This great introductory article to Search Engine Optimization from Holly Jahangiri gives in my opinion the gist of how optimizing content for search engines must not be done against the original purpose of the website: share compelling content:
It’s not enough for the search engines to love your site, either – you can write great copy for SEO, place highly in the search rankings for your chosen keywords, but if it doesn’t engage readers, if it doesn’t inspire them to act, then it’s just not working.
Passion – readers can tell if you care about your subject or if you’re just “phoning it in.”
Tone – blogs are informal; readers don’t come to be preached at, and they’ve worked too hard and read too much, most days, to decode dry, boring, academic prose.
Keywords – make it clear what your post is about. Include all the relevant keywords – think “index.” If you were searching for just this post, what would you enter into Google’s search box? “People need to like your content before Google will.” (From How to Create Compelling Content – an excellent and free PDF that explains, in very simple terms, how to write for both people and search engines.)
It’s important to be specific – there’s little point getting buried under too-common keywords, such as “writer” or “lawyer” or “doctor” or “dentist.” The latter might want to explore phrases like “pain free dentistry” or “we cater to chickens” or “dentist gives nitrous oxide.” A writer might want to use “children’s picture books” or “kidlit” instead of “writer” or “author.”
The new version of StatCounter, still in beta test, provides quick insight on pages that rank highly in Google for certain search terms. My site, for instance, ranks #1 for “It’s all a matter of perspective.” Obviously, the blog title and meta tags help. It’s a common phrase, so it’s likely to be searched – ranking well is probably worth something. It also ranks highly for similar phrases, such as: “a matter of,” “it’s all perspective,” “its all about perspective,” and “religion matter of perspective.”
Disturbingly, my blog also ranks highly for “swim in warm water young boys up the nose.” Now, this phrase may be a bit too specific to be useful; however, I have noticed similar terms over the past couple of weeks. Combined with searches for “Naegleria fowleri US cases ,” it’s a little disturbing. Death by brain-munching amoeba is fairly easily prevented by wearing noseplugs and discouraging cannonballs into warm lake water.
Mind you, I haven’t been making any particular effort to employ SEO techniques – whatever “search engine optimization” I’ve got going, here, it’s 100% “organic” or natural. What phrases do you think would stand out here, in this article?
What if I really set out to rank well in the search engines?
Searchers are focused, motivated, and – if they’re looking for a product or service – odds are good they’re in the market to buy. Your job is to make it easy for them to find your site, and then to convince them that out of all the competitors in the world, you’re the best.
Enjoy the
full article here