Search Engines Can Be The Online Writer's Best Friend

By Cherie' Davidson
Copyright 2005

The Internet has opened up an incredible amount of
opportunity and resource for writers. It has even inspired a
whole new breed ... those who write exclusively for online
markets. As the Internet grows, so does content demand,
and accordingly, the need for writers.

It's an exciting time for online writers, with a wide array of
options. With desire and well-directed effort, a good writer
can end up with a variety of work. However, as we know,
there is much more to the writing biz than the meat and
potatoes of the actual writing. Research, record-keeping,
finding markets, composing and sending queries, dealing
with rejections and self-promotion all factor in, and it all
takes up a great deal of time. But the actual money, and
the greatest satisfaction, comes from the writing itself
and seeing your by-line posted on some well-trafficked site.

So, the question becomes, "How do I make more time for
writing and spend less time on the `other stuff'?" That
"other stuff" is vital to being a successful writer, so the
trick is to find the easiest and most simplified ways to
accomplish the "not writng stuff."

I have given it much thought-and spent a great deal
of time-and as a cyber-writing veteran I have discovered
there is timesaving value in search engines. Eight years
ago I would not have believed that the time-consuming
search engine could be my friend. But now I know better!

The trick is to be selective, precise, and not allow yourself
to get distracted. Another trick is to get to know the
particular benefits and shortcuts of your favorite search
engines and directories, because they all have different
aspects to them, some more than others. Use their
strengths and avoid their weaknesses.

RELEVANT SEARCHES

The greatest weakness is irrelevant search results, so for
general or topical searches stick with those sites that
make an effort to give relevant results. A tip from my
own experiences: use either specialty search directories
dedicated to the particular field you are researching, or a
major engine that uses popularity results.

One drawback to large search portals is they usually bring
back a huge amount of results (often in the thousands and
hundreds of thousands), so I don't go any deeper than the
first three to five pages of results. If I can not find what I
am looking for in those results, my search term/keywords
are getting derivative results and this translates to losing
valuable time. So I do a new search using different and
more specific keywords or phrases to get better results faster.

REFERENCE HELP

When you are working online, why take the time to pull a
dictionary, thesaurus, or other reference book from your
shelf, when you can type what you want and have it pop
up on your screen? As you may have discovered, the major
search engines don't really offer reference information,
except to give you lists of sites that specialize. By using a
reference-specific directory you have access to a list of
helpful tools at your mouse-tip.

TOOT YOUR OWN HORN, AKA List Your Writing Site

The third best way search sites can be a very good friend is
when you list your writing site with them. More and more
off and online writers are finding an advantage to having
their own online presence, a site for posting their virtual
portfolio, links to their published online work, "clips" available
for download or reading on site, references, bios, even
resumes or client/publishing lists. You can have a site for
little or no money by using a free site service like Geocities
(http://www.geocities.com), or my personal favorite,
QuickSites (http://quicksites.pixelmation.com). Now more
than ever, it is important - actually, it is essential - for
today's writers to have a Website or at least a blog.
Someplace where editors, publishers and potential
contacts (and even fans!) can visit and learn more about
the writer, their work and who they are.

Once you have a site, you obviously want people to find it,
and listing with search engines and directories is one of the
ways to do this. You can pay to have a service list your site,
or you can take the time to do it yourself. How far you want
to take it depends on your needs, but for the shoestring-budget
writer, I have found the best way is to go to the search engine
and directory sites, and fill out the (usually) short forms found
on their "Add a Site" or "Submit URL" pages on your own.

There are some free services that claim to "mass submit"
your site address to hundreds of search engines, but you
may pay for these with your time, because your e-mail
inbox will be flooded with "Make Money" and promotional
offers, so be careful and know what you are getting into.
One notable and outstanding exception is SelfPromotion.com
(http://selfpromotion.com/?CF=piteditor). I have used that site
for a few years and I never get spammed or bothered. I
always begin my client site promotions at SelfPromotion.com.

When submitting your site, use the search directories that
do not charge a listing fee. This will not give you thousands
of visitors your first month (and neither will paying for being
listed!), but it will cost you very little time, no money, and
get you a good start. Then you can include your site address
in the signature of all your e-mails, add it to business cards,
stationary, your yellow pages ad or anywhere you put your
name or business name.

Search engine and directory sites are very helpful tools with
great potential for benefit when used efficiently. With a little
practice, and being aware of the positive features available
at your favorite portals, you will be able to spend more time
on the real issue at hand-getting that article or story written
and published.

~~~~~~~~~~ Resource Box ~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Cherie' Davidson is a working freelance writer who has
specialized in Website content, marketing and information
articles since 1999. She has finally caved in and started a blog
for helpful and humorous comments and articles. You are
invited to visit her blog at http://suitablewords.blogspot.com