3 “Must Know” Rules For Optimizing Keyword Use

You’ve no doubt heard the mantra that “Content is King” online. I would say that over the long haul it’s the deciding factor.  It’s what brands you, makes you popular (if you are), and keeps your visitors coming back. With good keyword use, it’s the most powerful tool you have for search engine optimization.

Regular relevant content, properly optimized, can shoot your site to the top of the search engine results. So how do you optimize for keywords?

Here are 3 rules that have helped me, and I try to keep them in mind at all times:

1. Optimize each piece of content for one keyword

A lot of people go wrong by trying to do too much in a single piece.  Most online content is under 500 words (certainly under 1000). So with keywords, less is more. Your blog post or article should be an arrow, not a shotgun – keep the focus tight. That means going after one target.

You can include a couple of secondary keywords that might be extensions of the primary one. But, trying to incorporate too many into one page dilutes the effect.

2. Place your keyword use correctly

Make it easy for the search engines by putting them in the standard locations:

• Your headline,
• Any headings or subheadings in your content,
• And the first and last paragraph of your content.

3. Let your words flow naturally.

I’ve written about this at more length before.

Many beginners are tempted to “stuff” their keywords in every sentence. Apart from the danger of being disqualified from the rankings for “spamming”, the even bigger problem is that it just does not lend itself to good writing.  It can be very difficult to read.

Instead, write your content for people, not bots and spiders, and then at the end go back and optimize it for your chosen keywords.

So, have a keyword use strategy for every piece of content you write, keeping the above in mind. The bottom line is that you need to concentrate on adding value with your content. If your audience appreciates it, eventually the engines will too.

Phil

P.S. Can you pick my target keyword in the above blog post?  Leave a comment with your guess.

P.P.S. In the next week I am releasing 2 brand new products on Search Engine Optimization. One I will be giving away, and you should see what you get!  Stay tuned.