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.

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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Tips for creating content that Google rewards, without phone anxiety.

2018-06-14T21:07:32+00:00June 3rd, 2014|

Creating content that Google rewards – without (too much) phone anxiety In 2014, Google is rewarding quality original copy – and the reality is that, like it or not, one of the best ways to accomplish this is through one particular type of primary source: the phone interview, the cause of anxiety for many writers.

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Extrovert vs. introvert: is being introverted a challenge for writers?

2018-06-14T21:07:32+00:00May 27th, 2014|

Any time writers get together, it seems that someone brings up the “problem” of being an introvert. After all, they say – quite accurately – writers also need to promote their work, unquestionably an uncomfortable activity for many introverts. Moreover, when using primary sources, the tool is usually the interview – which involves contacting and

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Managing your local listing in Google

2018-06-14T21:07:32+00:00May 21st, 2014|

Introduction to Google Local If you provide a service to your local community, then chances are this post is for you. For example, type moving company into Google. What we see in Cleveland will differ greatly from what someone else sees in Miami. This is because Google understands that some queries carry local intent. Queries

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