by Dilip Shaw on January 29, 2010
Yesterday I went for my car servicing. While there wasn’t much except mileage problem (my car gives almost 10 km per liter), I was surprised when I was told the service guys have numerous check list that they need to follow even if not reported – for example AC checking, motor checking, car chassis checking etc.
This made me realize sometimes our websites too needs a “service” every six months like our cars.
Some of the things you could look in your website every six months are:
1. Outdated content – check to see if the site has any content that is outdated, needs correction, or needs some tweaking etc. This will help your site be always fresh.
2. Check for dead links – (dead links are links to non-existing pages) sometimes we remove pages or move them to different locations – sometimes external pages we link to are moved/removed, but we forget that there may be some links in our website linking to them. Once a page is moved all links pointing to it are dead. And dead links are hated by the search engines and your visitors too as they frustrate them – thus affecting SEO. Checking bad links every six months is a good way to keep your site with zero dead links. Also check for outgoing dead links (links to other websites not owned by you). Remember dead links affects SEO in a negative way – whether they are internal or external.
NOTE: Of course if the site is big you may need software to check dead links to save time. There are many online available, just search for it.
3. Check your website design – It could be that your website design needs a change especially if you think the conversions are poor. Have a chat with people you know or your friends, let people see your website and give their opinion. You will be surprised with their opinions.
Do you have any idea of servicing your website every six month?
by Dilip Shaw on November 24, 2009
Content writing is a blooming profession these days. The net is full of content. Many people in the recent years have taken up writing content as a profession. Many of these content writers write for websites.
Content writing not only satisfies a writer’s writing needs but also exposes a writer to the whole world. Needless to say that it earns writers some money too. Overall content writing can be fun. But it depends solely on the writer on how he/she is going to make full use of it. In simple terms content writing means to write/produce contents for a website or some other medium. It’s purely a written medium. Thus anyone who loves to write and finds the written medium to be the best way to express his/her mind can try a hand at content writing. This way not only will they be happy they will also earn some money.
For starters one can write at a pace that’s comfortable for them. Remember there is more to content writing than just writing on a topic close to heart. You need to do a lot of research before writing a peace of article. The best and easiest way to write articles is to jog down all the points on a peace of paper and then elaborate. Try it – believe me its really easy.
If you are not getting work as a freelancer – look for a job. Today there are many great jobs for content writers. You can also start your own blog and keep posting your articles there. If you don’t know what is a blog, read it here. Also read how to create a blog.
A blog will automatically build your portfolio which can be viewed by the entire world. Needless to say that among the readers there may be some prospective employers also who are looking for writers or professionals for their company. And who knows they may like someone through his/her writing skills. And this is not a new thing. Many bloggers have received offer letters from newspapers and other different companies. Some have also signed book contracts. Thus the advantages and opportunities of content writing are immense.
If you are writing content for SEO purposes then read my article on content writing with SEO in mind. It emphasizes on the fact that your content must offer some value to your visitors. Informative pages also do well with the search engines.
One thumb rule is writing for people and not for the search engines – and then sprinkle your keywords here and there. But make sure the sentence remains grammatically correct.
Many professionals have left their air-conditioned cubicles to become full time content writers and bloggers. And they are happy. Because they are doing something that their heart wants and they are in the process gaining recognition and money together.
If you love content writing, getting paid for doing something that one loves is not something everyone can do. So write with passion.
Do you love writing? If yes, please share some tips on writing for people who have just started writing.
