Web Search Basics for Writers

Search Engine Basics for Writers and Editors KristeenBullwinkle.com

How are these results ranked? How did the these get to the top of 13,300,000 pages indexed by Google?

By meeting Google’s criteria
Relevance Matching keywords (in bold)
Freshness (match relevance, then date; users can search by timeframe)
Speed (page loads quickly and no coding errors)

How you can show relevance
Write page titles, descriptions, and headings that accurately describe your content .

Page title From code: <title>Late planting : Crops : University of Minnesota Extension</title> To search results: To browser: Headings, also important

Bad title / Good title
Pacific Groves - Plant Descriptions - Fruit Tree Varieties (Apples) Keyword at very end of title. Page 18 result.
Directory of apple varieties starting with A Keyword phrase is in the title. The word directory tells me what to expect on the page. Page one result.

How you can show relevance
Write page titles, descriptions, and headings that accurately describe your content .
Write pages for readers , not for search engines. Entice readers to click on your link from the search page. Write content worth reading.
Don’t use the same title or description for multiple pages.

Titles and headings
Know your keywords : What terms does your intended audience use?
Don’t use clever titles; use meaningful titles and headings.
Place keywords closer to the beginning of titles and descriptions.
Write a succinct sentence or two which use the keyword phrases to sum up the article. Provide it to the person posting the article for the page’s meta description tag.

Page descriptions Meaningful descriptions with keywords This appears in the meta code of the page: <meta name="description" content=" " /> Page descriptions Page descriptions Page descriptions

Missing description Search engines will pull the first words it finds or make up their own descriptions if none is available on the page. Page descriptions

Give meta descriptions to the person who posts your pages, or include it yourself if blogging. Use up to 156 characters. Example of the custom description field in WordPress.

Tools
These tools were created for marketers, but they can help you, too.
Google AdWords Keyword Tool
Google Trends

Choosing keywords The best choice might be stream Which word should I use? Google AdWords Keyword Tool

People wonder about eating soy while pregnant and about dogs (not pets ) eating soy. Google AdWords Keyword Tool

What’s a better page title? Current title: Indiana National Guard > Warrior Resources > Psychological Health

Who knows what “Warrior Resources” means?
Parents and spouses looking for resources for their soldier are unlikely to search for Warrior Resources .
Don’t waste space on unfamiliar or confusing keywords.
Add a synonym if you must use a confusing word.

What about Psychological Health ?
Keyword tool indicates a better choice
Mental health is searched for more often and is less likely to be misspelled.
Keywords used for searches on your own site can also help you choose good keywords for your audience.

Topic ideas
Tools for search engine marketing can be used to find ideas for narrowing a topic.
Learn what interests the general population.
Try Google Trends ( http:// www.google.com /trends ) Compare the world’s interest in your favorite topics. Enter up to five topics and see how often they’ve been searched on Google over time.

Following trends Google News stories Apples don’t interest Canadians during the summer. how often terms have been searched

Why is there more interest in ovarian cancer in Fort Collins? Google Trends shows in which geographic regions people have searched most often for your topics. Following trends

Data from your website
Make sure you have access to the search logs on your site and a regular listing of your most popular content and keywords.
Mine your search logs for content ideas and direction
Why writers need to see analytics reports
Learn from your own most successful pages.
KristeenBullwinkle.com

Learn more about SEO
More details at Google’s Search Engine Optimization Starter Guide .
And about writing headlines for the Web
How to Write Magnetic Headlines
KristeenBullwinkle.com

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Web Search Basics for Writers

by Kristeen Bullwinkle on Oct 04, 2011

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