June is an exceptionally busy month for me.
One of my Free events this month is Use Article Content to Increase Your Visibility and is being offered by AnyMeeting.com, a webinar service provider.Please join me on Wednesday, June 20th, at 11 am Pacific / 2 pm Eastern, for the next free webinar in AnyMeeting's “Small Business Toolkit” webinar series.
You'll learn how to properly craft your written content for effective search engine ranking and optimization. This webinar is ideal for anyone using article marketing and blog posting as part of their marketing strategy.
As a BONUS, I'll be giving a copy of my new her e-book, “Article Content Properly Formatted and Optimized,” to all registrants.There are only 200 spots are available – so sign up today for free. Make sure you log in to the webinar early – attendance is on a first-come, first-served basis. A recording of the webinar will also be made available.
Click Here to register now.
Need more persuading? Here's what we'll be going over:- Article Content Properly Formatted and Search Engine Optimized
- Blog Posting, Keywords, Anchor Text, Tags, and Promotion
- 10 Steps to Writing for Article Directories
- CDO, SEO, and Marketing – Basic Tips and Definitions
This PowerPoint webinar will be information packed and it has NEW information.You won't want to miss out this free webinar.
Click Here to register now.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And, don't forget about Writers on the Move's June 22nd webinar on
Creating Your Own eBook Covers in 10 Easy Steps Using Microsoft Office 2101Check out the details at:http://www.karencioffiwritingandmarketing.com/2012/06/design-your-own-ebook-cover-in-10-easy.html~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
And, I'm conducting a 3 week workshop for Savvy Authors, beginning on June 25th.
Workshop Title:
Creating and Building Your Author/Writer Online Presence:From Website Creation to Beyond Book Sales
For details go to:
http://www.savvyauthors.com/vb/showevent.php?eventid=1380 =====
To keep up with writing and marketing information, along with Free webinars - signup for A Writer's World Newsletter on the right top sidebar!Until next time,
Karen Cioffi
Multi-award Winning Author, Freelance/Ghostwriter, Editor, Marketer
Find Karen’s eBooks on writing and marketing at:http://karencioffifreelancewriter.comKaren Cioffi Writing ServicesA Team
Last week, in Part 1 of this article, we discussed the importance of article marketing and of having your articles properly formatted and search engine optimized. Today we're on to Part 2 (steps 2 through 6).
Article Content Properly Formatted and Search Engines Optimized Part 22. Include Keywords in the Body of Your ArticleUnless you don’t care if the search engines pick up your article, or if it gets more distribution in the article directories, you need to include keywords throughout your article. But, don’t overdo it. It’s important for your keyword to be in your topic headings (if applicable), the first and last paragraphs, and in a couple of other paragraphs.
3. Spacing Your Article ContentEvery paragraph in your article should have an extra line between it and the next one. If the formatting calls for it, the beginning of each paragraph should be indented.
You should also keep your paragraphs relatively short. Readers like plenty of ‘white space.” This ‘white space’ allows for easier and quicker reading.
Notice my formatting in this article.
In addition, it’s necessary to use proper grammar and punctuation. (517 without lead-in)
4. Include Your BioYou’d think every writer would make sure they receive credit for their article content, but if you read some blogs, even those with multiple contributing authors, there are some with no byline. Even if it’s your own blog, at least end the post with your name.
For article directories, each service has its own resource box instructions. For guest blogging you don’t want your byline to be too long – make it short and effective. You can include your name with a couple of sentences letting the reader know why he should click on your link.
5. Article Content Marketing Tags Including keywords or tags where allowed is essential to article marketing and its SEO effectiveness. Most hosting services and article directories provide specific areas at the bottom of the article for keywords or tags. Take advantage of this SEO tool.
These tags should be relevant to the content and will allow the search engines to categorize and index your content. This in turn will allow your article to be found by people searching for your topic.
There you have it, five article content formatting and SEO ready tips to get your articles doing what they should be doing: getting read, going viral, and bringing traffic to your site.
6. Link to More Article ContentThis step is simple. In any article you publish on your own blog or submit for a guest post link to other articles or a landing page on your site. You can do this within your article content, just hyperlink a relevant word or phrase to a relevant article on your site.
You can also include a “Related Articles” section at the end of your article and list a couple of titles with hyperlinks to the actual articles on your site. Or, after a bit of information within the article add, “For more information on this check out” and add the link.
This allows you to get even more ‘juice’ out of your articles. You may not be able to do this with article directories, but for your blog posts, it will keep visitors on your own site longer and draw them further into your pages, and will bring visitors to your guest posts back to your site. Search engines like th
Are Videos Worth the Time?
Lately, it seems everyone is providing information through videos. Yes, they’re nice, presentable, and the newest thing to do. I know that personal touch is supposed to be very important--you can put a voice and face to the information being provided. And, in some ways, such as seeing a procedure done visually, they may be beneficial. But, I find them time consuming and for that reason, bothersome.
Everyone gathers a great deal of information online, such as information on writing, marketing, affiliate marketing, and research for articles. Often, we’re in a rush and don’t have time to sit through a 15, 30, or 60 minute video to glean the information we want. So, what do we do? We exit out of the site, thinking we’ll come back when I have more time. But guess what? Nine out of ten times we don’t go back.
Time is a problem for everyone today. We’re bombarded with information, things to do, places to go…and that’s not including work! There just aren’t enough hours in the day, or days in the week. The videos take up time.
Aside from the time element, there are many people who would rather read. While listening to videos, you have to sit with pad and pen…listen intently…then write quickly when you hear information you want to save. Try to be sure not to miss anything because if you do, you have to go back and try to find the spot you need. Also, if you are trying to follow the information in the video, say to create a website, it’s very difficult to view a video while you’re working on a site.
Although, I do realize the personal touch is important, it is much easier to read an article, save it, and then go back to it when you have the time. At that point, you can quickly scan the article and highlight the information that is pertinent. You have it indefinitely at your finger tips and available whenever you need it.
The problem that happens when a strategy takes off (whether beneficial or not) is it’s hard to stop. So, what can be done for those who prefer reading? Well, that depends on whether the presenter wants to put forth additional effort. If they do, they can also provide the information in an article or pdf document. It’s much easier to follow a step-by-step document than go back and forth through a video. While this will be more work for the presenter it will ensure faithful return visits from readers who don’t have time for videos. Ezinearticles.com uses this strategy for their posts and I am grateful.
Technology is ever advancing, but if it’s at the cost of readership maybe the new trend should be adjusted a bit. If a writer or marketer is interested in having followers from the reading and video arenas, they will go that extra step and cater to both. I’ll be waiting patiently for that new trend to take hold.
Related Article:
Marketers: Are They Wasting Our Time?
Until next time,
Karen Cioffi
Author, Ghostwriter-for-hire, Freelance Writer, Reviewer
http://karencioffi.com
http://dkvwriting4u.com
http://nothingventurednothinggained.org
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Thanks for sharing this blog post Karen. I like to be able to read things. It's so much easier to go back to reference something.
The videos have that personal touch to them, but it does make it hard when taking notes. It's so much harder when going back to reference something.
I also agree with what you said about nine out of ten times people won't go back to the site to watch the video. That is me. If I don't watch it right then, I never get to watch it.
Susanne,
It's a shame, but I don't end up having time to go back to watch a video. I never know if it'll be 10 mins, 20, or 60 minutes long. And, you can't skim through it!