Providing relevant, quality website content is the key to SEO, but we know that search engines also like to find what’s new. There is a limit to how often you can realistically update your website (unless you are a news outlet), and that is where article writing comes in.
Good, free content attracts visitors. And when it is updated often, visitors will come back often. In addition to boosting search engine results, writing articles establishes you as more of an authority on the subject at hand. If it gets published elsewhere, then you get free publicity for your website, and a one-way link!
There are several ways to add article content to your website. The most popular one for businesses is to have a company blog. One of the pitfalls of this approach is that if it is just all about you and your company, not many users will want it useful for anything other than finding out about you. A simple “About Us” page would suffice in this regard. Instead, consider creating a blog about a subject that your company is expert in, and become a valuable resource to others.
While you’re at it, take your research and compose some bona fide articles and market them elsewhere as such, with a link to your website at the bottom. Sites like EzineArticles, GoArticles, and iSnare, rank highly and send relevant traffic. Also submit your stories to Digg and get them tagged on Delicious. This gives it the potential to be recognized by bloggers.
Submitting these articles might be as simple as rewriting material that you posted on the company’s blog, but beware of entirely duplicating content – search engines will recognize it and punish you for it, sometimes by ignoring the original. Instead, think about repurposing content into a handy “Top 10” list – these are highly shared.
On that note, wherever possible, make sure that your articles have highly visible buttons that encourage readers to e-mail to friends and share on social networking websites.
An essential rule about blogging is that if you can’t regularly maintain it, don’t do it. Having an outdated, sparse blog will do more to hurt your image than to help it.
If you don’t have the resources to write articles yourself, another option is setting up an RSS feed. Many websites and almost every blog off a real simple syndication feed. The danger here is two-fold. First, you lost out on establishing yourself as an authority – the content comes elsewhere. Secondly, often the RSS feed is the same content that appears on the site of the provider. When the text is displayed using a server side include that presents the information as html on the pages, it could appear as duplicate content. When feeds are shown using client side includes, such as JavaScript, it is much less likely that a search engine will pick up that content and index it.
Another increasingly popular option is to add a Twitter stream. First, of course, you need to be active on Twitter. This is a great option for those too busy to blog in-depth. Find relevant information to share in 140 characters or less, and you’re on your way! Keep in mind though, that just as a company blog is not to be turned into a big “About Us” page, a Twitter feed should not become an RSS feed of latest publications – use it to interact with your client base, partners, and even competitors. Provide useful information, and your Twitter followers will follow on to your website.
