Effective Web Content Writing

Words have an all-pervading influence over all of us. You can weave magic with words - grab attention, motivate people, lift sagging spirits or entice. Words can trigger emotions and influence people. Creating effective web content is a skill that is built over time and experience. Do not resort to exaggerated claims or hyperbole. Gaining the reader's credibility is important so that you can build a vast readership.

A web site content creator must prepare an article that is informative and reliable. Impatient web viewers looking for information would not like to be lost in a maze of words that don't convey precise information. Sharpen your cyber pen with these effective pointers on writing for the Internet.

Startling Facts about Web Readers

• 79% of users scan the page instead of reading word-for-word
  
  
• Reading from computer screens is 25% slower than from paper
  
  
• Web content should have 50% of the word count of its paper equivalent.
  

Since web sites are user-driven mediums, it is essential that you grab your viewer's attention and keep it. Identify your target audience and create content specifically for it. With so many millions of other web pages to choose from, a website content creator must create a niche area. The reader's appetite must be whetted to allow him or her to browse through other pages.

Do not forget that a reader is just a click away from moving on to another web site. The skill lies in weaving in content that is just the right blend of information and details sans the fluff that can be resorted to while writing for the print media. Content for the web is guided by dual motives - write to be found and write to be read.

More than 75% of web search involves search engines. Increasing number of web readers are turning to portals for well researched and concise content. If prospective viewers are to find your website, your article must be search engine friendly so that visitors can locate you from the morass of web sites on the Internet. Create content based on keywords that have been well researched. Find keywords that people are searching information for. Weave your content in a manner that ensures adequate density of keywords without appearing to be deliberate.

Website Content Writer

• A website content creator has to prepare an article based on the keywords that have been supplied.
  
  
• The objective is to create an article that does justice to the supplied keywords in an interesting and informative manner.
  
  
• Use language skillfully so as to provide content but not forgetting the keywords that have to be used. Eliminate unnecessary verbiage. Web readers tend to be impatient and it is necessary to convey your information by placing emphasis on the key content. Use of active voice is more powerful and engaging. Short crisp sentences make for easier reading on the Internet.
  
  
• The main keyword can be used extensively and variations of it can appear in lesser density. Usage of the peripheral keywords also ensures occurrence of the main keyword. Stop words can be used between keywords whenever required. An attention grabbing headline or introduction can do half your job for you.
  
  
• Using subheadings or paragraph headings to weave a logical flow from one idea to another. This makes it easier for a reader to explore the site. Use of paragraphs aids the reader as it gives a summary of what is to come. Each paragraph must be a coherent unit that focuses on a core area. Subheadings are essential since not all viewers read word for word. The subheadings help the readers find what they are looking for.
  
  
• Content in the article should make for easy reading. Bulleted lists also go a long way in grabbing reader attention. A list of 3 - 5 items breaks the monotony of a long paragraph and helps in emphasizing key points.
  
  
• Before embarking on the article, decide on the depth of information to be provided. If you are writing about breast cancer symptoms, you should be clear about the target audience that you are addressing. You are not writing for the medical fraternity but at the same time you are addressing educated women and men who are discerning and seeking reliable information that throws light on the issue.
  
  
• Planning the layout of the content on the web page is also critical in garnering reader interest. Limit scrolling by efficient use of jump links. This makes navigation easier for the reader.
  
  
• Never ignore the fine details - Eliminate typographical, grammatical and spelling errors. The entire article should be original and not plagiarized from a web site.
  

Collecting Content for articles

• Use your favorite search engine like Google or MSN to collect information. Use keywords effectively to search for relevant information. The Google directory sourced from DMOZ is another valuable storehouse of information.
  
  
• Websites like TargetWoman provide well researched articles on a wide range of issues and can also be used as a launching pad to begin your research.
  
  
• For some topics, it is essential to keep track of up-to-date information. Learn to pick out the recent writings from the last modified date of the file. Usually sites displaying contents on technology and medicine tend to show the last modified date in the page.
  
  
• Collate the contents before you start the actual writing. It helps to accumulate researched material before you undertake the task of writing. Remember not to copy and paste the collated material into your articles. It is a serious copy right violation and your editor is not going to be happy with your work in future.
  
  
• Aim for logical flow of thought. One idea must follow another in a logical order. Novices often make this mistake - the paragraphs are disjointed thoughts and have no logical thread to link them together. Look at the article as a complete edifice comprising of individual paragraphs as elements held together by some element of logic.
  
  
• Develop your unique Style : All master writers show unmistakable stamp of class. It is hard to define the essence of class. You can sense that when you read that. It is not just the choice of words or the language in which the writing is coached. Style permeates beyond all that. It is the personality of the writer, his/her experience, the consummate skill and mastery over the language and a host of other subtle components are woven in to their writing. Trust me, people can find out who the author is by just reading a single sentence.