SEO Writing: Is it Worth the Time?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is a science all by itself. Each search engine has its own methodology of spidering the web and analyzing page contents in order to award these pages with "rankings". For anyone who has ever been rewarded with a Top 10 Google ranking, it is akin to receiving an Emmy Award.

However, unbeknownst to many, these rankings may have little to do with the SEO techniques and contents on their website.

Following standard SEO suggestions is fine, but since Google won't even utter a mere hint of how they go about ranking words or pages or content, many webmasters and company owners and blog writers spend too much time and effort trying to optimize their verbiage while frequently reducing their reader integration.

Using the assumption that keywords should be used a minimum of five times in the top three paragraphs of every page can play havoc with the reader's understanding and ultimate interest in the material. In many cases, while the page may be given a decent ranking, the readers' interpretation of the content may be swayed simply because the verbiage is forced and sounds unnatural.

For instance if you are selling sneakers, how many times does a customer need to see the word "sneakers" on your home page to get the idea? Now, repeat it five times in the first few paragraphs, and your content just looks plain silly.

Many websites and individual pages achieve high rankings for other reasons - and we may not ever completely understand how or why it happens. But there is also no guarantee that using SEO technology will help rankings either.

What to do? Write like you speak. Talk to your customers and prospects - not the search engines.

Fighting Writer's Block

Even something as simple as a thank you note or an email to mom can turn us into quivering blobs when we can't find two words to put together. And that's all bad enough on a regular basis, but when someone is paying to see your words, it just adds to the stress.

How do I get over writer's block? It depends on how severe it is, how long it's lasted, and what the project is that I am working on.

I have never had much success just going for a walk to clear my head. My head usually does the same thing as I walk down the street as when I sit at my computer. It worries, it stresses. Fresh air and a change of scenery just don't do much for me.

A trip to Starbucks with my laptop sometimes helps. No idea why, really. Perhaps it's the general ambiance of the place, other quasi intellectuals sitting around trying to get work done and ignoring their counterparts nearby.

What works best for me in general, however, is to read. The newspaper, things I've already written, online headlines, even a Victoria's Secret catalog --- keep the words flowing and soon NEW words will be flowing.

The other day I was working on a piece for a medical device manufacturer. Bored me to tears. Really! I took breaks, I returned calls, I went shopping. I had lunch. I played with my seven new kittens. I did everything I could to avoid getting this paper done because I had no idea what to write about.

But suddenly one of my kitties did something inspiring. At a mere nine days old she opened one eye and looked at me, and purred. I picked her and put her on a little towel on my desk where I could pat her and suddenly the words just started flowing. It was amazing.

Was it because I was totally relaxed? Happy? Giving my heart to another creature who needs me? I don't know. And I don't care. All I know is that words can come from anywhere, for any reason.

There is no perfect way to get rid of the block or uncongest the mind. But I'm starting to learn, after all these years, that worrying about it won't help.

Are We Twittering Our Time Away for Nothing?

Three months ago I signed up with Twitter at the behest of a business colleague. He said this was the wave of the future. Social networking at its best! An enormous time-improvement over Facebook and sites of that sort.

Kicking and screaming and complaining, I did register for an account. I sat back and said, "Now what? Who really needs to hear whatever tiny and meaningless updates I choose to provide into my personal and/or business life?"

Within 24 hours I was surprised to see I had accrued "followers". I had no idea why they chose me, nor did I have any idea, based on their own personal profiles, how they even found me.

Soon my "home page" was atwitter with short and (all too frequent) notes, comments and meaningless updates. A follower in China thought everyone would like to know he was ready for bed. A music freak in New York complained about a porn flick he had rented that didn't have enough "booty" for his taste.

After a week I was convinced my esteemed colleague had a brain tumor, and I happily shared that perception with him when I asked why, after forcing ME to sign up, doesn't he even send out tweets himself?

"Oh", he explained. "They told me all the big companies are using Twitter now so I thought it would be a good thing to do. I haven't figure out how to use it yet though. I can't even read the junk I get."

Wow. So, this is what Harvard is graduating from its MBA program now?

I wholeheartedly agreed that the messages were indeed difficult to decipher, and those that were written in sentences rather than blurbs usually included things like shortened URLs pointing me to various internet marketing hype had information of no value or interest to me.

As part of my quest to really figure out why anyone would get this involved with a system that only allows you to type 140 characters at a time, I joined a marketing program that was sent to me in one of those odd cryptic messages from one of my followers.

The program is based on the philosophy that if you can get thousands of followers, and send them all a link to this person's program, we can all make money.

I know all about affiliate marketing and, frankly, it's hype. No one gets rich selling these internet marketing programs. BUT I paid my money to see what it was all about.

After doing everything it said, and spending the better part of two days getting all the background basework in place, I did find I had 38 more followers than the day before. However, with these 38 followers (which I dutifully "followed" in return), my Twitter page had messages coming so fast I couldn't keep up. I was panicking about what would happen if I DID end up with thousands of followers! Am I supposed to spend my life reading Tweets?

Is this really to anyone's benefit? Not mine! Out of 192 messages within a 24 hour period, ONE message was of interest to me. The rest were mostly links that were automatically generated by Google Alerts! And this process is even suggested in the marketing program I bought into!

Why on earth would anyone set up a Tweeter account and NOT at least produce the personal little blurbs this was meant for? Someone please tell me what the logic is to have an automated system sending out random blurbs that make no sense to most of the readers?

The purpose of Twitter was to keep people updated on your activities. Hopefully, the updates are at least funny or interesting or add value to someone's day.

But if people are signing up, never sending a personal message, and allowing an outside news delivery service to take over, where is the logic?

People - you are twittering your lives away! Even if you aren't sending automated messages, you're logging in reading someone else's. Don't you have a business to build?

Should I Write My Memoirs?

I get asked this question frequently. Many people believe they have led wonderfully interesting lives, have a story to tell that others would pay to hear, and are interested in learning how to get their book published.

My advice? Don't. It's a rare person who will ever get the ear of a publisher - who would be paying to have this done - and who might be interested in hearing about someone's life story.

Unless you have an incredibly unique experience to talk about, or you're already famous (or infamous!), your chances of having a publisher interested in your work is extremely slim.

Before hiring a writer and spending the time it will take to even produce a manuscript, do some research. If you truly believe you have a story to tell that others will pay to read about, you need to write an incredible query letter to a publisher that has a history of buying manuscripts of this genre. Then, you sit back and wait to hear.

What about self publishing? I hear this as well. This option is very expensive and the payback is regrettably very low. Very few self published books ever make a fraction of what the authors paid to have them printed and distributed. There is a reason this is called "vanity publshing" - it pads the ego of the author, not the author's bank account.

If you are still convinced that your story might be worth something, start a journal and write and write and write. If nothing else, you'll have something to leave for posterity.

Where Can I Get Ideas to Write About?

If you want to write, don't think you need to work on a novel. Most people are happy reading little blurbs, usually referred to as articles, of 400 - 1200 words. Some experienced writers can do 5 - 10 of these each day. Where do they get their ideas? Anywhere and everywhere.

1. Keep a notebook with you at all times. It doesn't have to be big, but big enough to put a few sentences or thoughts onto.

2. If you can't be carrying a notebook with you, get yourself a cell phone/PDA that allows you leave voice notes. When you see something interesting and you think you can write a few interesting paragraphs, make some notes on it to keep for later.

3. Do you have a special interest that you share with others? The stock market? Scrapbooking? Gardening? Learning new software? Others would love to hear what you have to say!

4. Keep your goals small to begin with. Very few are lucky enough to make big bucks right away. Your first real goal will be to just get published - for free. Yes. FREE. It's great experience. Plenty of online sources exist. A well established, reputable place to start is http://www.ezinearticles.com/. They have a superb tutorial on how to get started. If you are just starting out, believe me, it's a thrill to get your first email from them that says, "Your article has been accepted".

5. After you have perhaps 10 or 15 published for free, start looking for a few bucks for your time and trouble. Head on over to http://www.constant-content.com/. Same concept, but they put your articles on their website to be sold. You name the price you want. You also have total control over what rights to give someone who buys your content.

6. You will be rejected. This is normal. Usually it's for something silly like typos (which should have been caught...) or using the wrong font. However, if you are receiving emails from these places that have comments describing other issues, pay close attention and heed the advice. Being rejected is meant to be a learning experience, not a reason to give up.

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Should You Write for Free?

I'm always being asked by writers - new and experienced alike - if it's a good idea to write for free. Well, it all depends. Years ago no one would think of writing for free because the entire process was quite more complicated. Before the internet because the main communication choice of millions and millions of people, if you wrote something, you needed to find a publisher. Even that cost money! And the thought of a publisher even suggesting you shouldn't get paid would have been absurd!

However, fast forward a few decades. Now, everyone with a computer thinks he can write. Between personal and family websites, blogs, emails, chat rooms..the list is endless. People communicate by writing, not by talking. Even cell phones now are mainly used to send text messages!

Does this mean that each person who can type can "write"? No. But that mean that they shouldn't try if it is something they are interested in? Of course not.

So, where does that leave a person who wants to see if has a paid future as an author? It probably means he's going to have to produce at least a few articles for free (ArticleDashboard.com), then he can graduate to sites where content is asked for and writers can submit bids. The majority of these sites pay very little, but it's great experience. Places like www.GetAFreelancer.com are decent places to get a few writing gigs and make a few bucks, get your name out there, build up some references, and get going.

Once he has a name (or at least feels confident about his abilities), he can and should think about producing some free work IF and ONLY if his work will carry his byline and his resource box at the end. There is NO sense in writing for free if you can't promote yourself, your business, your book, your services, etc.

Being a writer doesn't mean you have to be a full time published author. Many "writers" have careers such as banking, real estate, medicine, even plumbing...and they write articles in order to gain exposure for their business and build their business.

After all, producing a few free articles that result in more customers to your website or in your store is so much better, right?

New Site to Post Articles and Get PAID

Having spent the past two decades as a writer, I was very excited to not only learn of the long anticipated launch of www.MyArticleZone.info, but to also have the opportunity to use it and review it in depth. And what I found was beyond my expectations!

Very seldom do we find a new concept in the writing profession that offers a vehicle that is readily available to all levels of writers and authors of all genres - including poetry and fiction.
Unlike other sites where writers can submit their work, MyArticleZone pays directly and quickly for each submission. No working for free with the hopes someone downloads an article and contacts you directly for more. No hefty commissions going to a site that helps promote and sell your work. No restrictions on subject matter.

For novices and newcomers to the profession, MyArticleZone is a superb opportunity to learn the ropes, gain some valuable insight into the business of writing, get support from your peers, build your own business, and get paid quickly.

As a professional writer and editor, I personally extend a warm welcome to MyArticleZone!