The Best Article Writing Techniques Are NOT Forced

Articles are the lifeblood of the information era. So-called articles that are presented only to focus on search engine optimization will appear to be contrived and will be very difficult to read. The reader will go away feeling less than satisfied, far from being educated or entertained.

Over the years, a number of different article writing techniques have arisen to satisfy various demands. Sometimes a "top 10" style is utilized, other times a "how-to" approach or even a straight forward, bulleted list takes the place of a conventional approach. The style of the article post in question will normally dictate the ultimate formality of content.

Google and the other search engines make no secret about the fact that they place great value on well composed content. When they electronically analyze a piece, they use a process called latent semantic indexing to check whether the article itself relates to the title.

There should be a variety of secondary keywords contained within your article, and the search engine will use its vast database to check for their presence. If these words are not present, the article will be marked down.

Typically, an article should be between five and eight paragraphs long and contain approximately 500 words. This is not set in stone though, but is typical for articles found throughout the web.

The opening paragraph of an article should summarize the total content, and the following 3 to 5 paragraphs should each refer to a particular point, expanding as you proceed.

The closing paragraph sums everything up.

Article writing techniques will tend to vary from author to author, but good practice dictates that they should not represent a pure sales pitch.

While it could be argued that every webpage has a commercial purpose and the content contained therein must be part of that view, competent authors will focus on the provision of education and information. There is a time and a right place for any "pitch".

Structure is everything from an SEO perspective. Remember to include LSI type, secondary keywords to back up your prime keywords. Of course it is not necessary for you to worry or focus on this element if you are a subject expert, as you will naturally provide the most informative article, and those technical words will appear automatically.

As we go forward, quality content will be scored ever more highly by the search engines. Webmasters who are content only with optimization and pay no regard to quality, will be penalized. There will surely be a sharp focus on article writing techniques as the demand for high-quality content increases.

To your success,

Jonny Tyson