Easy SEO Hub Writing Tips - The Title and URL

Hubbers can write SEO-friendly, [Search Engine Optimization],hubpage article titles without a lot of effort or knowledge. These common sense tips can be used to make your hubs more SEO, [Search Engine Optimization], friendly - without forcing you to turn your writing into un-enjoyable technical efforts.

Successful hub and article writers are the ones that get their hubs read. It's as simple as that. If you just want to write, and truly don't care if anyone reads your writing - then why are you writing on HubPages? You can do that with word processor articles on your computer. So if you are writing on HubPages, then you really do want to share your efforts. You really do hope someone will read your writings.

*Search Engine Optimization is simply a term to describe a method of making articles and Internet content more "attractive" to search engines, like; Google, Bing, or Yahoo, so that they will be more likely to return "your" writings as search results - vs. content that does not do things to attract search engine attention.

Then you really must consider that SEO is important to achieving that goal. But SEO doesn't have to mean extra work, technical knowledge, or altering your writing style or purpose. As these common sense, easy tips will show.

note: these tips will work for almost any kind of writing - except perhaps - poetry

The URL, (the http://name-of-your-article.com), is the Internet address of your hub page, and it is a very important factor in determining if a search engine finds your hub page to present to someone searching on the Net. The same goes for the title of your article. It doesn't take technical SEO knowledge or twisting your title or content to make them a little more SEO-friendly - thus enhancing your chances of attracting more readers to your hubs.

Keywords are the primary criteria search engines use to determine which results to show an Internet searcher - in response to the query they typed in the search box.

A keyword is a word or phrase that relates to the Hub page topic. It is also a word or phrase that a searcher types into Google, Bing, or Yahoo when they are looking for something on the internet. So no matter what you are writing about, it makes sense to at least give a hint to your topic in the title. If it's how to bake cupcakes - then bake, baking, or cupcakes would be a keyword. Fix a leaky pipe? Then leaky pipe or plumbing might be keywords. You don't HAVE to spend a lot of time with keyword or other SEO tools to find just the right words that people may be looking for. It's a good idea - but you don't have to do it if you don't want to. Just a little common sense consideration can still help you writings get found.

So, when you are writing, if your topic and style allow you the flexibility - try to think of the words someone might type into the search box to find what they are looking for, and then try to use some of those words in your title and article.

As noted, this is not always easy to do with poetry, or continuing sagas like book chapters, but it is simple to do for every other type of writing.

When you create a hub, your title becomes your URL. But, your URL does not have to be your title. Did that sound confusing? The reason is that you can change your title after the hub is created - but you cannot change the URL.

Short easy to read and remember URL's with a keyword, or two, are better than long ones without keywords.

Example:

Your article is about "How to train your dog to stop barking on command in three easy steps"

When you create a new hub, if you type that as the title of your hub that will also become the URL address - like this:

http://yourname.hubpages.com/hub/How-to-train-your-dog-to-stop-barking-on-command-in three-easy-steps

Whew! Imagine trying to type that in. Or even read it in the browser bar.

But consider this: the keywords in that title might be; train dog, stop barking, on command, and maybe easy steps. If you were searching for tips on how to train your dog to stop barking when you told them to. You might type in a search like: How to train a dog to stop barking. You probably won't type in "on command" or "easy steps," and it is what you type in that the search engines will try to find for you. So you don't need those extra words in the URL. In the title yes, but URL no.

Those words will be important in your title, because the title is what will help a searcher decide which search result to take a look at. On command, and easy steps would get my attention if I were the searcher.

Also note that search engines just ignore extraneous, non-descriptive and connector words like; and, to, the, if, or. etc. etc. etc., so they don't need to be in the URL.

To create a more concise URL web address of your hub page - on the title line of the "Create Hub" page - type this instead:

Train Dog Stop Barking On Command ("on" may or may not be useful - your call)

See how much more readable and to the point that URL will look like to the searcher.

http://yourname.hubpages.com/hub/train-dog-stop-barking-on-command

Remember, the URL is primarily for the search engines, a searcher may be slightly influenced by them, but mostly it is the title they look at to decide which result to click on.

Once your hub is created and you begin writing it, then you can change the title back to your original intent - "How to train your dog to stop barking on command in three easy steps." Now you have the title you want, and a short, readable, keyword-rich URL.

Understanding this can allow you to have an SEO-friendly URL of: http://yourname.hubpages.com/hub/train-dog-stop-barking-on-command

...and a reader-friendly title of: "How to train your dog to stop barking on command in three easy steps"

This also works for short story and sequel story writers.

Say you are writing detective stories about Sam Spade solving murder cases, you might have a title like:

"Sam Spade and the Velvet Killer" - and that's the title you want. You don't want a title like; "Sam Spade, the detective solves the murder case of the killer known as the velvet killer"

So how can you make that a more SEO friendly title to help search engines find your writing to present to a searcher? Well, ask yourself, if I liked murder detective stories, and I'm a fan of Sam Spade stories, what would I type in the search box to find some?

Maybe;

• Sam Spade detective stories, or Sam Spade murder stories, or detective stories, or detective novels, etc. etc., get the idea? Unless you were specifically interested in that exact "velvet Killer" story, you probably would not use those words in your search - so you don't need them in the URL.

So instead of the title you want - in the end, create your hub with a title like this;

• Sam Spade detective stories, or Sam Spade murder cases, or detective stories, etc. etc., get the idea? Use content descriptive keywords in the URL, it will not ruin your title, but it will give you a better chance of being found by Internet searchers.

Once again, you can have an SEO-friendly URL like:

http:///sam-spade-detective-murder-stories

and a reader-friendly title like:

"Sam Spade and the Velvet Killer"

Note: for sequels, and different Sam Spade stories, you can add a word or two more to the URL title. Like; http:///sam-spade-detective-murder-stories-velvet-killer

This will also work for opinion and topic writers. Get your topic in the URL! It will help your writings get found by others.

For instance:

You like to write articles, (hubs), expressing your political views, and you want to write one titled: : "Government Entitlements are Ruining America" or "Why I Think Welfare is a Free Ride for Lazy People"

You can keep the title you want, but still make an SEO-friendly URL.

http://government-welfare-entitlements-ruining-America, or http://government-welfare-entitlements-recipients

Same with any other topic or opinion - think of what the root of the article is, what similarly minded people might search for if they were looking for stuff like that, and include it in the URL.

This just means that when you create your hub, make the title the keyword-rich SEO-friendly wording that others might use if they are looking for something - then after your hub is created you can change the title to whatever you want.

Remember these three things from this:

1. You CAN change your title after you create your hub or article, but you CANNOT change the URL address. Most SEO experts agree that the keywords in the URL are more important to search engines, in most cases, than the exact title wording.
2. Your title is what snags a searcher to choose your listing, but it is the URL that snags the search engine.
3. Your URL DOES NOT have to match your title, it just helps to be relevant to the title.

Of course there is a lot more to SEO efforts, a lot more to be understood, but just understanding and using those basic concepts can enhance the chances of your writings to be found - without having to become an SEO expert.

Hub Writing SEO for your titles and URL is as easy as 1 - 2- 3 with these step-by-step tips:

1. Decide on the Title you want to use. - in this example it is: "How to train your dog to stop barking on command in three easy steps"
2. On the "Create a Hub" page - type your title in box #1. You will notice that as you type in your title, the URL address in box #2 is automatically being filled in with what you type. Note: Even though box #2 says - "Give Your Hub a Unique Web Address", you do not have to - it is created for you as you enter your title.
3. Now, go back to box #1 and delete the unnecessary words: how to, your, to, in three easy steps. Now your title will read: "train dog stop barking on command", and your URL address will read: "train-dog-stop-barking-on-command"
4. Done, now you have a shorter, concise, keyword-rich URL address for your hub article
5. Complete the rest of the steps on the "Create a hub" page and click "continue"
6. After you hub is created, just click on its title and you can change it back to: "How to train your dog to stop barking on command in three easy steps" - which is the reader friendly and enticing title you wanted in the first place.

Note: Whether or not to include "how to" in the URL is a toss-up. Many people use it as a search term. But many SEO experts say "how-to's" are not needed in the URL - as long as they are included in the title. I left it out of the URL, but that will be your call.

One final little SEO tip: Always add your hub title to the "Comments" capsule title. Search engines like to see articles ending with similar keyword text to that which they began with. You can see examples of this, and the title/URL tips on this hub.

Are you ready for the next tip?

Here's the next-step Seo Hub Tip:

• Easy SEO-Friendly Hub Writing Tips - The Hub Article Summary

See more of my writings at:

• GA Anderson's Library