Making Your Product Descriptions Ready For Business

How far would you have to go to find a poorly written product description or unclear, confusing content? There is a good chance that some of you need to go no further than your own website.

I guarantee that if you browse ecommerce sites selling multiple products, such as beauty items and electronics, you will find example after example of poorly written, confusing, unintelligible, even laughable descriptions of products.

Have you ever been confused by poorly written descriptions or bogged down in unintelligible information? The writers of this web content did not intend to confuse you. These writers no doubt intended to convey clear, interesting information. They simply did not have the skills to do so.

Your product descriptions should be written using what we call "product description grammar".

Don't worry, this grammar will be written in everyday English. Basically, you will find this grammar to be the same you learned in school, However, there are a few things removed to give it a professional business-like tone and style.

In addition to a business-like style, product description grammar also means the language in your description is:

• Crisp
• Clear
• Concise
• Accurate
• Appropriate for the intended audience

The grammar used in the descriptions of your products is basic and should be used for all your products.

When we start writing your product descriptions, it will be in a conversational tone. It is written as if you were telling a friend about the features and benefits that your products have and why a customer might want to purchase them from you. Since you are telling someone about your business and products that means your description is written in the first person.

Since your description is in the first person, the pronouns "I" and "we" will be the subject of most of your sentences. When the description is finished the first person pronouns, articles, helping verbs and being verbs are removed. You will find that your description will have a crisp business-like tone to it, all your tenses will be correct and you will have a great, readable version of your description. You will see that writing a description using this grammar will produce content that can be read and understood without effort.

Everyone marketing online needs content and anyone can make mistakes that lead to misunderstanding. Follow the rules of product description grammar eliminates most mistakes. Your descriptions will be clearer and you will prevent misunderstandings between the seller and the buyer.

First-rate product description copywriting is one of the most overlooked, underused and cost effective weapons in your online marketing arsenal. It has the power to stop you in your tracks or contribute to success beyond your wildest dreams. Have you considered a professional team? Maybe it's about time.

Source:http://ezinearticles.com/?Making-Your-Product-Descriptions-Ready-For-Business&id=7412049

Increase Visibility of Your Business Enlisting it in Local Search Engine

In this global market it is very tough for the local businesses to attract new customers or retain their existing customer base. Every form of media is crowded with different advertisements and your effort to get noticed via media promotion will be lost in the clutter. Moreover, the local players have limited promotional budget in comparison to national or international companies. So, what a local business man will do to promote their business?

Previously, people refer to Yellow Pages to find a local business. Such days are quickly disappearing. Now people turned to internet for every sort of information. Therefore, the best way for the local businesses is to enlist themselves in the online directories.

When people think of search engines the first three names that come to mind are Google, Yahoo and Bing. Even when the term local is attached with search engine, the thought process moves in the same direction. It is true that these big players list local businesses also. If a person tries to search a thriving local business in Google he or she will have no difficulty to see a listing for that business in this big platform. Suppose that person, without any knowledge of the businesses of the area, is looking for a local service provider in Google. He or she will have a good number of business listings which will include many national companies. The information will be of no use to that person. It will be better if there is a local search engine providing location specific results.

Businesses that are struggling to gain an edge in the local markets can optimize their presence on local search engines. It is an excellent way to attract web traffic towards your site. When the online users will discover that there is a search engine meant solely for a geo-location, they will stick to it instead of referring to Google. There are several such local search engines satisfying the requirements of the customers. My Quick Search is one of them that specifically cover the local businesses of Chhattisgarh and satisfy every need of people located in that area. 

Benefits that you can enjoy listing your company with local search engine:

Reach your Target Audience: The target audience of a local business stay in their close proximity. The businesses that depend on local clientele like restaurants, salon, plumbers, carpenters, mechanic, dentists, lawyers, make-up artists, and several others aim to approach the these target groups. The businesses usually consider different media for promoting their business. It is true that local media is an effective way to make people aware of your existence.

However, when need arises they may not remember what you have once advertised. They will then search online to satisfy their requirements. The local listing plays a significant role at that situation. 

Extensive coverage: The small and medium companies are often absent from the listing of top search engines. Even if they are present, there are high chances that they will be lost amidst the big names. Contrary to it, the local search engine carefully includes all the existing service providers of a geo-location from where the customers can pick up the business as per their requirements. Since, in a specific area there is comparatively limited number of service providers, all the companies are visible.

Cost Effectiveness: An online listing is pretty cheaper compared to other kinds of advertisements. Spending only a little amount you can increase the visibility of your brand. Another benefit of listing on the major local network you have to compete with far lesser number of businesses.

Mobile phone friendly: Whenever, there is an informational requirement a person hardly awaits search them from their computers. They instantly connect internet from their Smartphone to access the required information. When you are using a Smartphone, it is very easy to scroll through the listings. Most of the mobile phone users searching information at first refer to business listing. A local listing gives adequate information whenever and wherever they require about the businesses in the vicinity just with the touch of finger.

Therefore, claim your listing in the local search engine and let it work in favour of your business.

Source:http://blogs.siliconindia.com/myquicksearch/Business/Increase-Visibility-of-Your-Business-Enlisting-it-in-Local-Search-Engine-bid-kR9y3q2740616186.html

Law of Cards: Beckett Sues Two More for Scraping Data

The recent trend in trading card cases focuses more on protecting trading card data than on trading cards themselves. Beckett has filed two more lawsuits over alleged data scraping.

Collectors Universe (CU) started this trend with lawsuits against MWP Software/Matthew Perry and SaintSoft LLC/John Kountz. In both of these suits, CU alleged the defendants copied CU data available only to paying CU subscribers, and then unlawfully (and in violation of CU's terms of service) used that data on the defendants' websites or in their own apps.

Pokémon then followed by suing the Pokellector (a website which attempts to provide a comprehensive list of all Pokémon cards, along with images of those cards) for allegedly reproducing copyrighted images of its cards without permission, trademark infringement and unlawfully rebranding the images of Pokémon cards with a Pokellector trademark.

Beckett continued the trend by bringing a trade secret lawsuit against Check Out My Cards (COMC) which, among other things, made a big deal out of COMC's "scraping" of checklists and pricing data (although COMC alleges such scraping may have been authorized).

On April 24, Beckett filed two more lawsuits focusing on pricing and checklist data. This time against Custom Plush Productions Inc's The Card Collector and Derek Miller of Miller Cards.

These two new complaints cannibalize a lot of the COMC complaint and are nearly mirror images of each other as well.

It also looks like Beckett might have let an intern from the marketing department edit these complaints. Paragraph six of both state, "Beckett is the preeminent company and most trusted source operating within the collectibles industry, and it has been since it formed in 1984."

Sounds more like a PR piece than a lawsuit, right?

For The Card Collector case, Beckett alleges The Card Collector accessed Beckett's pricing guides through the Beckett website and unlawfully "scraped" Beckett's copyrightable checklist and pricing data. Allegedly, The Card Collector now offers Beckett's card checklists, grading and pricing data on its own website and through a CD-ROM it sells to others. For that Beckett brings claims for copyright infringement, common law misappropriation, "accounting" (bring out the accountants!), unjust enrichment, a violation of Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, trespass and a Harmful Access by Computer Under Texas Penal Code.

A little bit of everything, right?

For the second new suit, Beckett alleges Miller Cards operates several websites (such as millercards.net and freebaseballcardspriceguide.com) that provide checklists and pricing guides for card collectors. Beckett contends that Miller accessed Beckett's price guides through his Beckett membership, violated the membership agreement by "scraping" this data and then unlawfully reproduced the data on his websites. It brings the identical claims against Miller Cards that it brought against the Card Collector.

Giving all of this scraping going on, I guess, the next planking or Tebowing-type meme should be the "scraping" Beckett meme. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures on what that should look like.

Now, we've only seen Beckett's side of the story, but it looks bad for both defendants. Sure, there are issues about how much copyright protection should be afforded checklists, but these cases are not just about publicly available checklist data. The checklist and pricing information from these cases was allegedly scraped from behind a pay wall at and then distributed to others in violation of Beckett's terms of service.

Allegedly stealing something from behind a pay wall to give or sell to others just doesn’t look good.

Given this, in all likelihood, these cases will disappear (settle) quickly before we get into any real issues.

These two cases (and the COMC case) have another implication for the industry. Beckett has a template complaint that it looks like it's going to recycle again and again against scrapers. And it's policing the Internet looking for infringers. I predict then we'll see this complaint filed again this year, perhaps multiple times.

If you'd like to review a copy of these complaints, click here for the Card Collector complaint and here for the Miller Cards complaint.

The information provided in Paul Lesko's "Law of Cards" column is not intended to be legal advice, but merely conveys general information related to legal issues commonly encountered in the sports industry. This information is not intended to create any legal relationship between Paul Lesko, the Simmons Browder Gianaris Angelides & Barnerd LLC or any attorney and the user. Neither the transmission nor receipt of these website materials will create an attorney-client relationship between the author and the readers.

The views expressed in the "Law of Cards" column are solely those of the author and are not affiliated with the Simmons Law Firm. You should not act or rely on any information in the "Law of Cards" column without seeking the advice of an attorney. The determination of whether you need legal services and your choice of a lawyer are very important matters that should not be based on websites or advertisements.

Source: http://www.cardboardconnection.com/news/law-of-cards-beckett-sues-two-more-for-scraping-data