Writing for the engines

I get a lot of questions about writing for the engines.  We all know that the engines value relevant, interesting, factual, non-hype filled content.   We don’t all know the best way to get the job done. 

Some of the questions I get asked….

How much content, and how should it be presented, and does it need to be updated, and if it is an article that is out there being syndicated all over, is it still valuable, and what is the best keyword density, and how many of the keywords should be bolded, and, and, and…there are many more, but let me move on to the answers now.

There are so many questions and everyone has a different answer.  You could make a career out of examining the sites that hold the top 3 positions, in the Big Three for various different keywords and try to come up with a strict set of guidelines to follow.  The truth is, it isn’t that simple – every site is different, every industry is different, even every keyword within the same industry is different and therefore are going to have different guidelines.

So what can you do?  Again, ask 10 people, get at least 10 different answers.  Some people will even argue with themselves, creating more than 10 responses.

So, my advice to you…follow 2 simple principals:

1. Remember your site needs to offer true value to the visitor, and have content that will convert, otherwise your rankings don’t matter – you’ll just lose any traffic you get when they read your keyword filled content.

2.  Follow the nature theory.  Always follow the nature theory.

Think about it – if someone is looking for information, what will Google want to deliver in the SERPs to that person?  Right, Information!!  Remember,  the site’s purpose is to deliver information so people can decide if they want your product/service – so keep it natural -  create a site that gives the people what they want.   

Your visitors don’t care if your article on “the hottest iPod accessories” has a keyword density of 3% or 9%.  They just want the information. 

Yes, the engines had to create an algorithm to determine whether a site is relevant and informative, so yes there may be a “magic” number out there that some people will strive for when they write their copy.  That’s fine – I keep that in mind too, I shoot for a 4 – 6% density, as a guideline. 

However, that doesn’t mean that everything I write is precisely in that range.  Some of it is naturally less and some of it is naturally more.  It balances out.  If you commit to creating a site with lots of solid content, and also commit to continuing to update your content, you should do fine (along with all other important on-page and off-page optimization factors). 

So, here’s what to remember:
- Keep it natural
- Keep the 4 – 6% density in mind as a loose guideline
- Always ask yourself is this relevant and informative
- Add content regularly
- Play with some bolding and inter-linking within the text

- Use some formatting such as bullet points

Remember, spamming (keyword stuffing and repeating content on many pages on the site) isn’t natural, and it won’t help you.

One final note and then I’m done for the day — even if you’ve hired an SEO firm to handle your SEO, this is good information to keep in mind.  It helps to have the knowledge to evaluate their work.

Shameless plug for our services: http://www.SearchEngineWebPromotion.com

 - we deliver results and the highest quality service.

Have a great week.

Jenn

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