|  Ever wish you could take a glance into the mind of one of the members of the EzineArticles Editorial Staff?
Well, today you have an opportunity to do just that. Although I can't share the entire editorial review process here at length, I thought it would help to share just one secret about the article review training that editors receive. Then, at the very least, you might consider what you do in the final review of an article before hitting that "Submit" button. And the Secret Is ... The last thing an editor does before approving an article is a final check on the title, summary and links inside the article. Oftentimes, authors focus so much on the body of the article that they don't take a second to review the other parts of the submission. Then, the details of specific article parts like the title, summary and links, end up being overlooked. Bottom Line: EzineArticles editors check the title, summary and links after reviewing the article as a whole and you should, too. Here's a quick summary of what to look for: Title - Title Grammar - Does the title make sense? Read it aloud to be sure. The title has to capture the attention of potential readers. If it doesn't make sense because it's missing a word or it doesn't read well, do a rewrite.
- Keywords in the Title - Reading the title aloud will also force you to evaluate your use of keywords in the title. Check that you've hit the delicate balance between too many and too few keywords.
- Special Characters in the Title - Review this blog post to see which special characters are allowed and which ones you should be leaving out of titles.
- Name/Brand in the Title - Leave out your name and your website from the title. It isn't an appropriate place to self-promote. Don't worry, people will know that you wrote it because your name will appear in the byline of the article under the title.
- Making the Title a Complete Thought - Make sure the title is a complete thought. Titles can be up to 100 characters and they need to have at least two unique words, so make sure your title fits in those ranges.
More on Titles: Summary - At Least Two Sentences Long - Make the summary no less than two sentences. If you're unsure about what to use for a summary, you can place the first two sentences from the article body there.
- Repeating the Title - The title doesn't need to be repeated in the summary. It'll be at the top of the article already.
- Name/Brand in the Summary - Again, leave out your name and your website from the summary. The only place you should have self-promotional content is in the Resource Box.
- HTML-Free - Make sure the summary is free of any HTML code. The summary appears along with the article in RSS feeds and any HTML may not appear the way you intended it to.
More on Article Summaries: Links - Link Count - Check that you've included no more than 2 self-serving links and 2 non-self-serving links in the entire submission. Review this post for more information.
- Broken Links - Always check that the link works. If it's broken and you don't know why, either contact your web host to resolve the issue or choose a new link that works.
- Location - Keep links in the bottom half of the body of the article or, as they say in the newspaper business, "below the fold." Linking to another source early on in the article is a quick way to lose readers completely.
- Link Relevancy - Check that each link is related to the topic of that article. Each link should add value to the information that you provide in the article. If it doesn't add any value and it's not relevant to the readers, you should consider looking for a new link.
- Correct HTML - If you're comfortable with HTML code, review each hyperlink to check that it's in the standard link format: <a href="Full Link URL">Displayed Text</a>
More on Links: Use these tips to enhance your article review process today. They'll help you catch things that may have been overlooked before. To read this Blog entry online and post a comment, click here. |
To Your Article Writing Success & Passion!
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