SEO Writing Basics

Hi writers :)

Today's subject is all about the basics of SEO writing, or Search Engine Optimization. But what does that even mean? The internet as it stands today is a bustling worldwide market. It's literally a world of its own. There are opportunities everywhere to make a living, and SEO writing is one of the many opportunities you'll undoubtedly encounter in your journey across the web.

SEO writing is a new form of writing that has emerged in the last decade or so. Search Engine Optimization is the art of writing precise, to-the-point articles, based on a niche idea that if written properly will attract search engine traffic. This is important if the website is to be successful, and is the basis for building any sort of following, whether it be for your business or just to share your opinions and ideas, the content is what drives the machine.

SEO writing direcly applies to affiliate marketing, search engine marketing, and almost everything that can earn you income utilizing the internet. It is the very basic of the basics, and to make money on the internet this is one skill you absolutely must have.

If you're really serious about SEO writing I highly recommend checking this out:

SEOPressor. 
In my opinion it's probably the best investment you could make to improve your work and start making your blogs and your writing REALLY stand out.

SEO Writing Basics

Originality
The success of your SEO writing is faceted by the originality of the articles you write. Your articles must be 100% original and unique. If you copy directly from other content, search engines will pick that up and give poor rankings to your reproduced content - consider it a spam filter. This is not to say that you should avoid researching. Proper research of the topic of your SEO writing should be performed diligently and accurately, and then translated into your own words with your own opinions. Good research and your unique SEO writing directly translates into good, solid, original content.

Keywords and Keyword Usage
Another key to SEO success is using keywords. You should pick a handful of keywords that directly correlate to your topic. The keywords need to be arguably between 2%-8% of the total amount of words you write, inserted into the article well spaced, and relevantly used. This is extremely important and word counters are an absolute must if you are trying to get into SEO writing.

Keyword Tool 
A must-have keyword search tool product for your SEO writing. Well worth the cost and pays itself off quickly.

Your keywords again must be relevant and present in your article! Include keywords in the title of the article as well as throughout the text of the article.

Word Count
Articles should be NO less than 300 words. However, if your SEO writing is getting really long (1200+ words) you are probably writing about too many ideas and should rethink your article and make it more precise, and about one subject.

These are really the basics of SEO writing. Originality, keyword and keyword usage, and word count are the three main things of SEO writing. Good grammar and a nice writing style that is pleasant to readers never hurt either. There are many great tools in the above links that can help you get an edge over the ridiculous amount of competition out there, and can help get your article read by many.

Best of wishes :)
M.Hascall

Freelance Writing Job: Demand Media Studios

I was browsing the web for some new freelance writing jobs and found Demand Media Studios. To my delight it actually looks legit (I can't tell you how many bogus jobs I sift through in a day). Demand Media Studios seems to be an Associated Content with their pay on steroids, as they claim to offer $15-$25 as upfront payment for each article you write whereas Associated Content typically pays new producers much less until they build their clout.

Demand Studio's actually requires qualifications of the writers they hire, another tip-off that they're a little more upscale than the beginning content producer sites such as AC. Be prepared to submit a resume as well as a piece of published work (or a writing sample if you aren't published yet)..

The good news is if you get accepted into the freelance writing community of Demand Media Studios you'll have plenty of work and you'll get paid for it twice a week. You get your byline on all submissions you write so you'll steadily build your profile if you're diligent with your work as well as make some decent money.

They have quite an editing system too. The articles you write for Demand Studios are edited by copy editors they hire. When you first begin the company sets you up with one of their senior copy editors. You will have to write three different articles and submit them to your senior editor for review. If all three check good, you'll have the ability to take on up to 10 assignments at one time.

Demand Media Studios also offers their writers the "Writer's Revenue Share Program." This program is essentially a program for the freelancer writer who would rather get paid based on the long-term effects of their works. This means that you don't get an up-front payment, but you will be paid once a month for your articles (if they earn more than $10) for as long as it keeps generating revenue (from ads, click-through's, etc).
They offer articles that pay by the revenue share program based on if they think it will be popular or not, so you can safely assume that taking a writing assignment that pays via revenue share will make you more than an up-front payment would.

I'm really excited to try this out myself. I think I'll work on digging up my resume and doing some updating and see if I can't hop on board and make some extra income.

Cheers :)
M. Hascall

Freelance Writing Job: Associated Content

Great opportunity here for anyone that stops by looking for some freelance writing gigs.

The company is Associated Content, a long standing media platform now run by the Yahoo! Contributor Network. I've been freelance writing for them off and on since 2006 and they are nothing short of spectacular especially for the beginning freelancer.

It's a simple (and free) process to join. It only takes several minutes and you're able to start writing and building your repertoire of articles and begin building a name for yourself.

More good news: It's almost as simple to write for them as it is to sign up!

Things to know:

• You can write about almost anything you could ever think of and get paid for it!
• Articles have a broad range as far as how much you will earn on upfront payments.
• You will earn residual income month by month the more you write based on how many views your articles get. (Lots of popular articles getting lots of hits daily = some savvy pocket change!)
• There are writing guidelines, see them here: AC Writing Guidelines and be sure to adhere to them.
• If you're into creating audio and video, you can also get paid for that as well!
• Research, research, research...but don't plagiarize! 

Earnings are a bit slow when you're first starting. But, if you're diligent about your work and you write a well researched article with a not-too-crowded-with-keywords-but-SEO-optimized-article you'll get paid top dollar every time. You'll have an interface once you are signed up where you'll get assignments from AC. Don't feel restricted by those, you can still come up with your own ideas and write about them and get paid for them. 

Always keep in mind that when you write for any online media company you are more often than not trying to drive traffic to their site. Search engines are going to be your new best friend if this seems like the life for you and I highly recommend getting familiar with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) writing.

So go check it out if you haven't already. Be sure to visit back with comments on your experience with Associated Content and possibly tips others would find useful! 

Happy writing!

Morgan