Keyword Focus

This week I have been looking a lot more at the relevant keywords for a site. Specifically looking at applying the keyword research to social and blog posts as opposed to just the page content. In the past I have been hesitant to focus to heavily on keywords when writing a blog post or posting on social media. The main fear with over use of keywords is that Google will flag the post as spam. Also, there are a lot of blogs out there that talk about keyword practices to help a site that I really don’t like. These practices can be problematic because the content of your post starts to look like spam and becomes hard to read. However, there are some keyword use practices that I really like that help the posts success overall.

Keyword Practices I like

• Using the keyword in the title tag
• Putting the keyword in the URL
• Appropriate use of the keyword in the content
• Putting the keyword in the meta description
• Focusing a blog or post around 1 keyword

When it comes to keywords, I feel that they are most important before and after writing the blog or post. keywords should be considered heavily in the pre-writing activities so that the idea of the keyword is at the heart of the content that is being written. When it comes time to “put pen to paper” the keyword is added to the text but it feels natural to the reader. This process becomes harder and less effective the more keywords that are added to the post or blog.

Keywords also need to be looked at after the writing of the content is finished in the “SEO” phase of writing a post. If it’s a social post being written then that appropriate keyword related hash tags need to be added and it need to be posted in the correct keyword related groups and boards. If it is a blog post being written then the keyword needs to be added to the title tag, Meta tag and URL. This doesn’t disrupt the quality of the writing but adds to the overall post relevance.

Keyword Practices I do not like

• Using the keyword multiple times in the title
• Having the keyword in every heading tag
• Over use of the keyword in the text
• Paying to much attention to the “appropriate” keyword density
• Always putting the keyword in bold

Most blogs on the subject of keywords talk about keyword density, how many times to use the keyword, and I really don’t like that idea. If the content reads weird then the reader will not click on it or take it seriously and most certainly will not share it. This goes against the idea of making good readable content. Also, putting the keyword in bold all through the text to help Google index the page for the keyword is a waste because it looks kind of ridiculous, don’t you think. Be smart and sparing with the amount of emphases put on keywords in your writing.

The moral of the story is, “have good keywords but don’t over use them”.

By: Matt Bilbao