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Make Your Articles Work For You. Eight Costly Mistakes People Make When Promoting Themselves Online.
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At BestNewArticles.Com, we read a lot of articles to make sure they meet our quality standards. Most authors submit great articles with perfect grammar and spelling. And most of the time people write on very interesting topics. However only a small percentage of all authors understand how to write high impact articles for the internet. When you understand the difference between writing articles online and writing articles for magazines or books, you'll have greater success. Your articles are more likely to be found, read, and published on high traffic websites when you understand what your competition does wrong.
First of all, your articles need to be found. You can submit your articles to hundreds of article directories but that doesn't mean that people will find your information. Article directories contain thousands of articles. Your article is like finding a needle in a haystack unless you understand these internet marketing secrets. Publishers will not publish your articles on their websites if they can't find you! Kind of makes sense, - doesn't it?
Mistake #1 is using words that aren't understood by search engines or words that have double meanings. Cute headlines and sentences might work good in a magazine, but you'll lose search engines (and most internet users). Having the support of search engines is vital to your success promoting your articles and your business online. It doesn't matter how many article directories publish your articles. If no one is finding them, your articles will be very lonely in cyber space and you won't get any traffic back to your website.
One of the best ways to test your article is by putting Google adsense ads beside your articles. If the ads are relevant and related to what you're writing about then you've done a good job communicating your message. If the ads are totally unrelated or some of the ads are unrelated, you need to rewrite your article. If you don't have Google Adsense, you could find an article directory that has Google ads beside their articles. Also look for a directory that allows you to go in an edit your ads at any time. If you write an article and the ads are unrelated, it means that the search engine can't understand what your article is all about. Read your article again to see why there is confusion and misunderstanding. Then make the necessary changes.
Mistake #2 is using keywords that aren't popular or aren't of interest to most people. If an article directory allows you to enter keywords, this is an extremely important feature. Our best authors spend quite a bit of time making sure they're using the most popular keywords in their articles. Here's how to use keywords correctly.
1. Find out what keywords are searched for the most often on the internet. Incorporating these keywords in your articles increases the chances of people finding them. e.g. If you're writing an article on promoting your business online, find out what most people search for when they're interested in that topic. Then choose the most widely used keywords in you article. For example, as I'm writing this article I did a quick internet search and discovered that 3377 people searched for 'internet marketing' and only 684 used the keywords 'online marketing' during the same time period. Also only 47 people used the keywords 'business marketing'.
2. If possible put one or more popular keywords in the title of your article. The title is extremely important to the success of your article.
3. When you have a choice between using high ranking keywords and low ranking keywords, always use the highest ranking keywords most of the time.
4. If an article directory has a box for you to enter keywords, choose up 10 keywords or keyword phrases. More doesn't mean better, so if you only have 4 popular keywords, only use 4. Don't add keywords that aren't in your article or shouldn't be in your article, just for the sake of having 10 keywords. On the other hand, if you have 15 good keywords, choose the best 10.
5. Be sure to use your keywords several times in your article but don't overdo it. Putting keywords too close together or repeating them too often is a red flag for search engines and it can make your article appear to be poorly written.
6. Take your time entering keywords. Choose the best and most relevant ones. Separate each keyword phrase with a comma and a space. Don't put the same keyword beside each other. e.g. this is not good - internet marketing, marketing plans, ... In this case you see 2 instances of the word marketing right beside each other. Even though they are separating by a comma, it's not the right way to use keywords.
7. As mentioned above, you can and should use phrases in place of single words if it's appropriate. e.g. If your article is about how to adopt a pet, the keyword phrase 'virtual pet adoption' would make much more sense to search engines than these single words separated by a comma - 'virtual, pet, adoption'.
8. Remember, you're writing for real people and not search engines, so don't use high ranking keywords unless they enhance the quality of your articles just as well as other words you could use. Tons of people will find your articles if you use popular keywords, but if your articles are obviously written for search engines, publishers are unlikely to reprint them on their web sites.
Mistake #3 is using a headline that doesn't immediately arouse curiosity and interest. The headline is the most important part of your article. Write several of them. Then sit back and read each one quickly as if you're an internet publisher who is sifting through 100's of articles looking for a few of them to reprint. Which title immediately grabs your attention? Your headline is the first thing people see. Make sure it's high impact. Ideally your headline should attract the attention of search engines and internet surfers alike.
Mistake #4 is creating a introduction or description that's boring. After the headline this is the next most important part of your article. It's purpose is to support the headline and create so much interest in your topic that people can't resist reading the rest of your article.
Mistake #5 is using words that have very little meaning or are unclear. What I always do is write a rough draft. Then I go over the article and eliminate sentences that aren't necessary or that don't add value. When I see sentences that are unclear or that are worded in an awkward way, I change them. I may have to carefully read the article several times until it finally conveys my message correctly in as few words as possible.
Mistake #6 is using long sentences and paragraphs. Readers on the internet are in a hurry. They tend to skim over information instead of reading every word. Subtitles, bullets, lists, highlight, and other formatting tools can be used to make it easier for readers to take the most important information out of your article.
Mistake #7 is writing an article that sounds like an advertisement. If you want to be published on high traffic web sites, you must provide high quality, unique, and valuable information. You must give away information that is extremely helpful. Focus on information, rather than promoting yourself. Use the Resource Box at the bottom of your article to state your name, company, a brief but highly interesting sentence about what you do, and your contact information. When you become recognized as an expert in your field, people will search you out. A very brief little blurb in the Author's Resource box is all you need if your articles are well written and contain valuable information. Pure information is a far better way to promote yourself than trying to include product information, services offered, or your credentials in the body of your article.
Mistake #8 is writing one article and giving up because it didn't work - Or writing too many articles all at once then giving up because it didn't work right away. Writing articles is a 'fast' way to gain recognition, but it's not instant! It still takes time, but it's a whole lot faster than it was years ago before we had the internet. Make a commitment to write one or two high quality articles per week. In a year that's over 52 excellent articles! People need to see your name over and over again in order for you to gain 'expert status'. Also if a publisher reprints one of your articles, he or she is likely to reprint more articles written by you. The same publishers may reproduce several articles written by you!
By incorporating these principles in your articles, you will get much more attention and recognition on the internet. Your articles are more likely to get published on high traffic websites. The bottom line is when you understand how to write for the internet, you'll profit from the increased publicity you'll receive.
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Author Resource:-
Bill Borden specializes in helping businesses increase their profits by creating
high impact advertising and marketing materials. Please email
Bill at BestNewArticles.Com.
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