Are You Getting The Most Out of Your Keywords?

After coming up with a list of keywords, you’ll need to know where to use them effectively. Placing keywords in your content is an important way to get search engines to find your content and deliver it to their users. Keywords also help your audience find your content but you should always consider that your content should be formatted for humans first and then for the search engines.

Where you can put Keywords in your content.

• Page Titles
• Title Tags
• Headers
• First Paragraph
• Bullet points
• Meta Description
• Image ALT tags
• Filenames
• Clarifying Keywords
• Links

Use Keywords in The Page Titles

The title is the first thing that readers see when they got on your page. This is an opportunity to add some of your keywords to spark curiosity for your readers.

Title Tags

The title tag is similar to what the the title is for readers but in this case the tag is seen by the search engines, and if that keyword matches the title, headers, and the first paragraph, you have made it clear what the page is about.

Headers

Using the H1 tag signals to search engines what the page topic is about. The H1 tag should also match the title tag. This gives the search engine crawlers hints on what the page content will be about.

Keywords in the First Paragraph

Search engines take the first 200 words or so on any page to index, and it’s also where your readers first look. Ensure that keywords are there so that they know they’re in the right place.

Bullet Points

People like assimilate blocks of information and will naturally scan the page in a pattern called the F-Pattern. In a few seconds the eye will move all over a webpage in search of specific things. Using this information to your advantage you can format your content in a way that it will be easier for to scan. The best type of format for this is bullet points and including keywords will only make your message come across more easily.

Meta Description

This information shows up in searches, and search engines uses the information contained in here to match with the title tag and other keywords to better note what is included on the page.

Use Keywords in Image Alt Tags

Don’t ignore this normally invisible tag, Alt tags are very important for search engines and will be used to specify the alternative text of pictures on a webpage. In cases where displaying an image is not possible, the browser displays this text to the user. Search engines uses alt text to show results in Image Search.

Using keywords in file names

If you upload files such as videos, audio content or images to your site, having the keywords in the file name will also help search engines show that information in the search results.

Use Clarifying Keywords

When you write content in the first paragraph and any time you use a keyword, make sure you explain the keyword and use synonyms and associated words. The main keyword you’re trying to rank for should not be in more than two percent of the content, don’t overuse keywords.

Search engine crawlers use other terms and phrases on a page to get context to help them rank a page. In your text it is important to include the use of synonyms and long-tail keywords as secondary keywords and long-tail versions of your primary target term to reinforce the description of your content is about and help crawlers rank your page.

Using Keywords in Links

When you create hyperlinks you can also take the opportunity to include keywords. Search engines follow each link with a keyword to index your site.

Conclusion

When inserting your keywords in your content remember that you always need to put the reader first. Don’t take shortcuts while implementing your keyword ranking strategy because they might end up hurting you. If you practice what is called keyword stuffing because people will just stop reading your text. You should prioritize the optimization of your content so it reads and flows naturally. If after inserting your keywords the natural flow of your text becomes broken it will negatively effect the user experience and you should reconsider your text.

Always remember that you are writing for readers and not for the search engines.

More reading

The Beginner’s Guide to SEO

Build Your Audience

Making Your Website More User Friendly

How Successful People Conduct Their Keyword Research

Moz – https://moz.com/learn/seo/title-tag

Web FX – https://www.webfx.com/internet-marketing/what-is-keyword-stuffing.html

Search Engine Journal – https://www.searchenginejournal.com/featured-snippets-optimization/410622/