Answer this question: are you an editor? No? Then maybe you should be. If you’re at all interested in the continued success of your site, the basics of editing are probably a must.

Content may be king on the internet, but it’s not always easy to get. Once you get it, the work is still not over. Many companies rely on their search engine optimisation firm for high-quality SEO content to support their SEO plan. Some rely on commissioned writers. When you get the content back to your site, it’s important to know how to treat it. More to the point, it’s important to know how to cut it.

If you’ve been paying attention to the SEO advice around the net, you’ll know that concise content = successful content. A lot of writers don’t know this. As site owner, it sometimes will fall down to you to make the cuts.

Cut whole paragraphs

Many writers repeat themselves. In fact, writers frequently re-feature the same information. See? It’s easy for information to slip through in a couple of different ways, and even easier to cut it. Read through the material, and if something has already been said, cut it. This usually involves single sentences, but sometimes a whole paragraph can be cut without upsetting the flow.

Combine sentences

Short sentences are great for the net. They’re not so great when it means they take longer to say something. Writers often work out the logic of what they’re saying sentence by sentence, thought by thought. A little consideration will show that thoughts can be grouped together:

There was a dog. He bit the red ball. He broke it.

Or

The dog bit and broke the red ball.

Both reveal the careless behaviour of the dog.

Thin out superfluous words

People frequently take the long way round with words. A great example is one of the most famous lines in literature:

It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.

A better version for the internet might be:

People assume that single rich guys want wives.

This cut 23 words down to eight. You’ll notice that this is an imperfect example, as some of the subtle meaning of Jane Austen’s original sentence was lost. This is something to watch out for when editing, and re-reading the original can help you to spot when you’ve made a mistake.

A lot of search engine optimisation rests on content

There is an incredible pressure for sites to feature fresh content, constant content, quality content, all the time. Although most site owners are far from shy of text-based content, the need for such high-quality content is beyond the internal resources of many businesses. Obtaining advice from your SEO consultant can be a huge help for content, and you can talk to us at SEO Consult. However, knowing the basics of editing can get you out of trouble if a need for editing ever does arise.

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