About Leslie Carruthers

Leslie Carruthers is President of The Search Guru, a search engine marketing (SEM), search engine optimization (SEO) and content marketing agency serving medium and large businesses who think big.

Try these free writing tools to improve your blogging

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00August 27th, 2014|

Improve blogging with these free writing tools Free Images Make your blog posts more appealing by including eye-catching images. If you don’t have much of a budget, use Google to find royalty-free ones (but we advise further copyright verification). 1)   Search on Google images for what you need (let’s say, a happy writer): 2)   Choose

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Discover the ideal length for your online content

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00July 26th, 2014|

Schizophrenic advice about the length of online content We often get asked, “How long should my blog post or article be? What’s the best length?” There is, however, no magic number. Instead, it should be as long as necessary to provide the quality needed in today’s competitive online world. With online content, here’s the reality:

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12 ways that clarity is the heart of SEO

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00July 22nd, 2014|

12 Ways that Clarity is the Heart of SEO 1)   Before you ever begin to “SEO” your site, you will need a crystal clear business plan and set of business goals. While search engine optimization can help your site gain visibility and traffic, it can’t create a business for you. 2)   Ensure that your site

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Transformational case study examples: use the magic of “because

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00July 15th, 2014|

Transform case studies with the magic of “because” Let’s say that I’m writing for a health and fitness blog with this audience: women who want to start working out but need motivation. I therefore decide to share the following experience: When I was in high school, our gym teacher told us to jog through nearby

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StoryBranding takes a fresh look at brand marketing strategies

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00July 14th, 2014|

Storybranding If, in 1891, you were suffering from a “bilious” or “nervous” disorder, apparently all you needed to do was take Beecham’s Pills, the “most marvelous antidote yet discovered.” In fact, it would also take care of your weak stomach, sick headache, impaired digestion, constipation and disordered liver. Wow. What a deal! Better yet, this

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To create more content, should you start working in your sleep?

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00July 1st, 2014|

More content . . . better content . . . MORE CONTENT . . . BETTER CONTENT It’s as if Google was the super-sized cousin of the Cookie Monster, devouring more and more content while demanding better tasting copy with each chomp and gobble. Yes. As mentioned in our post about writer’s burnout last week,

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Overcoming burnout: recognizing and dealing with symptoms of burnout

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00June 24th, 2014|

Tips and strategies for writers from around the web for overcoming burnout   When you’re excited about a new writing project, you’ll probably have so many great ideas that your fingers can’t type fast enough to capture all of your thoughts – but that’s okay because you’ve got lots of adrenaline to keep you going.

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Belief-proof your marketing copy with these ten tips

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00June 17th, 2014|

Belief-proof your marketing copy Our high school was putting on the musical, “No, No, Nanette.” While others vied for acting and singing parts, I knew exactly what I wanted: to be the pit orchestra’s only flautist. I was happy when that happened – plus, my good friend Megan was playing first violin. The two of

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Improve your writing structure by boosting the muddle in the middle

2018-06-14T21:07:31+00:00June 10th, 2014|

Improve your writing structure: fixing the muddle in the middle In 2006, I needed to start writing optimized blog posts for a client in the car sales industry. I wanted to write something better than what currently existed in that online space, so I looked for blogs from competitors and: There wasn’t much out there.

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Use Google Analytics demographic data to market to your audience

2021-04-07T10:51:57+00:00June 3rd, 2014|

Get targeted demographic data for free with Google Analytics Companies can spend thousands and thousands of dollars trying to get a good handle on their target markets and still not feel as though they have a true picture. Meanwhile, other companies don’t spent any time or resources getting to understand their

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