Keywords; key thoughts?

     If you ever tried writing on blogs or even write an article, you'll find that the key question hovering on most writer's heads is," How do I reach my target audience?".Simply put another way, " How does one write well enough and at the same time include a good amount of keywords that search engines search for on a daily basis? If you've ever played around with SEO, you know what I mean. The main challenge, at least I believe, is how do you convey your thoughts across a medium and not be a slave to a slew of keywords you know you'd have to insert somewhere just so someone out there gets to read your work. Where do we strike a balance between a well written piece and one that gets picked up by search phrases? In other words, quality v.s. quantity on a whole different light.

     I write because I like to write. Writing allows me a sense of freedom in sharing my thoughts, my ideas, my ideals, to the world. First and foremost it gives me a medium to put my thoughts down even if only to evaluate them later. I also believe writing is an art. You can say a hundred different things about something but find yourself limited when trying to write those things down. I write on a whim most times so I don't really pay attention to what keywords I type down, if any. As a matter of fact, the question begs to be asked regarding what keywords really are. Key words to what? To whom? Ever try writing poetry while minding what key words you jot down? Of course not! I have a deep respect for poets because writing poetry is like seeing your soul on a mirror and describing what you see. Poets write out of passion and whatever moves them is what gives them lifeblood.

     Going back to our dilemma. A good writer writes for himself or herself, first and foremost, before writing for anyone else. This signature must be established in order to cover deeper ground in writing. Writing, you see, isn't just about putting words on paper. It's so much more than that. Your'e written work must flow and convey your thoughts with clarity. On that note I'd like to say that there are two types of writers who publish on the internet; for every writer who writes for himself or herself is another writer who writes for an audience or a group of audiences. The latter targets a specific demographic and keys in on topics which may have some value to these group of people. The former writes about issues and challenges which have profound effects on their daily lives and offers alternatives or solutions to these ailments. Which one are you? Better yet, which of the two would you most likely read published works on. I prefer being a writer who writes from experience. I can write passionately then. 

     Another key topic most writers concern themselves with is Content. How do you cover ground on the basis of delivering quality content? Well, let's ponder for a minute what quality content is. For me, quality content must cover two areas effectively. These key areas are Substance and Delivery. Let's talk about Substance. Say I was searching through the web and typed in a keyword phrase in the hope of finding a solution to a problem I have. On the first page I open the first 5 websites that are keyed in on the question or keyword phrase I typed. Going through the data I noticed that very few of these websites offered ACTUAL, real-world answers to my problem. Instead, what I got out of them are suggestions and not solutions. I want a road-map to solving whatever it is I want solved, not another referral to yet another possibility. Delivery, on the other hand, is an entirely different ballpark from Substance. You have to grab your audience long enough  to convey your message across and not lose them in translation. Do you write blandly or with gusto? Do you at least keep things interesting enough to arouse your audience's curiosity making them come back for more? A good delivery depends on how you structure your written work. You need to flow into your next paragraph and the next and so forth. Avoid using distractors and thought shifts. Don't jump from one topic to the other. Instead,cover them in terms of relevance tackling the most relevant first and  the least last.

     Write for yourself. Genuine written work is much more appreciated when read. Someone out there will eventually stumble on your article and blog and say, "Wow!". Write from the heart and write your own. Don't rewrite someone else's work just so you can jump in the bandwagon and get some traffic to your site.

Writing is like speaking in front of an audience, in some ways. You can never get everyone's attention but you try anyway. That goes without saying that writing, like speaking, takes patience and practice. You don't need to be a gifted writer. Skill comes with consistency and time. And of keywords? What keywords?