Most high-ranking websites can attribute at least part of their success to excellent content. Informative, well-written articles generate reader interest, position you as an expert in the field, and encourage readers to link to you and share the valuable information you offer-all of which can give your business a big boost. If you're thinking of building your article library on your own, here are a few tips for writing great online articles. Use catchy titles. The title should promise a benefit from reading the article-it should basically be a one-sentence summary of what the reader will learn. If you're not good at coming up with catchy one-liners, there's an easier way to write eye-grabbing titles: just include a number.
Something like "Seven Steps to a Greener Garden" is a better title than "How to Grow a Greener Garden" because it's more specific and concrete-the fact that there are only seven steps means that the tips will be concise and easy to understand, and the reader is more likely to take a few minutes to read further. Some studies have shown that odd numbers work better than even ones, because they sound less polished and more authentic.
Use bullets, lists, or subheadings. These keep your article organized and make it easier for readers to skim. Online readers are rushed, and tend to avoid big blocks of text. Break things up with subheadings, bullet points, and concise paragraphs, and they'll be able to find the information they're looking for more quickly.
Keep it brief. Five to eight hundred words is about the optimum length for most web articles. Any longer than that, and most readers won't stick with it till the end. If you have more to say than will fit in a one-page article, consider breaking up the article into parts I, II, and III.
Get your facts from more than one source. If you're writing on a topic you know well, you may not have to do any research. But if you do need to look up a few things, make sure you get your facts from more than one source-especially if you depend on the Internet for your research. This keeps your article from repeating false facts, and it also keeps it from parroting a single source.
Easy on the keywords. If your articles are for SEO purposes, it can be tempting to stuff them full of keywords. But to really get the most out of your articles, they need to be written with human beings in mind. Any more than a 2% density, and readers will start to notice those keywords-and once they do, they'll move on in a hurry. Your readers are the ones who'll be spending the money on your site, so make sure your articles are written with them in mind.
Pick relevant topics. This should be obvious, but you'd be surprised how many web authors don't. Make sure you pick article topics your customers are interested in, and that further the purposes of your business. If you run a landscaping business, write articles on landscaping topics-not on beekeeping or stationary biking or the best holiday destinations in the Lake District, unless these topics apply somehow to landscaping. The goal of these articles is to give you expert credibility, not include customers in your private life and thoughts or promote your friend's business, unless it has something to do with yours.
Copying from other sites? Don't even think about it. You may be tempted to amass hundreds of articles at one go-by copying from other sites. Don't do it. Major search engines penalize websites with duplicate content, so doing this could actually hurt your rankings. In addition, it could get you in trouble with the owner of the articles. At best, you'll be asked to take the articles down. At worst, you could get into legal trouble for copyright infringement.
There's been some hype lately about content generators, or software that rewords content so that it's unique. These don't work very well-the content that comes out is often nonsensical. For best results, don't try to build your content all in one go. It takes time to write a good content library, but it's worth it in the end to do it right.
About the author
G Davies is managing director of GSINC Limited, an Internet marketing and SEO consultancy based in Birmingham, UK. To view this article on the GSINC site see http://www.gsinc.co.uk/articles/writing-great-articles.html or for more articles on marketing online visit http://www.gsinc.co.uk/articles/
