Forbes Magazine called Heather Lloyd-Martin “the pioneer of SEO copywriting.” Over 24 years ago, Heather was the first person to discuss SEO writing best practices -- long before Google was everyone’s favorite search engine. Today, she continues to stay on the SEO leading edge, helping marketers understand Google’s latest updates and create standout content.
Heather has consulted with and trained leading brands across various industries, including publishing, travel, SaaS, search engines, and education. Her specialty is breaking complex information into bite-sized chunks, helping marketing teams learn to love (and master) SEO content writing and strategy.
Heather lives outside of Portland, Oregon, with her husband and two cranky cats. She loves working out, hopping on planes, rafting the Colorado River, and Starbucks almond-milk lattes.
The more things change, the more they stay the same. Last week, I came across a Yoast article discussing Google’s longer meta descriptions (Google doubled the room we have for meta descriptions last year — from 160 characters with spaces to 320.) The first paragraph contained a sentence that made me laugh: “It appears that […]
Looking for B2B keywords? What do you do when conventional keyphrase research tools do you wrong? Here’s what I mean. Last February, I spoke during AWAI’S Web Content Intensive (woot — what a fun event!) During my presentation, a woman asked how she could find reliable keyword research metrics for her niche B2B. Her problem? […]
What are the most frustrating words you can hear (or read) after spending hours writing a proposal? “You’re too expensive. We’re going to go in another direction.” ARGH! But, here’s the thing… We’ve all gone beyond our budget and spent more than we’ve expected. We buy a slightly more expensive car because it has better […]
How many of you get stuck in the “what should I write about” trap? ::raising my hand:: Fortunately, there’s a simple way to create highly useful content that’s great for your readers. Plus, Google LOVES this kind of content, and it even gives it special billing in the search results. What’s the secret? Answer common […]
Cover Photo by Caleb Woods on Unsplash Over the years, I’ve joked that “Google giveth, and Google taketh away.” Here we go again. And this time, it may directly affect how you do business. Here’s what’s happening… The free ride is over Years ago, Google’s Keyword Planner was considered a fairly viable keyphrase research tool. Accessing it was easy, […]
Have you seen the latest Marketing Profs 2018 Marketing Salary Guide? The 2018 salaries for brand and agency content positions blew me away! The forecasted salary range for a content strategist is $60,000 – $115,000. A web copywriter? $47,000 – $104,000. In fact, there was nothing under $40K a year. Nice, eh? This is great news […]
Quick: What’s a common characteristic of 70 percent (or more) of top-ten sites? Is it a clickable Title? Is it long-form content? Nope. In fact, to borrow from Buzzfeed, “The answer will surprise you.” The answer: site security. Two recent studies show secure, https pages are locking up the top results. Barry Schwartz reported that two sources […]
Do you feel like voice search is a fad, and people will eventually tire of their Alexas, Siris and Google Homes? Admittedly, I’ll typically type a search query before saying it — even if Alexa and Siri are right there. Old habits die hard. At the same time, I know this tide is quickly turning. Every day, […]
Imagine this… The editor of a popular site emails you and says, “I love your work! Can we syndicate your content on our site?” What should you do? Celebrate and do the deal right then? After all, syndicating your content puts your writing in front of a brand new audience. One already-written post could result […]
Are you looking for the best keyword research tool out there — but there are too many confusing options? You’re not alone. A popular thread in the SEO Copywriting LinkedIn group is “what’s your favorite keyphrase research tool?” People recommended 11 different tools, ranging in price from free (if you’re willing to forgo search volume […]
I’ve been teaching writers for over 20 years. Want to learn my secrets?