Writing Articles: Why and how?

Website articles are a powerful tool to help promote your website. Whether it's an online store or an affiliate website, articles can help bring increased traffic.

Why is this? Well, to break it down into the simplest possible terms, when you post an article you will be talking about something related to the products on your site. When Google notices that a link to your website appears on a lot of sites that have relevant content, it decides that your website is more relevant to that subject.

As an example, if you were selling painting supplies, and your link appeared on an article where you talked about the different types of paints and how the different amounts of thickness effects the end result, Google would say "Oh! That website must really be about the subject of paint."

Most of us, however, do not have a college degree in the subject that our websites are talking about (and it is, in fact, hard to get a degree in things like paintball or medieval reenactment accessories). So how do you decide what to talk about in your web articles?

Here is a step-by-step of how I usually decide what to write articles for my website on:

1. Do some research.
   
   I know, it's not the funnest thing in the world, but you have to have information before you write your article. More than that, it will help you decide what you will want to write about. Simply looking at a wikipedia article on your topic may give you an idea. Maybe researching golf will give information on upcoming tournaments, world records, or obscure facts. These things are great starting points for your article!
   
   Obviously, in most cases you won't stop at Wikipedia. By finding the names of players, tournaments, or whatever else you've found, you will be able to do simple Google searches to find out more.
   
   I really want to emphasize -- don't ever steal the work of others. Never copy their text, and never steal their pictures. This will not do well for you business -- the last thing you need is a lawsuit.
   
   
2. Collect your information.
   
   Once you've visited several websites, write down the key points of what you learned. Let's continue with the hypothetical golf scenario. If we were looking at the world records for the number of yards before a hole in one, we would write down the information, who originally set the record, who beat that record, what the course was, what the weather conditions were, any quotes or statements from the players -- and anything else that applies! There is usually plenty of information.
   
   
3. Write what's interesting to you.
   
   If you find yourself yawning as you read about the subject of your article, you may well find others do as well. This isn't good! Write about things that keep you interested in your own articles. If you can do that, you should be able to snag the attention of others.
   
   
4. Use your keywords!
   
   It's possible to talk about golfing clubs in your article, but only mention the actual term "golfing clubs" once. By constantly referring to the term "golfing clubs" as "it," "they," or simply by not mentioning golf clubs, you're cheating yourself out of some good article keywords.
   
   A good guideline is to use at least one major keyword or keyword phrase per article, and to repeat that keyword or keyword phrase 12 to 18 times (assuming it's the standard 500 word article).

These are just basic guidelines, but it should give you a place to start when you write your online articles. For more information on how a quality coaching company can help your online business succeed, simply visit www.thriveli.com.