Make Your Writing Easy to Find

SEO or Search Engine Optimization is a skill that all online writers should have. As a former print magazine writer, I didn't even think to worry about whether or not someone could find my story. It was right there in the magazine, listed in the table of contents!

Now, writing online, I sometimes find it hard for search engines to locate my stories. With the help of the Yahoo! Style Guide, SEO basics are easy to learn and implement to get your content to the top of a search.

The first two things you need to know about creating content that search engines will find are:

1. Write information-rich content that others want to link to and read

2. Implement keywords throughout your copy that people are likely to use in searches

Some key basics taught me that the first and last paragraphs of my content are the most-likely to be read and searched for keywords. The page title, headline, and lists within the story are also places where keywords will shine. I also need to make sure every single word in my copy is relevant to the reader and the topic being covered.

Adding related links is an extremely helpful way to get your content to the top of the search results. It also helps if others link to your work, and the only way for that to happen is for it to be really well written.

Simple items like, making sure all your links go to real, maintained websites, are sometimes easily forgotten. In a story I recently had published on the Yahoo! Music Video Gaga blog, I linked a new website, but clarified that as of press time the site was not working. It was risky, but since the website has been updated and now works. Bottom line, know what you're putting out there!