Sunday, February 20, 2005

Web Content Writing for Newbies

I am a newbie web content writer.
Repeat after me....
I have to accept my shortcomings first to realize my potential, right? As Tony Robbins says-- I really have to admit I like him-- "change is inevitable, progress is not."
My goal is to not only learn how to write effective web content, the ins and outs of the "sport," but by doing so, to provide that same product. My thought process this Sunday morning, after the help of half a pot of a strong chicory-laced coffee, was "gee, if I'm a beginner and searching for help online, it stands to reason there are most likely others like me."

My first lesson learned: target people with similar interests. This is where my first-line admission comes in. My blog would benefit most from attracting traffic from other writers who are new to web content writing and looking to put all the mental pieces together. Some of those "pieces" are elements related to search engine optimization. Web sites, including blogsites, want to be found. I know now that effective web content is that which postures itself with well-placed keywords and phrases that are often "tickled" during a search.

I also know that I don't really want to attract anyone here who is an expert. They'll be bored and my site will be useless, aside from a good chuckle, which is fine, but why spend time focusing on the wrong audience?

One of the first things I tried the other day was one of the popular-- and free-- keyword suggestion tools. I gave the Overture Keyword Suggestion Tool a whirl, http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion. A lot of the web content sites recommend these tools as a way to generate keywords and keyword phrase ideas. I think keyword phrases are the way to go. When you search say Google, do you really just type in one word? It's pretty fruitless to do that. Typically, most people are searching for more precise information. I thought that by targeting my audience with more precise keyword phrases I might draw someone to my blog site who is in a similar position. The beauty of blogs over static web pages is that the blog environment allows for a fluidity of information and an openness to communication via comments and tag-boards. And maybe, just maybe, if I learn something, I can actually generate traffic and--dare to dream-- decent search engine page rankings.

I took a few minutes to jot down the keyword phrases I would most likely use to search for sites related to writing keyword content and web content writing based on my experience level. I came up with "web writing how-to", "beginner's web content", and "web content newbie." My rationale was if I was using these phrases, so would others. Perhaps attracting an audience is based on keyword-rich content, but it has to appeal to someone specific, at the same time.

After all this, keyword or keyphrase rich web content is only one of the factors that make websites effective.
In my next posting, I think I need to explore what all the hub-bub is over web traffic anyway. After all, if I can't generate traffic to my site, why bother providing content? Most people who develop a website have knowledge to share or products to market. People need to find them.

Also, what are search engine page rankings and what are they based on? How do sites, even some blogs, end up in the top positions on Google's search engine?

If you're here, please contribute with a comment, link suggestions, or advice.

posted by jrotman @ 11:06 AM