In Brian Clark's "How to Create Compelling Content that Ranks Well in Search Engines" www.scribeseo.com he listed and explained several factors that make for good online writing. The most important of these factors, and perhaps the most obvious, is that the content itself must be interesting and readable. Clark points out that a person's site is not likely to get linked to by other sites if the information provided is not useful in some way. Likewise, those who do visit the site are not likely to return if they can't easily find what they are looking for. This is a point that I have definitely found to be true of myself when doing online searches. If the page I visit is not well organized or interesting, I immediately click away. The page may very well have the information that I'm looking for, but if I can't easily find it i will leave it in search of something better.
Another important aspect of online writing is including links that will better explain a topic that is not discussed in detail within the article-whether this link is within the site or not. As a reader, this is something that I value and appreciate. A website that makes good use of both of these things is http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ The site itself is well organized so that you can easily navigate between topics. Clark also mentions the importance of a compelling headline, and this is the very reason I was first drawn to Huffington Post as a news source. I began using this site after following it on Twitter and consistently being drawn to their headlines. Deanna Zandt http://www.deannazandt.com/ would likely approve of Huffington Post's use of the social networking tool to draw people in.
Another example of good online content is Village Voice Music http://www.villagevoice.com/music/. I am a huge fan of music and the site does a great job of covering both indie and mainstream artists. The articles are always timely and relevant and cover a variety of topics within the music industry. The site is also helpful in that it provides a calendar of local shows, something that I can apply to my personal life and ensures that i will visit the site regularly. This site also makes great use of links so that you can easily find related topics within their larger website.
Unfortunately, I have to say that one example of bad online content is Blogger www.blogger.com. Although the site may contain some great, interesting writing (re: our class) it is poorly organized and rarely comes up in searches. Unless you are very familiar with the particular page you are visiting, it is nearly impossible to find anything regarding a certain topic. There is no way to organize content by category, and therefore you must scroll through many, many posts if you are looking for something specific. Another example of bad content is celebrity gossip website I'mNotObsessed http://www.imnotobsessed.com/ This site is not only poorly organized, but its 'articles' are incomplete and poorly written, not to mention boring. Another one of the site's flaws is that it is overloaded with advertisements so that it looks messy and slapped together.
Good online content is easy to spot because it will always be interesting and you will likely return to the site. I believe Clark put it best when he says, "Put simply: if your content isn't good enough to attract good, natural links, it doesn't matter how "optimized" that content is". I don't know that this is true through my experience running a website, because I don't have one. I know this is true through my experience as a frequent user of search engines. Put even more simply, if the content isn't good it won't attract an audience. And this is true beyond the infinite expanse of the Internet.
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