Constant Content

Should I choose my keywords and then write the article? Or should I write an article and then choose the keyword based one what I wrote? How many keywords should I include in the submission form (in the box that says keywords)? Should I place a comma between keywords?

I always choose keywords after. I don;t think it really matters, except you should do what you're comfortable with. Choose as many keywords as you want. There's a grapg which will show the highest keywords anyway. Yes, put a comma in between them.

I think there is a bit of confusion here about keywords. SEO (Search Engine Optimised) buyers like certain keywords for articles and may ask for specific keywords to be used in a request. Unless you are writing for a customer who has requested key words, I would not worry about selecting the keywords before you write the article. Keyword articles can seem forced and may not flow as well as articles that are written for quality. It can be difficult to incorporate keywords specifically into your article. Instead write for clarity about your chosen topic of interest.

The keywords CC asks for in the submission process are to help the customers find your article on this website, not necessarily keywords used within the article. For example, I might write an article about Valentine's Day. Keywords would not only be Valentine's Day, but would also include words on topics that customers may reasonably search on in the CC database. I figure someone who has an online dating website will search for "dating" in the CC search engine and may buy the specific Valentine's day dating article.
So, I would include words like love, romance, dating, marriage, relationships, gifts, etc, even though these words may or may not have appeared in my article. I select the keywords based on what the article is about and what customers may realistically search for when looking for that style of article.

Then, a few days after the article has been approved, I go back to website and search for the articles, as if I am a customer. If I can't find my articles easily, I may go back and add in more keywords to the CC site, using the edit function in My Content.

As Barry said, a graph automatically appears with the keywords (repeated words) that appear in the long summary (extract) of your article for customers who are looking at purchasing your article. If a customer is looking for particular keywords within the article, this graph would help at that point.

Hope this helps,

Hayley

Thank you for your generous reply!