How do you use keywords? Stil not getting it

by 7 replies
9
Hi everyone,

How do you approach using keywords? I've been reading quite a lot about it, and where one source says you should name all of your posts with your top keyword in it, the other says to let it go and just write.

How do you approach ranking for a specific keyword?
Personally, I'd just like to write without having to take these keywords into account, though it must be helpful to do so.

Cheers,
Tijs
#search engine optimization #keywords #stil
  • I am using "keywords" only in the title...otherwise DO NOT think in terms of keyword any longer. If you write content, be it "articles" or web copy, whatever, and the article is relevant and on topic it will "automatically" contain the relevant KWs and phrases. It's GOOGLE' job to determine relevancy and quality of an article, not OUR job to please Google with so called "optimized" content.

    To cite someone from searchenginejournal, think in concepts rather than in keywords.

    Especially after Hummingbird, focusing too much on keywords and specific phrases can actually backfire. Stop pulling KW lists from Adwords etc., do not write content around phrases/keywords. This is probably the worst thing you can do.

    If you do KW research, do it do get an idea about a topic people are looking for, but then write content naturally and..besides the title....forget about keywords altogether.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Hi George,

      Thanks a lot that is a very helpful answer you gave there. That was exactly what was bothering me: I have so much to write about on the topic and putting it in keywords is just plainly irritating.

      Plus, the keywords are used already in the text.

      So just focusing on the title only will do, thanks :-)

  • I generally place my KW in the title which, additionally, will place it in the URL. Other than that, it's naturally integrated into the content a few times. I don't specifically try and force keywords into it.

    If your KW / phrase makes sense, it's going to flow pretty naturally. If you can, try to fit in some related keywords as well. Just make sure everything flows.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • A quick word about anchor texts in links, here is a useful piece of HTML:

    <a href="LINK">Anchor Text</a>

    So for example, let's say we're building backlinks to rank warriorforum.com for the keyword 'cloudy weather' (whatever...)

    <a href="http://www.warriorforum.com">cloudy weather</a>

    Hope I helped

    Jan
  • It's fine if you just prefer writing as long as you writing what people are looking for. If you are just posting random thoughts, that could be a problem. The value of using keywords is that it helps you write concise, relevant information. Stay on point with the topic, providing useful information that educates people or solves their problems.

    And when you find that you are providing good information, expect to see a good amount of related keywords in your text.

    As to the title, I go for 2 to 3 related keywords per title. But you usually achieve this by simply accurately describing what you are writing about. For example, if you are doing a DIY article on how to replace a fan belt, then a simple "How To Replace A Fan Belt" is perfectly fine. What you have done here is cover a good number of the different phrases that people will be using to search under, such as "replace fan belt," "replacing a fan belt," "how to change a fan belt," "change fan belt." "fan belt replacement," etc.

    Note: I am not saying "how to replace a fan belt" is a good topic for SEO. It probably isn't, whereas something like "How to Replace a Fan Belt On A 2000 Ford F-150 Pickup Truck" might give you a better chance at getting traffic.
  • See the keyword for this is :
    "Ray Houghton Italy 1994"

    Ray Houghton USA 94 Ireland v Italy - YouTube
    When the content is clearly stuffed with "MAGIC"
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • I don't agree with people saying you don't have to think about keyword research anymore and just write posts. Yes, if you were stuffing your articles with 10 exact mentions of your main keyword, moreover if you were making it bold and so on then stop doing that. It's not effective anymore and you will get your website filtered.

    But writing the content without thinking about keywords at all is not effective too. If you think that you will get visitors from social networks and other stuff other than search engines then it's ok to write posts without thinking about keywords.

    But if you want to get some traffic from search engines - then you must always think about them or you can end up having 100 articles on your website without traffic at all.

    You just have to learn to use them carefully. I am placing my main keyword in the title. But in most cases I am adding few words to the title too so it wouldn't be just keyword there. I am also adding my keyword to the meta description but only if it fits well. I am not doing it in all cases. If I see that something look spammy I am deleting it right away.

    You can also use a keyword in your first paragraph of the text but do that if it fits there well. If not - avoid using it.
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