Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Why You Should Not Overlook Article Relevancy

By David McCammon

Your articles must be relevant to the general theme of your website. If they aren't, you will lose both the trust of your visitors and the esteem of search engines.

So, what's relevant

"Relevant" means "related to." Basically, any subject you can tie in some way to your main business can seem relevant in an article. If you are selling a startup kit for small businesses, you can generate a list of relevant topics that will interest visitors and keep search engines happy:

The pitfalls of starting a small business

How to get a startup loan

Good reasons to start a small business

Creating an advertising budget on a shoestring

Creating an advertising budget on a shoestring

Good reasons to start a small business

The pitfalls of starting a small business

Of course this is only some of the list you could come up with. a site on small businesses can generate quite a few articles that are relevant.

So what if you sell something like dog treats?

Niche markets can be a bit more difficult when it comes to determining relevant content. If your topic or area of expertise is narrow, consider branching out the subjects of your articles to include other areas that may be of interest to those visiting your website.

In the above example it is safe to assume that most of your readers and prospects are dog owners. So given that consideration, there are lots of topics you can write or otherwise acquire that will keep readers interested and brand you an expert. For example:

How to come up with a creative name for your new puppy

How to come up with a creative name for your new puppy

The best dog breeds for households with children

Pet grooming tips

The best dog breeds for households with children

How to vacation with your dog

How to come up with a creative name for your new puppy

All of these topics are a natural extension of a core business: dogs and the owners who love them. They're all relevant to the website, and a mention of homemade dog treats could be included in each article without sounding blatant or awkward.

Where to look for relevant topics.

If it's hard to come up with relevant article subjects, try using a keyword tool to get more ideas. There are several free and useful keyword generators that can kickstart the thinking process and reveal topics you might not have thought of. - 15431

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