Little Things Can Make a Big Difference in Productivity

Chris Crum — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 13:45:22 +0000

SearchRank Founder and CEO David Wallace is a very busy guy. He has to have a schedule. At the SMX West session on Productivity Tips for the Busy Search Marketer, he says that when you’re busy you have to have a routine.

(Coverage of SMX West continues at WebProNews Videos. Keep an eye on WebProNews for more notes and videos from the event this week.)

Looking for more productivity with your writing? Remember that creative or research can be published any time, but news has to be first. Overloaded with email? Utilize extensive category structure and only keep pending emails. When it comes to social bookmarking, be selective where you are involved, and avoid time-wasters. When submitting content, submit where you will receive the most benefit.

Twitter is viewed as useful to many and as a time-waster to many more. That’s why Wallace says to use apps to help you manage and don’t play.

On top of all of that, Wallace suggests making sure all regularly scheduled work is completed by certain day of every month to allow for internal development and projects. And don’t forget to leave room for yourself!

After Wallace (who has plenty more productivity tips here) finished up, Jennifer Slegg, the owner of JenSense discussed making use of non-desk time. She pointed out that there’s "nothing wrong with the old-fashioned pen and paper." It’s portable and relationship-friendly. If you have a laptop, you’ll most likely get distracted by other things.

It can also be useful to use a personal voice recorder, which is small and portable. It’s a great way to record ideas when they come. She then suggests using speech recognition software like Dragon Naturally Speaking, which converts spoken words into text and imports into Word, Dreamweaver, and WordPress.

She also suggests using netbooks and mini laptops because they start up great and can run most business software. Blackberries and iPhones are also good for sending quick emails, Twittering, etc.

Productivity is crucial in a down economy, and it is the little things that can make a huge difference in how much your business can produce. Abby Johnson contributed to this report from SMX West.

Grabbing That Long Tail With Great Content

WebProNews Staff — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 18:02:19 +0000

If you haven’t gotten the message yet that your website content needs to be as original and niche as possible for long-term search engine visibility, it’s time to get it and to hold on to it as you might the long tail as it pulls you along. But generating that extra searchable content isn’t a picnic, now is it?

At the Search Engine Strategies Conference in London, Jennifer Slegg of JenSense.com provides a stellar guide to creating quality content that maximizes on the enduring long tail of search, which produces more traffic in the long run.

Her notes are relayed via WebProNews guest correspondent Deb Harrison. This is what became of them.

Why focus on the long tail? Well, to put it succinctly: "Long tail search is less competitive and it narrows the market." Without further ado, here’s what to look for and to look out for when generating quality content.

Unique Content

1. Takes care of duplicate content concerns
2. Creates exclusivity at your website
3. Is a source of organic (free) search engine traffic

But Free Content…

1. Often comes from free article databases and is published in thousands of other places
2. Often has required author links linking to low quality, or very spammy sites
3. Often have ulterior motives to sell products, services, or ebooks

If Buying Content, Rather Than Creating It, Remember:

1. You get what you pay for
2. Research to be sure content is original and not copied
3. Pay close attention from the third and fourth paragraph, where infringers often get lazy
4. Recheck three months later to see if authors are reselling the same content

Focus On the Long Tail

Maximizing on the long tail of search involves narrowing the topic, especially in broad competitive areas. Slegg provides examples:

Broad: Perfect gifts for Valentine’s Day

Narrow: Valentine’s Day gifts for mums-to-be

Narrow: What to get your child’s teacher for Valentine’s Day

Ask:

What search terms lead visitors to my site?

Referring keywords highlight words that may not be specifically targeted on your site. "If ‘dialiang from UK to Canada’ is a referral," but was only mentioned briefly, write a new article focusing on that specifically. Link to original article.

What are your visitors asking?

Write articles based on the most common questions asked via email or phone support.

What are the hot topics?

People are driven to search by hot topics in whatever category, so write copy about those hot topics. This is also great blogger link bait and keeps your site current.

Get A Head Start On Seasonal Content

Slegg recommends creating a file with articles you should have written before the most recent season was over. Plan to write them six months in advance of the next shopping season to get ranked by the search engines by the time people start searching for that content.

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Little Things Can Make a Big Difference in Productivity

Grabbing That Long Tail With Great Content