Article Surfing Archive

So what is writing article text really all about? The following article includes some basic information.

Let's assume that you have your topics and you've done your research, now it's time to start actually writing the article text. You don't need the title first; in fact, sometimes you can come up with a better title for your articles after you've written the article text.

Your article needs a beginning (introduction), middle (body), and end (conclusion). Without an introduction, readers can get confused and may stop reading if they're not sure what you're talking about. Conclusions are important because they sum up the main points of your article.

Writing article text for the Internet is different than writing for anything else. Online markets are highly competitive, and it's easy for visitors to click away from your website if you don't hold their attention.

Here's how to do it:

" Use short sentences and short paragraphs. Big blocks of text on a screen are difficult to read, and the typical Internet surfer's eyes will glaze over when confronted with a page of solid text. Don't indent, and skip a line between each paragraph. Include the occasional one-sentence paragraph to attract more attention.

" Keep the language conversational. Internet users aren't impressed with ten-cent words; if they have to stop and look for a dictionary, they'll probably just try another website. You are trying to make it easier for people to digest the information you're offering them.

" Create a sense of interaction by using the word "you" in your articles, as though you're talking directly to the reader. Use bulleted lists (like this one) to further break up the text on the page and provide fact-filled summaries that draw the attention.

" Images can spice up an article as well, but go easy on them. Slow-loading pages (graphics-heavy sites) are still one of the biggest reasons Internet users look for cleaner pastures.

Finally, keep in mind that grammar and spelling does count when writing articles for the web. Running a spell check on your article text before you post it is a great idea, but spell checks don't catch every mistake. Reading the article aloud can help you spot inconsistencies or flaws. You could also ask a friend or associate to read it over for you-a fresh pair of eyes can find mistakes yours can't.

How long should your articles be? The answer is: "As long as they need to be-and no longer."

Internet articles generally range from about 200 words (three or four short paragraphs) to about 1,500 words (about six pages). Much longer than that, and you're entering e-book territory. The length of the article usually depends on the topic being discussed.

400 to 800 words is a good general target for most articles. For those you want to post in places other than your personal website, you'll want to keep them on the shorter end of the scale. It is much easier for another webmaster to post a 400-word article that can be put on one page than one that must be broken up and given two or three pages of its own.

Whatever length you choose, it will be sufficient as long as you include all the information you want to convey, and no more.

When you're writing article text, your primary concern is what readers will think. When it comes to titles and keywords your main objective is search engines.

The majority of Internet users still find most of the websites they visit through search engines. Keywords help to boost your search engine rank, and the titles of your articles will be the first thing people see in the results.

Which of these articles would you want to read?

Using Vinegar in the Garden

Or*

The Cheap, Safe Way to Rid Your Garden of Weeds (Without Digging!)

Both of these articles would discuss the same thing-how to use vinegar as a natural weed killer. However, the second one sounds more exciting and useful. Chances are you would choose to read the second article over the first if they both popped up in a search engine.

The titles of your articles should attract the readers attention, if not outright demand it. Coming up with an interesting, compelling title takes time, but it is well worth the effort. Think of your title as a newspaper headline. If your title appeared on the front page, would you buy a copy?

There are several ways to generate article titles that stand out from the crowd and get read. Here are a few examples:

" Use numbers, such as "Five Steps to Home Business Success" or "Three Good Reasons to Choose Fixed Insurance over Variable." You don't have to limit number titles to list-style articles. Nearly any article can be broken up into a number of steps or reasons.

" Create a play on words using a popular phrase. For example, an article about how to wash the outside of your second-floor windows might be titled "Don't Let Window Washing be a Pane in Your Neck." " Make your title a question: "Can You Really Make Money Online?"

" Compare something to something else: "Why Apples are Just like Oranges."

" Fill in the blank: "How To (Blank)," "From (Blank) to (Blank)," or "Everything You Always Wanted to Know About (Blank)."

Another good way to get ideas for titles is to pay attention to newspapers, magazines, and popular websites. You can keep a "swipe" file of headlines that catch your attention and use them as a basis for your article titles. The more you practice coming up with attention-grabbing titles, the easier it will be.

Now let's move on to keywords in your article text*the bane of every Internet marketer's existence. Use too few and the search engines will ignore you; use too many, and your website could be banned from search engines altogether. Then there is the matter of choosing the right keywords for your website.

The use of keywords can be a confusing subject with no exact answers. It can be difficult to understand why some keywords generate massive results, while others yield next to nothing.

Keywords are single or multi-word phrases relating to your topic that help Internet users find your website when they enter them in a search engine. The placement of keywords throughout your articles text can help to raise your page rankings and online visibility.

Your first step should be to generate a list of relevant keywords for the article you're working on. There are tools that can you help you to discover good relevant keywords. Such as www.nichebot.com. Choose several words or phrases relating to your topic that Internet users would be likely to use in a search for the information you're offering.

After you've written your article text, go through and count the number of times each of your keywords or phrases appears. Three to five times each is a good range to aim for, and you may want to repeat your main keyword (in this case, "small business") even more-eight to ten times.

The trick is to make the keywords sound natural within the text. You've probably seen websites stuffed with keywords to the point of generating downright irritating sentences: "When your small business is ready for a small business startup, your small business should get the best small business resources for small business startups." This makes for clunky, uninteresting reading; something you want to avoid.

It's also a good idea to include your main keyword or key phrase into the title of your article. Search engines give more weight to page titles than text, and when you post your articles on your website, you will name the page with the title of the article.

Once you have built up a good number of archived articles on your website, you can start including on-site links within the text of your articles to refer visitors to similar information. On-site links help keep visitors on your website longer and increase your chances of converting them to customers.

At the end of every article, you should include a short biography, a disclaimer, and a signature file. These components establish you as an expert on your topic and direct readers who find your articles on other websites to yours.

An author bio is a short one- or two-paragraph description of you and your experience concerning the subject of the article. Bios are written in the third person (Shelly Smith is a word processing expert who owns and operates WordWare, Incorporated*). Your bio establishes your credentials and convinces Internet users that your information can be trusted.

What if you don't have any professional experience? No problem. You can include anything in your bio that relates to your topic: life experiences, hobbies, high school or college credits, even personal interest. If you're just starting out in your field, use the reasons you decided to enter this particular business to formulate your bio.

Once you have some practice in generating bios, you can start tailoring your bio to match the contents of each of your articles. Customized bios can be humorous and fun, or helpful and to-the-point. You'll also find it easier to refer to yourself in the third person with more practice.

Your signature file can be part of your bio, or it can appear separately following the bio. It contains a link or links to your website and a brief one or two sentence description of what is available there.

The active link contained in your signature file is what allows search engines to catalogue your website and track the inbound links. This is an important part of article marketing that some people overlook. You should make it a habit to include a signature file with every piece of information you post on the web.

Every article you write should include a disclaimer giving readers permission to repost and redistribute the article on their own websites. However, you must state that your bio and signature file have to be included, or you won't be able to take advantage of inbound links and additional traffic.

So now you know a little bit about writing article text. Even if you don't know everything, you've done something worthwhile: you've expanded your knowledge.