy in Washington, it’s still rare to see a law that has had as positive and fundamental an influence on our lives as this Act. There still is work to be done to meet the goals of ADA, and we are committed to doing our part. Posted by Vint Cerf, Chief Internet Evangelist

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Honoring the 20th Anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act

Google Analytics workshops and seminars are happening everywhere this summer! If you’ve had excuses in the past, there’s now no excuse not to take a day of training to become an expert and get a leg up. Chances are there’s one happening near you when you’re available — just take a look at the Google Analytics seminars offered on the Seminars For Success portal. These are one day seminars, either beginner or advanced, where you’ll ramp up into a high proficiency or fine tune your knowledge with fantastic instructors. Over the next 3 months, they are happening in: Berkeley, CA Austin, TX Washington, DC Los Angeles, CA San Diego, CA Boston, MA Dallas, TX And internationally, you can attend seminars in Glasgow, Manchester, London, Melbourne or Sydney. They’re inexpensive, and you’ll get a lot of bang for your buck, including hands on instruction, an AdWords credit, educational materials and some more good stuff. Take a look and register! And then, after the Summer ends, there will be more opportunities to learn about Google Analytics, and here’s one we want to highlight. The SMX East conference is a fantastic place to bone up on the latest in the world of SEM, SEO, social media marketing, analytics and more. In partnership with SMX East, Feras Alhlou, Principal Marketing Consultant @ E-Nor (a Google Analytics Certified Partner ) will be conducting a full day workshop on Google Analytics at the conference. When registering at this page , you’ll see a workshops option, including Google Analytics - that’s the one you want. Whether you are a marketer or a webmaster, this workshop will help you help give you more clarity and help you take the right action. I’ve attended Feras’ workshops before, and they’re insightful, practical, inspiring and helpful. Here’s the workshop agenda: Morning Session – Marketer/Business Focus – Strategy & Planning Web Analytics Strategy – approach, opportunities and limitations How It Works – overview, accuracy and privacy implications, integrating with other data Practical – understanding the user interface Advanced Features Overview – clever stuff you can do with Google Analytics Afternoon Session – Webmaster/Technical Focus – Implementation Accounts & Profiles, Filters & Goals – structure your data properly External Campaign Tracking – measure performance of search, email & banner campaigns Reporting – dashboards & insights Advanced Segmentation & Custom Reports – powerful ways to find insights Need more incentive? Register before July 30 and save money on the Super Early Bird Special. That’s not enough? Here is a discount code for $100 discount: smx100gaw (case sensitive) or simply you can use this URL: https://www.eiseverywhere.com/east10?discountcode=smx100gaw Get your analytics expertise in shape and you’ll be ahead of the curve in no time, building practical skills in a tool near and dear to our hearts. Posted by Jeff Gillis, Google Analytics Team

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Summer Excuses?

This is one of a regular series of posts on search experience updates. Look for the label This week in search and subscribe to the series. - Ed. One of our goals is to deliver the web content you’re looking for as fast as possible. From under-the-hood indexing improvements and small feature enhancements that make search more relevant and intuitive, to directly delivering content to your inbox in your native tongue, all these enhancements are focused on getting you the results you’re looking for—fast. Back in December, I wrote here about our efforts in speed, or what we call time-to-result. This week, I’m pleased to revisit this topic and share three new releases from our search teams that showcase the fruits of this focus: World Cup scores and schedules This week marked the start of an exciting time for football fans the world over. As many of those fans scour the web for scores and information on the tournament, we want to help organize and present those results as quick and simply as possible. So when you complete a search related to the World Cup, you’ll see live scores, latest results and match schedules at the top of your search results. You’ll also find TV broadcast information and quick links for game recaps, live updates, standings and team profiles. The feature works on all Google search domains in 44 languages, including Afrikaans, Amharic, Swahili and Zulu. Example searches: [ world cup ], [ world cup spain ] and [ world cup group g ] Google Alerts in 40 languages Google Alerts , which we launched in 2003, automatically searches the web to find new information about topics you’re interested in and deliver it directly to your inbox. This week, we extended Google Alerts availability to 40 languages, expanding the reach of this helpful product. Google Alerts now supports Arabic, Bulgarian, Catalan, Croatian, Czech, Danish, Filipino, Finnish, Greek, Hindi, Hungarian, Indonesian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Norwegian, Polish, Romanian, Russian, Serbian, Slovak, Slovenian, Swedish, Thai, Turkish, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. So, for example, if you want to keep up to date with your favorite World Cup footballer, create an alert for his name and new results will be delivered to your inbox. This feature is helpful to English speakers too—try translating your query into other languages to find out what’s being talked about around the world. To get started, visit the alerts page in your country’s domain (for example, here’s Arabic in Egypt: www.google.com.eg/alerts ). Caffeine indexing system This week, we announced the completion of a new web indexing system called Caffeine. This new indexing system provides fresher results for web searches (nearly 50 percent fresher than our previous system) and it’s the largest collection of web content we’ve offered. We built Caffeine to help us meet the evolving expectations of our users, especially as content across the web becomes more global and is published in real time. Caffeine is the definition of speed for us, and we were excited to make this announcement and continue to bring you the best possible content—faster than ever before. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned for more enhancements next week. Posted by Jack Menzel, Product Management Director, Search

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This week in search 6/11/10

There is obviously no shortage of information on SEO. But thanks for turning up here The sheer avalanche of SEO information can be overwhelming, for beginners and experts alike. Who do you know who to listen to? What information do you need to know, and what information is filler? Why should you even listen to SEOBook ? 1. Most Information Published On SEO Is Filler You can learn 80% of what you need to know about SEO pretty quickly. You don’t need the additional 20% in order to achieve, unless you’re a masochist - otherwise known as an SEO professional Most of the information you’ll come across on the topic of SEO is written by, and for, a professional/enthusiast crowd. There is a massive echo chamber of opinion, constantly replenished, produced using publishing tools based on the notion of communicating something , often . It can result in a lot of noise, and not much in the way of signal, especially when you’re learning. If you’re starting out, and want to focus on learning SEO, it’s a good idea to tune the industry chatter out . It’s more likely to confuse than help in the early stages. 2. Understand The Business Of Search Search engines aren’t your friend. At best, they tolerate SEO , but only when it aligns with company goals. The search engines have a business to run, and their goals aren’t the same as yours . Whilst search engine reps often come across as helpful and friendly, because they typically are helpful and friendly people , keep in mind that what they are saying serves their company first and foremost. Any advice they give you is, quite rightly, designed to further company goals . That’s their job. Chances are, your goals and the search engines goals will be aligned in many areas, but take their advice with a grain of salt. They don’t care if your site succeeds or not, as there are plenty of other sites to index. 3. Define Goals Before you undertake SEO, define your website goals. Do you want to make more money? Get more attention? Get more leads? The purpose of SEO is to get your site seen in the search engines. Your aim is to attract the visitors that help you achieve your goals. A high ranking for a certain keyword won’t necessarily help you achieve your goals unless your site matches visitor intent. Think about the web from a visitors point of view. What do they want to find? What content will they engage with? What will they spend their money on? There’s little point ranking well if the content you provide doesn’t make you money and/or gain audience. It’s getting increasingly difficult to rank pages that aren’t closely aligned with the searchers intent . So, the more you understand your audience , and the more content that matches their intent, the more you’ll get out of SEO. 4. Get A Credible, Well Organized Course Like SEOBook’s course for example This isn’t a sales pitch. There are a number of great courses out there. Choose one or two that suit your budget and objectives, and dive in. Chances are, you will need to shell out some money, but the cost of a decent, well structured course is nothing compared to the wasted effort spent heading in the wrong direction. In a nutshell, SEO is about about publishing content people want to engage with, and linking . You need to create content that matches visitor intent, you need to be crawlable, and you need to have inbound links . Good SEO courses will have this message at their core. Did I mention links enough ? 5. Connect With People It’s natural to want the secret sauce - those secret dark techniques that result in number one rankings. Whilst this was characteristic of SEO years ago, it’s less true now. These days, SEO is more a holistic, strategic process aimed at connecting with people, as opposed to a dark, technical art aimed at tricking machines. Focus on making connections with people. That means understanding what people want. You can do this by undertaking basic market research, using the search engines themselves! 6. Test Don’t listen to me. Well, maybe just a bit. Don’t listen to the repeaters in forums. Test and measure for yourself. It’s one of the best SEO courses you can do. It’s ongoing, and it’s free. Start with a simple, focused well constructed site. What is a well constructed site in terms of SEO? With every change you make, every new SEO strategy you adopt, test the results. Did the change help you achieve your website goals? Did you get more traffic? Better quality traffic? If your rankings improved, did this result in more/better traffic? It can be difficult to isolate variables at the best of times, but there is no chance of doing so if you try too many techniques all at once. Make changes one step at a time. Test and measure repeat. Become at expert at measuring SEO against your goals. Build up your own private knowledge base of SEO in your niche. Your niche may require different strategies to other niches, which is why well-meaning advice in forums and on blogs can hinder you. You’ll also become a better judge of who is offering you good advice, and who is just repeating something they heard.

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Learning SEO: It Can Get Noisy