Associated Content: How to Increase Your Page Views

Over the five months I have written for Associated Content, I have developed a strategic process to make each of my articles relevant and searchable in hopes of increasing my page views. If, like me, you are using your talent to put a few extra bucks in the bank through Associated Content, then page views translate into dollar signs. Try this process out and see if you detect an increase in page views for your future articles.

1. To increase your Associated Content page views, choose a topic that people are searching for. Your page views will increase when you have a target audience that is searching for articles like yours. For example, I received a high number of page views for my Associated Content article Top 5 Reality TV Show Host Blogs. I don't care much about reality TV or blogs, but reality TV is a very popular topic at the moment, so it received a lot of page views. If you are ever having trouble selecting a topic, here are three suggestions to help you:

Claim an assignment from Associated Content's assignment desk. They have a good idea of what readers are searching for, and sometimes they will even pay you upfront for the articles you write for them.

Check out Google Trends to see what searches people are plugging into Google. Writing about what people are searching for is an excellent way to increase your Associated Content page views. The problem with this strategy is that the surge of page views might be short-lived, especially if you are writing about a time-sensitive event or quickly passing trend. However, a high number of immediate page views can sometimes add up to more than a less-searchable article's page views over a lifetime.

Write an "evergreen article," or, in other words, an article that people will always search for. For example, my article, Wisdom Teeth Extraction Survival Kit, gets a steady number of hits each week Although this isn't a "trendy" topic, it will always be relevant, because people will always be getting their wisdom teeth removed.

2. To increase your Associated Content page views, use keywords and phrases wisely. You may have heard the term "SEO," which stands for "Search Engine Optimization." This is a fancy term that means placing a keyword or phrase strategically throughout your article in such a way that a search engine will pick it up when someone searches for that keyword or phrase. You could write the best-written article on Associated Content, but if it never turns up in a search, it will go unread by thousands of people who could use your information.

Choose your keywords or phrases before you even start writing your article. Once you've selected your topic, plug a keyword or phrase into Google's keyword tool. This site will show you how often a particular keyword or phrase has been searched. I always sort the keywords by "global monthly search volume" and select two or three keywords from the list.

Once you've selected two or three keywords from that list, you need to sprinkle those keywords throughout your article as strategically as possible to increase your page views. For example, be sure the keywords are used in the title, subtitle, bold headings, and toward the beginning of the article. Frequency of the keyword may also be a factor to consider, although this particular aspect of SEO seems to be debatable. Just in case it is relevant, I generally run my articles through textalyser.net to determine the "density" of my keywords - or how frequently they appear compared to the total number of words in my article. I have heard that if your keyword has a density between 3-5%, that is ideal - any less makes the article irrelevant, and any more may be considered "keyword stuffing" and flag your article as spam. Any guesses about my chosen keyword for this article about page views?

3. To increase your Associated Content page views, promote your content. Promoting your content is incredibly important, especially if you have written an article about an obscure topic or you have not used SEO. Sometimes you don't need to have written a searchable article if you have an audience waiting to read your work. Here is a list of ways to promote your content to increase your Associated Content page views:

Social networking sites - Post your articles on MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, or whatever other social networking sites to which you belong. Chances are, the people who are connected with you on your social networking site care about what you have to say, so they will be likely to read your article. Associated Content has a "Share" toolbar at the bottom of each of your articles with shortcuts for posting your article to these sites. You can even set up your articles to automatically post - lots of page views for little work.

Ask your family and friends to "follow" you. Followers receive an email each time you publish an article. If you explain how you get paid, friends and family are likely to at least click on the article to help increase your page views.

Take advantage of social bookmarking sites. Along with the social networking sites, Associated Content provides links to social bookmarking sites. These sites allow users to promote links to other users, whether it is your own work or other work you come across on the Internet that you happen to like. I always promote my content on Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, and Mixx. Your page views will increase when more people are aware that your content exists.

Post a link on websites related to your content. Target audiences may already exist for your particular article. Seek them out on the Internet and let them know what you've written. For example, I posted my most recent article, The Two Week Wait: What NOT to Do, on a pregnancy message board. I've also used my articles to answer people's questions on Yahoo Answers.

Create a blog. You might create a blog specifically for your Associated Content articles. You can also create an RSS feed so that people can subscribe to your blog and receive a notification each time you publish. Perhaps you could create a blog on a particular topic, update it frequently, and periodically link to related Associated Content articles. You could then network with other bloggers, as well.

Cross-reference your other articles. As you have seen in this article, I have cross-referenced other articles I have written. Hopefully, those who view this article will also read those other articles, thereby increasing my page views for not only this article, but several others.

The key is to get creative and be exhaustive when it comes to promoting your content, especially when you are new. Eventually, you will create a following, and people will seek out your articles, but if you don't do anything proactive, chances are, your page views will never come.

4. To increase your Associated Content page views, make connections with other writers. Associated Content has an outstanding community of fellow writers. Take advantage of the forums created specifically to share your work. Browse other content (such as those linked on the sidebars of your own articles, for example), and then leave comments and/or add the author as a favorite. Create reciprocal relationships with other writers who will read your work and give you feedback as you do for them. Reference other Associated Content contributors' articles in your own work. Network with like-minded contributors. Your page views could easily skyrocket based on Associated Content contributors'' support alone, and you can help increase others' page views by dedicating time each day to reading their work. Who knows? Maybe your connections will nominate you for an award, which, if you won, would then increase your page views even more!

5. To increase your Associated Content page views, become a Featured Contributor. Probably the best decision I ever made to increase my page views was to become an Associated Content Featured Contributor for Dating & Relationships. Not only is it wonderful to know that each month I will have three $10 upfront assignments waiting for me, but being a Featured Contributor guarantees me much more publicity around the website. Take my article Five Tips for Maintaining a Healthy Facebook Relationship, for example. I submitted this as one of my monthly Featured Contributor articles, and Associated Content has displayed it as a featured article on the Dating & Relationships page for several weeks running. It has almost 4,000 page views!

Writing for Associated Content is an excellent way to keep your writing skills sharp, network with other writers, and make a little extra money. In general, if you continue to write frequent quality articles, your page views will increase over time. However, this comprehensive process is likely to help your progress along at a quicker rate, and when you're writing for cash, time is money!

Resource:
This article by Mitch Biggs gave me lots of great ideas when I first started out.