Writing Copy
For The Internet
The written word has been around for many
centuries. The ancient Egyptians used hieroglyphics on tablets to
communicate in writing. Hieroglyphics and other early symbolic writing
styles eventually developed into alphabets paper, movable type and
printing presses. This made the written word more portable and
accessible. Then came computers, word processing, email and the
Internet.
One might think that writing has not changed much since the invention of
modern writing techniques. The Internet has brought forth new
technologies and an abundance of information. Because of those
variables, writing for the Internet has become a whole new ball game.
Search Engine Optimization
One thing that turned writing for the Internet on its head was the
invention of the search engine. These handy tools index web pages and
allows users to search for information online. They display search
results in order of relevance which is determined by the search engine's
algorithms.
With the rise of search engines came the opportunity for web pages to
get more traffic but only if they could be found easily in search engine
results. So webmasters began to add keywords to their writing so that
the search engines would recognize them as a good source of information
about those words.
As the search engines have become more sophisticated it has become
necessary to use keywords in a natural manner. While making keywords
invisible by making them the same color as the background once worked,
search engines penalize pages that use that technique now. Overusing
keywords can also cause a site to be ranked lower and it makes the
writing flow poorly.
Writing for Internet
Users
The enormous amount of information now available on the Internet is
another factor that has necessitated a change in writing techniques.
Web users are faced with numerous sources of information about
virtually any topic. That means that web copy must be
attention-getting to keep them from moving on quickly. Once the
visitor has decided that the web page is worth looking at, the
information they want must be there in order to prevent them from
leaving to find it elsewhere.
Getting and keeping a user's attention during their initial visit is
important. It is also vital to keep them coming back. Whether you
are selling products or bringing in advertising revenue, giving
users an incentive to return is vital. This can be accomplished by
doing things such as adding new content frequently, offering special
reports and encouraging them to sign up for your mailing list.
The Internet has a wealth of information to offer its users. Getting
visitors and keeping them coming back to your site requires you to
get them there, get their attention and keep them interested.
Writing successfully for the Internet takes these things into
consideration while giving visitors what they came for.
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