What's your search engine optimization strategy?
Whether you are writing your latest blog post or putting together a post for Google+, you need to keep two things in mind. First, engage your readers. Second, make sure your writing is SEO effective!
In this article you will learn 9 tips for writing effective SEO Content. Use these 9 tips to improve your search engine optimization strategy.
1. Include the Keyword Phrase in the Title
Google search engines give great weight to the title of your articles or blogs. Thus, having your keyword phrase in the title is an important part of creating effective SEO content.
Additionally, to grab the attention of your readers, use odd numbers in your title. For example, in this article we have 9 tips.
2. Use your Keyword Phrase in Subheadings
It is helpful to both your readers and your Google ranking when you divide your article with subheadings. Readers appreciate it because the subheadings help them to read your article with ease. Additionally, most people skim-read on the Internet. Therefore, if a reader can find the subheading they most need QUICKLY, they will stay and read it.
Google search engines like it because they too scan your article for sub-headings. Based on the words and phrases in your sub-headings Google search will rate your article.
3. Improve your Search Engine Optimization Strategy by using your Keyword phrase every 125-150 Words
Don't make a rookie SEO strategy mistake! When small business owners first learn about how to improve their blog's SEO, they often go overboard! Yikes! You DON'T want to do this. Google will punish you, instead of applauding you.
When you use your keyword phrase in an article too many times, Google search engines assume that you are keyword stuffing! This is a big no-no, because it looks like spam.
So, how many times are too many times?? A well-written article that is using SEO effectively only includes the keyword phrase every 125-150 words.
4. Use the Keyword Phrase in the First Sentence of the Blog and BOLD it
The only time you will break rule #3 is just after the title. Your title (if possible) should include your keyword phrase. Then, immediately following you want to use your keyword phrase in the first sentence of the article. To break things up you may change the first sentence into a question.
In addition to using the keyword phrase in the first sentence of the blog, be sure to bold it! Bolding it again gives your keyword phrase extra weight when the Google search engines scan your article.
5. Use Pictures and the 'Alt Text' option
When Google search scan's your article, it also catalogues the pictures you've included in your article. It uses the description in the 'alt text' to help do this.
The important thing about pictures is that Google image search works the same way Pinterest does. When someone clicks on an image from Google image search, they are taken to the corresponding article or webpage. This means your website can quickly and easily rank on the first page of Google images for your niche!
6. Add italics to your Search Engine Optimization Strategy
Since you are using your keyword phrase every 150 words, highlight it once with italics. When Google search engines scan your article, they take special note of highlighted words or phrases. You can highlight keyword phrases with italics or by using the bold feature.
7. Use your Keyword Phrase in the Last Sentence of your Article
Just like you included your keyword phrase in the first sentence of your article, you want to include it in the last sentence of your article. Think of the SEO article as an Oreo cookie. The title, first and last sentences are the outer layers of the cookie while the subheadings and the highlighting make up the filling.
8. Make your Keyword Phrase a Clickable Link to a Related Article or Product
Similar to highlighting, when you make your keyword phrase a clickable link, Google search gives the keyword phrase extra weight.
This is often something you will do at the beginning or end of an article. For example, if you are writing a series, you may include links to the other articles at the bottom of the post. Or, if there is a great article that preempts the current one, you may suggest they go back and read it with a clickable link at the beginning of the post.
The key is that the clickable link includes the keyword phrase.
9. Make your content easily sharable -
The more Google search engines see the content of your blog post on different websites, the more highly your website will rank as a whole. Thus, it is important that you make your content easily sharable. Plugins such as shara-a-holic and ping are a great, easy feature for this.
Which of these 9 tips will you use in your search engine optimization strategy?
Have you figured out what the keyword phrase of THIS article is?
Please comment and share below!
awesome tips! thank you Kim and looking forward to great info in the upcoming year!!
Thanks for dropping in, Patricia! 2013 is going to ROCK!
Let me know how they work for you?
Awesome tips Kim! Took note of several to begin using immediately! Thanks!
Glad the tips were helpful, Denny!
Glad to hear this, Denny!
Great tips as always Kim. I've been so scared to be dinged for keyword stuffing I don't think I use them enough and definitely not in the right spots. Thanks.
Mike, thanks for dropping in!
I will be using ALL of the tips. Most I have heard before but you know, information overload. This is an awesome reminder, thank you!!
Glad the tips were helpful, Suzanne!
Very nice tips to SEO Content creation! Thank you for sharing.
Thanks for dropping in!
This is a great article with wonderful tips as usual. Thank you so much for sharing information with the community!
Sandy, glad you got some value from the article! Thanks for dropping in!
Sandy, thanks for dropping by!
Great reminder on the things TO DO. Thank you Kim!
Edmund, glad the info was helpful.
I love number 8 and really had not done this like I should have..;0 Thanks for sharing great tipsm Kim!
This is one we often overlook too, right? Sigh
These tips are very effective for making a good content for the site . I often view the bold and italic feature have been used from many sites but I could not pay any attention , why they are using these kinds of tectics for the good SEO.
there was a couple in here I haven't heard of like, make keywords clickable and use them every 125-150 words, great tips, thanks.
Glad you got some value from this, Joanne!
I like the ‘Oreo cookie’ analogy, very effective for visualization – I’ll be using that phrase from here out! Great points. ~ Susan
Great article!
By the way, does google Panda have effect about this tips? Or, it’s still 100% working?
I’m curious to find out what blog system you are utilizing? I’m having
some small security problems with my latest blog and I would like to find something more safe.
Do you have any suggestions?
We use Genesis for our blog framework.