• Are you going to SEO my content?
• Do you know how to SEO?
• How will you make sure the search engines see the SEO?

My short answer to these questions: Good content is SEO. We will write something that matters to your customers.

My long answer to these questions: SEO is a vast topic. SEOMoz says there are more than 200 factors that play into search engine optimization. Keywords and content are only part of the equation. Links, social media, smart site design, and the age of your site also matter. We will work with you to create sharp online content and give you tips for the rest along the way.

No. 2 Pen’s Official Stance on SEO

No. 2 Pen is not and has never been an SEO shop. We’re a content shop. The focus here is on creating sharp content that serves a purpose for your business. A web page should inform, maybe entertain, and always prompt an action.

We will incorporate your keywords where they make sense, but we discourage you from focusing on keyword density. We’ll help you come up with a content strategy that will lead to more quality content and link building opportunities. By the way, link building includes everything from directory submission to guest blog posting to social media. We can do it all!

Tell me. What’s your official view on keywords and SEO?

…let’s get creative! Check out these 31 daily blog post ideas for May.

1 – May 1 is May Day and National Law Day. If you don’t feel like giving your readers a basket of candy and flowers, why not tell them about the laws that dictate your industry or business? Never ever give legal advice, but touch on the laws that matter.

2 - Donate the money you would’ve spent on a week’s worth of lattes to a creative project. Visit Kickstarter.com to find a project you can get behind. Don’t forget to write about it.

3 – Study a writing genre outside of what you typically read and write. Why not try your hand at poetry or humor writing? Pick a book that includes writing exercises and use a few of those exercises to inspire blog posts.

4 – Join a blog carnival like the WordCount Blogathon. Announce your participation today!

5 – May 5 is Cinco de Mayo. How will you celebrate?

6 – It’s ALS Awareness Month, Arthritis Awareness Month, Asthma and Allergy Awareness Month, Better Hearing and Speech Month, Better Sleep Month, Celiac Awareness Month, Clean Air Month, Correct Posture Month, Cystic Fibrosis Month, Hepatitis Awareness Month, Huntington’s Disease Awareness Month, Lyme Disease Awareness Month, National Cancer Research Month, National High Blood Pressure Education Month, National Lupus Awareness Month, National Melanoma Skin Cancer Awareness Month, National Mental Health Month, National Neurofibromatosis Month, National Osteoporosis Awareness and Prevention Month, and National Stroke Awareness Month. You don’t need to cover all of these health awareness issues, but if one (or more) affects you or your business, write a feature story for your blog.

7 – Host an open house, networking event, or dinner. Invite your local blog readers. Take pictures at the event. Blog about it.

8 – Do you run marathons? Cycle? Hike? Practice yoga? Find a connection between the physical work you do and the professional work you do.

9 – Tell the story behind your logo and tagline. What does it all mean? How did you come up with these pieces of your brand? Why did you pick the colors you picked?

10 – Start with a cheesy headline or slogan. Visit The Surrealist and come up with a blog topic with the click of the mouse.

11 – Read a newspaper from a nearby community. Talk about what you like and what you learned from this small publication. Let’s help to promote local journalism.

12 – May 12 is Mother’s Day. What can moms teach us about business?

13 – Boulder Startup Week runs May 15-19. If you’re part of a startup and you’re close to Boulder, find a session to attend and write about it. If you’re not near Boulder, look for a Startup Week or Weekend near you.

14 – Play around on Fiverr. Spend $5 or $10 on an illustration or video. Post the media to your blog and detail the Fiverr experience.

15 - Reveal a secret.

16 – Make a list of your favorite people to follow on Twitter.

17 – Sign up on Quora. Find questions relevant to your industry and answer them. Use these questions as fodder for a blog post.

18 – May 18 is Armed Forces Day. Do you have special pricing for the military? Say thanks.

19 – Post a question on Bedloo.com. Embed the question in a blog post.

20 – Write a letter to yourself on your high school graduation day. What do you wish you had known?

21 – What 10 actionable tips can you share to help your readers do something better?

22 – Take a survey using Google Consumer Surveys. Share your findings.

23 – Around my parts they say it’s time to start planting in the yard after Mother’s Day. What’s in your garden?

24 – What Wizard of Oz character are you most like?

25 – Notice the items on your desk right now. Talk about how critical these things are to your day.

26 – Find a podcast you’ve never listened to before and share any lessons learned. Podbay is a great place to browse.

27 – May 27 is Memorial Day. Who are the veterans you want to memorialize?

28 – What advice would you give to a professional counterpart starting out in your industry?

29 – Make a meme.

30 – Give a behind-the-scenes video tour of your office.

31 – Do a round-up that summarizes what happened on your blog this month or year-to-date. Link to your most popular (or least popular) posts with short summaries of each.

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If you’re new to the No. 2 Pen series of blog post ideas, you’re in for a treat. There are 120 more daily blog post ideas waiting for you. Find those ideas here.

But there are a few stand-out sites. I recently worked with a career coach to create a site for her business, and during the competitive research phase I found some great examples. Check out these professional websites complete with attributes to mimic.

Write a Descriptive Tagline and Post a Clear Photo

Do you see how Freda of Begin Again Coaching makes it clear who she is and what she does? Make it easy for your website visitors to learn about you in three seconds or less.

Give Something Away

While I wish this site had more descriptive headlines, John Baker does a nice job of offering a free consult to entice new clients. It’s always a good away to give something away. This way your potential clients can get a taste for what you provide and feel confident in hiring you.

Organize Content Logically

For professionals, like coaches, who make a living offering advice, a blog on the home page makes sense.  Career Woman, Inc. publishes high-quality images with its posts (excellent!) and minimizes the information in the navigation bar and sidebar to avoid overwhelming the reader. Less is more.

Avoid the Scroll

Many No. 2 Pen clients say they want to limit content so that visitors don’t need to scroll down the page. Few accomplish this. However, The Joyful Mother managed to avoid the scroll (for the most part) on the home page. She also set herself apart with bold colors and graphics. Not everyone can get away with bright green and pink, but she did!

Do you know of a coaching website that hits the mark? Share in the comments.

And, hey, if you decide to use one of these ideas on your blog, tell me about it. I’ll link to you in an upcoming blog post.

Enough of the chit chat. Let’s get to it! Here are your 30 blog post ideas for April.

1 – April 1 is April Fool’s Day. You know what to do.

2 – Remember that infographic you made earlier in February? Summarize how you created the infographic and how you promoted it. Think of it like a marketing case study.

3 – April is National Autism Awareness Month, National Poetry Writing Month, National Arab American Heritage Month, and National Child Abuse Prevention Month. Consider a blog post on these topics.

4 – Write 10 actionable tips that will help your readers do something better. Here’s an idea: 10 Useful Ways to Procrastinate.

5 – Visit Wikipedia: Random and browse. Wait for inspiration to strike. Write about it.

6 – Ask your readers to send in questions. Turn those Q&A’s into blog posts.

7 – Attend a Hubspot webinar on marketing. Share what you learned.

8 – Write a blog post from the perspective of your pet.

9 – What misconceptions do people have about your business or industry? Write a post demystifying those beliefs.

10 – Did you take a spring break? Share.

11 – Join a leads group. Write a blog post about every person and every business in your group.

12 – Identify the top 10 keywords for your website (look at your Google Analytics). Then punch those keywords into Ubersuggest and/or Soolve. What blog post headline ideas do you come up with?

13 – Look up the lyrics to a popular song on the radio. How does this inspire you?

14 – Sign up to Help a Reporter Out. Be a resource for reporters. When they quote you, blog about it.

15 – April 15 is Tax Day. Remind your readers or share your views.

16 – Explain what you like, love, and hate about social media. Tell your readers what you want to get out of it, and invite them to join you there.

17 – Interview one of your vendors.

18 – What valuable nuggets are hiding on your website and blog? Give a tour by linking to some of the not-so-obvious information.

19 – Put together a round-up of links to interesting articles you’ve read lately.

20 – Create a metaphor. Compare an aspect of your business to something…anything.

21 – Get Giphy.

22 – April 22 is Earth Day. How are you doing your part?

23 – Ever made a business mistake? Write about what you learned.

24 – Make a list of 100 things. Could be anything relevant to your business or blog such as “100 Words to Use in Place of the Word ‘Solutions’” or “100 Ways to Make Your Customers Happy.”

25 – Step one: Pick up the phone and call a friend. Step two: Ask them about the most obscure piece of news they’ve heard about today. Step three: Share your view.

26 – Write a one paragraph blog post about your customer service philosophy.

27 – Come across a website you really like? Talk about what makes it cool, different, and worth a visit.

28 – What did you write about on your blog exactly two years ago? Revisit the topic with an updated twist.

29 - Visit Psychology Today. Scan the headlines and find an article or piece of research that you can relate to your business or your clients.

30 - Make a list of the books you want to read and why. Ask readers to weigh in on what you should read.

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If you like these blog post ideas, there’s plenty more to come in 2013. Sign up using the form below, and I’ll email the ideas directly to you.

Here are seven things Mr. Vorhaus taught me (or reminded me) about web content writing.

Humor is truth and pain.

Most of us can get a laugh from friends, but that’s by accident. To produce a reaction from people you don’t know (a/k/a your website visitors), find out what hurts them and then talk about it honestly.

Say what you think.

Vorhaus tells readers that you need your own point of view to be funny. Pick a side. Have an opinion. Don’t back down.

Clash of context for great headline writing.

Imagine trying to fit an elephant into a bathtub. Apply this logic to headline writing. Give your readers an unexpected image.

Decide on the high-concept idea.

A high-concept idea is a story idea that is understood in one sentence. For example, snakes on a plane.

What’s the high concept idea for your business? Make sure that sentence appears on your home page and about page.

Deconstruct clichés.

Clichés should be avoided in all types of writing. If you have to use one, make it different. Vorhaus uses this example: I never kiss on the first drink.

Give the reader character keys.

Don’t tell us how you excel at customer service. Give us small insights into the type of business you run. Vorhuas calls these small insights “character keys.”  Tell us about your guarantee. Tell us about your quality assurance program. Tell us about your hatred of phone trees.

Apply the rule of three.

Two words to describe something isn’t enough and four words is too much. Three, on the other hand, is perfect. In comedy writing, and in web content writing, if you’re looking to produce smiles, apply the rule of three with a twist. Make the third item in the list something unexpected. For example, XYZ business knows nuts, bolts, and how to answer the phone on the second ring.

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What writing techniques do you follow in your web content writing? Have you read any writing books lately?