Writing top-quality, keyword-rich articles
By Matt Hodkinson
Articles offer a great way to create content for your Mom e-business website, and also to market your site to the masses. You may think that, with no prior experience of writing, you may not be able to create quality articles about any given subject, but you’d be wrong. We’ve outlined some of the techniques you can use to create readable, interesting, high-quality content, and get it noticed by the people who matter.
Research
Firstly, it’s important to know as much about the subject matter as possible. With the Internet at your fingertips, it’s never been easier to research a specific topis, and improve your own knowledge of your article’s topic. The process of writing is always made easier if the author has a certain amount of knowledge on the subject, and if you’re comfortable with the topic, you could complete an article in 30 minutes or less.
If you need to research a subject before writing, allow a little more time, and consider the different aspects of the topic you need to address. Put yourself in the mind of the reader, and consider the questions you would like to be answered. In doing this, you will add great value to your article.
Break it up into chunks
Once you’ve decided upon the subject of the article, you would do well to break it up into more manageable chunks. By addressing a number of sub-topics, you’ll create a natural flow through the article, breaking it out into paragraphs, with each addressing a new aspect.
For example; an article on good golf swing might be broken up as follows:
1. The importance of a good swing
2. The grip
3. Stance
4. Addressing the ball
5. The back-swing
6. The follow-through
7. Conclusion
You’ll find it a lot easier to write 100 words about 7 sub-topics than it is to write 700 words on a much broader subject.
Using Keywords
If you intend to use your articles to drive traffic to your site, or as part of a wider search engine optimization (SEO) strategy, it’s important to consider keyword saturation and placement within your articles. Start by identifying 3 keywords or search terms you would associate with your topic, and then ensure a good distribution throughout your article. Make sure your keywords appear in the first and last couple of lines, with further keywords spread out in the middle paragraphs. Good keyword saturation is about 6%, so for every 100 words in your article, try to match 6 of those words with your search terms or keywords.
Spelling & Grammar
Your article is a reflection of you as a professional, so make sure there are no errors that could impact on the success of your writing. Be sure to do spelling and grammar checks before distributing your article, and assess the layout too. Break it up into more-readable paragraphs, to make the experience more enjoyable for your readers.
Get it reviewed
A good practice is to run the article by a friend or family member before you distribute. Some good, honest feedback will ensure you’re pitching your subject at the right level, with no patronising tones or technical jargon. Think of this as a trial, before unleashing your work on the public at large.
Submitting your articles
Lastly, you’ll need to distribute your articles to your target audience. As well as publishing your work on your own site, you have the option of using article submission sites to get your work noticed and downloaded by webmasters, bloggers and surfers across the globe. Sites like ezinearticles and articlecity allow for a certain amount of marketing in their “About the Author” box, appended to each article, which is a great space for your site URL or email address to go in. Best of all, each time someone references your work on their site or blog, you have another inbound link to your site; a great way to boost traffic. See our article “Boost your site traffic with links” for more tips.
In conclusion, it’s not as daunting as you might think to write good quality articles for your Mom e-business site, and the process can be a great tool for search engine optimization and e-marketing. Start today, and pretty soon, it will be like second nature.
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