How to Write Effective Content for Search Engine Traffic
Search engines drive most traffic today.
Users search keywords that are relative to the topic they seek and search results provide them with the best selection. Once a user click on a result, they seek information based on their search. If they do not find the information within seconds, they leave, off to click the next relative result.
In order to keep readers for longer periods, lay out content properly, show the basic idea of the webpage, and use hooks that catch their eye quickly.
Attempt to stop them from using the back button.
1. Using Hooks to Gain Attention
Hooks are the best way to catch the eye of the reader. They are the most sufficient way of quickly defining the purpose of a webpage and retaining the reader for longer than a few seconds.
A hook starts as the title of an article, then important statements, section titles, bulletin lists, and images.
Hooks are the key to getting the readers to start reading.
2. Proper Placement
I have always advocated that for informational-based website, appearance does not matter, but placement does. That statement is even truer with traffic coming from search results. They want information and want it now.
It is important to show users the correct elements upon loading the page before having them scroll down. You have to place hooks as the foremost element in the design. Users coming from search results, do not care about the outer glow on your logo or if you have a texture background. They want information.
In the past years, multiple studies have been done that show Internet users have a tendency to do what is known as the F-lens. This lens shows that readers focus on the title of the page and the first two paragraphs the most out of any other elements on the website.
It is critical to use hooks and well-written content within the top portion of the lens to keep users reading.
3. Organizing Your Thoughts
Readers tend to scan text. Organizing your thought help get the main point across. By doing this, your hooks and placement becomes more effective.
• Break up thoughts into paragraphs.
• Use headings to define new sections.
• Organize content into list form, when appropriate. Readers love list.
• Bold valuable statements within paragraphs (do not overuse).
• Keep it short. Be brief.
Writing for the internet is completely different from writing a book. Readers do not read text thoroughly, and have almost infinite amounts of information readily available. We have a need to spark the interest of readers quickly, if you wish for them to actually read.
19 Important Factors Before Launching Your Website
When launching a website many developers often forget some factors that should be consider before making everything public.
This article reviews some of the important factors many forget during the web development process. Forgetting these can add up to huge problems in the future. Considering these items will help user experiences and may save a few headaches down the road.
1. Favicon
A favicon is a form of branding. It allows user to recognize your site from others when bookmarking a page or having your site opened in a tab. All sites should have these icons.
Place this code in your <head> tag to enable a favicon:
2. Title & Meta Data
Search Engines rely on these tags to provide title and description information for search results. Title tags are the most element for SEO and tells visitors the idea of that webpage.
The description and keyword tag are not as important for SEO but still a good idea to include.
3. Turn off Index Browsing
This often is forgotten during the process of launching a website. Index browsing allows the viewing of files within your directory. They can see everything. It’s important to remember to turn this off for better security and for protecting your files.
• For cPanel users, there is an option in the Index Manager
• How to disable directory browsing using .htaccess
4. Cross Browser Compatibility
This can become a huge headache but it is essential that your website appear correctly in major browsers. You do not want a percent of your audience unable to view your website.
The days of placing buttons in your footer stating “Best Viewed in Firefox” are long gone.
Instead of downloading multiple browsers, try Browsershots or Browserlabs.
5. Validation
Aim for 100% validation, but realize it may not happen.
Validating your website will point out errors that may have missed while coding and help with overall cross-browser compatibility. W3C Markup Validation Service will check your HTML, CSS, RSS, and even broken links.
6. Sitemap
These consist of links to all the content placed within your website. Search engines can use sitemaps to crawl your website efficiently. They normally come in .XML form but you may write them in HTML as well.
• Creating an XML Sitemap Manually
• If you are a WordPress user, try Google Sitemap XML for WordPress
7. Optimize Everything
You should always optimize your CSS, HTML, JavaScript and images. Optimizing your files will reduce load times and bandwidth consumed by your audience.
CleanCSS can fix errors, optimize, and properly format CSS. Smush.it by Yahoo, will optimize all the images on a web page without losing the quality.
8. Custom 404/Error Pages
The default 404 page is useless for your audience. You should customize your 404 page with a link back to your homepage or even a search function for better usability.
9. Back-up Plan
Always have a recent backup of your website because one day you may lose it all. I’ve had my web host experience issues before and backing up saved my life.
You should always have a backup plan.
• How to Perform Full Backup to Backup Website in CPanel Hosting
• 8 MySQL Backup Strategies for WordPress Bloggers
10. Check Functionality
After you build your website, it’s perfect for you, but not others.
A good idea is to have complete strangers navigate the website. By picking people you do not know, you can be sure they will be upfront about criticism.
11. Track Your Traffic
As you site grows having useful traffic information is important.
Installing an analytics tool helps measure statistics on how your site is performing. They track daily hits, browser statistics, user by country, and more. The number one free analytics tool is Google Analytics.
12. Print Style Sheet
If you have a lot of content on your site, users may want to print some of it off for various reasons. To help usability it is important to create a print style sheet so those users only print off the content and not the rest of the website.
13. Outline Site Policies
All sites should have some sort of policy on copyright, reprint, and if you advertise products, you need a full disclosure with your readers. These rules help protect you and your visitors.
• Creative Commons, anything concerning a copyright
• Federal Trade Commission Regulations on Affiliate Marketing for December 2009
14. Provide Contact Information
Readers often want to be involved. They will email you about mistakes, bugs, questions, and suggestions. But more importantly it helps build trust with readers, allowing them to email you if ever required.
15. Subscribe via RSS or Email
To help keep your audience entwined, offer ways for them to find out about new updates without having to visit your website.
Internet users are contently browsing and having a hard time visiting them all. Allowing readers to subscribe will remind them about any updates that occur.
• How to Create an RSS 2.0 Feed
• Track your subscribers with Feedburner.
16. Social Marketing
After launching your website the work does not end there. You need not only to continue updating it, but you need to promote your site across the Internet.
Before your website even launches make sure you secure the name of your website on some of the major social networks. Start with Twitter & Feedburner since the username you chose will show up in the URL.
17. Prepare Content
I suggest that you have at least 15 pages of unique content before launching a website and be prepared to release more of it as the website improves.
Start by writing down the topic of the pages then move on to writing the content.
• How to Write for the Web, by Jakob Nielsen.
18. Proofread
Read everything you write, multiple times. There will be mistakes you miss the first time reading through or someone else may notice. We are all guilty of making mistakes. I would not worry about the minor stuff too much.
When writing for the Internet remember to break up your thoughts. Try adding elements such as headers and bulletins as most users just browse content instead of reading it all.
And always, keep it short be brief.
18 Steps to Create a Blog & Make Money in 30 Days
Everyone wants to make more money and with the internet becoming more popular every day, it only makes sense to try it online. Here are the steps to create a blog and earn revenue with it in only your first 30 days.
1. Find a Good Web Host
Finding a web host that doesn’t suck is nearly impossible. When I first started, I signed up for with a terrible web host, got locked into a contract, couldn’t access the control panel and not even their tech support “geniuses” could fix it.
Five years ago, I made the switch to Bluehost and haven’t looked back. No downtime, unlimited bandwidth & space, 24/7 phone support, plus a free domain. It doesn’t get better than that.
Bottom line, if you want to become a full time blogger, then you have to get web hosting.
Save yourself a headache, make the right choice first.
2. Register Your Domain
This shouldn’t be a problem if you got Bluehost.
They literally give you a free domain. Just be sure that you choose a domain that is short, easy to remember, ends in .com and relates to your blogging niche.
3. Choose Your Blogging Platform
You can find free places to host your blog like Blogger, WordPress, or Typepad, but I would not recommend those hosting services if you are serious about making money. Like I said, you’ll want a domain and web hosting, then choose a blogging platform. Nothing beats WordPress.
4. Install WordPress
The famous 5 minute install.
5. Pick a Theme
Thousands of themes are available or you can download a Netjelly theme for free.
6. Customize Your Theme
Normally no changes are needed. You may wish to make small tweaks. WordPress is easy to learn and has tons of documentation.
7. Install Your Plugins
Plugins add even more functionality to the basic WordPress installation. Like Themes, you can find thousands of free Plugins created by users at the development site. Here is a list of plugins that I consider essential for any WordPress blog:
Autoptimize – Optimizes your website.
Google XML Sitemaps – This plugin will generate a special XML sitemap.
8. Pick a Niche
Pick a niche and focus on it. Focusing on one topic will appeal to your target audience but also help your search rankings in the niche you pick. If you intend to make money on your blog, then it is important to write about topics involved with your niche. Niches can be about anything. People search wide ranges of topics in search engines daily and there is a market for just about everything. Write about what you know.
9. Start Writing
I have written a list of articles that I plan to write in the future. It is important to brainstorm topic ideas and have a list ready for what you may post about next. You should have at least 10 posts before you even start promoting your site. Having post already established on the site will give Google more content to index in search results.
10. Post Frequently
As you start building readership, you will need to post often to keep readers coming back for new content. If you wait long periods in-between post, you risk losing your audience. Posting frequently will also keep search engines happy.
11. Allow Readers to Subscribe
All WordPress blog have a built in RSS Feed feature that allows your readers to subscribe to updates. Sign up for Feedburner, which allows you to track your subscribers and gives your readers better options for subscribing.
12. Write for the Internet
Keep it short and on point. Normally, most of your traffic comes from search engines and those users are looking for specific information, if they do not find it, they will be gone.
13. Submit to Search Engines
Once you have started your blog and written at least 10 post, then submit it search engines.
14. Submit to Social Bookmarking Sites
It is pointless to submit your post to large sites like Digg without a reader base to help you reach the front-page. I suggest finding digg-like sites in your niche and submitting there for better chances of getting targeted traffic.
15. Build Relationships
You will find better success if you are friends with established webmasters. Try to join some related forums or post comments on similar sites.
16. Join Advertising Programs
I recommend you use Google Adsense. It is the largest of any program currently. Adsense lets you create customize ads they will automatically relate to that webpage’s content.
17. Try Affiliate Marketing
Normally, as an affiliate marketer you will only be paid if your advertisement leads to a sale for the company. You should find products and services to pitch that is within your niche for better results. Here are some of the largest:
18. Have Patience
This is key to having success. You need to be patience and continue applying these steps to eventually see results. It doesn’t happen overnight but does with hard work.
Tips & Tricks on How to Build Links and Traffic
Good quality inbound links are one of the most important factors to creating a successful site. Inbound links will ultimately cause your website to display higher in search results which will result in you generating more traffic and income. Link-building while at times very difficult and frustrating is truly the ace in the hole for higher page rankings.
1. Content is king – It’s important to well-written and original content that focuses on both your primary keyword and keyword phrase.
2. Add new content often – Sites that post new content on a regular basis keep readers entwined as well as it helps you increase the amount of relevant content you have for your sites niche, which in all will improve your rankings.
3. Getting indexed – Submit your website to search engines like Google, Yahoo, and Bing. This will help ensure that your website is indexed and will start the foundation for your web pages to show up in during search results.
4. Build relationships with other webmasters in your niche, it becomes a great way to build inbound links for your website. However, be wary that link exchanging maybe seen as spam, so be careful about trading links or buying links from other sites.
5. Common problems exist with Flash, Frames and AJAX – you cannot link to certain web pages. Try not to use Frames at all and use Flash and AJAX sparingly for better SEO results.
6. Syndicate an article at GoArticle, EzineArticles, ArticleDashboard, etc… Many of these article sites are ranked well and can drive good traffic at times.
7. Write relative keywords within your title tag so that search engine spiders will know what the web page contains. Using a keyword or keyword phrases will help your chances of showing up in related search results and being more traffic to your site.
8. Start a blog and post regularly with dynamite content.
9. Give away free website design templates for content management systems like WordPress. Be sure to add a link back in the footer of the design to give your site some love in return.
10. Become Social with Bookmarking – While many people suggest you to submit content to huge social bookmarking sites like Digg, Delicious, and others – I suggest for you to submit your content to smaller community within your niche for better traffic results like Designfloat, and Dzone. You will have better chances of landing on the front page and receiving targeted traffic.
11. Write about controversial topics to drive debate within your blogs comments.
12. Putting Power with the Readers – Give readers the ability to subscribe to your site via RSS to which helps them easily access new site on the content without having to return daily to check for updates.
13. Join community forums in your niche and when posting make sure you place a link back to your site in your signature.
14. Make your content accessible by writing it so a wide range of readers will understand the article and being about to spread your message correctly. This also means that you should put effort in minimizing grammatical or spelling errors on the website, but be aware we all mess up from time to time.
15. Try to submit your site to free directories like DMOZ – Google suggests this tip. Be aware that being approved on DMOZ is rather difficult since the editors are mainly volunteers and many of them, do not check for pending submissions for months if not years.
16. Building inbounds links from other webmasters requires trust and communication, which means you, should write an about and contact page.
17. Trade articles with other webmasters in return for a link back to your own website.
18. Emphasize keywords and titles – by making use of elements like bold and headers. Text in these elements stand out to search spiders as key information and will improve that pages rankings depending on the chosen text found in those elements.
19. Give Readers Social Bookmarking Tools – Allow your readers to post easily on social bookmarking sites will increase the rate your content is distributed on the internet in multiple different places.
20. Write List based articles, readers love them!
