Understanding how Google works and how websites are ranked (and why they are ranked that way) is not as simple as it may appear.

A lot goes on behind the scenes — meaning how a website is coded or uses search engine optimization tactics is very important. Thus, when Google announced that it was making changes to link structures, developers and marketers began to wonder.

As you may know, the ‘no-follow’ attribute was introduced in 2005 as a mechanism to help fight spam. As blogs became increasingly popular, so did comment spam and guest posting, which means that spammers would leave links back to their page in the comments’ section. More so, people started to pay for guest posts, that in reality only were intended to have a link but contained poor quality content.

These actions caused two main problems:

1. Spammy web pages began to rank well in Google, pushing high-quality sites out of the search results.
2. Because the tactic proved to be very efficient, blog comment spam and guest posting quickly spun out of control.

As a solution, Google introduced the ‘no-follow’ link, which you should use when linking to a website you have a financial relationship with (paid links). Google began suggested that ‘no-follow’ link attribute (i.e., rel= “nofollow”) properties should be understood as a ‘hint’ and not as a directive for ranking purposes — a real revolution in the SEO world.

This month, Google also introduced two additional link attributes: ‘sponsored’ (i.e., rel= “sponsored”) and ‘user-generated content’ (i.e., rel= “ugc”).

Although nothing is yet definitive, these actions posed an essential question: how will these new changes affect a site’s ranking? The answer is not that simple! One thing is the official information released by Google, and another thing is the truth in the algorithm.

Nonetheless, by implementing them, you contribute to better the process of how links are analyzed on the web. Additionally, there are many other things to consider, including advertorials.

Consequently, it is highly advisable that you familiarize yourself with the new attributes and know when and how to use them. Below a simple guide:

• Sponsored
Use the ‘sponsored’ attribute to identify links on your site that are created as part of advertisements, sponsorships, or other compensation agreements.

• User-generated Content (UGC)
The UGC attribute value is, as explained in the name, recommended for links within user-generated content (e.g., comments, forum posts.)

• No-follow
Use the ‘no-follow’ attribute for cases where you want to link to a site or page but do not necessarily want to imply any type of endorsement.

Nonetheless, remember the nuances Google looks at between ‘no-follow,’ ‘sponsored,’ and ‘UGC’ attributes will not affect your webpage as the new attributes are voluntary to implement. Therefore, if you create sponsored content, host forums, or encourage comments on your site, consider implementing the unique attributes whenever you can modify your code. If you cannot do it or do not want to, that is also okay.

If you want to know more, there is plenty of information readily available on the web. Plus, Google has released an official statement explaining everything you need to know (and do).

Writing compelling and fruitful business emails is an art! Even the most skilled writers and industry professionals can sometimes struggle with it. Mainly because the average person receives around 90 emails per day, and answers only 40.

I specialize in copywriting services, mainly in Spanish, and after years of experience, here are the top 4 strategies to make sure you are getting the most out of your emails.

1. Write an intriguing subject line

Let’s start at the beginning; the first thing you need to do is make sure your subject line is impressive. By no means, am I saying you should alarm the receiver or lie about the content of the email. On the contrary, write a concise 5-word sentence with vital information.

For instance, if you are writing about a business meeting, you would not want to use a boring subject such as ‘Company’s Quarterly Meeting.’ Instead, you might want to write something like: ‘We’re starting in 6 HOURS’

More often than not, people will open the email just out of intrigue. Your goal is to catch their attention without falling under the 60 daily emails a day that get unanswered.

2. Be Concise

I cannot stress this enough, don’t ramble on! Emails, and especially business emails, should be concise and to the point. Keep in mind that at least 50% of emails are opened on mobile devices while on the go. Thus, writing a three-page email discussing the company’s latest financial report will probably be ignored.

Furthermore, emails should not replace face-to-face or over the phone conversations. I suggest you:

• Write the most relevant information on the first sentence of your email.
• Break up your paragraphs.
• Avoid attaching large files.
• Temporize; even if you can’t immediately respond, make sure you let the person know you are gathering the info.

3. Include a ‘Call-to-Action’

Most people make the mistake of ending their business emails with phrases like: ‘Best regards’ or ‘I look forward to hearing back from you soon.’ These are not ‘call-to-action’; you need to be more precise.

Even though your readers are smart and may know you are expecting an answer from them, you should always be as explicit as possible. Some effective options are:

• Can I give you a call on Friday at 2:30 PM so that we can discuss next steps?
• When will it be the best time/day to arrange a meeting?
• Please give us your feedback!
• Sign up here to receive our monthly newsletter.

Remember always to follow up. Persistence is a critical element of effective email writing.

4. Proofread, proofread, proofread!

Proofreading is probably the best advice I can give you, it may seem like a no-brainer, but more often than not people forget to read their emails before sending them. A business email with spelling mistakes, grammatical errors, or typos can make you appear less professional. A few extra minutes before hitting ‘send’ can save you a few headaches down the road.

There you have it! My top 4 tips on how to write effective business emails.

Research papers, college essays, newspaper articles, and even blog posts all need to have reliable sources. Thanks to the Internet, there is a sea of information readily available on any imaginable subject. But, this does not mean that the data is reliable or even correct.

More often than not, writers include information, facts, and descriptions into their pieces without validating their origin. Resulting in unreliable pieces that can ultimately hurt their reputation.

So, what makes a good source? Well, there a few things you need to consider! Below is a list of questions, that as a professional writer, I believe are crucial in deciding whether or not a source is credible.

Who is the author?

The first thing you need to check is who is the author, and what are his/her credentials. Ask yourself why this person is a good source for the piece you are writing. For instance, are they an expert in the field? Are they part of an entity or organization directly related to your topic? If you’re not sure, try doing a quick Google search on the author(s) or their organization to validate their knowledge.

Furthermore, research, how did your source get his/her information on the first place — do they include references? Does he/she include a bibliography? If they do, these are excellent indicators that a source is credible. If not, copy/paste a sentence into your browser to see if the text can be found elsewhere.

If an author is not listed, I immediately tend to discard the source as it makes it harder for me to verify the information. Nonetheless, if you genuinely believe the information is useful, a great way to go about it is by cross-checking it with other online sites.

Where is the information published?

Especially when citing or using information found online, it is crucial for you to double check where the data is published. The first thing I usually examine is the website’s URL. Websites ending with .gov (government), .org (non-profit), or .edu (educational) are often good credible sources. Nonetheless, beware of websites that use these kinds of suffixes in an attempt to deceive.

Moreover, avoid using websites where the content is collaboratively published (e.g., Wikipedia or individual blogs) as the sole source for your information. These should only be used as a reference or secondary source to help you jump-start your article, essay, or paper. It is a well-known fact that people publish misleading or bias information on purpose throughout these sites.

Furthermore, always review the ‘About Us’ section of websites, online newspapers/magazines, organizations you are using as a reference. Beware of sites that have an amateurish design, grammatical or spelling mistakes, use all caps or symbols within their text as these are often unreliable.

When was the information first published/written?

Currency is super essential when citing sources, but it also has a lot to with the context of your writing. Think of how the date of the publication may affect your piece or argument. For example, if you are writing a technical paper on recent scientific discoveries, you would not want your source to be more than a year old.

Also, always look for updates — well-founded pages are updated and reviewed often. Thus, they are most likely good sources for information. That being said, as a rule of thumb, you should avoid older articles unless they are about well-known popular concepts. Regardless, of the date of publication, a website should always provide some indication of when the information was first created or last reviewed.

Is the information biased?

Anyone and everyone can post an article online expressing their opinion, and this does not necessarily make it accurate. Hence, be truly careful of who you decide to cite in your work. Ask yourself if the information can be verified or if the source is comprehensive.

Also, draw from your own experiences and knowledge on the topic at hand. For instance, if an article you find on the web says: “one out of three men smoke.” Think about how many smokers do you know? Is it possible that one in every three American are smokers? If it something you could see happening, cross-reference it!

Another right way of detecting bias sources is by looking at advertisements. Does the article indirectly or directly reference a specific brand, product, or service? How connected is the author of the ads he is publishing? Remember, many blogs are used to promote services or products, making them (in most cases) unreliable or bias sources. Therefore, learn to differentiate sponsored content from regular data or information.

Overall, good sources will use a fair, reasoned tone to present information. Pay close attention to the tone and lookout for emotional writing. Writing that is overly critical or spiteful often indicates an irrational presentation rather than an unbiased source.

Is the information covered accurately?

As a writer, you must learn to separate good writing from nonprofessional writing. Take a hard look at the way the information is being presented, is it organized? Is it adequately supported by external material such as charts, images, graphs? Is it well cited? All of these questions will help you decide whether a source is good or not.

Also, ask yourself who could be the intended audience of the piece. Pay special attention to the audience addressed throughout the website and see if it fits your own audience.

There you have it!

These simple questions will help you better asses a source before including it in your writing as a reference or direct citation. Also, never forget to give credit where credit is do! I cannot stress this enough, as an experience writer, I have come across articles and websites that re-post information as if it was their own. Aside from the obvious legal issues that this type of practices can incur on, it is also a frown upon within the industry.

Furthermore, remember online sources are not the only good source for a paper or blog. There are various other forms of non-digital sources that are also good and current such as book, journals and encyclopedias.

If you are a writer by trade, then you’ll be writing an awful lot. Particularly if you work freelance, you might find yourself juggling an impossible amount of articles and drowning in word count.

First tip: If this is happening to you, it is time to raise your prices.

Don’t worry, because there are ways you can become more organised and balance your work life. Nevertheless, there are also ways that you can learn to write faster (and still maintain quality), allowing you to churn out more articles than ever before.

It is, obviously, important to maintain high quality so that you can continue employment and even pride as a writer. If you own your own business and write your own website, then writing a lot of articles can be even more important – there is a direct correlation between website traffic and the frequency with which articles are published. As a result, you really need to find a way to keep up both quality and frequency.

Here are three ways you can write more articles in less time.

1. Prepare All Your Topics in Advance

If you find yourself sitting at your desk staring at a blinking cursor, you are wasting your time. You should be writing down a list of topics as soon as inspiration occurs to you, and when you have a spare minute during your working day then you should be looking for other ideas.

When looking for inspiration, check out competitor’s websites to see what they are writing about. This isn’t stealing or plagiarism as long as you don’t copy their idea precisely. In fact, you have an advantage when doing this. Since their content is already published, you can build on it and improve it, giving even more to the audience.

Try to keep a long list of topics so that you never run out. A list of 20 ideas is a good minimum, and you should be adding to this constantly. Sit down frequently and schedule in time to add to your list.

2. Outline Your Articles First

While it may seem like you’re taking up more time by writing a plan, you’re not. If you cannot think in an organised way, you may start writing, not like it, and have to delete the whole thing and go back constantly. This is a waste of productivity and time.

Instead, draft your ideas first; you will be surprised how quickly you can do this. It will probably improve the quality of your post, too, as it ensures that it flows better and that you’ve got all your ideas in.

3. Write Everything in One Sitting

I never recommend multi-tasking. It’s a bad idea to be focusing on multiple things at once, and it will definitely damage the quality of your writing. Silence your phone, and maybe even try out one of those apps that stops you opening up new browser windows. Don’t check your emails, and stop procrastinating.

When you start writing, don’t stop until you’re done. Of course, if you have a very lengthy text that might need revisiting, don’t sacrifice quality by exhausting yourself, but you only need a half an hour break before you return to writing. You can write much faster by doing everything in one sitting and getting rid of distractions.

Content curation is actually a pretty important part of your marketing strategy. But what actually is it? It’s all about creating fantastic content for your audience, and it’s a vital piece of know-how that you need for your business.

What is Content Curation?

Content curation involves adding a personal twist on a handpicked collection of content. You gather the content from a variety of sources all regarding a specific topic, curate it to relate to your own company, and then publishing this content to your followers and customers.

Doing this allows you to be recognized as an expert in the field, to grow your network and your business, and to stay informed about the industry. What’s more, it’s much easier than making content from scratch!

This sounds pretty simple, but it actually requires a planned strategy in order to work.

Content Curating Strategy

First of all, it’s important not to use content curation for every single thing you post on your site. As an orientation, you may consider the rule of thirds, and share:

• A third on personal brand promotion
• A third of curated content
• A third about the discussions on social media

Of course, you better than anyone can decide the proportion of each, but diversity is always a good thing.

Then there is the matter of choosing what content to curate. Share posts that are relevant to your audience – what exactly do they want to see on their timeline? Is the post you’re sharing going to be relevant to your readers?

Secondly, it needs to be relevant content. That means it needs to be current, timely, and interesting; as well as being useful for your audience.

Thirdly, you need to schedule these curated posts consistently. Remember, it needs to be a just a part of your content. It is a good idea to schedule them in advance, because this way you ensure that you are keeping up with your curated content and posting enough of it.

When you’re looking for posts to share, make sure they’re different. If you constantly share articles on the exact same topic, readers will get bored and won’t care about your curated content at all. Really, the same thing applies to original content you have created yourself. It’s important to switch it up sometimes!

When sharing curated content, it’s okay to promote yourself a bit. You can share your own content, sometimes! Keep this limited, though, because sharing your own content all the time looks too promotional and won’t build a good rapport with the customers. And when you share other people’s content, make sure you credit the owner. Tag them in the tweet or the post, because this makes you seem 1) personable, and 2) trustworthy.

If you’re really stuck, you can try downloading a content curation tool to help make things easier. Check out my 4 best content curation tools here.