October 10, 2009

Wake Up! - The FTC is screwing with bloggers

If you are a blogger in the US your life is about to change big-time.

You have just entered the Twilight Zone...

New FTC guidelines (read full version) described in the official press release state:

1 - "the post of a blogger who receives cash or in-kind payment to review a product is considered an endorsement. Thus, bloggers who make an endorsement must disclose the material connections they share with the seller of the product or service."

and

2 - the revised Guides reflect Commission case law and clearly state that both advertisers and endorsers may be liable for false or unsubstantiated claims made in an endorsement - or for failure to disclose material connections between the advertiser and endorsers. The revised Guides also make it clear that celebrities have a duty to disclose their relationships with advertisers when making endorsements outside the context of traditional ads, such as on talk shows or in social media."

My reading of this is very disturbing.

Here is a possible scenario:

You - a "social media" "celebrity" "blogger" (this is anyone who has more than a few followers on Twitter or some number of subscribers to their blog RSS feed) reviews a book, product, or service - making it an "endorsement"
You got a copy of the book to review, or got a free trial of the product, or a free trial of the service
You did not mention the freebie in your blog post
If someone does not like your blog posting you can be sued

To try to regulate bloggers as if they were professional journalists or compensated endorsements is asinine (incidentally - these guidelines do not apply to professional journalists!) The FTC is trying a land-grab into Internet regulation so they can extend their bureaucratic tentacles and justify their continued existence and funding. All of this is being done under the slogan of their official tagline "Protecting America's Consumers". This of course begs the questions - "from whom?"

This is a screwy world we live in, but the whole premise of blogging on the Internet is predicated on the notion that anyone can have frank and open discussions about any topic of their choosing. Most bloggers do not get paid and do not make any money directly or indirectly from their blogging efforts. They try to build their reputation and disseminate information that their followers may find useful. They never claim to be "objective" and often hold very strong, peculiar, and very personal opinions.

It has always been "buyer beware" on the Internet. I don't think anyone needs to be reminded that we should carefully consider the source and reputation of any information that we encounter online. We certainly don't need a chilling effect on the whole online conversation from a huge government agency.

It is ironic that this is happening under the direction of a man who was elected with the strong support of the Internet community and specifically active social media leaders. Unfortunately typical liberal-leaning tendencies are also to regulate people's lives via the government in order to protect them against unscrupulous big-business practices.

Don't get me wrong - frankly I don't care if the assault on individual liberties comes from the left or right (the four FTC commissioners who voted unanimously for the new guideline were all appointed by Bush). But I do care when big brother injects themselves into normal Internet discourse this heavy-handedly.

Fight this unconstitutional over-reach - these are simply regulations from unelected bureaucrats within the executive branch.

Let's make our voices heard and protect the First Amendment and our ability to have unfettered discourse without fear of lawsuits online.

BTW - no one paid me to "endorse" this position on the new FTC regulations - I guess that my butt is now legally covered (at least for this blog post).

Posted by Tim Ash at 7:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (12)

July 17, 2009

Confessions of an SEO Copywriter (You don't need a lot of copy)

One of our very own SEW experts, Tim Ash is featured on the cover of the summer edition of Online Strategy Magazine. In it, he talks about the short attention span of web users and how too much copy or flashy graphics can detract from conversion goals.

These are things Tim has learned as a landing page consultant. And in your gut, you know he's right. You skim web pages. You abandon pages that are difficult to navigate easily. You don't feel like reading a dissertation about a new pair of shoes. Do they look good? Yes. Where's the "Add to Cart" button?

You might think it strange for a copywriter and blogger such as myself to even talk about the idea that there can be such a thing as too much copy. After all, we copywriters often charge by the word. More words = more money. (Even when we charge by the hour, longer copy means more hours = more $.)

But I have a confession to make. I know you have a short attention span. I know you're probably skimming this post right now. Many of you comment without reading the entire post you're commenting on.

I know that I need to bust out 125-250 words to attract the Googlebot while making copy work with the design and also use my magical psychological powers to compel you to click the purchase button.

I like to use bullet points (when clients allow, which is sadly not often enough) and get straight to the point because I assume that readers are smart and don't need every nuanced point explained to them.

Of course, you know what they say about assuming.

That's why landing page testing is so crucial. Don't just assume your assumptions are correct. Test them. Develop pages designed around best practices and then test, test, TEST!

Despite all of the above, there are still some niches where a good deal of copy is necessary. Generally, the higher the price or the commitment involved in a purchasing decision, the more education a consumer will want. They get their desired information through copy. But even then, there could be niches where a busy businessman simply wants someone to call them. He'd rather chat it out and then decide. That's when short copy and a contact form might be needed instead.

The only way you'll know for sure is through landing page testing. I can't emphasize this enough. Yes, analytics are good. Yes, keeping an eye on your campaigns are good. But you won't know if you could squeeze even more money out your ad campaigns until you test.

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 3:49 PM | Permalink | Comments (11)

January 14, 2009

SEW Experts: Training Your Content Developers on SEO Copywriting

SEO copywriting can be a misleading term. Too often, writers will get stuck on the SEO part and lose sight of the other, more important goal: creating a good user experience. In today's Web analytics and ROI column, "Training Your Content Developers on SEO Copywriting," Eric Enge offers advice on how to teach your copywriters to create quality content, which will also rank in search engines.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 1:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

September 16, 2008

SEW Experts: Making the Most of Search Engine Copywriting

Whether it's organic page titles and meta descriptions or PPC ads, it's your job, as someone who's seeking a conversion, to deliver what you promised. In today's small business search engine marketing column, "Making the Most of Search Engine Copywriting," Carrie Hill explains that small business owners must be aware of what their ad copy promises, and how they deliver on those promises.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

August 12, 2008

SEW Experts: Content? Content. Content!

Content. It's become the mantra for SEOs, and the standard advice for all site owners, regardless of the Web space they're in. In today's enterprise search marketing column, "Content? Content. Content!," Aaron Shear explains that it's high time we review the advantages of content, and where it may be applicable.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 24, 2008

SEW Experts: Combine Freshness and Links for Long-Term Results

Fresh content will help you achieve top rankings right away, and help your Web site become an "authority" site. But fresh rankings don't always last. In today's Organic Search Engine Optimization column, "Combine Freshness and Links for Long-Term Results," Mark Jackson shows you how to create a concerted effort to generate links and traffic to the post, and keep those rankings long-term.

» Full story

Posted by Kevin Newcomb at 12:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

June 23, 2008

Matt Cutts Shares 5 SEO Tips with USA Today

USA Today recently asked Google's Matt Cutts for tips to help sites rank in their search engine. Cutts offered up 5 tips plus a word of advice in implementing the tips. Here they are:

Spotlight your search term on the page. If you want to be found for your keyword, make sure that term is on the page you want to rank. The term should be at the top as well as peppered throughout your copy.
Fill in your "tags." The two most important tags are Title and Description b/c that's what is displayed on the search results.
Get other sites to "link" back to you. This is one of the most important of the 100 factors Google considers when ranking sites
Create a blog and post often. This can help you get links.
Register for free tools. Cutts recommends using the tools at google.com/webmaster, as well as creating a text-based sitemap www.xml-sitemaps.com, and adding your business to Google's Local Business center (google.com/local/add)

And that word of advice? Don't overdo it. In other words, don't stuff your pages full of keywords.

What do you think of Cutts' advice? Leave a comment!

Posted by Nathania Johnson at 10:13 AM | Permalink | Comments (48)

April 1, 2008

SEW Experts: Should Your SEO Strategy Target the Head or the Long Tail?

If you're focused on ranking for that one major keyword, having a deep Web site full of great content is necessary to achieve authority in the eyes of the search engine. In today's Organic Search Engine Optimization column, "Should Your SEO Strategy Target the Head or the Long Tail?," Mark Jackson shows that, whether or not you intended to do it, you'll be optimizing for the long tail in order to achieve your goals.