First page ranking for "writing"

[silenceevolves]

What are the chances of this happening? How competitive do you think it is? What kind of things would I need to do to get up that high? If it's even possible, how long would it take? (edit) Was CLDwriting.com a good choice of a domain to achieve this sort of thing?

Sorry if these are redundant questions, but I'm kind of new to the topic of SEO and would like to learn some more about it.

[DM3Dan]

I hope you have a budget! Such a common search will not come easy, and most likely not cheap. To get up there, you will need some serious SEO work (keyword density, backlinks, etc.). I suggest reading around this forum for tips, because you will need them .

Good luck,

Dan

[stymiee]

If you want to know more about SEO start with our SEO FAQ. The part that I think you need to focus on the most is:

What would be a good SEO strategy?

Before you launch your site, you should have done the following:
- Optimized your <title> tags on each page to contain 1 - 3 keywords
- Used appropriate markup where necessary (<h1>, <em>, etc.)
- Used keywords liberally yet appropriately throughout each page
- Designed the navigational structure of the site to channel PR to main pages (especially the homepage)
- Used Search Engine Friendly URLs (if necessary)
- Created a complete website with plenty of quality content
- Used keywords in your domain and url (http://www.keyword1.com/keyword2/keyword3.html)

Immediately after launching your site you should do the following:
- Submit your site, by hand, to all major search engines
- Submit your site to all free directories (dmoz, yahoo (if applicable), etc..)
- Begin a link building campaign (attempting to get keywords in the reciprocal link anchor text)

Finally, as part of an ongoing strategy:
- Continually update your website will quality content
- Continually seek free and reciprocal links preferably from sites in your genre

It is possible to get on the first page for that term but it will be slow and tediuos. It will take a lot of work over a long period of time (many months if not years). If you're not going to commit that much time and effort to it then shoot for a less competitive keyword.

[dc dalton]

Yeah you better have a MASSIVE budget... have you typed the word into Google or the others? Hmm, lets see 240,000,000 results for Google!

The problem is you are trying to get a great ranking on a term that is SO generic its next to impossible to accomplish. Thats like getting ranked on car or auto..

Your best chances are to get ranked on somthing like resume writing, or mystery writing or creative writing ... and you will get a more focused audience when they do come thru to your site.

[silenceevolves]

Maybe take a peek at my site and recommend a better keyword for me? http://www.cldwriting.com/

I've spent the last couple of hours submitting to directories and optimizing my pages with keywords and stuff as best as I knew how.

[StephenBauer]

DC has the "write" idea with "creative."

I would say keyword groups like:

creative writing forum/forums
creative writing guide/guides
creative writing course
creative writing basics
creative writing howto
creative writing exchange
beginning writing

Stuff like that. Look some up in the keyword tools out there...

[silenceevolves]

Thank you. I'm thinking about focusing on Creative Writing, Writing Help and Writing Community; does that sound any better than just plain old writing?

[slayerment]

Unless you plan on waiting at least a few years and doing lots of content writing and link building everyday its probably not gonna happen. Those are all in the 60 millions which is pretty competitive. I'm not saying it's not possible, however, you may want to start smaller and slowly work your way up. Even getting something to show up with 1 million results can be hard at times. IMO you are going to need more than a 10 page website to take on these top dogs. Sometimes on page optimization will not be enough for high ranks. I'm just being honest with you so you can set more realistic goals. Good luck.

[ozgression]

"Creative Writing" would be a good one, I'd reckon.

[stymiee]

According to Overature, here is a list of writing-related keywords and their popularity by search:

erotic writing,406955
writing,78585
resume writing,74123
resume writing tip,39953
grant writing,32766
letter writing,23209
help writing your resume,19182
chinese writing,17358
creative writing,16921
essay writing,15928
freelance writing,14313
writing for magazine,10937
writing contest,10745
business writing,10318
apa writing style,10312
japanese writing,9537
writing a book,9062
writing prompt,8969
resume writing book,8544
free resume writing,8321
writing desk,8319
writing press release,8253
proposal writing,8065
writing a business plan,7898
technical writing,7888
writing a cover letter,7391
cursive writing,7069
report writing,6368
screen writing resource,6250
writing help,5812
fiction writing,5781
writing tip,5723
writing business letter,5598
writing journal,5597
screen writing,5155
writing letter of recommendation,5035
writing skill,4802
writing jobs,4676
writing poetry,4645
speech writing,4560
writing a will,4546
script writing,4441
writing process,4422
writing child book,4178
writing style,4138
screenplay writing,4069
writing a novel,3915
creative writing course,3836
mla writing style,3799
writing science fiction,3771
writing a research paper,3685
writing software,3547
persuasive writing,3495
writing career,3477
freelance writing jobs,3469
resume writing sample,3363
old english writing,3295
reading and writing math,3287
writing lesson plan,3168
writing instrument,3167
egyptian writing,3076
writing paper,3033
writing program,2943
writing a bibliography,2857
thesis writing,2841
cv writing,2836
writing rubric,2745
writing thank you note,2742
expository writing,2702
writing and editing,2601
writing reference letter,2552
writing a resignation letter,2525
apa writing format,2487
story writing,2398
descriptive writing,2376
travel writing,2316
resume writing services,2292
writing center,2215
narrative writing,2205
writing short story,2187
writing pen,2184
writing music,2118
writing workshop,2099
online writing,2063
six trait writing,1988
arabic writing,1950
writing outline,1944
writing a mission statement,1922
writing for the internet,1903
writing business proposal,1890
check writing,1871
resume writing service,1871
graffito writing,1859
apa writing,1850
writing resource,1848
writing job description,1830
editorial and writing career,1815
writing autobiography,1809
letter writing sample,1808
tool for technical writing,1805

Looks like exoctic writing is far more popular then just writing. Shows how common sense doesn't necessarily reflect what people are actually looking for.

[WealthStream]

Try optimizing for a few more specific keyphrases, such as "creative writing lessons", "creative writing forums", "writing short stories", "creative writing community", etc. Once you have good rankings with these words and your PR improves, you can start gradually moving into more competitive territory.

[Horowitz]

Wow, just to ask the question is like saying, "Can I maybe buy a new Ferrari for like $50.00?