SEO Writing Doesn't Have To Sound Or Flow
Like It Was Written By A Constipated Moose!
Pick The Right Words - Keyword Optimization
Basics Of SEO Based Writing
Keyword Usage - Back And Forth
Using Stop Words With Keywords
Figuring Out A Good Keyword Density
Putting SEO Based Writing Altogether
Remember - SEO Writing Is All About Creativity
Basics Of SEO Based Writing
The main thing that you must remember about Writing with SEO in mind is that you have to use Keywords. However, more than that, you have to use the "Right" Keywords in the "Right" way. It isn't just about sticking in Keywords here and there and hoping for the best. If you have not already done so, take a moment to read the section on Keyword Optimization.
To get the most from your SEO Writing, you want whatever you're writing to be connected directly to the central theme of wherever that work is going to end up. If the work is to be content for a website, for example, be sure what you write includes the Central Theme Keywords somewhere in the work. All the while still focusing the work towards the Specific Topic being discussed on the webpage it will end up on. If you deviate and talk about other topics, it will split the Relevancy of that page and can result in lower Search Results.
This doesn't mean using ONLY one or two Keywords in your SEO writing. If that's what the webpage and website have been geared towards then you have little choice. However, ideally there should be a number of different Keywords being used. Use as many as you can in the SEO writing without deviating from the Central Theme and Specific Topic of the individual webpage (or again, wherever the final work is going to be used - blog post, content, etc.)
For example, this webpage talks specifically about SEO Writing while the Central Theme talks about Search Engine Optimization. Even though the two go hand-in-hand, we still have to be sure to specifically talk about both of them (meaning we have to use those EXACT words multiple times throughout the work). However, as you can see in the writing so far, we are also talking about "Keywords". Because "Keywords" is directly connected to "SEO Writing" and "Search Engine Optimization" the Relevancy of the webpage is maintained. If we had talked about "Font Selection" instead, as an example, there is a chance the Relevancy for this specific webpage could be lowered.
Keyword Usage - Back And Forth
Using Keywords in SEO Writing can become very monotonous because you have to use the same EXACT words over and over again. For the sake of usability and understandability you can use synonyms of those Keywords instead. However, from a Search Engine Optimization perspective that doesn't help you since the Search Engines need the EXACT Keywords to be used. This can raise a bit of a conundrum because you want good Search Results, yet if what you've written for SEO purposes isn't "usable" by other people then it all falls apart anyway.
Thankfully if you know how the Search Engines look at and index the actual text displayed, you can continue to use the same EXACT Keywords while also using them in different ways. The biggest tool of which is that Search Engines don't separate Keywords used by the order of the specific words used. This means "Openly Sharing" and "Sharing Openly" are the EXACT same according to the Search Engines, even though they are actually very different. This simple solution can make a world of different in Writing with SEO, however, it's actually only the beginning.
Search Engines also remove any words that they feel offer little or no value to the information displayed. These are called Stop Words and include things like "the, and, or, it" (and many others). As long as you add Stop Words between the various words used in the specific Keyword (also called a Keyphrase) they will be removed and continue to be the EXACT same Keyword - at least as far as the Search Engines are concerned.
Using Stop Words With Keywords
Stop Words are words that Search Engines generally ignore because they add little or no actual value to the information being discussed. The problem with this is that there is no definitive list of which words are Stop Words - partly because Stop Words depend heavily of the actual usage. As an example, "the" and "who" are both Stop Words, they add no value to most things being discussed. However, if you want to find information on the band "The Who", all of a sudden they become critical.
Because of this fluctuation, it can be a bit of a challenge to know what words you can use in your SEO Writing as Stop Words. However, in general, any word that doesn't change the meaning of a Keyword when added or removed will likely be a Stop Word. If you're unsure if the words chosen changes the meaning or not, try and find other words to use that you are more sure about. A great place to get ideas on which words you can and can't use as Stop Words do a search on the internet for "Stop Words". To help you get started, we've found a List of Stop Words that you can use.
Figuring Out A Good Keyword Density
Keyword Density is the percentage of times a Keyword is used compared to the total number of words on the same page. For example, if you use a Keyword once for every fifty words used, then the Keyword Density for that specific Keyword is 2%. Each individual Keyword will end up with it's own unique density based on it's usage. This can be important because if you use a Keyword too often compared to the surrounding text, it can be considered Keyword Stuffing or Spam and get you dropped in the Search Results.
Where this gets complex is that there is no universally accepted Keyword Density acceptable to all of the Search Engines. Each one has a very different idea of what's acceptable and what's not. However, they all agree that anything over 4-5% is excessive (Google says 2%).
That having been said, all Search Engines can (and have) accepted much higher Keyword Densities. The reason is that the Search Engines can also look at the other words surrounding the Keyword. If those other words seems to be well balanced and usable to a person visiting the website the Search Engines will be more lenient. This is because they want the content to be directed towards people and not the Search Engines.
The only reason the Search Engines are really concerned with Keyword Density is because people write trying to use a Keyword as much as possible so they can get better Search Placement. That makes it much more likely the information provided will NOT be of use to people. So if it looks like the Keywords are the main focus and not the rest of the information, Keyword Density makes a difference. If, on the other hand, the Keywords are used to accentuate the information, Search Engines will more likely be more accepting of the usage.
So, with all of that in mind, don't focus on the Keyword Density as much as the usability and functionality of the text written. If it flows easily, makes sense to people, and has a high degree of actual usability, that matters way more than the density of Keywords used.
Putting SEO Based Writing Altogether
Using Stop Words and Keywords in SEO Writing is just as complex an art as writing is itself. As you get some more experience using these tools, your SEO writing will naturally improve. Like everything else, practice makes perfect. In order to give you some practice and make sure that everything is on the right track, lets look at some examples and see how we can use them to make sure our SEO Writing is the best that it can be.
Hot Apple Pie Houston Texas
This is a complex Keyword because of the level of Specificity. However, as long as you don't add any "actual words" between the specific words used in this Keyword, it will remain intact as a Keyword. As examples, look at the following sentences:
- Coming to Houston Texas? We've got Hot Apple Pie with your name on it.
- Looking for Hot Apple Pie in Houston Texas?
- Been thinking about Hot Apple Pie lately? In all of Houston Texas, ours is the best.
Each of them uses the EXACT same Keywords even though they are all very different. From the Writing and SEO perspectives everything has been covered.
Combining "Live Music UK" and "Wedding Music UK"
You can also use Keywords in such a way that you can combine them together when it comes time to actually using them. As examples, look at the following sentences:
- We play Live Music all over the UK, for your wedding reception, functions, and more.
- Having A Wedding in the UK? Do you want the Music to be Live instead of recorded?
Each of those allows you to use two separate keywords together. The trick is all in the order you use the words. As long as you can connect the words together once you remove the Stop Words, then everything will work just perfectly.
"New Jersey Air-Duct Cleaning Services"
This is a very long and highly specific Keyword. You can do a lot with this because of all the places to use Stop Words. As examples, look at the following sentences:
- Looking to hire someone for Air-Duct Cleaning in the New Jersey area - try our services.
- All of our services are used in the New Jersey area, and inc. Air-Duct Cleaning.
This last sentence used a trick with "inc." instead of include. That's because "include" might not be a Stop Word. So to maintain the usage, we found a different option.
Remember - SEO Writing Is All About Creativity
The thing you must remember most about SEO Writing is that it does require a lot of creativity and you do have to pay close attention to the words you're actually using. If you put a "real word" between all the words you're using to create your Keyword instead of a Stop Word, everything will no longer work the way you wanted it to. That may not be the end of the world (especially if it's only done once), but why not take the time to make it work properly? You've put all that time and attention into everything else, why stop before you get it "just right"?
This is where most people have trouble with SEO Writing, they are so busy trying to use the Keywords EXACTLY as it was used before, that they forget all these other great options. Since the main goal of doing all of this is to entertain and inform People while still getting good Search Results, it really is worth the time to do everything the right way. As soon as you put one group before the other, you will have to pay a price (less traffic, or less sales, etc.).
So take some time with your Writing and SEO rendezvous and make sure you do things right the first time around. When in doubt, restructure or rephrase what you've written and see if it works better. You may even find that it changes the meaning into something even more amazing than you originally thought. You never know till you try!
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