Know what the number one method of optimizing written web content is? If you guessed “keywords,” you’re absolutely correct!
Think about it for a moment…
• Keywords identify your web page’s niche to the search engines.
• How frequently you use keywords in an article written for the web can affect search rankings.
• Keywords provide a basis or theme for you to build on when writing for the web.
Now let’s back up for a minute or two and look at what keywords actually are and how to best use them in web writing.
What Exactly Are Keywords?
Simply put, keywords and keyword phrases are more or less the same thing as what you’d type into a search engine when doing a web search. Here are a few examples:
• California
• web design tips
• San Jose search engine marketing
• writing for the web
Each of these is a keyword when used for search or writing purposes. For example, if your website represents your web design business that’s based in San Jose, CA, then you’d probably want to use keyword phrases like “web design” or “San Jose web design” regularly throughout your site.
Get Specific!
Now this is where using keyword phrases really come in handy when writing for the web. When you’re using just a one word keyword (i.e. “California”) or using really generic keyword phrases (i.e. “web design”), you’re usually going to get lost in the crowd—there’s just way too much competition!
But if you narrow your keywords down to really specific phrases, like “San Jose search engine marketing company,” you’ll be reaching out to your niche with a much higher opportunity to actually get through all of the static. In web writing, your keywords should be as specific as possible.
Optimize Each Piece Of Web Writing for A Targeted Keyword Phrase
This is where the structure part enters the game. You’ve decided on a handful of relevant, high-value keywords (WSpider can certainly help you come up with a rock solid list)—but now it’s time to actually begin using the keyword phrases in your web writing. How?
Well first, each article or page you write should be built specifically around just one of these keyword phrases. This keyword will be used in the page’s title, and several times throughout the body of the written content (never too much though—that would be considered spammy to the search engines). Of course, you can always have a secondary keyword in mind as you write the piece, but remember that the most accurate optimization happens when you really use your primary keyword prominently and naturally.
And this, friends, is what keywords are all about when writing successfully for the web!
