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Creating Content for the Search Engines
Deep, Dark Secrets
SEO is a complex task because the criteria used to rank sites are secret. The ranking formula used by each search engine is that company’s most valuable intellectual property, so they don’t reveal it. There are around 200 criteria used to rank sites and the exact weight that is given to each item is never revealed. To make matters even more complicated, the weight that’s given to these items changes regularly in order to deal with advances in search and optimization techniques. As a result, adhering to best practices is always going to get you better long-term results than flavor-of-the-month SEO. Go with the tried and true.
Don't Overdo It
Writers with new SEO tools often overwork content optimization for a website. Keep it simple for success in the search engines. Content marketing methods should be related to the overall theme of your website. It should also be written in straightforward language that is easy for visitors to follow. Stuffing keywords will not look natural either to readers or the search engines. If your content is relative to the keywords you optimize for, you will naturally use these keywords repeatedly and will achieve a keyword density that does not appear forced. Content that is relevant and straightforward will also engage readers and keep them returning to your website. Check your content with a keyword density tool to confirm that you are not too heavy with any particular keyword; otherwise, you could be penalized by the search engines. Easy does it.
The Meta Keyword Debate
At one time, having the right meta keywords was the key to SEO success. Not any more. As search engines and their ranking techniques have gotten more complex, meta keywords have taken on less importance in good search engine optimization. As of the spring of 2009, we strongly believe that you still need to use them wisely and effectively. Although more than 30 meta keywords are technically allowed, for best practice we recommend selecting only 5 to 8 keywords per page, relevant to the content on the page. Bear in mind that Google has published documents stating that its algorithm does not factor in meta keywords when determining listing positions. But every inch counts!
The Spice of Life. And SEO
One mistake that novice optimizers make is not taking advantage of keyword variations, synonyms, and family keywords in optimization practice. Repeating the same keyword throughout your article may result in a high keyword density, but it might also be worthwhile to replace a few of those original keywords with variations of the keyword. While it is a good idea to do keyword research to determine which keywords are popular in search engines, it is also important to remember that not all internet users think alike. For example, a website on keyword variations should contain keyword derivatives or keyword deviation, as these might be terms used by internet searchers. Fill your web content with keywords and variations of these keywords in a natural way and your website will appeal to both visitors and search engines.
Traditional Marketing Works, Too
SEO specialists often put the blinders on to natural, organic growth on the web. Traditional online marketing with paid text ads, banner ads, affiliate marketing campaigns, email campaigns, and other online marketing initiatives complements and supports SEO efforts. Marketing can be an effective search engine optimization strategy for both new websites that are preparing to launch and for existing websites that are looking to increase their search engine rankings. This may seem like an unusual strategy for SEO, but marketing creates interest in your website, which can increase time-on site visitation, traffic support and growth, and other factors that can trigger the algorithm to make the case for ranking improvement in the search engines. Basically, the art and science of SEO includes popularity on the web, which can be supported with online marketing.
Telltale Title Tags
Title tags help make a case for SEO success and continue to be part of best practice methods. For SEO beginners, the title of your website does not refer to the text at the top of your website that is visible to viewers. The term "title" refers to the HTML code that is used to title your website and appears between the title tags in your website. This text is placed at the top of the internet browser and is also the automatic name that is given to the web page. Although this text does not appear directly on your website, it is viewable by search engines when they crawl your pages and your site. SEO specialists typically select two or three keywords for each page of the site that best match the content on the page.
Make it Snappy
Let’s face it, readers look for any and every excuse to pass you by on the web. Test the load time on your pages and decrease the file size of all key pages. Minimize the use of images and the resolution of images, and use SEO keywords to name the files of images (but no spamming file names, please). On dynamic sites, lots of exciting things can be done by your development team. Template layouts can load once and only once, saving time on new page downloads that share the template.
ALT Tags are A-OK
The use of ALT tags is one search engine optimization (SEO) strategy that is often overlooked. Images on your website can create an excellent look that is aesthetically pleasing to visitors, but unless you’re utilizing your ALT tags, these images do not help increase your search engine rankings. Search engines do not view images as they crawl your website; however, if you apply ALT tags to your images, the search engines will see the text that is placed in these tags. This gives the website owner the opportunity to include a description of the image that incorporates relative keywords.
Meta Descriptions
Descriptive tags also fall into the debate camp of effort vs. reward. Some argue that search engines disregard meta tags in their search engine algorithm, but no one makes the case that you may be penalized for optimizing tags. Our evidence suggests that Google publishes the content of meta descriptions often in the actual search results that are displayed on the page. For many additional reasons, we feel it is worthwhile to include meta descriptions for the benefit of search engines and search engine optimization.
Prominence Works
Prominence of your keywords can have an impact on your search engine optimization (SEO). Prominence refers to how relative a keyword is to the beginning of the website. Including your keywords in the title tags (which are visible to search engines) and in the website title (which is visible to visitors) are two ways to increase your prominence for a particular keyword. Also, putting header tags around the visible title can make the keywords contained in this title appear more prominent.
Embed, and You're Dead
Embedded text or links should not be used in website design that is intended to rank well in search engines. This includes the use of coding to create text and links that are not visible to website viewers but are visible to search engines. This is considered a deceptive search engine optimization (SEO) strategy and is likely to be penalized upon discovery by search engines. For this reason, it is considered not only a waste of time, but an effort that can do more harm than good. Embedded text and links offer no value to your visitors and can cause search engines to penalize your website.
Cloak, and You're Broke
Deceptive search engine optimization (SEO) strategies such as cloaking are viewed as “black hat” practice by the search engines and should be avoided at all costs. Cloaking involves serving websites that are specifically tailored for the IP address of the visitor. The feature enables websites to serve one website to regular visitors and another to search engines. The technique may result in your website being penalized by the search engine.
Don't be Dense
Keyword density is another hot topic among the search engine optimization (SEO) crowd. Keyword density refers to the number of times a keyword or keyword phrase is used in relation to the total number of words and keyword phrases in the body of content being analyzed. Best practice keyword density is largely debatable, and 2%-20% is considered an appropriate range by many expert SEO specialists. Most industry experts agree that overuse of keywords (that is, exceeding 20%) is not an effective strategy for SEO success. Most search engine algorithms can detect when the keywords are not being used logically and your website might be banned if you’re caught stuffing keywords unnaturally. Also, if your content is virtually saturated with keywords, visitors are not likely to keep reading. If visitors do not think your website is useful, they are not likely to return and they are not likely to create backlinks to your website.
Talk Like Your Customers
Before we write for your website, we make a list of the most popular keywords and phrases used by people in your industry. Your content should read like they speak. “People” research is more useful than keyword research, and as a content marketing company our research indicates that you’ll connect more effectively with your readers and to the spider bots if your language is in tune with your industry. Our writers start each project by learning how your industry talks.
Solutions are the Solution
Products are static things, but solutions are active answers to challenges that your prospective customers care about. Make the transformation: feature content on your product pages that specifies how your products can solve problems. You’ll reach prospects at the right place and time –(when they’re considering a purchase), so you can expect your conversions to skyrocket! Content marketing plans that solve problems, drive traffic and increase sales. Problem solved.
