Blog | Page 10 of 11 | Digital Marketing Blog by Author Carrie Morgan

Content Marketing: Can You Use Other People’s Blog Posts?

September 21, 2019February 26, 2014

Maybe you were reading through your email this morning, or checking your Twitter stream, and you came across an article with an interesting headline. So you clicked it. Eureka! It’s like it was pulled straight from your own brain! You have to share it with your readers!

So you copy it, paste it into your own blog, give the author a line of credit in acknowledgement for their great work, then hit the publish button. Check off “write post” on your to-do list, pat yourself on the back and move on to the next task. Right?

WRONG.

That’s content theft and I’ll tell you why.

In Plain English, Please…

September 21, 2019February 12, 2014

Semantic search? What the h e double hockey stick is semantic search?

Okay, maybe Tuesday’s post (Is Semantic Search Enough To Help You Rank Well?) was a little too much geek-speak for some of you. Especially if you don’t really follow SEO trends.

But it matters, so here it is again, in plain English this time.

Google is learning to give people search results based on assumptions. “You asked for X, but you probably really meant Y. Plus, Z would really interest you, too… ” In the most simplified terms possible, this is semantic search.

It’s still in early stages, so why should you care? Because it should shift how you are creating content. Context now matters. A lot. Google is starting to rely on your existing content to add context to your new content.

Instead of ranking for one extremely literal keyword or phrase, which has been the focus of SEO in the past – Google wants to help you rank for variations of similar search terms. It impacts both search engine optimization and, especially, the blogging portion of content marketing.

SEO For PR & Content Marketing: Is Semantic Search Enough To Help You Rank Well?

September 21, 2019February 11, 2014

I love last week’s Wired article about semantic search – which is Google’s shift from only recognizing specific keywords and phrases to ranking content for terms relevant to a larger conversation. It’s the difference between ranking for one phrase, versus ranking for multiple phrases that are worded differently but all mean the same thing.

“Consumers increasingly expect search engines to understand natural language and perceive the intent behind the words they type in, and search engine algorithms are rising to this challenge. This evolution in search has dramatic implications for marketers, consumers, technology developers and content creators — and it’s still the early days for this rapidly changing environment,” states author Kerstin Recker (@MsKtia).

The changes are both a blessing and a curse, and I have concerns that the dialog happening is very one-sided. Without understanding the bigger picture and realizing the technology is still in its infancy, it is easy to be mislead and complacent that content will rank well organically with no added effort.

How To Blog When You Don’t Have One

September 21, 2019January 7, 2014

Guest blogging to the rescue!!

One of the most powerful editorial tools we have as PR professionals is writing and placing guest blog posts on behalf of our clients or employer. And you don’t need a blog of your own to do it.

I’ve been running into one specific misunderstanding about blogging over and over this month – and I think it’s especially important to clarify.

When I talk about guest blogging, I’ve had multiple people chime in to say “oh, but I don’t have a blog.”

You don’t need to have your own blog to write for other blogs.

Zip. Zilch. Not a single post. You don’t even need any blogging experience. If you can write, you can do it.

Press Release Headlines – Does Length Really Matter?

September 21, 2019December 19, 2013

When it comes to a press release, headlines are everything.

It determines whether or not a journalist will consider the press release newsworthy and worth reading.
It drives social sharing (or discourages it), based on the topic and how compelling it is.
It impacts click-through rates on search engines, depending how well-written it is.
It has a huge impact on search visibility (SEO), if keywords or phrases are integrated correctly.

Not only should it be well-written, compelling and seeded with a keyword or phrase – low on hype, please – but length matters more than most realize. Here are a few quick guidelines to keep in mind.

Is Your Twitter App Creating Negative Social Proof?

September 21, 2019December 1, 2013

Like dominoes falling once you tap that very first one, most people follow the actions of the majority – an unstoppable tide of chain reaction.

Especially when it involves influencers. They assume if an influencer – or what looks like the majority – are doing something, then it must be the right thing to do. Good or bad.

Called social proof, people are apt to make quick decisions based on what other people are doing… following the assumption that popularity equals valuable information.

How to Choose the Best Blog Syndication or Guest Post Opportunities

September 21, 2019November 23, 2013

There’s a lot to love about having your posts syndicated. More visibility. More reach. More traffic. More influence. More social sharing.

Same goes for writing guest blog posts – if content marketing is your strategy, mastering website selection for where to place that content is essential. Otherwise, you’ll be creating content, but not results.

If you are a public relations professional, post syndication and guest posting are absolutely critical tools in building digital influence for your clients.

Sprinkles or Frosting? Dress Up Your Content Cupcake With These 12 Fantastic Blog Plug-Ins.

September 21, 2019November 20, 2013

Without plug-ins, a blog is a simple vanilla cupcake.

No frosting. No sprinkles. No glorious fudge center that makes your taste buds explode in joy. Your nice looking theme makes a pretty paper wrapper, but that’s it. It’s like content cake sitting alone, in desperate need of TLC to make it delicious and irresistible. Readers won’t love it and clients won’t love it.

But with plug-ins!? You can do glorious things, all at the click of an “activate” button.

What are plug-ins? Small pieces of code that adds new functionality to your blog. Want to add SEO? Use a plug-in. Allow people to sign up for a newsletter? Plug-in. Send anyone that leaves a comment for the first time a quick thank you email? You got it, a plug-in.
Free WordPress.com blogs do not allow use of plug-ins, you must have a self-hosted WordPress.org blog. Use of plug-ins are best suited to intermediate to advanced WordPress users, not beginners, due to the customization most of them require.

SEO For PR Pros: How Keyword Research Transforms You Into A Visibility Rock Star

September 21, 2019October 11, 2013

I have a beehive in my garden shed. Hundreds of honeybees zoom in and out of a crack in the floorboards all day long, frantically collecting nectar and bringing it back to the hive.

Sadly, instead of producing a beautiful honeycomb of golden deliciousness, the end result of their hard work is something that can’t ever be enjoyed. The honey is tainted from azalea and oleander nectar, which results in toxic, inedible honey.

In a way, this reminds me of many people’s blogging, content marketing and SEO for PR efforts. They put in great effort to write and publish content, only to have it stagnate. What’s the point if it isn’t seen?

What makes content MOST LIKELY to stagnate? Lack of SEO and social sharing.

Three Modern SEO Best Practices Every CEO, CMO, and CIO Should Know

September 21, 2019October 9, 2013

Just in case you missed it – we had an article hit MarketingProfs this week on SEO best practices. Hooray! If you are in the c-suite and frustrated with your team’s SEO, the buck may stop with you. Read on to fix the the gap. “Although some aspects of SEO haven’t changed much in the …

<img decoding="async" class="aligncenter size-full wp-image-7824 lazyload" style="border: 1px solid black;" src="https://rockthestatusquo.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/top-of-heap-penguin.jpg" alt="How to blog when you don't have a blog" width="642" height="250" />Guest blogging to the rescue!!

Guest blogging to the rescue!!