Anybody who has even been near the SEO industry will be aware of keywords and how important they are to how a website ranks in the SERPs, but are we too enamoured with them? If you are too busy being mesmerized by the golden glisten that surrounds your keywords then you may be putting all your eggs in one basket and setting yourself up for a fail.
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There is no doubt of the importance of keywords and the fact that they are the best way of tracking how your site is performing in the search engine world, but if your SEO and content marketing strategy is limited and restrained by these then you may want to look at creating more of a blend.
Once Upon A Time
If you were to hop in your DeLorean, gun it to 88mph and head back to just over a year ago you would see a much different SEO landscape than that which lays before us today. Until that time it was perfectly acceptable and widely practised for SEO agencies and business owners to buy multiple links from link farms using their specified keywords.
Fast forward to today and these tactics are not only frowned upon but actively discouraged by Google and its army of black and white zoo animals, but what’s to say that Google can tell the difference between these outdated tactics and someone merely using the same keywords over and over again.
Most people will have around 5-10 keywords which they focus on most of the time but if content is constantly being produced with these being used as anchor texts then how can Google be sure that you are not simply buying these?
A Better Blend
Surely a much better strategy would be to continue using keywords as anchor texts but to also incorporate other things. Branding, where you use your company name as the anchor text, is something that is often only used at the beginning of someone’s SEO strategy to spread the word and create awareness, but there is no reason why this shouldn’t continue and be mixed in to dilute your keyword usage. There is even room for you to use the anchor text ‘click here’ or other un-optimised phrases which are deemed by some people to be a futile tactic that wastes a link, but is really a vital part of a well-blended approach to anchor text.
Some resources will specify exact percentages for diversifying your anchor text but the truth is there is no scientific formula that is going to be fool proof. Every website is different and therefore it may take some competitor analysis in order to determine the best blend for your specific site.
Something else worth a mention here is the use of long tail keywords. Long tail keywords are those that are less competitive and for which you therefore might be able to rank more effectively. Whilst some experts will disregard these because there are often limited amounts of traffic attached to them; there is room for them in your SEO strategy even if they don’t play a massive roll.
Get Rid Of The Crowbar
I can’t help thinking that anyone too focussed on repetitive use of the same keywords, or keywords in general for that matter, has missed the point of content marketing. If you constantly find yourself with crowbar in hand trying to include your chosen keywords in some way, shape or form then your content is going to suffer severely.
The thing about great, shareable content is that it’s not forced and has an organic feel to it that others can relate to. If it’s true that content is king, and it is, then you shouldn’t turn yours into the court jester by letting keywords dictate it.
Remove the halos from your chosen keywords and don’t let them rule your SEO world. A blended campaign that includes organic, free-flowing content is much more likely to serve you better in the long run.
on
I like to pepper my keywords throughout my articles. I try to use the main keyword once in the first 50-100 words and then related keywords throughout the rest of the article. I use these in natural word order so it doesn’t seem like I am stuffing many keywords in there as they are always related to the topic and fit naturally in their sentence… If you use the same keyword over and over again, the reader is sure to catch on and get bored reading whatever dribble you are trying to sell them.
on
I feel that SEO and keywords are a thing of beauty when done properly. Many try to squeeze in keywords as much as possible into their sites and that is missing the point. You want to have a good keyword and in let’s say a 500 word article it’s good to have that keyword 3 – and at most 5 times. If a reader is constantly reading the same thing they will lose interest, and fast.
on
I find that you probably can’t be obsessive about keywords enough. I probably lose 5-8 hours a week either too stressed to sleep that I cannot break the keyword puzzle, or frantically working 24-48 hours straight trying to implement my newest idea. I seem to be aging to fast and now my health is going porrly. How much longer? I don’t know.
on
Keywords are unavoidable part in SEO but sometimes it creates boring content .
on
It’s like any marketing strategy, Internet based or otherwise. You can draw customers in with nice ads (or strong keywords) but if you have nothing to offer (no content) they won’t stick around long enough to do you any good. It’s refreshing to read an article that provides some ideas on tactics to use in combination with keywords.
on
People focus too much on how to optimize views rather than the content. If someone reads an article with some keywords in it, but it has nothing to do with their search, the reader will likely go elsewhere, and may discontinue looking at your site for good.
on
Good post. I think it brings a good point that many people forget in their pursuit for better page ranks. While keywords are a vital part of SEO, content writers should also pay attention to how readers will respond to their articles, whether the language and tone feels forced. Good, understandable content helps to bring readers back to the site, even if it has low page rankings.
on
Readers hate keyword stuffing; even I as a writer I hate it. Keywords are just a small part of the SEO practice and I think people will more likely read your content if it’s really relevant, shareable, and interesting.