I am a publisher for multiple websites. I DETEST a number of your articles. Here’s why I dislike your article’s byline and what you can do about it.
Bylines
The byline of an article is your opportunity to promote yourself and your website. I could care less about what you write. Only if you write seven or eight lines of text would I choose not to use your article because of the byline. Please limit your response to no more than three lines.
Something to Think About
If you write articles, you’re undoubtedly aware that it’s a great way to increase a website’s link count. Assume you placed two links in an article’s byline. Further assume that sixty websites publish your article. You have effectively generated 120 links for your website, a feat that would take an eternity if you pursued link exchanges.
Search engines also place a high value on article links because they are inbound links. In the “minds” of search engines, inbound links are considerably more valuable than reciprocal ones. Inbound links are interpreted as a sign that the website in question contains highly relevant content and should therefore rank highly in search engine results. If you don’t believe me, consider the Internal Revenue Service.
The IRS has an excellent website that covers every tax topic imaginable. The Internal Revenue Service has no external links, yet it ranks at or near the top of search results for virtually every tax-related keyword phrase. Why? Approximately 971,000 websites link to the IRS. These sites consist of CPA firms, newspapers, etc. The links are all inbound. Get it?
Keywords and Citations
When writing your byline, avoid boasting about your greatness and other superlatives. When you do this, the links are wasted. If you need a confidence boost, talk to yourself in the mirror. Instead, the byline should include the keywords that are highlighted on the site. If you do so, search engines will associate the links with the keywords and rank the relevant pages of your website higher.
Assume you have written an e-book about weight loss and have a website. Consider further that the primary keyword phrase on your website’s homepage is “how to lose weight.” Your byline should read as follows:
“Halstatt is affiliated with http://www.domainname… – teaching people how to permanently lose weight. Once you learn how to lose weight, it is simple to lose weight.
You have now correlated your inbound link growth with the keyword phrase you wish to rank for. If you continue to publish articles, rankings will undoubtedly follow.
Unfortunately, the majority of authors write bylines such as:
“Halstatt was an obese slob until he had an epiphany after eating subpar sushi. During a miserable night spent in the bathroom, he discovered that food poisoning was an effective means of regaining his self-respect and attaining washboard abs. To learn more, visit http://www.domainname.com.”
Do you see the distinction? The first byline will propel you quickly up search engine rankings. The sushi byline will not be nearly as useful. It does not even contain the proper keyword!
I rarely discard an article based on the byline unless it exceeds four lines. However, many of you could make better use of yours.