10 Steps to Writing Super Content for Search Engines

February 2012 By Ben Cotton [email_address] www.twitter.com/bencotton www.socialwebthing.com www.linkedin.com/in/bencotton 10 Steps to Writing Super Content for Search Engines

1. Research
Research Google Analytics for the search terms and keywords people are using to arrive at your site
Are your readers Joe Public or do they have specialist knowledge?
To increase online visibility combine what you want to say with phrases and topics that people are searching for

2. Put important content at the top
Important content and keywords should be near the top of the page
This includes your title, opening sentences and paragraph
web crawlers start at the top of your page and work their way downwards

3. Headlines
Signal to search engines important keywords by making them headings
Ensure where possible headlines are a different font size and bold, this again makes things standout for Google web crawlers.

4. Internal links
Link internally to content you have previously written
Make sure that your links are clear and contain keywords
Links that contain keywords signal to Google what type of content can be found on your site and helps its crawler navigate around your site

5. Create external links
link externally to other high ranking websites and blogs to increase search visibility
External links help Google understand what websites you associate yourself with

6. Maximise meta description
Meta data is your pitch to readers and Google
Strong meta description can be the deciding factor that gets someone to your website
There is a character limit of 160 to consider, but the principles of writing for both humans and search engines in mind

7. Keyword URLs
Wherever possible use relevant keywords in web page URLs
Google says that it helps SEO efforts and inner pages now rank more frequently for keywords than homepages
People will be likely to link to your website using the keyword URL as anchor text

8. Rename image ALT text
Although the importance of ALT text has diminished somewhat in recent years, it still acts as an effective way to drive traffic to your website
Many websites automatically generate a random title for ALT text which is unhelpful
You should amend this to describe primarily what is happening in the image, but also look to incorporate relevant keywords.

9. Use images
Images feature prominently at the top of listings
They should not only fully be optimized for search, they have to be an integral part of your SEO strategy
Search results with images tend to have higher CTRs and lower bounce rates

10. Utilise SEO plugins
WordPress boasts many fantastic SEO plugins, such as Yoast, All in One SEO and Platinum SEO Plugin all of which can optimize content with relatively little effort.

Thank you Contact details [email_address] www.twitter.com/bencotton www.socialwebthing.com www.linkedin.com/in/bencotton

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10 Steps to Writing Super Content for Search Engines

by Ben Cotton on Jan 21, 2012

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10 Steps to Writing Super Content for Search Engines — Presentation Transcript