Keywords are important but the ways you use them can make or break your search ranking. 

 

Keywords are the engine that drives great content and that ensures the right people find your content when they’re searching online. You need to understand where, when and how to use keywords in a blog post, e-book or on a web page if you’re going to extract maximum benefit from a search engine. 

Let’s start by taking a look at how not to do this.  


Philip was excited about his new job as a content creator for a new fashion brand in the city. His first assignment was to promote the new range of leopard-print shirts for summer. He had been told about the importance of keywords and he was determined to impress his boss.


So he sat down and wrote, “New leopard-print shirts out now. Nothing makes you feel hotter and cooler than leopard-print. Unleash your inner leopard this summer with our leopard-print shirts.” Needless to say, that kind of keywording did not rank well with Google or any of the other search engines. Philip mistakenly believed that good SEO meant quantity of keywords was as important as quality. But “keyword stuffing” actually gets you nowhere. 


Having the right keywords placed strategically is non-negotiable. We discussed doing research in our latest post on the Beginner’s Guide to SEO Research (link). But once you have a list of credible words and phrases to showcase your content, you really need to think about how you’re going to use them. 


A good rule of thumb is to use 2 to 3 keywords per blog post, and 1 to 2 long tail keywords that match your reader’s intent. Long-tail keywords are “longer and more specific keyword phrases that visitors are more likely to use when they’re closer to a point-of-purchase or when they're using voice search” according to blogging guide Wordstream.com. 


So for example, wedding photographer is solid keyword for a budding wedding photographer, but New York based wedding photographer for same-sex marriages is far more of a detailed, specific ‘long-tail’ keyword.

 

 

Once you have your keywords, then these are the most important areas of your content to cover. 

Seven Areas You Must Consider For Placing Your Keywords

 

  • Title: You absolutely must include your main keyword(s) in the article title, and try to have the keyword(s) as close to the beginning of the title as possible.

  • Sub-title: This is a chance for you to expand on the title of the piece, add more context and deliver a keyword phrase that will get noticed and lay out the focus of the piece. 

  • Meta Descriptions: On a search results page, your meta descriptions describe what the web page is about. This is what shows up on a search page, so it's vital that your keywords are included in the meta content.

  • Body of the Article: Now you’re into the actual story. Definitely have your keywords in the first few paragraphs, but don't overload the top of the article with keywords. Try to spread them evenly throughout the piece and use your long-tail keywords in the body of the story. At the end of the day, you want to make sure your writing is easy to understand and sounds natural when you read it.

  • Alt Text for Images: Images are searchable too these days, so include a keyword or two in the image description and in the caption for the picture. You can even use keywords in the file name of your image as well.

  • URL: If you can include a keyword in the URL, that's a big win too and makes your story more visible and easily indexed by search engines.

  • Links: The more useful links that a piece of content has, the better your SEO will perform. The important thing to know about using keywords for SEO is that you should vary anchor text keywords for both internal and inbound links.” 


To many beginners, keywording may feel like a bit of a cheat and as something that interrupts their flow, but the more you do it, the more you realize that it’s a great skill to cultivate and that there is an art to doing it effectively. You can still create elegant, tasteful copy that includes excellent SEO at the same time. The goal is for your readers to gain value and enjoyment from reading your content, but the first step is making sure that they find your content in the first place.


Folio Websites is a bespoke solution for anyone looking to build a new website. Folio allows you to seamlessly create and implement keywords effectively for your website. 


Get started with Folio today.