Citing Sources and Doing Online Research for Freelance Writing to Gain Search Engine Traffic

How to Avoid Plagiarism and Adhere to Journalistic Ethics

Try addressing the organization that conducted the study instead of randomly linking it in the text. For example, write "In a new study conducted by the American Dental Association (link 'new study')" instead of writing "new study" without any proper context. Having a high quality organization name in your article improves your Google PageRank, gives you more credibility, and will get you more internet traffic and page views.

Why It is Important to Do Online Research and How to Do it Correctly

Ironically, the very links you provide must be credible themselves. The internet is not a trustworthy place and the information you find may be completely false. That is one of the reasons why expert opinions and special organizations must be chosen carefully.

One of the most reliable places to do online research is the free online encyclopedia, Wikipedia . While there have been instances where the information on certain articles are inaccurate, not cited, or even intentionally false, it is rare. Overall, there is a lot of information on the site that can point you in the right direction. At the bottom of every Wikipedia page, the sources are cited and listed conveniently, with number tags pertaining to the section of text where it is mentioned. Many freelance writers use Wikipedia to do most of their research - but it should never be the only place to search for credible sources. You can even copy and paste the works cited section from Wikipedia onto your own article or link to the entire page if your topic is broad enough. And if there is a lack of credible sources or citations, the site editors will usually let readers know at the top of the page.

Be Serious and Professional About Citing Sources Online

Failing to cite sources when you need to is plagiarism and can get you in trouble with the law. If you are a freelance writer, it will get you banned if you continuously do it. For those that write a blog or maintain a website, having a professional feel drives more traffic, allows your site to be passed along by through backlinks, and with time, you will have readers citing your articles themselves.

Citing sources is required to adhere to journalistic ethics and to make the most money possible through online freelance writing. Never forget to realize where certain ideas come from because sometimes understanding that allows you to better come up with your own.