Novice writers are often surprised to learn that certain writing projects have specific prerequisites to make articles more focused on the target audience or more supportive of the marketing approach. Even people who plan to write for a living find some of the specifics of articles a bit troublesome.
If you are one of these people or just wondering what these content writing requirements are, this page is a good place for you to start learning about them.
keyword density
Keyword density is an article requirement that is commonly requested by online employers. Most of my clients in the past year and prior years have asked me to write articles with a keyword density of 5%. According to them, this will help improve online visibility and ranking on search engines like Google and Yahoo. However, lately, due to the development of strict policies like Panda and Penguin, many writers I know personally find it more convenient to employ other well-ranked keywords or only use a keyword density rate of at least 0.5% to 1.5%. per 500- word article. They said this will prevent their articles from being tagged as “spam” or “shoddy content.”
SEO professionals today have different views on how to make use of keyword densities as a tool to optimize web content. There are those who recommend at least a 5% rate. Others prefer the safer side and recommend keyword density rates of 1.5% maximum. While proactive marketers claim that a keyword density rate above 5% is fine, regardless of the policies set by the search engines. However, if you only have one contract to write, you may not have the leeway to choose your preferred keyword density rate.
minimum word count
The word count depends solely on the marketing preferences of the site owner or management. Sometimes it is based on the raw data submitted before the content was written. There are also a number of people who think that articles look juicy if they are written with at least 500 words or more. However, there is no ideal word count for web content articles. This fact is true not only for blog content, but also for article directories.
1. Target word count
In case you have met a client that allows you to write articles with a lax word count requirement, the best thing to do is not to worry about the total number of words used.
All you need to do is make sure that the content of the article turns out to be a good read. As my editor would simply say, “Just let your thoughts flow and then organize them beautifully.”
2. Requirement on article submission sites
Even though word count is almost useless in terms of quality and semantics, it is still essential to take into account the different requirements of different online article directories. This is especially important if you are contracted to submit articles to sites like Ezine and Squidoo.
Ezine articles require at least 400 words before any submitted article will be approved. Squidoo: No minimum word count, except for the 100 word requirement in the introductory part. On the other hand, most of the top ranked article submission sites require at least 500 to 700 words to be approved. Here is a list of the top ranked article submission sites based on Vretoolbar statistics (posted Aug 27, 2011) and their respective article count prerequisites.
• ehow.com – minimum of 150 words
• squidoo.com: no minimum word count, except for the 100 word requirement in the introductory part
• ezinearticles.com – 400 word minimum
• hubpages.com – no minimum number of words
• examiner.com – information not available
• lookingalpha.com: there is no minimum number of words, but must not be more than 1000 words
• technorati.com – no minimum number of words
•articlesbase.com – minimum 400 words
• buzzle.com – no minimum number of words
• suite101.com – minimum 400 words
Uniqueness
Search engines always favor a unique article because they have non-derived and non-recycled content. This is why, in most writing projects, you may be asked to write uniquely written content.
The following are the qualities of uniquely written content. Know them by heart to prevent your articles from being rejected.
1. Non-recycled content
Recycling constitutes self-plagiarism. It is an act by which a writer uses his own work and publishes it in another time or place.
The idea of self-plagiarism is debatable; but since the World Wide Web allows people to be in more than two virtual places at once, reposting can raise a lot of questions. Therefore, recycled content should be avoided.
2. Non-derivative content
Articles that have non-derivative content are produced solely from the creativity of the writer. They are not derived from published articles, so they convey relatively new and fresh ideas. If old concepts are discussed, completely new perspectives are uniquely presented and due credit is given in citations.
Search engines often give priority to non-derivative articles, as these articles are always written in accordance with standard rules to avoid plagiarism.