Writing for the web is a practice in its own right that has its own rules.
The first steps sometimes prove hesitant as the areas and skills covered by web writing are so broad: web marketing, natural referencing, mastery of French and storytelling… So many fields which can discourage the most novice. Here are 10 tips for daring to take the plunge into web writing, to be well seen by Google, but also by your audience looking for quality content.+
1) Think before you act
Writing for the web means taking care in advance to think about the main keyword on which you want to position yourself . Many tools exist to help you choose your primary and secondary keywords, you will easily find a list of tools useful for ecommerce seo firm-optimized web writing by browsing your favorite search engine. The main thing is to find the right balance so that your keywords are sufficiently typed by Internet users to generate interest (and therefore visits to your page), but that the competition is not too fierce in order to give you chances of reaching correct positions. A tool like Google Trends tells you, for example, the search frequency for a keyword , always useful for knowing Internet users’ priorities or finding topic ideas! Don’t forget to insert these keywords in your titles to facilitate better SEO.
2) Be natural!
You have undoubtedly learned that writing for the web means both writing for Internet users and the search engine robots responsible for positioning your page. Leave aside machines and their algorithms during the writing phase and think above all about Internet users ! A still common mistake is to want to seduce robots at all costs and to wrongly think that to do this it is enough to repeat the same keywords until you become indigestion. Nothing better to scare away your readers and penalize your site. Indeed, over-optimizing your content is a method that has not worked for ages and is therefore counterproductive for the SEO of your website. Search engine robots are becoming more and more efficient and now take into account the quality and originality of the content . So, be natural in your writing. If Internet users consider your text relevant and useful, there is a good chance that robots will think the same!
3) Meet internet users’ expectations
Try to anticipate the needs and questions of your target and answer them! Your web page must be THE answer to their query. Your content must provide information that will effectively enlighten Internet users. Obviously, it is wise to stay within your theme, but nothing prevents you from gravitating around it if your approach is coherent. If this can support your image as an expert in your sector of activity, these are all points won. To hope to benefit from a leading figure in your field, it will be necessary to build a coherent editorial strategy in order to offer content in line with the concerns of your prospects book marketing services. A long and tedious job, but which will be rewarded over time!
4) Get to the point
The Internet user is a man in a hurry , he has the habit of reading information diagonally. And without wanting to discourage you, it is quite rare for it to read the entire content of a web page. For these reasons, it is advisable to adopt a direct and concise style . Avoid long sentences and place the most important information at the top of your page. You can then go into more specific details. This is what we call the inverted pyramid : start with the essential so that readers quickly understand what it is about and how your content is structured. Answer the 5 Ws (What, Who, Where, When, Why) from the start of your page so that the reader can easily contextualize the subject covered. It is only as you read that the information becomes more secondary (and not superfluous). Web writing therefore has similarities with journalism , you must also be particularly vigilant about the veracity of your information by checking your sources carefully beforehand.
5) Take care of your form!
The Internet user is easily distracted . This is why it is essential to know how to highlight your texts in order to optimize their impact . Use catchy titles containing keywords that will capture your audience’s attention. Air out your paragraphs by skipping lines, and use bulleted lists if this will improve the readability of your content. Support your strong ideas with bold text (sparingly) to make it easier for Internet users to read. Finally, consider enhancing your texts with visual supports such as photos or videos. Well chosen, they will provide real reading comfort to your audience.
6) Don’t copy from your neighbor
A lack of inspiration? It can happen. However, for the good referencing of your site we can only strongly advise you to never use the content of another site , whether it is a paragraph or extracts of text. This practice called duplicate content remains common on the internet, it can be punished by a downgrading of your page in search engine results. Whether for a question of ethics, for your visitors or robots, it is therefore imperative to write only original content .
7) One page = one query
A page must respond to a primary keyword and secondary keywords. It is the latter who are part of what we call “the long tail”. These are keywords less searched for by Internet users, but which together will bring the majority of traffic . In SEO, it is much more interesting to create as many pages as queries likely to be searched by your audience rather than bringing together different subjects on a single page. The purpose of this operation? Discuss your theme in detail in order to increase your chances of being the gateway to Internet users who are interested in your sector of activity. Logic is the best friend of natural referencing: the more quality pages you have dealing with your theme, the more likely your prospects are to come across your site after a search.
8) Hunt for mistakes
You have probably already come across a website containing a number of unwelcome typos. What feeling did this arouse in you? The level of tolerance varies depending on each person but the first impression is decisive, and a misspelled word, a verb with a questionable conjugation or omissions of agreements are all deviations to avoid if you do not want to discredit. Spelling errors could have negative effects on your image and your ability to generate trust. Print your texts if necessary, but reread them twice rather than once. In addition, by correcting yourself you will notice your favorite mistakes and you will progress more easily in spelling.
9) How many words?
In web writing, as in SEO, quality takes precedence over quantity . However, a fair balance must be found between the two. Generally speaking, it is advisable to reach at least 300 words so that your page can position itself properly. Indeed, robots need to identify what your web pages are about in order to be able to rank search engine results. If they judge that other pages are more exhaustive and relevant on the subject, you can be sure that it is the competition that benefits. It is estimated that the best positioned pages reach 500 words, but if you think you have covered the subject before, there is no point in adding superfluous elements (or worse, repetitions) which could risk losing the Internet user.
10) Share your content!
Is your article or web page written and published on your site? It’s a good start. Now why not share it on your social networks ? This is an important source of traffic and it would be a shame to deprive yourself of such an audience. New visitors may be charmed by your writing or the quality of your content and share the article in turn. Some will even linger on your site to take a closer look at your activity… Finally, sharing is an effective way to attract attention in order to obtain quality links that point to your site, which is particularly positive for SEO.
By following these ten points, you will be able to enjoy writing while satisfying both Internet users and search engine robots. The main thing is to dare to get started, and with practice you will realize that web writing is a captivating field which certainly requires a certain knowledge of natural referencing, but which is capable of greatly improving the positioning of your pages thanks to for the simple pleasure of transmitting and communicating around your theme.