A Few Tips on Search Engine Optimization or SEO that All Internet Writers Need to Know

In the world of online writing, chances are every writer has herd the term SEO or search engine optimization. To adequately engage in SEO practices is usually the goal of writers of all calibers, as search engine traffic can result in more page views and more traffic. Of course, when it comes to the Internet: traffic is power. While several folks lay claim to being SEO experts, the bottom line is that things change all the time, the Internet grows with new articles and pages every single second, and everyone is looking to be ranked in that number one result.

Search engines, like Yahoo!, Bing, and Google have a search box. Whenever someone types anything into the search box, the engine revs up and spits out a number of results. The engine evaluates all the articles available based on a number of factors including: keywords, titles, and links. Obviously, the first few results get the most clicks and the most traffic, and a number of factors go into being ranked at the top of the list. Proper search engine optimization helps get your article or blog ranked near the top, if not at the top. But due to the changing nature of the Internet, it is hard to say how long that specific article might stay there. So a degree of awareness needs to be taken into consideration by all aspiring writers.

Keywords are important parts of an article. The keywords should reflect the content of the article and need to be repeated frequently, particularly at the top of the content. Balance is important too, simply repeating a word over and over again gets the article regarded as spam and it becomes lost in cyberspace. Some keywords are hotly contested on a regular basis, making great results difficult. Still, other "hot button" keywords can provide a few spikes in traffic numbers, but generally quickly cool off after a day or so. Therefore, tight focused keywords are needed for the long-term longevity and performance of an article. So writers need to focus on using the keyword in all its forms. That means the variations that end in -ing, -ed, -ied, -ies, all need to be included into the article for maximum performance.

Perhaps the most important part of an article is the title. Of course the title reflects the content of the article, but it also need to step up and use as many different types of words or it will be lost to search engines. For example "How To Use a Dehumidifier" is great, but "How To Use a Dehumidifier To Cure Damp Basements" is likely a step above. Just making the title more friendly to different types of text that goes into the search box is important. The goal is to appeal to the wide end of the funnel rather than the smaller end. Still, long titles with irrelevant keywords should be avoided.

Articles can also help themselves by ranking with other relevant sites. Those sites carry additional rate that gets calculated in the search engines algorithm helping your article rank higher. Still, low quality sites and broken links need to be avoided or they can actually hurt your article. Of course, inbound links also help with SEO and with inbound traffic. Inbound links are links placed on other sites that direct visitors right to your site. Obviously, the more link the higher the traffic, right? Again, quality is usually more important than quantity.

Online writing can be a challenging and rewarding hobby, and some folks even manage to make a lot of money developing content. With a little practice and a lot of patience, you too can watch your page view report grow and the corresponding dollar amounts start to add up. Just remember that when it comes to the Internet everything is always subject to change at a moments notice.

sources:
inspired by http://styleguide.yahoo.com/resources/optimize-search-engines/seo-basics
personal experience