This is the third article in the SEO for Writers Series and it answers the following questions: What draws people to your site? How do you increase those hits in a positive way? The answer lies in key words… .
Keywords
Keywords are those terms and words people use when they look for something on the internet through a search engine, whether it’s Google, Yahoo, or another. A label is another good way to look at it. It states your post’s purpose in a few words — sometimes only one. Usually groups of words are used because that is how people search (one word often gives too many options). Your goal is to match as closely as you can what someone will input for a search.
Guidelines to effectively use keywords include:
- The keywords should always be used in the title.
- Within the first 50 words of your article, repeat the keywords at least once.
- Throughout the rest of your article, spread out the use of these keywords as a natural part of the article. For example, in a 350-400 word article, the keywords should be used at least 3 or more times.
- Remember, the search engines use algorithms. This means they won’t necessarily understand and pick up on the way you cleverly use words or a double meaning. For example, a clever title of Chili That’s Too Hot to Handle will rank a lot lower than one with the title Vegetarian Homemade Chili. The reason is because the algorithm used the literal meaning of the words and because the clever title doesn’t include the word “vegetarian,” it will receive fewer clicks.
My goal is not to quell your clever thoughts, we just need to be deliberate when and where we are clever. For example, that chili recipe with a name like Spicy Hot Vegetarian Chili would be a hit, and in its description, include the clever tag: too hot to handle.
Linking your website/blog with your social media will bring in even more traffic, but remember, if your social media site is set on private, Google can’t review these pages regardless of how great and active they are.
What is your experience?
(C) 2019 Karen Van Den Heuvel