How to Optimize Your Online Articles - The Links
(Page 3 of 4 )
There is another way to take that text from bland to brilliant, and it doesn’t have anything to do with editing your article. Links are very, very important on the Internet, and your articles are no exception. Adding them to your article, and knowing exactly how many to include, is something of a science.
First, you have to know how to write the code to include links. Even when using a text editor to upload your articles to the Web, it’s good to know how to create links the old-fashioned way (should your editor ever fail). The code for creating links is very simple: simply place the tags <a href=Web address goes here> and </a> around the word you’re linking. For example, a link to Google looks like this: <a href=http://www.google.com/>Google</a>.
How many links is too many links? You don’t want to fill up your article with links, as this makes it hard to read. It’s a good idea to include no more than one or two links per paragraph, per article. This adds more depth to your article but doesn’t completely swamp it. Remember, links are only going to take readers away from your words, so don’t give them too many opportunities to leave your site. Having a few links, however, helps to optimize your article and makes it more search engine-friendly.
The Extras
With any article, it’s a good idea to punch it up a little with vivid pictures and images. These help to highlight your topic and add a little something to draw in readers visually. For longer articles, you may want to include several pictures to break up the look of plain text.
The real trouble with adding images to articles is not how it’s done (most text editors make it ridiculously easy to include pictures), but where to find them. You’ll want to use royalty-free images for your articles - public domain pictures anyone can use without stepping on anyone else’s copyrights. Sites like http://www.sxc.hu/, http://www.jupiterimages.com/ and http://www.gettyimages.com/Creative/RoyaltyFree.aspx offer photos anyone can use free of charge. Many celebrities, television shows and movies also offer free pictures for publicity purposes. Look for free photos online and you’re sure to find them.
Next: Does Optimization Matter? >>
More How To Articles
More By KC Morgan
/ 4 
