How To Write SEO Content and Keep the Penguins Safe

Lot’s of people ask me how to combine better search engine optimization (SEO) in their writing for the web aka SEO Writing.

Some people are natural writers, others painstakingly write or order outsourced articles and press releases to promote their websites and online businesses understanding they must fill certain keyword requirements to get better Google rankings in search.

Most have one thing in common, limited understanding of how to use SEO optimization to complement their writing rather than write to complement their SEO.

With all the recent Penguin Google updates, many are afraid to “over SEO” their websites, with valid reason.

So what are the basics?

Drill These SEO Basics Into Your Brain Before You Start to Write!

Optimizing your writing for SEO simply means incorporating phrases you would like to be found for in Search to let the search engines know that your content is relevant to this phrase.

So if you are writing an article about dog grooming it would be a good idea if the search engines could identify this relevance in your content.

1 Optimizing Titles for SEO

 The best way to approach this is to prepare your content as though you were writing a formal letter.

Formal letters have a subject line. This is comparable to your post or page title.

Formal letters have a Re: This is comparable to your first main headline.

Incorporating your main keyword phrase in each of these elements will help search engines know your content is related to these phrases.

It is also best to include your keyword phrase in the first portion of your title when possible.

2 Optimizing Content For SEO

Your writing must have a goal, whether you are educating, innovating or sharing ideas or content your primary focus must always be on conversions.

If your writing is meant to sell, selling should come before SEO considerations!!!

You should use your keyword phrase and variations of it in the first sentence or paragraph of your writing when possible. The best way to approach this naturally is to prepare your keyword research in advance. Create a few groups of keywords you would like to include in your writing.

Notice I said groups? Imagine you are writing an article about dog grooming. You will probably discuss more ideas than just the main topic of dog grooming.. Let’s say your article discussing how often you should shampoo your dog within your dog grooming regime.

Dog grooming may be your most important keyword, however you would want to rank for dog shampoo related phrases as well.

The best way to approach this is to think about what you want to write about as relevant to your site or business. Then look at your keyword groups. Then start to write.

3 Most of Your Traffic Will Be Long Tail

 If there is one thing most people get wrong it’s thinking they will get major traffic or rankings for highly competitive “short” keyword phrases. If your site is about dog grooming, your home page will probably receive the most traffic for that keyword phrase, however the other pages in your site will probably discuss this topic more in detail eg. Dog Grooming Labradors. Not only that, getting people to find you for longer and more specific search terms produces a higher conversion rate.

Long tail keyword phrases may have less search volume in your keyword research HOWEVER these phrases are closely related to your content not to mention you are already getting some traffic for them.

If your site has been up for a while you can identify the real search terms your site ranks for using Google Analytics reports. Write additional content including these search terms and link them to the original target pages that received the traffic.

Introducing synonyms and additional phrasing related to your topic can also help you nab search phrases you may not have been targeting to begin with.

The main thing is to write naturally. Most people get into trouble when they are not familiar with the actual material. If you are writing for your business, knowing what information to use and which phrases are most relevant should come naturally to you.

Learn more about keywords, long tail keywords and how to use them in my book Marketing With Video Using Secret Keyword Tactics.

4 Linking Out and Linking Within Your Site – Anchor Text Considerations

Once your content is complete you will want to sprinkle in links pointing to important authoritative references as well as other related content on your site. In the recent Penguin updates, many sites that over optimized their anchor text were badly affected. The message is clear, don’t create a whole site around one or two keyword phrases. It is not natural – it looks like spam and most probably is.

Vary your anchor text, vary your keywords and think conversions!

Linking to additional content within your site is super important.  Amazon and Wikipedia are fantastic example of this practice. Each Amazon or Wiki page contains several links to related content within their site. In fact they hardly ever link out to other websites.

5 Include Images and Multimedia in Your Content for Best SEO Optimization

 Including images and videos or audio on your site are great two fold. On one hand they increase the time visitors spend on your site and can increase your conversions and on the other hand varied content is also important for Search Engines.

Be sure to include your keyword phrase and properly title and describe the multimedia content on your site.

Penguins Love Prolific Websites

The more content you publish on a consistent basis the better off your site will be, Remember that more frequent posting is meant to generate more activity, more engagement, comments and discussions. Balance your writing and leave room for engagement by asking questions or requesting feedback.

Share your thoughts, comments and question below!