This week I'm going to discuss a pretty cool idea that should benefit everyone: guest writers. That is, webmasters who run sites based around drugs get a bit of space where they can write an article or two for the .org project. We'll be on the lookout for anyone who runs or helps to run a drugs related website, and possibly other active members of their respective communities, "internet reputation" permitting, to sit down and write a bit about what they know best. We'll then check out what they've written, see'f it's any good and whack it online in the appropriate section.
So, what's in it for them (or you, if you happen to be one of the aforementioned people)? Qualitatively, they get some writing published on what will hopefully be "The Number One Drugs Resource" on the internet - bragging rights? Hell yes. Quantatively, and probably most importantly, the guest author will either receive a little page about him and his site or a link to his site straight from the article itself. Not only do links bring traffic, but a high quality link from an authoritative site (yes, I know we're jumping the gun a bit, but we'd get nowhere without ambition) will also increase the position of the site being linked to in the search engines. Without going into a lot of detail about how this works, Google sees links to other sites kind of like a "vote" for that site. The more votes a site has, the higher up in the search results it will appear. Kind of. If you want some more information on what I'm actually talking about, google "Search engine optimisation". If you don't care that much, all you need to know is that a link to your site from a site with a high reputation, that's also relevant to your site in some way, is very valuable indeed.
What's in it for us then? Well, this is also twofold. Firstly, we get a little bit of the work done for us by someone who's a bit more experienced in their field. Works for us, and helps improve the quality of the material for the end user. Following that logic, a better article will result in more trust from the search engines, meaning the link back to the author's site carries more weight. The topic of links neatly brings us round to point number two - webmasters that decide to write an article for us will no doubt want their community and friends to read their article too, and rightly so! So what will they do? Link to it! And as we know, linking = a higher position in the search engines. Everybody wins!
Are YOU a webmaster or knowledgable member of an online drugs-related community that's interesting in writing something? Let me know either by leaving a comment here, sending me an Email or posting on our Forums.
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