This article was sent to me courtesy of AllBusiness.com. It's a simple, clear explanation of how to optimize your blog posts for search engines.
Search Engine Optimization is the current rage among Internet marketers. Companies have realized that one of the best ways to get free advertising on the Web is to show up first under relevant search terms in the various engines. While trying too hard to game the system can get your site bounced from search engines all together, there are some ways to ensure both the architecture and the content of pages is as friendly as possible to a search engine spider.
Search engines already love blogs. The permalinks, the frequent updates, the succinct and precise content; what more could a spider want? A few things, it turns out. Some blogging habits are less helpful to spiders than they could be. Political and news oriented blogs tend to link the phrase "read the whole thing" an awful lot. This is fine for humans since we're able to see the link in the context of the post; a spider is less able to do this (though not totally bereft of contextual significance). Here are a few spider-based thoughts to keep in mind when crafting a post.
Choose Descriptive Titles: Headlines are given more importance by search engines so make them count. Use targeted keyword phrases that describe the topic you are writing about. For example an article on accounting titled "It's in the Numbers" won't be as effective from a search engine perspective as "Sound Accounting Practices".
Emphasize the Right Things: Make sure to reinforce the same targeted keywords and phrases you used in your title throughout your writing to establish the relevance of your article to the title. Repeat the keywords, use them in bold or in external links where possible. This link to <link>accounting</link> is better than a general <link>click here</link> for relevancy.
Think Like a Search Engine: Search Engines have intelligent algorithms to deliver relevant results but they don't have human intelligence. Google or any other search engine won't know that "Working in the Windy City" is the same as "Working in Chicago, Illinois" so choose your words carefully. However, don't be so concerned with search engines you forget your primary readers. So strike a balance and use your normal writing voice but be aware of where you may want to make minor changes.
Keyword Research: If you want to take your efforts to the next level we can help you out with keyword research using tools from Overture, Google or Word Tracker to find out what phrases related to your topic are most popular. This can help you select the titles and keywords that are most often searched for by your audience. Using this research can help you determine if more people will find your article on "automobiles" if you use the keyword "cars" instead. If you have a post in mind and would like some keyword help, let me know and I'll run some phrases through Word Tracker.
Finally, it's important to keep in mind that these are just a guideline. Don't be overly concerned with writing to impress a search engine spider. As I noted at the beginning, the very nature of blog posts are already exceedingly search engine friendly. And, more importantly, your audience is made up of real people, connecting with them is still the most important goal.
For more tips on Search Engine Optimization visit AllBusiness.com, "Champions of Small Business".
