Summary

The web content provides expert advice on SEO for writers and editors on Medium, emphasizing the importance of optimizing articles for search engines to increase visibility and reach.

Abstract

The article titled "Still Fiddling With Your New Publication?" delves into the significance of SEO (Search Engine Optimization) for writers and editors publishing on Medium. It offers a brief tutorial on how to effectively use SEO settings to ensure articles are more likely to be found by the target audience. The piece underscores that while SEO is crucial for everyone who wants their work to be discovered, it is not necessary for babies, humorously noting that they are indifferent to SEO. The author guides readers through the process of accessing and editing the SEO settings on Medium, advising on the use of relevant and dense search words to describe their content. The article also touches on the importance of saving changes and suggests that a well-optimized article can attract readers who are not already followers on the platform. Additionally, the author points to another resource for tagging Medium articles effectively and acknowledges the inspiration drawn from questions by CJ Kowalski and Laurie Livingston Nave.

Opinions

SEO is essential for writers and editors to get their articles found by more people, particularly those who are not already their followers on Medium.
The default SEO settings provided by Medium are considered too verbose and not search-friendly, necessitating customization by the content creator.
Writers should think about how they personally search for information online to determine the best keywords and descriptions for their articles.
The author suggests that editors can assist their writers by either guiding them through the SEO process or by directly optimizing their articles' SEO settings.
The article implies that optimizing SEO settings is a simple and manageable task that can significantly impact an article's visibility.
The author uses a light-hearted tone, including humorous references to babies' indifference to SEO, to make the topic more engaging and less intimidating.

ADVICE

Still Fiddling With Your New Publication?

Now We Get Into Some Expert Tips!

Isn’t that cute, what they did there? Photo by Merakist on Unsplash

SEO! What is it, who is it for, and just, WHY?

Okay, here’s a brief tutorial that should answer these pressing questions.

First off, what is it?

Search Engine Optimization! Wow. Get your articles FOUND!

Here’s everything you never wanted to read about technology and SEO.

Search engine optimization

Search engine optimization ( SEO) is the process of increasing the quality and quantity of website traffic by…

en.wikipedia.org

Who is it for? EVERYONE! WOO HOO!!

Except for babies. Babies don’t care about SEO.

This baby gives not one f*** about SEO. Photo by Brytny.com on Unsplash

So why do we need it?

You want more people to find the pieces you write, yes?

Okay. Take this simple step on each and every thing you post. And as an editor, if you are super nice, you can even do this for your writers if they are unaware. Or better yet, save yourself some time, and just point all your writers to this super fun, super easy tutorial article I’m writing here.

Remember the 3 dots, where you picked your publication you were submitting to?

Well, look down that list and find the option for “More Settings.”

Then, click on it and you’ll see a screen that looks like this.

Screen shot by the author. Aren’t you proud of me, for cleaning up all the open tabs on my computer?

Click on the SEO Settings. Once you get to that screen, you’ll see two spots where you can write — you don’t have to delete the text that’s there — it’s just an example of the default that Medium will shove over to Google in the search engine searches. And it’s usually TOO MUCH INFORMATION and not search friendly if you leave it in its default state.

This is where you want to take charge of that shit.

This is what I put in those two fields for this article you are reading.

Type what you want the search engines, and the people, to see. Something relevant, dense search words that describe your piece.

You know how you search. Think about the person trying to find your stuff. How would you describe it? This is your 3 second elevator pitch, so to speak.

BE SURE TO SAVE.

Then go back to the editor and publish your piece with confidence, knowing more people OFF Medium will find you who are NOT already your followers ON Medium and might be interested in what you have to say!

Happy publishing!

If you found this article helpful, you may find this one to be as well.

Tagging Your Medium Articles

A Basic How and Why

Inspired by questions from CJ Kowalski and Laurie Livingston Nave. You’re welcome!

Susan Brearley practices writing in all forms, editing, chef-ing, and being a community grandmother. She is also working on her first stand-up comedy routine in the field of Granny Humor.