A potential client contacted me the other day asking about my SEO “keyword density” and gave me a list of keywords they thought would work for their page. They essentially asked if I’d throw together a few articles using their keywords.
After a quick analysis of the keywords and the people they want to reach, I recommended a different set of words that would provide less competition and more opportunities to create ranking articles. I also spent a few minutes explaining why I don’t like to write for search engines…even though I’ve been an SEO writer since 2009.
I know that’s ‘net sacrilege. But let me explain.
Keyword placement is important–the 2015 MOZ Search Engine Ranking Factors survey found “page-level keyword features” is the second most important factor in ranking success. But keywords alone won’t necessarily get your page read, shared or help attract new clients.
And I’ll tell you why:
How many times in the last year have you clicked on a search result thinking you’d find the answer to your question, and instead you found a spammy sales pitch or an article that didn’t help at all, even though it had the right keyword in the title?
Maybe not as many times as it did four or five years ago.
It doesn’t happen as much, because factors like trust metrics and the quantity and quality of back-links are now factored into search results. So are factors like SERP engagement and visitor traffic/usage (ranked the fifth most important element in the ranking survey).
More than ever, your audience is your most important asset.
What’s the #1 most important factor influencing ranking? MOZ found it’s “domain-level link features.” That means how trustworthy is your domain? Does it have high-quality links?
Throwing up some keywords may land you on the first page if there’s not a lot of competition, but will it keep you there? Your traffic patterns, link-backs and shares on social media now make up a piece of the pie, so your content needs to be “sticky” and relevant.
When planning your content strategy, ask yourself:
Does your content keep viewers engaged? Are people sharing your links and driving traffic to your website? Are you getting mentions and links from reputable websites?
If not, it might be time to re-think your plan.
Increasing your content doesn’t have to be an overwhelming or time-consuming process. Consider the following tips:
- Write and post one new article a week. Make the article informative, around 500-800 words and include links to your other content so readers stick around and learn more.
- Rather than telling your audience why your product/service is great, tell them how to solve a problem. Give them actionable advice that they’ll share with others.
- Spend one hour a day going through the company’s social media accounts and re-tweet or share articles your audience will be interested in. Interact, link to stories you’ve written and any media mentions you’ve had.
Over time the depth of your content will grow, and so will your client base.
If you prefer the DIY approach, here are some free resources on how to use SEO to create great content:
- SEO Book has down-and-dirty guides to learning SEO
- The MOZ Beginners Guide to SEO is exactly as it sounds
Yes, SEO-friendly copy is important. I still do keyword research and use all the white hat techniques available to SEO content writers.
But there’s a lot more that goes into creating engaging content than picking a few phrases from an analytics site. You also have to write for the people who will read, link, Tweet and eventually partner with you.
If you don’t feel like learning all this from scratch, we don’t blame you. Call us. We’ve already done the research and we actually enjoy putting it to use. Use our Contact page and let us know where you’d like your content to take you.