How to Write for the Web

Posted on October 26th, 2009 by Marck

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Writing online is a source of income for many people, and for some it may be a pastime. Posts, entries, and articles posted online should have an immediate effect because they are published faster than print or broadcast media. Here are some tips that you should keep in mind when you’re writing articles for the Web.

First Paragraphs

Many Web writers rely on a given set of keywords and tags to write articles and posts. The trick to effective online writing is to focus these keywords and tags on the first paragraphs of your post. A writing technique that writes the keywords and tags first can help search engines find the content faster, and help boost your rankings. That doesn’t mean, though, that all tags and keywords should be found on the first paragraph. Search for the keywords and use the ones which have a high rate of activity and trending.

Short Sentences

The attention span of a reader is quite short on the Web. People need their information to be as quick and concise as possible. Long sentences may seem sophisticated, but they can confuse the reader. You should use short sentences instead that adequately convey your message. If you need to use long sentences, you may need to break them apart into separate sentences, or use punctuation marks like colons and semicolons.

Bullet Points

Bullet points and numbered lists are things you must do when writing online content. Bullet-points address the need of people to read the information they want as quickly as possible and allows you to write as fast as possible. There are two reasons why you should consider writing content in bullet-points:

Ease of reading. Bullet-points keep the indentation of the sentence away from left-flush, which can make some sentences difficult to read on a computer screen.
Ease of writing. It’s quite easy to write sentences in bullet-points, especially if you need to convey information as straightforward as possible.

Marketing Content

Writing is just one aspect of developing online content. You also need to market your work to make money, or to establish your reputation on the Web. Keep these tips in mind when spreading and sharing online content that you made:

Organic traffic. Organic traffic comes from search engines. Good search engine optimization (SEO) techniques like keywords and tags makes it easier for search engines to locate your content. Avoid using black-hat SEO tactics like embedding a set of hidden keywords on targeted locations on your site’s source code.
Network. Networking makes it easier to share content and spread the word. You can syndicate regularly updated content through Rich Site Summary (RSS), or share links through microblogs and social networking sites.
Write well. It’s essential for every person developing online content to write well. Follow simple rules of grammar, be creative, and keep your sentences and thoughts simple but entertaining.

Online content can generate an alternative source of income. Writing articles, entries, and posts may also help you become a better writer. With these steps, you can write for the Web in a very straightforward yet fun fashion.