Writing For SEO

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In my last article, I covered design SEO. Which was the SEO that should be considered when designing a web site template / layout. This lesson will continue with on site SEO, but I will be explaining content SEO. This will be the Search Engine Optimization you need to consider when writing content for your site. Writing for SEO isn’t too hard, just follow everything on this page.

Already, Google knows what the site / page is about. It sees your title, url, meta tags, and headers. Your site should already effectively display the topic / content of your page before you begin writing. Now its time to use your content to remind, reinforce, and support.

Right from the beginning, I want you to remind Google about your sites content in your first paragraph. This is both good SEO and good writing. Right at the start, do a brief overview of the page / content / article. Google knows 100% by the end of my first paragraph that this page is about on site SEO. There is no question about it. SEO techniques are all about good content.

Ok, now before we get started on writing content, our keywords come into play. Each page needs to have a main keyword. For each page, you should conduct some keyword research and identify some related long tail keywords to use throughout your article. This will allow you to rank for them and support your main keyword.

Keywords I Might Consider For This Post

SEO
On Site SEO
Search Engine Optimization
Writing for SEO
SEO Techniques
SEO Tips

I will want to use these keywords throughout my post and support them. So let’s get started.

Basic content layout

When writing for SEO, it is important to use good writing techniques. Always try to follow this process:

Tell them what you’re going to tell them
Tell them
Tell them what you told them

That simple.

You need to start your page by saying up front what your site is about. Then write the content with the main topic in mind and support your keywords. Finally, you’ll want to conclude and give your keyword one more plug before you finish. Put your main keyword(s) in your first and last paragraph.

SEO Headers

As mentioned in my last SEO tutorial, header tags layout content on your page. The H1 tag should include your primary keyword and theme. H2’s should include the main points for that page. Then, H3’s should contain the sub points under the H2 headers. If you have a blog for example, the H1 should contain the post title + main site keyword. Then, you want each post title to be within H2’s, and within each post you’ll use H3’s for your sub points.

Bold for SEO

Using bold will stress a keyword. Its meant to make the word stand out to viewers, and it stands out to search engines too. Search engines will take note of words that you bold. Take advantage of this in your content. You should bold your keyword here and there. Don’t go overboard, but a couple of bolds will point search engines in the right direction. Too many is spammy, but just a few well targeted bolds will actually help the search bot understand your page. So show them were to go with bolds.

Image SEO

Search engines cannot see images. They provide no content for search engines to work with. One way to combat this is to use alt attributes for your images. An alt attribute is alternate text that will show when an image doesn’t. They should be used even if you aren’t SEO’ing a site. The use of alt attributes is considered proper coding and makes your site accessible to those with handicaps.

Now, what is the SEO benefit?

Well, alt attributes tell search engines exactly what that image shows. It can’t see it, but it will allow you to tell it what it is. This is a great chance to plug a few more keywords into a page.

Important: do not abuse this! do not spam it!

You want to use a description that is accurate, and just happens to be loaded with a keyword (naturally). This is be best way to use alt tags. Don’t go overboard. Note that they’re a nifty bonus, but should not be abused.

You can also include the tittle attribute, which adds additional benefit. Make sure you at least have the alt attribute though.

Basic Link SEO

I’ll get into the basics of link SEO, but its a big enough topic to cover in multiple lessons. Here I’ll quickly cover the basics of link SEO on site. I will explain the whys to this later, but just trust me for now.

When linking to other pages, use good anchor text that is descriptive (hopefully with keywords). This text will tell Google what to rank you for.
Do not use text like “click here” or “here”. DON’T!!!
Use the title attribute
Link to other pages on your site. Every chance you get, link to other pages on your site within the content of your page. Also, if your main keyword appears, link it to your main page.

Just follow that for now, I will cover it more in-depth later.

Keyword Density

There is discussion and debate on keyword density and how often a keyword should be used. I haven’t seen any conclusive information on an exact density. Don’t overly stress density. Just follow these guidelines.

Use in first paragraph
Use in last paragraph
Use it every time you can naturally
Bold it at least once
Try to include it in headings
Use related keywords and longtails throughout your content

Do that, ignore exact percents, and you’ll be fine.

Page URL

Just like your domain name can influence your SEO, so can your overall URL for a post. You want to include keywords in your URL. Again, like all things, don’t spam this.

You want to keep it easy to remember. Include at least 1 keyword, and separate keywords with dashes. DON’T USE SPACES.
This pages URL will be similar to: http://seozombie.com/writing-for-seo/

As you can see, I throw in one of my keywords for this page: writing for SEO. This will give me a little boost for that keyword.

Conclusion

Well guys, that’s it for basic on site SEO. I will cover more in depth topics like deep linking, site maps, on site authority, etc in later articles, but this will get you started building your site and producing content. I will continue to cover SEO techniques in later lessons.

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