5 Tips for Writing Content Search Engines will Love

Remember the days when people used "invisible" keywords on their pages by making the text the same color as their page background? That tactic came and went, along with tons of other "spammy" and "scammy" practices. The world of SEO is constantly changing and evolving. 

 Even now, some of the "best practices" that many businesses hold on to are no longer effective. For example, meta keywords count for little these days. So what are today's best practices?

Here are a 5 tips that will help you create content that search engines love.

1. Write for the reader, not for the robot.

While Google's ranking factors remain a mystery, all signs point to a preference towards natural content, not SEO keywords or other obvious "tricks." Writing content that is of interest to your consumers will naturally contain keywords and phrases. The trick is to write content that your visitors will actually read and use. Many marketing firms will tell you that your blog is essential for SEO. While that is still true, the goal of your blog should be to convert your readers into customers. 

So, write for your reader, but help yourself create content the search engines will find as well. 

2. Bigger is better.

Well, actually LONGER is better when it comes to blog posts. Google seems to prefer in depth content. Keep in mind that you want to write for your audience. And being the expert you are, you should be able to write in-depth content that shares your expertise. Now you're achieving multiple goals...writing content that engages your audience and positions you as an expert AND giving the search engines what they are looking for. 

3. Title Tags are still important.

A Title tag is the content that shows up in the browser tab when you're visiting a page. This is still one of the first things Google sees when indexing a page. The meta description will show up on the actual search engine result page (SERP), so you want to be sure it's relevent. It's still a good idea to include your keywords in both, as long as it sounds natural and relates to the page content. 

4. Dont go overboard on keywords.

Not too long ago, we were all told to use your keywords over and over on your page if you want Google to rank you. Well, like everything else that gets overused and starts to look spammy, Google has become more sensitive to what it perceives as "keyword stuffing." Be conscious of using your keywords where it makes sense, but don't overdo it. If Google's algorithm suspects you're stuffing keywords to achieve rankings, it will raise a red flag and hurt you more than help. 

5. Use related keywords.

Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) is Google's way of delivering quality results to users. It helps to match results with what Google ascertains is the intent of the user by matching the words in the search query to related terms on the page. This means that synonyms and different variations on your keywords might actually help you get indexed.

Take a look at this tool LSIKeywords. You can plug in your keyword and get a list of LSI items by relevance.  

The world of SEO is changing all the time, but if you keep your focus on creating quality content and sprinkle in some good SEO practices, you'll reap the rewards of getting found and converting those visits into customers.

If you'd like more information on Search Engine Marketing or Content Marketing, why not take advantage of our Free Consultation? We'll help get you on the right track to marketing effecticely online. 

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