Tuesday, January 13, 2009

SEO Article Writing Service - Officially Open

10 Dollar Articles has officially opened its doors to the public today. To start things off, we are offering a number of article writing specials to help you to become familiar with the service, and the type of content that we deliver, before we introduce our standard pricing to the website.

If you need quality article writing services, we highly recommend trying out 10DollarArticles.com while we have our writing specials going on.

Visit now: SEO Article Writing Services

Friday, December 19, 2008

Is your Writer Qualified, or Real-World Educated?

Web content writing is a whole different ball game than "for print" writing. The crowds are different, the equipment is different, and the rules of the game are substantially different -- is your writer just qualified to write, or do they really know what they are doing?


In today's uber-competitive worldwide marketplace, you cannot rightly say, "a writer is a writer is a writer". A writer may very well be a writer, but that does not mean that they are a web content writer, at least when you are looking at the overall effectiveness of the end-result of their work. There are a lot of "for print" writers trying to transition themselves into the web content writing game, and at the end of the day, they may be qualified, but they do not have the education they need to create effective web copy.

Web content writing vs. "for print" writing is like the difference between the shady looking, but effective, used car salesman versus the dolled-up, suit-wearing, manager-in-training, yet completely ineffective photo-shoot prop that purports to sell used cars. Writing for print does not "translate" well to the down and dirty needs of today's website content -- it's more than just words on a page, it's engagement on several fronts that is needed.

This is not to say that traditional print writers cannot make good-to-excellent web content writers, because there are many who fill these roles and excel on all fronts. However, just because somebody has a college degree, or even extensive training in the general writing industry, does not mean that they will be able to create effective content for your website's needs.

Writing for the web is so much more than just placing flowery, yet flowing, words on a page, being sure that all the Ts are crossed and all the Is are dotted -- it's about creating content that is effective for its purpose. Effective web content writing must excel on several fronts:

1. Web content must be "attractive" to search engines - search engines do not only use "exact-phrase-matching" to determine the relevancy of a web page -- they also use context. For example, if this article were about "article writing", it would be natural to include terms like, "writer", "content", "seo", "quality", "marketing", "services", etc.
2. Web content must engage the reader - Even if content manages to pull in a reader from search engines, it still has to be engaging enough to cause the visitor to read it. Writing for the web, much unlike writing for newspapers and magazines, requires substance, not just well formed words that tell a story. When somebody is searching the web for something, it's not, predominantly, for a light-hearted "fluff" piece -- they're looking for something. Your writer's job is to deliver it.
3. Web content must perform a vital function - When you're looking to hire a writer, you have a need. The writer's job is to help you fill that need. Words are words, and content is content, but effective web content writing is a business tool.

There is a world of difference between writing and writing for the web. Anybody can write, but only an experienced SEO copywriter can create content that is effective for today's online businesses in this increasingly competitive online marketplace.

Rob Ferrall is the managing editor of 10 Dollar Articles, a SEO article writing service offering 400 word articles for $10 each.

Wednesday, December 17, 2008

Is it better to outsource writing, or do it yourself?

Many people wonder whether the price of outsourcing writing work is worth what they get out of outsourcing their writing projects. There are a lot of variables to consider in these situations, so, in all honesty -- the benefits of outsourcing writing projects are relative, and really depend on what you're looking to get out of your proposed outsource writer.

Let's say that you are in need of some high-quality written content for your website or blog. Let's even go a little bit further, and say that you are not really all that great of a writer. so, considering the fact that you are not a self-professed writer -- chances are it would probably be beneficial for you, and worth what ever you spent on it, to outsource writing projects in situations such as this.

Now, let's look at the opposite side of the spectrum. Let's say that you are a decent writer, or even a great writer -- let's say the you are looking for some cheap written content. However, while you don't have a lot of money to spend on articles at this point, you really need something that is high quality and relevant to your needs. The thing with hiring low-dollar content writers is that content quality is hit and miss at best. Moreover, because you are a decent writer yourself, hiring a cheap content writer could actually lead to a stressful event simply because most low-dollar article writing services produce less-than quality work on a consistent basis.

If you're looking for top-of-the-line content, and you're considering outsourcing your writing project, you really should be prepared to pay a decent wage for your writing services. Otherwise, you'll likely end up disappointed or even upset.

With that in mind, a decent wage for writing services is a relative. Not only are ideas about what a writer should get paid based on an individual's experiences online, but also the market they cater to, their background, and potentially their education. Some people consider one dollar article writers as cheap labor whereas others would not purchase writing services for one dollar an article in any way, shape, or form.

Outsourcing writing projects is a great way to increase your productivity and to receive quality written content, even if you're not a great writer. While outsourcing is not a perfect science, and it does have its potential downsides -- it's a viable choice in many occasions for internet marketers and website owners.

Sunday, November 23, 2008

What is SEO Content Writing?

SEO content writing, also known as SEO copywriting,is the act of creating website content that caters to search engines. There is actually a lot of debate about what type of content is best for search engines, but the premise of the quasi art form is to mold the words on a web page to improve the chances of that website and/or web page being found in search engines for certain keywords.

Now, there are different types of web content writing that can be considered SEO content writing -- for instance, there are blog posts, articles, sales copy, news stories, and other web copy formats that can include SEO content writing.

What many people fail to understand, though, even so-called "professional" web content writers, is that the most effective content for search engines is actually pretty close to the best content for the reader -- "natural language" content. Too many people get hung up on keyword density and the placement of keywords within content -- in the grand scheme of things, especially today -- these things aren't all that important.

Search engines are becoming smarter, and they've caught onto over-optimization schemes that some website owners take part in. Sure, I could stuff the keyword phrase "article writer" into my website's content a few dozen times -- but that's no good for the reader. Plus, major search engines use context to help determine what a web page is about, not just the words that happen to show up on a particular page.

So, in essence, SEO copywriting helps to provide context for search engines. Now, there are different types of context that help to shape the keyword relevancy of a web page, but that's another story for another day.

If you're looking for effective SEO article writing, be sure to check out $10 Articles.com