When I had just started out writing content for websites, I often used to wonder what the purpose behind writing the articles was. It seemed to me a very foolish exercise ? finding information over the Internet, rephrasing it and then regurgitating over the Internet. Well, when there are already so many articles over the Internet about the topic, then what is the point of writing one more article? What purpose will that achieve?



At that time, the mechanics of the websites that used content was not too clear to me. I am sure there will be many content writers around who still do not understand why we write articles at all. So let me explain in a very simple way. Articles are written for websites with just one elemental purpose in mind ? to generate traffic. That's all. There is no effort for imparting information or for providing some self-help tips to the readers or any other benevolent thing like that. The one and almost only purpose the articles try to achieve is to draw more and more people to the website.

That is why articles that are written on websites are centered on particular keywords. Keywords are strings of words, which are frequently searched on the Internet. People who write articles for websites need to incorporate these keywords into their articles several times. If that is done, then popular search engines like Google would search and display those articles. When a reader clicks on the link, it would build traffic for the website, which would be a source of revenue.

Most websites also sell some or the other product. When a person reaches their website through the article, and if the article is enticing enough, chances are that the person will buy that product, thus creating direct profits to the website. Then there are advertisements on the websites. Naturally, there would be more advertisements if the website generates better traffic. That makes the articles all the more important.

Then thinking in a different perspective, what would a website be without any articles in it? Every website has to have content in some form or the other; you cannot have websites with just pictures or graphics in them. So, articles or rather content, is absolutely essential to develop the website itself. This content could be in the form of articles, or blog posts, or small lines of information, etc. But in some form or the other, content is always needed in any website.

That said, there are many websites that do keep business in mind, but at the same time, they also want to be informative. These are generally the websites that have good articles in them. They are also very strict as to the kind of writers they employ for their websites. Their writers need to put in a great deal of verified information, and many a times, they also need to put their own thoughts and opinions about things. At such times, writers need to be not only good internet users, but they must also have vivid information to write and opine about the product at hand.

Articles that are written for encyclopedia websites fall under this category. These sites do not want to sell anything; they only want traffic to their sites. This can be done only if the information they provide is authentic. Hence, articles for such sites would be much longer than usual articles and they would also require having references and footnotes about the facts mentioned in them. Being an encyclopedia, such sites would not keep any scope for controversial information on anything.

If you are looking for creative freedom in writing, then website article writing may not be the best place for you. When you write on websites, you are more or less a small part of a huge business venture. Your article would be very important in drawing the potential customers to the site. When you are working for such high stakes, you naturally wouldn't have total literary freedom in the writing. You will need to use the keyword for a specific number of times (even if it seems jarring in some places) and you will have to stick to a word count. Also, you will have to use a simple language. If you are willing to do all this, then you are perfect for this world of internet article writing.