photo credit: Jayegirl99

How to weave keywords into your copy

In our last post, we outlined some basic strategies for researching your keywords or keyphrases. Assuming that you now have a list of keywords you are confident your potential customers are searching with, it’s time to weave them into your site.

First, choose 2 – 3 keyphrases for each web page. Make sure that the keyphrases are relevant to the content of each page. For example, if your keyphrase is “natural remedies for acid reflux,” then the page should have information on this topic.

The best spots for keyword placement

If you’ve done any reading on the Internet about SEO and keyword placement, you know that there are certain “hot spots” where the search engines will look to find keywords that a searcher has requested. These places include:

• The main headline of each page
• The first, middle and last paragraphs of copy
• Subheads
• Active links – These are the links within the content of your site that link visitors to other pages. Instead of saying “click here,” try to use a keyphrase. For example, “Learn more about keyword research here.”
• Title tags – This is what is shown in the grey bar at the top of your browser. Look up there now and you’ll see that it carries the title of this blog post. This is one of the most important locations for keyphrase placement.
• Tags on images – Any photos, logos or other images that you use on your site cannot be “seen” by search engines. You or your web developer can add a textual tag containing a keyphrase called an “alt tag” to each. You can also add a photo caption with keyphrases.
• Site map – Site maps are not commonly used for sites unless they have a large number of pages and even then, they are usually just a listing of the pages on the site. But a site map is valuable to both search engines and your site visitors to show them around. It is also a smart place to add your keyphrases. Next to the name of each page, add a short keyword-rich description of what can be found on that page.
• Testimonials – Testimonials from customers sprinkled throughout your site give you and your business credibility. They are also a great place to add keyphrases. Without losing the intent of quotes supplied by your customers, try and fit in a keyphrase or two. For example, if your keyphrase is “graphic design” and the testimonial says, “Jane provides solid service,” change it to read: “Jane provides solid graphic design service.” Note: Be sure to ask the person whose testimonial you’re altering for permission.

Avoid the urge to stuff keywords into every nook and cranny

Now that you know where to put your keyphrases, it’s tempting to just jam them in everywhere – but don’t succumb to temptation! This is called “keyword stuffing” and doing it will accomplish two things: give you a black mark from the search engines, which frown on this activity; and turn off your visitors because your copy will be choppy and odd-sounding.

In the next post, we’ll talk about how to write keywords into your website so your copy flows as smooth as silk.

Related posts:

1. A neophyte guide to keyword research – Part 1
2. SEO. The quicker fixer upper – NOT!
3. Three things you need to know before talking to a web developer

Wrong.

As I tell all of my clients, SEO is not a quick fix, but an ongoing effort. While it may appear to work initially, this could be but a blip in the radar. If you look away, your SEO efforts fizzle. And then you’re back at square one. Here’s why:

If your site wasn’t designed with SEO in mind in the first place, your SEO efforts are more of a band-aid. Perhaps you’ve had some new title and meta tags created and added some keyphrases in strategic places. But this will only take you so far.

A solid SEO strategy goes deeper into restructuring the architecture of the site, coding it in such a way that it is easy for the engines to read and follow, writing pages that specifically target highly researched keyphrases, using keyword-rich hyperlinks that lay down a scent and lead visitors logically from page to page, and much more.

If your site doesn’t have fresh, changing content, both the engines and your visitors eventually lose interest. Your site needs to be dynamic, with lots of juicy stuff for visitors to consume. As the engines see it, if your site is static, then it won’t be valuable for searchers. That means it eventually drops down on the results pages.

If your site isn’t popular with other sites, it won’t be popular with the engines. An oft-ignored SEO tactic is link building. The more links you have coming into your site, the more popular it is perceived to be to the engines. To get links, you need to engage in tactics such as online press releases and articles, plus social media channels like blogging and Twitter.

If your site isn’t engaging your visitors, they won’t stick around. The real reason you want to optimize your site is not to get better rankings and more traffic, but to get more qualified traffic coming to your site to buy your product or service.

A well-optimized, well-written and well-planned site will be a rich bed of content for your visitors. Your dynamic site will give your visitors what they want in the form of copy that engages them and offers a solution to their problems, and an active blog and/or articles that keep them informed. Other ideas include a free newsletter, ebook, white paper or report that they can download and refer to, a contest, a coupon or a free product sample.

If your website is offering what visitors are looking for, they stay awhile. Your bounce rate (the rate at which visitors leave your site) decreases. Your conversion rate increases.

If you’re serious about optimizing your site, don’t apply a band-aid. Your site wasn’t created overnight (I hope not anyway), and your SEO shouldn’t be either.

Related posts:

1. A neophyte guide to using keywords – Part 2
2. A neophyte guide to keyword research – Part 1
3. Why free press release sites may be all you need

She was right. I really did have fun! It felt more like I was having coffee with a good friend, rather than being interviewed. Of course, it helps that Mhairi is a skilled interviewer, and her beautiful Scottish accent is absolutely delightful. I hope you find my first – and definitely not my last – podcast about SEO writing to be helpful in developing your own web content for both the search engines and your site visitors.

Related posts:

1. SEO. The quicker fixer upper – NOT!
2. Podcasting. Is it ok to read?