How to Talk SEO, Part 1: Where Do I Start?
This is the first of three articles about Search Engine Optimization. Specifically, I'm hoping to help you talk about SEO with clients. A big thanks to Cord Silverstein, our Senior VP of Engagement Marketing here at Capstrat, for teaching me what I know!
So let’s get started. Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating a site that Google’s search bots will love.
1. Lay out a clear site structure.
Decide what each page is about. As a general rule, search engines give the home page the most weight in search results. Each hierarchical level into the site is given a lesser PageRank, the value by which Google sorts search results.
2. Write down the keywords and key phrases for each page.
Develop a list of three to five keywords or phrases that summarize each page. Look up the top search terms that people use to find your topic (see keyword tools below). Of course, let basic business sense guide you, and remember that your top-level page needs to have broad keywords. For each level into the site, keywords need to get more specific just like the content.
3. Write content for your pages.
Invest in creative, well-written text! Use a keyword density of 7 -11 %. Seven to eleven out of every 100 words of your text should be the keywords you came up with in Step 2. This is how Google determines the main focus of the text. However, overdoing this density will hurt you – it’s considered spamming ("keyword stuffing").
4. Get people to link to your site.
If your content is good, linking generally takes cares of itself. Visitors will automatically want to share it with their friends. However, you can do a few things to help out:
a) Invite visitors to link to you by putting an embed tag on your site.
b) Participate in online forums and blogs and include a link to your site in your posts and comments.
c) Use keywords as your link text. “Visit our Capstrat blog” is better than “Visit our Capstrat blog here”
d) Check the links Google gives you credit for by googling your URL like this: link:www.yourURL.com
5. Be consistent!
When the search engine bot comes to scan your site, it always looks for the pages that it previously indexed. So don't change your site structure unless you absolutely have to! If you have to move pages, put up a "301 Redirect" page pointing to the content's new location. If it's deleted, put up a custom (404) error page. If Google search results lead users to a non-existent page, your site’s PageRank ratings will drop big time. Plus, you’ll loose credibility with your users.
Keyword Tools:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/
SEO Tools:
http://www.seomoz.org/tools
So let’s get started. Here’s a step-by-step guide for creating a site that Google’s search bots will love.
1. Lay out a clear site structure.
Decide what each page is about. As a general rule, search engines give the home page the most weight in search results. Each hierarchical level into the site is given a lesser PageRank, the value by which Google sorts search results.
2. Write down the keywords and key phrases for each page.
Develop a list of three to five keywords or phrases that summarize each page. Look up the top search terms that people use to find your topic (see keyword tools below). Of course, let basic business sense guide you, and remember that your top-level page needs to have broad keywords. For each level into the site, keywords need to get more specific just like the content.
3. Write content for your pages.
Invest in creative, well-written text! Use a keyword density of 7 -11 %. Seven to eleven out of every 100 words of your text should be the keywords you came up with in Step 2. This is how Google determines the main focus of the text. However, overdoing this density will hurt you – it’s considered spamming ("keyword stuffing").
4. Get people to link to your site.
If your content is good, linking generally takes cares of itself. Visitors will automatically want to share it with their friends. However, you can do a few things to help out:
a) Invite visitors to link to you by putting an embed tag on your site.
b) Participate in online forums and blogs and include a link to your site in your posts and comments.
c) Use keywords as your link text. “Visit our Capstrat blog” is better than “Visit our Capstrat blog here”
d) Check the links Google gives you credit for by googling your URL like this: link:www.yourURL.com
5. Be consistent!
When the search engine bot comes to scan your site, it always looks for the pages that it previously indexed. So don't change your site structure unless you absolutely have to! If you have to move pages, put up a "301 Redirect" page pointing to the content's new location. If it's deleted, put up a custom (404) error page. If Google search results lead users to a non-existent page, your site’s PageRank ratings will drop big time. Plus, you’ll loose credibility with your users.
Keyword Tools:
https://adwords.google.com/select/KeywordToolExternal
http://www.digitalpoint.com/tools/suggestion/
SEO Tools:
http://www.seomoz.org/tools
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© 2008 Capstrat
There's still a lot of room for creativity in writing Web copy. It may take even more creativity to write with a prescribed set of words. But remember, Web audiences are searching for something according to their own labels or keywords, not yours [or the client's]. They may not know your product's clever brand name or your oh so carefully crafted positioning statement. For example, a searcher knows he wants to find barbecue caterers, but won't know to type in Hoglicious unless he's heard of it before. So you include barbecue caterers in the copy, not just Hoglicious. But that could be as simple as saying: Hoglicious barbecue caterers specializes in North Carolina-style pulled pork....
It's also good to include keywords in the titles and subheads, not just in body copy.
As for keyword density, it's certainly a challenge when you're trained as a writer not to repeat yourself. There's a certain amount of voodoo in it, but common sense as well. If it sounds awkward, it's time to rewrite. You're writing for people, not just search engines.
I look at keyword density as a general guideline. When you have well-organized content, the keywords will generally take care of themselves since that's the topic you're writing about. It's just something to keep in mind as you're writing, so that you understand how Google reads your page and determines what it's about.
Thanks for the info; I'll admit that I was pretty much in the dark about writing search-engine-optimized content. But while I'm all for creative, well-written text, I'm not so hot on having to use the same 3-5 words over and over again.
If "keyword density" really means every tenth word is a repeat, that sounds like a recipe for boooring, clunky stuff, no?
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