Article Writing Techniques Stress the Fundamentals
November 25, 2009 by Nigel Evans
Filed under SEO
In our information-based society, articles represent the lifeblood. It was once said that “content is king” and that has never been more correct, when it comes to website composition. People are flocking to the Web to learn and articles provide this source.
Above all else, article writing techniques must focus on providing a readable final work. So-called articles that are presented only to focus on optimization will appear to be contrived and will be very difficult to read. The reader will go away feeling less than satisfied, far from being educated or entertained.
There are a large variety of different article writing techniques and it is largely a matter of choice. The author could opt to write a “how-to” style, a “top 10″ approach, compose a piece around a bulleted list or write a straightforward article.
Search engines look for well composed content and have no problem placing poor marks against articles that do not comply. A process known as latent semantic indexing is used to see whether the piece contains other, or secondary keywords relating to the article title. The secondary keywords would naturally occur in a well-written article and the search engines have access to vast databases enable them to check for their presence.
Typically, an article will be between five and eight paragraphs long and be of 500 words duration. This is not set in stone, but is typical for articles found throughout the web. The opening paragraph of an article should summarize the total content and the following 3 to 5 paragraphs should each refer to a particular point, expanding as you proceed. The closing paragraph sums everything up.
While different authors will have very different article writing techniques, all should follow the best practices expected. Never slant an article from a sales approach, as this is typically frowned upon. Although a majority of websites have a commercial purpose and the content therein could be judged as well, there is a time and a place for such a pitch and good writers will know that content quality is foremost.
When looking at structure from an SEO perspective, remember that secondary, LSI — type keywords must back up your prime words. Content experts will not need to worry about this element, as they will naturally form an article containing such content.
We are told that the major search engines are placing more and more emphasis on quality content and penalizing those webmasters who try and optimize first and provide quality second. As this scenario unfolds there will be a lot of focus on article writing techniques, as well as demand for the provision of great content.
Follow the hyperlink to find out more about article writing techniques, and how you should seriously consider the idea for your online marketing initiatives.
