Tag: Web Content

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Fair Use Law Demystified

“Fair use is a basic principle of copyright law that says the general public may use certain portions of a copyrighted work without a license from the copyright owner, provided the use is for purposes such as commentary, criticism, search engines, news reporting, research, teaching, library archiving or scholarship.” Read the full article at SiteProNews.

So when are you crossing the line when it comes to using someone else’s content based on the Fair Use Law?

  1. Are you using this for a not for profit site that is mainly educational or research oriented? If yes, then you may be okay. If you are a commercial business using content under the Fair Use Law you are most likely actually infringing on the copyright and not eligible to claim Fair Use.
  2. If you have taken the full piece without attribution and link you are overstepping and ending up in a copyright infringement area. Even for a non-profit to take the full work is pushing the envelope. Better yet is to be safe and quote a section and link back to the full piece on the other website.
  3. The copyright owner may fight any supposed Fair Use so the best bet is to just be careful and not grab what is not yours.

Here is the rule we have our blog writers follow.

  • Never take more than a paragraph of content. Always wrap what  you take in a quote and then attribute or link back to the original work.
  • Never pass off, even mildly reworded as yours something that is not truly yours.

I have been successful before in taking down an entire website through the host for copyright infringement when people have taken my content. Don’t be fooled into thinking that content you find on the Web is simply yours for the taking. Everything is copyrighted whether you see a notice or not. Fair Use may be a slippery slope and it is by far better to create your own content or link to other content than to steal it.

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Will a New Website Win You More Customers? You Bet!

Here’s the scenario: No leads, a five page website with very little content, in Google Analytics only company name variations searches appear in the statistics.

Solution: Here’s how you re mediate this type of online visibility problem.

  1. Create landing pages quickly that reflect your true nature and put your products in services in a concise and clear light. Start AdWords ASAP with a budget high enough to get placement and clicks. This will get you in the game and stop the slide while you work to fix your website problems and exposure.
  2. Install a blog now and get blogging. Even if you don’t have the website you want you will benefit from great content on your blog and can be building links and providing value.

You can have number 1 and 2 done and rolling in two or three days!

Then dig in deep and work on resolving the real problem, your website content and website. It can sometimes take two to four months for a new website so by blogging and doing AdWords you stop treading water and start getting leads to fund your new design and content building project.

Take the time to build out great content while you are selling and blogging. People will forgive a poor looking website if it has great content. But they won’t forgive a great website with poor content.

If the scenario in paragraph one is yours, don’t buy into the approach that everything has to be perfect and I have to be getting lead conversions from my website before I start promoting it. The truth is the quality of the people who are on your website right now may never convert as they really are not looking for your products and services. These visitors may even be potential employees or competitors, you need to caste a bigger net and start getting the exposure that WILL get you business now to fund the things you want to do.

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Matt Cutts of Google Talks About Content and Keyword Density

I found an article recently that included an interview with Matt Cutts on the changes that Google wants to see in website content. The article is excellent reading but the author plugs his approach a wee bit heavy handed. The full article can be read here and it is worth reading, but the key points are detailed for you below along with my comments.

  1. Heavy keyword density on a page may actually now be considered spammy by Google. Google is now looking for natural looking and natural reading content. Cater to the reader not Google.
  2. Google does not need the phrase you would like to place on in the same order over and over on a page. Use the phrase you like once or twice and then you can mix up the way the words show in the phrase.
  3. Google can now identify synonyms and the meaning of your content with its technology. It does not need for you to control content in an unnatural way to place on certain phrases.
  4. If you overuse keywords phrases in a page, Google may consider your page spammy and not reward organic placement.

Matt Cutts of Google says “Never sacrifice the quality of your copy for the sake of the search engines. It’s just not necessary. The next time you write a new page of copy, test this approach to writing for the engines and see if you get as good (or better) results than before. I’m betting you’ll be pleasantly surprised.”

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No One Likes to Hear No, But We Aren’t a Good Match for Everyone

That’s right we do actually turn prospects away. We are simply not a good match for every prospect’s needs. What we do do, we do great. That being said in a nutshell, we have a passion for small to medium sized business owners who typically have a brick and mortar operation. We are typically also working with the business owner directly and not a corporate chain of command.

It bear repeating, but we do not work or provide any of our services for these business sectors:

Adult Content

Any site that has adult themes such as dating sites, soft core pornography, images of partially clothed women that are used to sell your products, lingerie, any sexual aids or products, we just do not provide services for regardless of whether it is blogging or even Google AdWords.

Stock Brokers, Day Traders, Forex Traders and Their Management Software

In this case we have simply found that the nature of your business is so complicated that the time it takes us to learn and be effective for you is just not cost effective for us. In many cases you are additionally governed by regulations making even blog writing a difficult operation.

E-Books and Products Sold by Squeeze Pages in Multi-Level Marketing Programs

We typically do not supply services for products that are e-books or online how to guides. Although you can still be successful with these approaches, we simply do not have a passion for working with products that are typically sold using these vehicles. This would cover e-books on how to make money in real estate, sell or trade stocks or use the forex, or how to sell multi-level marketing products.

No one likes to hear no, but it is by far better for you to find a supplier that has a true passion for what you do and what you sell. We can help many businesses, but just not all.