Write For The Internet? It's Child's Play!

Such links are likely to come from related websites, so for example if you're site is about Mediterranean cooking then it will be logical that other websites concerned with catering and the culinary arts will connect to it.

If your company offers catering, then sites who have received your corporate hospitality are also likely to be linked.

Similarly if you're a garage that services motor vehicles than the factor that supplies your spare parts may be linked to you, and you may link out to the manufacturers of accessories that you sell.

Suppose you could buy links from other websites, would that not be a good thing?

Not necessarily, if the links aren't relevant to what you're about they'll do little to raise your profile in the search results and may indeed harm your chances of scoring well.

What about exchanging links?

Never do this, you want inbound links rather than exchanged links, which, at best, cancel each other out.

Social media is playing a larger and larger part in getting your website ranked well. If you have a Facebook Page, or a Google Plus account that is growing and receives lots of liked comments these, via your profile where your website will be listed, will help your site to gain in credibility and page rank. The same applies for YouTube, Linked-In, Twitter, and to a lesser extent MySpace, which is still important for those in the music industry.

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    Are there any things you can do to make your website more popular other than obtain relevant in-bound links?

    Of course there are. For example your headline needs to relate to your topic. It benefits from having a question mark at its end. Your topic needs to be mentioned in the first sentence and again in the first paragraph. The whole article should contain related keywords, but these must be evenly distributed and appear natural when read by a human being rather than a search-engine robot.

    • Headings are important. They too are best when they contain keywords. Headings come in various styles. H1 H2 and H3 styles carry more weight in terms of topic than the lesser H4+ ones. Then there are outgoing links to consider. I know I've written that you want in-bound links, but don't you think if you're an authority website you will be linking to others that offer good resources about your subject?

    Writing for the Internet is completely different than writing for print media.

    Your content needs to be written for the web in an informal style. It's no good simply taking copy that was printed in a brochure and asking your webmaster to post it on-line, although many will do that for you with alacrity.

    You see the Internet is relational, it's not simply about informing people, it's about being open and seeking dialogue. The nearest thing to dialogue available in print is a coupon, a competition, or an agony aunt's problem page. With the Internet just writing an opinion invites comment, or criticism. If you don't provide the possibility of this within your own websites then be prepared for people to comment elsewhere about you on forums.

    Sometimes it's simpler to write original copy for the web than attempt to adapt materials you've been using with some success off-line.

    People scan far more on the Internet. This means that your message needs to be presented in bite-sized chunks. Fonts need to change and graphics must be used to break up large blocks of text.

    There are parts of your website that are read by search engines, but not seen by human eyes. There are tags in the area above your text, for example. Whilst these aren't as significant as they were in the past these meta tags are still important for some search engines, and so should be completed for each page. Your pages also must have specific names that appear in the header at the top of your browser.

    When you link within the body of your text, always attempt to link firstly within your own website if you have relevant content. Of course it's also permissible to link to other websites, but when doing so use the 'target="_blank" ' tag so that the other website opens in a new window, and your reader doesn't leave your page.

    Write so that every paragraph could be the last. Your readers need to know what your topic is throughout the page, and want to know more. On the other hand in a busy world full of distractions your messages will be far more memorable if your reader feels they have a grasp of your content, even if called away from reading your website.

    'Talk' rather than 'write' to your reader. Imagine them seated with you at your favourite cafe, bar, or maybe even across the kitchen table. Your reader must seem to you like someone you've known for years. Give them your best information and leave them eager to return and learn more.

    Avoid jargon, both the technical jargon of your chosen interest or profession, or the folksy style of many copywriters who use buzz phrases such as 'Let's face it'; 'Isn't it time'; Killer - copy', and the like. These appeal only to a relatively small, and gullible, community no matter what the e-books inform you.

    Above all know your readers. It's no use writing to management consultants in the style required to communicate with business opportunity seekers.

    Preparing marketing communications always requires thought and planning. This is doubly true when writing for the Internet.