In case you don't know or don't care about keyword-rich text, here is why at least some of you should. Don't worry. This is not technical.
Even if you belong to the artsy few who just write for themselves, you would agree that more people reading your blog is probably a good thing. In any case, if you are positively paranoid about people reading your writing, you wouldn't be blogging. Text that is rich with keywords gets search engine bots' attention. By 'rich' I mean a piece of writing that contains a lot of topical words or phrases relating to the key topic being covered.
There are ways to measure the 'keyword density' of an article. But as I said, I am not getting technical here. I am about to tell you two very simple, all-too-human ways of making sure your posts (if they are indeed about something) are keyword rich.
First rule - don't worry about keywords. You will find sites that are so desperate to rank high on Google their text looks absurd and defies all sense of good grammar and usage. While it might make sense for a banana related site to splatter the visitor's screen with "banana milkshake, banana cream, banana salad, banana gravy, banana banana, mad banana, blue banana, banana memories, alien banana conspiracy" and the like, it certainly makes for tedious reading if you are not carrying your sense of humour with you. It would also be cruel to those who might be Googling for a rare banana recipe to revive their ailing grandmother. But I digress, which conveniently, brings me to my second point.
Never digress. Or at least try not to (heh heh... embarrased shuffling of feet). Good web writing sticks to one point and one point only. Decide what you want to convey, and then start writing. When you have said what you have to, stop. It is that simple (or not, depending on how you feel about brevity). If you take on more things than you can handle in one article, you will find your focus shifting. Keyword-wise, you create too big a bowl to put your idea in. Search engine bots are not known for their patience. A direct and to the point approach will get their attention.
I understand this approach is not for creative writing. Been there, done that. But if your blog is information or commerce based, this will help. And now, excuse me while I fret about people reaching this blog after searching for bananas.
Even if you belong to the artsy few who just write for themselves, you would agree that more people reading your blog is probably a good thing. In any case, if you are positively paranoid about people reading your writing, you wouldn't be blogging. Text that is rich with keywords gets search engine bots' attention. By 'rich' I mean a piece of writing that contains a lot of topical words or phrases relating to the key topic being covered.
There are ways to measure the 'keyword density' of an article. But as I said, I am not getting technical here. I am about to tell you two very simple, all-too-human ways of making sure your posts (if they are indeed about something) are keyword rich.
First rule - don't worry about keywords. You will find sites that are so desperate to rank high on Google their text looks absurd and defies all sense of good grammar and usage. While it might make sense for a banana related site to splatter the visitor's screen with "banana milkshake, banana cream, banana salad, banana gravy, banana banana, mad banana, blue banana, banana memories, alien banana conspiracy" and the like, it certainly makes for tedious reading if you are not carrying your sense of humour with you. It would also be cruel to those who might be Googling for a rare banana recipe to revive their ailing grandmother. But I digress, which conveniently, brings me to my second point.
Never digress. Or at least try not to (heh heh... embarrased shuffling of feet). Good web writing sticks to one point and one point only. Decide what you want to convey, and then start writing. When you have said what you have to, stop. It is that simple (or not, depending on how you feel about brevity). If you take on more things than you can handle in one article, you will find your focus shifting. Keyword-wise, you create too big a bowl to put your idea in. Search engine bots are not known for their patience. A direct and to the point approach will get their attention.
I understand this approach is not for creative writing. Been there, done that. But if your blog is information or commerce based, this will help. And now, excuse me while I fret about people reaching this blog after searching for bananas.
