One Day Blog Silence

Luring Searchers In With Page Descriptions

We want the searchers to know they can find what they need on our pages / site without any effort. Therefore, descriptions like "get the information you need" implies that the information you need is here for you to get, which is good.
On the other hand, when you write "find the information here" (although it is grammatically correct unlike "find here the info..."), it implies that they have to look for it and then find it. The latter seems less accessible and therefore not as tempting. Remember, even if it is the best information on the World Wide Web, no one will know about it if we don't lure them in from the search engine with the description.
Use words like "on this site" and "here" ("Get the information you need here"… "Read explanations here"…) to let the reader know we have it on OUR SITE.
For example, instead of:
This explains the different types of Countrywide home loans, and lists which circumstances work best with each loan.
write:
Get information about the different types of Countrywide home loans here. Find out which circumstances work best with each loan.
Lure them in!

Call to Action

Hi All.
I'd like to fine tune the guidelines for writing here. Up until recently you've all written fine articles with information for the readers regarding one subject or another.
This was good for a while but we want to crank it up a bit and get people to buy the products we promote on the sites. I don't mean that you should take a certain product or a group of products and start talking about it, because any product may change or be removed from our site.
Ultimately, what I am asking you to do is this; use a call to action in your articles (if you're not sure what a call to action is, this sentence is a nice example).
Tell people to buy the e-books, get loan and insurance quotes, etc.
More examples for a call to action you can use:
Get one of the e-books on the right and see the magnificent tattoo designs...
Click the link at the bottom of the article to get FREE insurance quotes.
Get one of the books offered here to learn more about lock picking.
Order a gift online and get it straight to your door.

A call to action is actually ordering people to do something but being nice about it (don't start bossing the readers around but still tell them what to do).
Be creative and use 1 to 3 calls to action per article.

Two Times is Twice

Two times in English is twice. Instead of writing something like "your life insurance policy will probably cost two times more than the one of a non-smoker" you should use "twice" in this manner: "your life insurance policy will probably cost twice as much as the one of a non-smoker".

More Editorial Notes

• Some of our sites are serious sites meant for serious people. Therefore the articles should be of serious nature. Others are of a more personal nature. You should be able to tell by the main theme of a site which group it belongs to. "http://www.Gifts-and-Ideas-for-Mothers-Day.com" for example belongs to the "personal group" whereas "http://Insurance-Land.com" belongs to the "serious group". I think the difference is obvious. Please write the articles to match the nature of the site – we don't need the definition for auto insurance in the article on that subject; people who have come to that page should be well aware of the meaning, otherwise they would not have surfed there. A good approach on the subject would be to explain the finer points of auto insurance and the reasons why people are encouraged to purchase comprehensive insurance which is not obligatory. (Raghuram – "Auto Insurance")
• Do not make promises you can't (or don't intend to) keep. If you say the article is about something, keep your promise. If you say the next paragraph is about a certain topic, don't start the next paragraph with something like "But before that, let’s see…" and then write about something else. This makes you and thus the site unreliable.
• Do not make promises we can't keep! Don't promise things in our name before you KNOW we can deliver. Otherwise this makes our site very unreliable. If you're not sure if we can give the visitors of our site something – just ask.
• The word "than" is used in comparison, whereas "then" means "at that time". Pay close attention because Word knows both words and will not correct the mistake. An example of a misuse I've encountered: "If you are in need of a budget… than look to the assortment" - "if should be followed by "then" not "than"! (Anika - Mothers Day cards print)
• Don't use the phrase "if yes" – it's not proper English. There are some good substitutes for that meaning. For example instead of "Are you a mother? If yes…" (Anika - Mothers Day jokes) you can use "if so…", "if the answer is yes…", "if you are…" etc.
• Either, neither and any are singular. A sentence like "If either of these two insured things are damaged…" is incorrect. In this example it should be "is damaged" instead. (Laura)

Capitalization in Titles

We note this in many of the articles we receive - the title is not properly capitalized.

Here's an example: "Tuscany, Italy – Many Things To See And Do". Now, I'm not referring to the wording or phrasing of the title. Just note that proper English requires that the words "to" and "and" not be capitalized. It should be " Tuscany, Italy – Many Things to See and Do". You can read all the rules at http://www.writersblock.ca/tips/monthtip/tipmar98.htm

Page Description Clarification

After the last post it seems that I have not been all that clear regarding the page description. First of all, what I said earlier about the page description does not refer to the articles themselves. We don't want you to change the way you write articles.

Second, the page description's purpose is to lure the people who see our listing on a search engine and help them decide to click through and see what our site (any of them) can offer them.

You can think of it from their point of view like this: I'm searching Google for some term and get a million and a half results. Which one should I choose? Which one gives me the most relevant information? The answer to these questions should be in the page description in the form of "our website is the best place to find what you were searching for" and not something in the line of "there are many sites that give you this information." I know! I just got a million and a half results from Google!!

In a way you should call people to enter the site.
You know how – you just wrote it in the article. Invite them to read it too.
Use words like "this site offers" "you can find it here" "this website reviews" "take a look" "find" etc. and be creative about it. Don't repeat the same wording in all the articles.