This is a guest post by Ben Jackson from SEO Discovery.
Once upon a time is a terribly cliché way to begin an article.
Having a keyword density of 5% is a good way to let your readers know you care more about search engines.
Talking with boring technical terms is a good way to say “click the back button”.
There is no substitute for content that gets read and shared online, and there’s no other content like it. Not your run of the mill “quality” content, I mean stuff that creates a BUZZ.
How To Write People Optimized Content
People read and specifically share content because they connect with it on some level. They likely share things THEY like on Twitter and their followers likely follow them because they like a lot of the same things.
So make content that has the ability to connect with someone and get shared. It can be tough when discussing technical topics like SEO for instance, but there’s no reason you can’t slip in an analogy or joke to catch someone’s attention:
Keyword density doesn’t matter, it’s like the Dolphins upcoming season 😛
No you don’t have to be some comical mastermind. I seriously doubt anyone actually laughed at that weak quip I shared above, but it will capture the reader’s attention.
People love sports, and even if you hate on their team they usually take it in stride and jab back at you – interaction!
Even quirky references to odd yet relatable observations or collective memories can turn an average piece of content into something very memorable. Have you ever read a post by an experienced blogger about how they got started, doing this or that for the first time?
Everyone’s all nostalgia, HARD, like they’re obligated to comment and share their own first experiences even if they just started and their first post was last week.
People only come online in the first place for one of two things: entertainment or information.
Guess what?
Most people don’t read for entertainment. There are tons of videos and
free games all over the internet and they’re fantastically entertaining! You’re reading this because you’re looking for information, so it must be delivered. That being said, informational content with an entertaining edge is truly a piece of blogging gold.
Providing information that people are looking for is a great start and is all you really need to make it, but if you want to stand out you need to stimulate your readers. Put on the clown nose and make them laugh, add “BONUS Tips” in side-boxes, embed video examples, or at least write in a provocative or thought-provoking way.
The fact is, just writing the content is not enough anymore. Forget about keyword density and bolding your keyword phrase. No one is going to tweet your post because they liked how optimized it was. You should still have it optimized, but write for people not the search engines.
In other words, optimize your content for getting shared by writing compelling posts (how many ‘Top 5’ lists can you have??).
Here are two BONUS SEO TIPS from me:
- You only need your keyword in the Title tag and have it in the content. Keyword density really does not matter – localized ratios ignore global keyword density values and normalization.
- Putting your keyword at the beginning and end of the article is not the same as putting it in the beginning or end of the page. Look at Google’s text-only cache to see where your keyword is actually showing up on your page and get creative putting it near the beginning and end – try widgets 🙂
Winding Up
There is a huge difference between crappy, spun, illegible content and what seems to be the average piece of “quality content” these days. However, there is just as much a difference between average content that gets deemed as “quality” and content that really shines.
While hard to initially measure, the difference between “quality” content and exceptional content is profound. Exceptional content is hard to come by but very influential – it’s shareable and memorable. You read it and share it now, you think about it later, and you come back to share it again.
That is the new “quality” content.
This post is a part of SmartBloggerz’s guest blogging contest where you can win cash prizes for earning the most points. Help this guest author win this contest by commenting and sharing this post using the buttons below.
Top 10 Search Terms:
• funny clown faces • funny clowns • funny clown face • funny clown • clown faces • funny clowns faces • clown face • clown faces examples
This is such a superb post and i must say this is both SEO and PO optimized article. The truth is, when you write high value unique article. Google will reward you and for that, you’re not only targeting traffic from people sharing your article but as well you’re hitting the Search engines. This is indeed a no rocket science 🙂
Hey Carlos,
Exactly, I like to think of it as indirect SEO. A blog with consistently great content will naturally grow it’s readership and following. It then becomes much easier to get links through any different means.
Yes it is a fine balance as while we must write for people, it is important to satisfy Google as well. At the end of the day people optimized content should rule as it is the people who are going to buy what we are offering, not robots and spiders.
Nice article Ben. Although, I agree with your opinions. But i still think keyword optimization is important for SEO and somewhat for PO also. One just needs to act clever while doing this.
You know what, I’m with you on doing both, but not quite in the standard way. I optimize every post on my blog for a keyword, but I don’t force it. I make sure it comes up in the content at least once, I use it in-text as an anchor text link to the page it’s on, and I put the keyword somewhere in the title. That’s about it, my time is better spent trying to make it more appealing to readers beyond that.
The balance is very important for sure.
I usually aim for a keyword density around 1% and i really didn´t noticed a negative influence on my rankings at all!
Also isn´t it too complicated to write an readable article meeting this criterica.
Thanks for your second tip!
Ben
I agree wholeheartedly with you. After all it is the way in which you write your content that connects with your readers and not all the SEO in the world.Thanks for highlighting this important point.
Thanks for commenting Ana. That was my point exactly – people don’t share or come back to your site for the optimization, it’s all about the content.
Google now pays too much attention to activity and interactivity of blogs. If you don’t succeed at making people engage with your content, then you’ll never outrank other blogs that do.
Yeah i don’t have much knowledge about SEO but i just write keyword in title and put it in contents, as you said above. That’s it and it works for me.
Hello Ben
Totally agree with you on this. But I think the best is to balance both – SEO and good content. For sure the result is great for any website.
I agree, I just think that the way we approach it should be different ie spurring discussion and buzz around our content rather than making it “optimized”. I made this post as sort of a counter-balance to the usual on-page optimization stuff I was sick of seeing.
If there is any alternative to “quality content,” then can somebody help me out with that. I’ve discovered that quality is king and never turn queen no matter the circumstances. If we take time and create that reader-loving content, the ultimate result of success is sure.
You’ve just shared a powerful-common-but neglected concept. It’s the foundation, we need it. It works!
I love these posts – I get tired of clients asking for a keyword density of X% without regards to the content. A client once asked me to insert his keyword 5 x in a 250 word article! I told him if it begins to sound unnatural, it will turn off not only people, but search engines as well!
Yikes! Maybe next time you can refer a client to this webpage: http://www.miislita.com/fractals/keyword-density-optimization.html. They might realize they’re not the expert they thought they were 😛
Wow – that is quite the technical speak there! It is quite old, too, but interesting that someone actually has this as a job! *yawn*