Creating SEO-Friendly Content

Bottom Line Publications | January 21, 2013

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is practice of

ensuring that a website can be found by search

engines when customers search for words and

phrases that are relevant to that website.

SEO is not a 1-time project—it is a way of doing

business.

SEO touches entire organizations, from content

creators, to producers and marketers.

What do Search Engines look for?

“Relevance” &“Importance”

Relevance means more than simply finding a page

with the right words—100s of factors influence

relevance and those factors are always changing.

Currently, the major engines typically interpret

Importance as popularity—the more popular a site,

page or document, the more valuable the information

contained therein must be.

Influencing Relevance

Relevance can be most directly influenced through

On Page SEO.

“Give the people what they want.” Be direct and

clear.

Writing SEO content means following rules. You

need to train yourself in a new writing style.

What does “Relevant” content look like?

Title - the most important of on-page keyword

elements, the page title should employ the

keyword term/phrase as the first word(s).

Number of Keyword Repetitions - 2-3x on

short pages, 4-6x on longer ones and never

more than makes sense in the context of the

copy.

Keyword Usage Variations - At least one or

two variations of a term. Split up keyword

phrases and use them in body copy.

Bold/Italics – Use the targeted term/phrase at

least once in bold and/or italics.

A quick word on story titles…

“How do I choose optimized content?”

Google Trends – Compare a few variations on your

topic and choose the one with the highest search

volume in recent months.

Think Like Your Readers – If you weren’t already

an expert, how would you find out about subjects

that you’re interested in. Write at the level of your

audience. Google interprets 27% our content as

being written at an advanced level.

Compare that to WebMD.com, which

has 49% and Rodale.com, which has

only 7%.

Who is your audience!?

Google Trends

Compare the popularity of keywords using Google Trends.

Write stories that have a clearly defined audience baked in.

Some good examples of On-Page SEO

Title - The customer can clearly tell what the

whole story is about. First word in title is

keyword.

Number of Keyword Repetitions – 2x in 1st

paragraph, 5x+ in 2nd.

Keyword Usage Variations – “Atari

Corporation,” “Atari Inc.” and “Atari, SA” are all

used.

Bold/Italics – Use the targeted term/phrase at

least once in bold and/or italics.

Source: Joystiq.com

Some good examples of On-Page SEO

Title - Title leaves nothing to interpretation.

Number of Keyword Repetitions – Keyword is

used at least once per paragraph.

Keyword Usage Variations – Note that

variation moves from general to specific (e.g.,

“flu A (H3N2)” does not lead the story.

Bold/Italics – Related keyword “pneumonia” is

also bold. These are great opportunities to place

contextual links to other stories on our websites.

Source: WebMD.com

Influencing Importance

Create content that readers love to share—not

necessarily what you like to write about.

Increase activity on Social Media and consider

using Google+.

Encourage Bottom Line Experts to link to articles

on our website from external sites and Social

Media accounts.

SEO is Changing

The New SEO Formula

Relevance + Substance + Sharing = Visibility

Refocus efforts on Social Media and increase activity.

Study Google Analytics and Facebook Insights to

determine what kinds of stories readers are enjoying—

and what kinds they are ignoring.

Think about the future. What will personalized search

mean for us? How do we prepare for it today?

The Golden Rules

Content - Compelling, high quality material that not only attracts interest, but

compels visitors to share the information is a must have. Virality of content

is possibly the most important/valuable factor in the ranking equation

because it will produce the highest link conversion rate (the ratio of those

who visit to those who link after viewing).

On-Page SEO - Getting the keyword targeting right in the most important

elements (titles, copy) provides a big boost in the potential ability of a page

to perform well.

Marketing – “Great content is no substitute for great marketing.” A terrific

marketing machine or powerful campaign has the power to attract far more

links than content may “deserve.” Social media, partnerships with writers,

and syndicating content are all ways to build SEO.