Keyword Research – Do it First!

Now that you have a better idea about what you would like to write about, next thing is to determine how to write best so the search engines can spot  you and publicize you across the globe.

One of the best ways to do that is to have done some keyword research BEFORE starting on the article. Here are some reasons why.

1. It is best to have the primary keywords and keyword phrases within the domain name, title and subtitle of every page of the website.

By determining the main set of keywords ahead of time, you actually ensure that you maximize this asset and get your readers right from the web address. A lot of times, it is not possible to keep changing your urls. Therefore, the first step in any online work is to get the right kinds of URLs ahead of time.

2. It enables you to write naturally and include the keywords inside the text.

The key to good SEO is not merely the inclusion of proper keywords in strategic locations; it also is to incorporate them NATURALLY into the text and titles of the website. Google might not be human, but it would know if you randomly add a whole lot of keywords in an attempt to gain higher rankings. Also, content that isn’t pleasing to the human eye would result in you losing your visitors quickly. Remember the ultimate aim is to get your readers to come and stay at your site and benefit from your content. Google is just a means to this end and one should always remember that.

I know keyword research can take some time and get taxing, but it truly reaps a lot of benefits in future. So for the long run, go ahead and get that keyword research done first.

So where do you start with keyword research? There are many websites where you could start. One famous one is Google Keyword Tool. More about that on the next post.

For now take a look at this nice book on Keyword Research. Click on the book to find out more and see if this would be a useful resource to have you started on a successful keyword research.

My Articles of Internet Traffic and SEO

Here are some of my articles that I wrote on website traffic and SEO. I hope that they provide a brief explanation of what each of them are and why they are so important to shine in the Internet world.
How to Optimize Your Websites for Search Engines
Ways To Increase Traffic To Your Site For Free
Enjoy the articles and let me add on more about what I have learnt about SEO and its power on the Internet.

The Importance of Search Engine Optimization

We have seen how important it is to gain visibility on search engine results. This is called optimizing your website (or articles ) for search engines. So let us understand a little about how search engines work before we find out how to make good use of it, the legal way.
Now, before I proceed, please allow me to make a small request/warning. There are many bad SEO practices also known as Black Hat SEO out there. These practices are not only wrong, but would also harm your efforts to gain an online presence as search engines are smarter than people give them credit. That said, it is always advisable to stick to the right SEO practices also called White Hat SEO.
So how do search engines work? You should know by now that search engines are not humans. It is essentially search bots or search engine spiders that crawls through your websites and makes notes of who you are and what your website content is about. These search bots visits your websites from time to time to note for changes and based on the information indexed, they categorize the rankings of your website with respect to the search engine query they the user has entered.
Search engines use many criteria to determine how important your website is and how relevant it is to the search engine query it is attempting to answer. Here are some of them.
1. They check the relevance of the keywords used in the website
2. They check the quality and relevance of incoming and outgoing website links from the website.
Based on their judgment, websites earn a certain ranking on search engines. Now note that this ranking is not permanent. It could improve or get worse.
So let us use the next lot of posts to determine how we can gain the search engine’s love and find targeted traffic to your online works. These tips would also work great for your online business websites too.

The Findability Formula: The Easy, Non-Technical Approach to Search Engine Marketing

You Figured Out What You Want To Write On...Now What?

From my line of posts about nailing the niche, I hope you have an idea about what it is that you intend to write about. So what is next?

When you hear the term "online writing", you must remember that there are 2 aspects to this. While it is vital that your writing adds more value to the reader and is done well, it is also important that it REACHES the reader in the first place. Writing online and having no one visit the website to read it is equivalent to you talking to the walls of an empty room. Your writings could just disappear in this ocean called the Internet.

Thus ensuring that you have achieved a significant amount of online presence is as important as ensuring that you have done a well written article that has something unique to offer to your readers. You must make sure interested people are reading your online works? So how do you do that?

So for a moment, lets think like an online visitor. What is the first thing you do when you are out online searching for a specific topic? If you are anything like me, I would do a quick search engine search to find what I need. You would use the keywords that make the most sense in the hope of getting search engine results that almost exactly match your needs. Normally you would browse through a few entries, mostly within the first page or two, and try find the answers that you are seeking.

Now back to being the writer, so what should you do to reach the readers? Get on those first two pages of search engine results based on keywords relevant to your topic of writing and your target audience. Sounds complicated?

Well I thought so too at first. But experience shows that it is doable. There are a few steps you could take to ensure that you are as high up the search engine ranking as possible.  To give a brief outlook, you need to work on good keywords, gaining great search engine optimization for your article, and marketing it directly to your target market.

Through this next set of posts, I hope to share with you my insights on how this is possible and hopefully get you to see how achievable this goal is.

Write and Be Seen!

Image Credit: All Eyes On Me (as usual) by debbie205

What is Ghostwriting?

Ghostwriting is the act of writing articles and books on behalf of other authors. There are many people out there with the desire to create products and books, but they just do not have the capability of producing one of a good quality. They need the help of a good writer who could voice their words and make it into a product to share with others.

If you are considering being a ghostwriter, there are somethings you should remember
1. You can not have that piece published in your name.
2. You can not claim that the piece was written by you.
3. It can never be a part of your writing portfolio.

If you are agreeable to these conditions, then ghostwriting is for you. It is understandable that not everyone would not agree to these conditions. But I do see some good in ghostwriting.

Firstly, it is a great way to get exposure to many fields and topics. It infact is a challenge. Before doing some rewrites as a ghostwriter, I may never have known about auto insurance, sports news or about some travel location. As a ghostwriter, I had to opportunity to not only write about these topics, but also to learn more about them.

So if you are looking to write, you could see if ghostwriting is for you. When I said that your ghostwriting pieces can not be claimed as your original work, I only meant the works. You can always inform others (potential clients and employers) that you have ghostwriting for the patricular firm or business. I would certainly think it is a good career option to consider, especially as a work at home job.

Take a look at this book to learn more about the art of ghostwriting

Working With Textbroker

Whilst having alot of fun (too much fun sometimes) writing at Squidoo, I also do alot of writing assignments at Textbroker. Till date, I would have written about 100 articles or so for them. Textbroker is an excellent starting point for anyone who is entering the world of writing. Sadly, it is only available to US residents.

Textbroker is a firm that facilates online ghostwriting for writers around US and clients. Potential customers post their requirements into a pool of assignments. These assignments are categorized according to subject matter and posted to be viewed by all Textbroker writers. Writers are given the ability to select the assignment that suits their expertise and are required to get them done within the time allocation. When the customer has reviewed the articles, they can either accept the article and process the payment, or request for some changes till they get the article that they like. Clients and writers can only communicate through the Textbroker portal.

Payment is made twice a month. Each writer is paid according to their quality of their writing. Writers are allocated a ranking number to determine their level of writing.  Level 2 indicates that you are slightly below average, level 3 average, level 4 and 5 places you above the average.  You could see the Textbroker's payment information at this link.

What was it about Textbroker that attracted me?
1. They always have a very large pool of assignments for all their writers.
2. They state clearly the specifics about the assignment. They would state the exact instructions, the number of words and the timeline.
3. This is convenient as it allows their writers to determine if they have the ability to perform the assignment.
4. You get to set your time to work on Textbroker assignments.

While the average assignment usually is between 200-500 words, there are times when I managed to write some very interesting pieces that were 1000 words and over. There are many kinds of articles that one could write at Textbroker. Some of them are content for websites, articles about topics, rewrites and even articles that help promote a business.

Another great thing about working at Textbroker is their assistance in ensuring that we provide quality work for the clients. For instance, they provide an inhouse software that allows us to verify that our article meets copyright requirements before being released to the client. Also there are indicators that would ensure that we met all client's requirements before we are allowed to submit these articles to the clients. These indicators usually ensure that all keyword and word count requirements are met.

Marketing Effectively Through Squidoo

Marketing through Squidoo isnt achieved merely by writing one lens introducing your store. Remember - Nail The Niche! Talk about different aspects of your online business. Inform your readers about the subject matter that you write about. You could talk about individual aspects, what motivated the birth of the business, and about recent changes to the services. You could also talk about how your business would benefit the customers and everyone else around.


In my case, as you know the business that I have ben promoting via Squidoo is my Zazzle store. So apart from the lens I mentioned earlier, I also have created a series of lenses promoting some categories of products that I have designed and featured at the store.

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Likewise, you too could create individual articles about each type of product and service that your business provides. It is also important to link them all back to your business website and to also interlink one another. This would in turn increase the quality of backlinks and have your business gain the exposure you need for better business.


The Art of SEO: Mastering Search Engine Optimization (Theory in Practice)
To find out how to promote your website effectively and gaining more online visibility, click on the link to get this great resource.