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Writing Webmastering and SEO
What are the three most important skills for website success?
Writing - Writing is the most valuable skill for any website owner. If you are interested in selling a product or service online it is the written word that will make the final sale every time. If you don’t write I suggest you start today, get a blog or notebook and just do it! Transfer this skill as it develops into a small handful of websites that match your hobbies, interests and dreams and you could even make enough to do this stuff full time. This stay home dad pays for his childs daycare with Google Adsense via product reviews, it really isn’t hard. Heck, you don’t even have to write well, if you write to an audience that has the same passions as yours you can only succeed.
Webmastering - I think I can safely say that in most cases when someone claims that Google is throwing their website in the trash (white hat sites) it comes down to two things.
- Error in code - Yes this is your fault as a webmaster, you just had use flash, frames and javascript didn’t you?
- Error and updates to search engines - That’s right, Google can get it wrong also and has had to reboot webmaster tools for this site two times already. Thank you Vanessa! If you are like myself and watch stuff like a hawk you will freak completely out during updates (as I did yesterday). You might want to also go to the gym three times a week to be reminded you have a body that others have to look at.
SEO - Suprised that SEO is last on my list? SEO is starting to be more about crawlibilty and good honest intent than it is about LINKS LINKS LINKS. In fact, want your site to be put in purgatory today? Do some link building without regard to understanding what is relevant and what isn’t. Earned organic links come naturally to those who build cool stuff and even though they come at a slower rate, (unless you are the king of Digg and I am sure their is a algorithm for you) they are of more value.
If you concentrate on your audience, writing and crawlibility you can surpass those who got there using old school, brute force SEO, you might even be rewarded the high honor of stickiness if you get it right.
Care to agree, challenge or add to the list of skills needed for website success and mastery?
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April 7th, 2007 at 8:27 pm
Ha! Aaron - I dig the advice about going to the gym three times a week - it is oh so easy to start growing extra chins if your only exercise is on the keyboard - plus, most of my best ideas (blogging and professional) come to me when I’m doing exercise.
Whether you go to the gym, go for a run, walk the dog or just go out and play in the park with the kids - the best way to keep your blog healthy is to make sure you don’t neglect the mind and body too -
Have a great Easter Aaron.
doc
April 8th, 2007 at 3:14 am
I agree about the writing as well. While grammar is important, it is not necessary as one may think. Afterall, the majority of people reading are not “proof reading”. When I first started to write articles (well before my personal blog) I use to get concened about grammar, but I found that I was converting just as much with typos, or poor grammar as I would with good grammar.
I kind of looks at content as the most important aspect of pages I create. Its one thing to get someone to your pages or site, but completely different getting someone to stick around and maybe buy something.
April 8th, 2007 at 3:17 am
Plan ahead.
Ok, I usually don’t plan ahead - I write whatever I feel like writing about at the time. But in every game I ever played, the key to sucess is foresight - anticipating the other guy’s move and forcing him into a corner instead of reacting to his every move.
April 8th, 2007 at 5:07 am
Doc - Happy Easter, the growing of extra chins is surely a bad thing. ;)
Michael - You are a great writer, I get all kinds of interesting traffic from your highly relevant contribution, thanks!
Halfdeck - Planning? What’s that? I get and idea and have to complete it, when it is done I am done, boy would planning be great!
April 8th, 2007 at 7:12 am
Michael: is that why you used “looks” instead of “look”? ;)
Aaron: you nailed ‘er, buddy. That’s about all I got to say about that.
April 8th, 2007 at 11:35 am
“Halfdeck - Planning? What’s that?”
As they say, if you fail to plan, you plan for failure :D
April 9th, 2007 at 5:53 am
It’s when you shape the surface of wood.
April 11th, 2007 at 4:30 pm
I do not think there is anything wrong in using JavaScript to add behaviour that is not content or navigation critical.
April 12th, 2007 at 6:48 am
Sure, there are plenty of good uses of flash and javascript (and maaaaybe the occasional frame), but what Aaron is likely talking about here is when the use of these technologies obstruct the indexing of your content.
Examples: using javascript to toggle a div’s display property may prevent Google from ever seeing that content, information contained inside a flash animation may never be indexed, etc.