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I agree with Mike Davis.

I ranted on about the need to hire professional writers in a post earlier this week..

Many of my clients are themselves subject matter experts and professional writers. I just point them in the right direction and do some editing as we come up with an editorial calendar. It's not unlike what I did as a magazine editor.

And, yes, it's important to be accurate. That shouldn't have to be said -- but it does. You'll never know how much business you lost because a prospect concluded you don't know what you're talking about.

Getting people to commit to producing content? I agree it's very difficult. Here's a radical suggestion on how to succeed: pay them. I know, I know -- this is deeply shocking....especially if we are talking about non-writers already on staff at a company. Of course, you need high level support to make this happen. But a $1,000 or $2,000 one-time writing bonus can work really well.

UPDATE:

I posted some of this thread to my Facebook Page, with these results:

• FJ Jerkus Agreed Daniel. Unfortunately you're up against a giant Indian army who are taught English from early grade school, live on rupees, and are well versed in the art of online research. You can scream as loud as you want, this battle will not end as Gary V summed it rather well in the past: "content's importance has never been higher, but it's value has never been lower"

  Cheap content isn't going anywhere. However, as annoying as Google is at times, they're getting exceptionally good and weeding out useless shit. Content filtration/aggregation/discovery tools is where I'm placing my bets.14 hours ago · Like

• Daniel Freedman FJ Jerkus I agree with you. And India is actually getting expensive for outsourcing. People are turning to the Phillipines and Vietnam.

  The big change in the last few months is Google's much improved algo. The old optimization tricks no longer work as well as they once did. And smart people have taken note and shifted tactics. After making a fortune on low quality content by nobodies, Livestrong went legit about a year ago. They actually took down tons of crap, hired editors and began courting well known authors and bloggers. The site is much improved.

  On one end of the spectrum, you have the marketing/SEO technicians who chase the algo. This is bit like being a momentum-driven trader who "trades the tape." It's almost impossible to succeed long term. There were people who actually lost their businesses (and homes!) after Penguin and Panda. On the other end of the spectrum, are what I'd call the "journalistic purists" who think it's somehow wrong or evil to spend time writing good page titles and descriptions or build an email list or run an SEO technical audit.

  Here's what I've seen in the last few months: the smartest minds in marketing are now very interested in content and working with the best writers. Of course, they are still doing A/B testing, conversion rate optimization, etc... But they increasingly recognize that content filtration/aggregation/discovery tools has to start somewhere: with unique content.

  There are plenty of people in the fitness world who are great at marketing, but have little to say. Affiliate marketing works well for them. At least for now...

  My point? Things seems to be tilting a bit more towards excellence in content. My rant -- originally posted to an SEO board -- was about people spending big on designers and developers, then outsourcing the content offshore and on the cheap.<abbr id=".reactRoot[99].[1][2][1]{comment10151135350880685_23704534}.0.[1].0.[1].0.[1].[0].[0].0" class="livetimestamp" title="Tuesday, December 18, 2012 at 1:17pm">9 hours ago</abbr> · Edited · Like

I am a writer and editor and TV producer and non-profit executive, turned web strategy consultant.

And I agree completely with the warnings about the perils of ultra-cheap content.

"You get what you pay for."

Truer words were never spoken!

<<rant mode="" on="">></rant>

It kills me that people will spend hundreds or thousands chasing the latest speculative SEO trend du jour, while also trying to get away with spending  50 bucks on an article that is is worth 500 dollars or more, if done right.

The priorities are all wrong.

This is not only short-sighted, it is actually evil. You are enabling and encouraging BS content that hurts everyone. End times are upon us!

Can the Zombie Apocalypse be far behind?

It makes me want to jump up on my desk, strip off my clothes, and shout out:

"Hire a F@#%ing professional writer!"

from the top of my lungs.

And then post the video to YouTube.

<<rant mode="" off="">></rant>

But here's the point:

Would you hire the cheapest possible developer?

Would you hire the cheapest possible designer?

If not, why then does it strike you as "normal" to hire the cheapest possible writer?

I normally include copywriting as part of my consulting services. But sometimes I get busy and need help.

I've been able to get first-rate, magazine quality, copy from professional writers for around $500 for case studies (anywhere from 500 to 1,500 words) that required several interviews and drafts. And the writers were happy to have the work.

But trolling el cheapo sites to get writers for 20 bucks instead of 80 bucks?

Not a smart idea.

The Web does not need more crappy content.

And you do your clients a disservice if you take that route.

Ripoff Report is itself a ripoff.

People who write negative reports are usually unwitting dupes.

(in a few cases they may be competitors.)

In any event, Ripoff Report's real business is extracting fees for "mediation services"  and "customer satisfaction" programs to get negative stuff removed...even though it says it has a non-removal policy.

It is a very bad company that has been the subject of many lawsuits -- but stays just within the law to do its dirty business. One court called its business practices "appalling" -- even as it upheld them.

See

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ripoff_Report

Do not attempt to rebut negative reports on the site; this will just increase their prominence. Under no circumstances contact Ripoff Report or anyone claiming to have the ability to mitigate bad reports. It's like dealing with blackmailers. You just encourage ever higher fees.

The only solution is to adopt a "publish and be damned" attitude and then do the hard SEO work to get the negative review pushed down in SERPs.

Thanks for the reply.

On the copywriting: it's just very awkward, although grammatically correct. As it happens, I speak French. And I'm guessing the copy was written by a Francophone.  Many of the faux pas begin to make sense only when translated back into French.

No native English would refer to:

• hair "falling,"   (instead of "hair falling out")
• traveling "in frugal conditions"  (instead of "on the cheap"]
• "stellar studies" (I think you mean academic achievements)

More importantly,  it's just weird to say a fair proportion of your "client base is attached to discretion." Do they use scotch tape? I think you mean they appreciate discretion. But that still doesn't explain why you "abide by our discretion manifesto." Manifesto is just not a commonly used word in English and business people don't "abide" by them.

Nor would an English speaker write about a "hotel booking portal of a special kind." He would say "a special kind of hotel reservation site." The same comment applies to "on our  side"  (de notre cote?)  when I think you mean "from our point of view."

Here's a real howler:  "Cherry on the cake, her heavy travel website experience made us gain precious time."

I could go on. But the basic point is the copy reads like a word-for-word translation by someone who is not a native English speaker.  There is no nuance, much less cultural sensitivity.

And at times, it is difficult to understand what you are trying to say.

On another matter:

Of course,  you shouldn't make up testimonials.  But for now, perahps you could include hypothetical profiles of people who might need your service. Write a few paragraphs abut each and maybe include a cartoon sketch.  At the moment, you have a site without people.Not good.

Not to be unkind...

...but I think there are some major issues.

And the issues go beyond SEO.

Many of your page  titles are too long. Some make no mention that the product is hotel rooms. Other titles repeat a word or phrase in un-natural ways that could be a problem. It's not clear to me whether this is intentional, or a CMS problem.  You use the word "booking" in page titles; but the term is almost unknown in the US. Americans talk about "reservations." Have you done keyword research?

Do you have a link-building strategy that includes PR and blogging and outreach to travel bloggers?

But I think the biggest issue with the site is the very poor quality of the English translation. The copy is not at all idiomatic. This is a a bad trust signal to users. It conveys the impression that you don't care about them.

Another bad trust signal is the fact that you don't name your team, providing only initials for last names.

There are also no testimonials.

It's all very mysterious and sketchy -- even though you say it's not a shady hourly hotel deal.

I would suggest addressing the trust  and transparency issues before even beginning to think about SEO. Even if people can find the site, I doubt many will part with their money until you do.

Hello:

I'm afraid I have to offer brutal, two word advice: give up.

From DMOZ's point of view: you broke one of their most unbreakable rules and can't accept that you have been banned as a result.

I don't think there is anything more to be done.

It's probably wisest to just move on and stop letting this get under your skin, no matter how unjust you may see it as.

Thanks for the clarification.

I can't really comment intelligently without knowing more about the nature of the site and the intended audience.

But may I  gently suggest you might want to think about the issue more broadly than as a technical SEO issue?

For instance, why do you assume that English readers wouldn't be interested in Japanese holidays when you also say many readers are bilingual? If you made an editorial decision to publish everything in both languages, the SEO piece would look very different.

I always advocate settling the editorial issues first, then plugging in the SEO component.

Very interesting. I am working on a similar issue for a client. The site, including a blog, will be available in 5 languages.

But I'm not sure I precisely understand your issue.

Are all your blog posts originally written in one language only -- and that is that  language English?

Do you ever alternate languages within a blog post?

Do you intend to have identical posts in both English and Japanese ? Or will there be some English-only posts, and some Japanese-only posts?

From you post, it sounds like you might be intending to translate some posts but not others. Why is that?

It seems to me, you have to sort through these editorial issues first before coming up with an SEO strategy.

It all comes down to who your intended audience is and how they can best be served.

I am working on a site that will be published in the original English, with localized versions in French, Spanish, Japanese and Chinese. All the versions will use the English information architecture.

As part of the process, we will be translating the page the titles and page descriptions.

Translation quality will be outstanding. The client is a translation company.  Each version will get at least four pairs of eyes including expert translators, editors, QA experts and proofreaders.

My question is what special SEO  instructions should be issued to translators re: the page titles and page descriptions. (We have to presume the translators know nothing about SEO.)

I was thinking of:

• stick to the character counts for titles and descriptions
• make sure the title and description work together
• avoid over repetition of keywords page titles (over-optimization peril)
• think of the descriptions as marketing copy
• try to repeat some title phrases in the description (to get the bolding and promote click though)

That's the micro stuff.

The macro stuff:

We haven't done extensive keyword research for the other languages. Most of the clients are in the US. The other language versions are more a demo of translation ability than looking for clients elsewhere. Are we missing something big here?

Many thanks!

Below is an email from a former client. He is a personal trainer and his wife is a personal trainer and therapist.

They used to operate out of their home. But now they have another location for their business.

My questions:

1. Will the address change work?

2. How long will it take ?

3. Is there anything more they can do?

We've come across an interesting problem in the last couple of weeks. It took a while to figure out what was going on, but I think I've found the source. When one searches 'xxxx Athletic' on google maps (a very common way to find businesses as you know), the address that comes up is xxxxxxxxx  (our home). Clients are coming to our house rather than the gym. Luckily we're only a few mins away by car, so they aren't late once they figure out what has happened. We need to change it to our new business address. I have tried to do this via Google Places, and thought I was successful this morning, but alas the listing is still our house. Perhaps it will take a few days to update, but in the meantime I have added a page to my personal Google+ profile with the proper address info. If you happen to know anyway to help us that would be great.

I've also  had very good experiences with PR Web. I agree that going through Vocus can yield big discounts. Let's just call their pricing "flexible." Once you get an account exec on the phone, a world of possibilities opens that isn't apparent from the website.

But I agree some people have unrealistic expectations about what press releases can and cannot do -- in terms of both SEO and branding.

You hit the jackpot when major mainstream outlets -- or authoritative blogs -- write their own stories. I've gotten pick-ups from the Wall Street Journal, NBC, and the Columbia Journalism Review. Maybe it helps that I'm a former TV News Director whose clients include writers who can create great content that is then "promotable" in press releases.

Here are some examples of press releases that will go nowhere:

• Joe Blow appointed VP of Widget Production
• We're Having a 20% Off Sale Until Friday, So Buy Now!
• We Re-launched Our Website And We Think Someone Cares
• Version 3.17 of The Super-Duper, XML Rocket Fuel Suite of Enterprise MiddleWare CMS Plug-in Do-Hickey Has Been Officially Launched and It's Really Great, Because We Say So In Incomprehensible Business Speak and At Great Length

OTOH, I got great pick up from fitness sites and magazines for a gym client last week. In an update call, I asked the client how his new boot camp was going. He said great and mentioned a new member was a professional MMA fighter. I nearly fell out of my chair! That's a story: professional athlete works out alongside soccer Moms. I interviewed the athlete, wrote a story, and posted it to the client's blog and Facebook page. Other gym members responded saying they had no idea who "that nice guy" was. So I worked all this into a press release that got the great pick up.

But the whole project took many hours. I typically spend 3-10 hours on a release and follow up. The idea that you can toss off a press release in 15 minutes and expect to see big SEO benefits falls under the heading of "Ain't gonna happen," IMHO.

I agree that it's a big game of chance. It had been a couple of years since I had anything approved. I'd just about given up. Then I got something approved in just a few days.

Conclusion:

Don't fret about this. Do the submission and then forget about it. If it comes through, regard it as a bonus.

Thanks for the thanks re: LinguaLinx, Lewis.

It would be unseemly to plug my client much more. But I can assure you they never use machine translation or scrape content. That's the bane of the industry.

If LinguaLinx translates, it uses  carefully selected human translators. The work  is then reviewed by an an editor, proof reader, and QA specialist. LinguaLinx also does original copywriting and project management.

Actually, one of clients does precisely this.

It's a language service provider that also does cultural consulting and provides related technical services, like XML conversion and website translation.

And they do original copy writing. Most importantly: they know what works in each country. The hard sell American approach of "we're great and our competitors suck" just doesn't fly in many places. In some, it's actually illegal.

They can handle everything for projects like the one described.

LinguaLinx

I'm working with them now on a new web strategy that makes all this much more clear.

Yikes!

No, no, no.

A thousand times no.

And once again: no.

Fakery is always and everywhere wrong. It's not complicated.

If that means nothing to you, consider the consequences of exposure.

As a former TV news director I can assure you this is a helluva story:

"Company in the sleazy SEO business is caught red-handed in the cynically calculated use of deceit to intentionally mislead the public by creating a fake  business; calls it an "intern experiment" and says it did nothing wrong. Consumer advocates disagree and call for regulation and licensing of SEO industry. Part two tomorrow, as our series on the death of privacy and birth of web big brotherism continues. Are your children safe?"

Sheesh.

Few issues are black and white.

But this is one.