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“Perhaps the most valuable result of all education is the ability to make yourself do the thing you have to do, when it ought to be done, whether you like it or not.” Thomas H. Huxley (1825 - 1895)
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You've got the snazzy new web site and so now you have to add some meaningful content to it.
Fundamentaly this sounds pretty straight forward, however there's a couple of key elements to consider before you start.
Title:
Carefully consider the title of your document.
By this I mean the title that you type into the 'title' box at the top of the content manager page.
Your web site is optimized with Search Engine Friendly URL's. The URL is essentially the name of your page as a search engine sees it. This is displayed right at the top of your browser in the navigation bar.
The URL for your page will display firstly your site name, and then the name of the document which is provided by the title that you entered.
For example: If I was writing an article about search engine optimization for the site www.vascomonline.com.au, I would title the article "How To Gain Optimum Search Engine Rankings"
When the article is viewed on the web, the navigation bar would show something like "http://www.vascomonline.com.au/How-To-Gain-Optimum-Search-Engine-Rankings.html"
This may not seem like a big deal to you at the moment, however SEF (Search Engine Friendly) navigation is crucial to not only gaining good page rank, but it helps people find your site and your articles.
Body Of The Article:
Begin your article with a brief paragraph that explains what the article is about and do this with a compelling headline.
I like to call this your "Elevator Pitch"
Now, I don't mean that you're standing there talking to an elevator. (heh, heh)
Imagine that you're in an elevator and the person next to you unexpectedly says "So, what do you do for a living?" (Unlikely I know, but stay with me on this one and you'll understand where I'm going with it)
You now have an extremely brief amount of time, maybe 15 or 20 seconds, to condense your "story" and make it meaningfull and at the same time interesting.
For example: My article about Search Engine Rankings might have an intro paragraph like -
"Improving your search engine rankings can greatly enhance your sites accessabilty to people who are searching the internet for goods and services that you provide."
Not bad. But a bit dull. Does that statement stir your inquisitive mind to delve deeper into the article?
How about this then -
"Are you making simple mistakes that are causing untold damage to your web site? Here are 7 simple steps that will not only improve your web site rankings, but will generate more visitors. Join me and we'll unlock some search engine secrets and dispell the myths. Ready? Well, just read on..."
Which headline paragraph draws you into the article?
The rest of the article should be to the point and discuss ONLY the topic.
Notice I emphasised the word ONLY. My article about Search Engine Rankings would be about how to improve them. It would be easy to side track and discuss things like web site layout, placing images on your web site, colours, etc.
Be specific. The other topics I mentioned can be complete articles on their own.
Your CMS web site already has the feature of creating Categories and Sections to aid in visitor navigation and article grouping. More on that in another article.
Final Paragraph:
At this point you would provide a summary of the key elements of the article to re enforce the topic.
This can be another "Elevator Pitch" which can include links to other articles on your site that are related to the current topic.
OK. So now you have an understanding of how to add content.(You do, don't you?)
As with all things, the more articles you write the more you will be developing your literary skills.
Articles vary greatly in length, but generally strive for at least about 400 to 500 words. Anything less and you may not be providing enough clear information to the reader.
Remember:
- Interesting title;
- Compelling first paragraph;
- Informative and specific body of the article;
- Compelling and informative summary.
Peter V
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