Steps for Writing Web Content for SEO	Visited: 847 Not rated Rate: Select 1 - Terrible 2 - Poor 3 - Average 4 - Good 5 - Outstanding
by Manan nagpal April 30, 2008

Need a plan of action and strategically different approach to conventional marketing content???

In present era the world of quality search engine optimization depends on the key mantra of genuine and fresh content on the web site. Without quality content on the site concept on search engine optimization is a myth. In coming lines going to take you through the journey that clear your understanding in context of content writing. The content, playing the role of a silent salesman can either make or break your website. So, here we present to you few effective ways which will definitely help in persuading the users.

1. Identify a topic - This is of course key when it comes to developing a successful series . Pick a manageable topic that will serve as your website niche. A search engine friendly website has a defined niche. Pick one topic or theme that will be covered on your website. If you are targeting leads in a specific geographic location, then choose one-and I do mean one-main area that will serve as your niche.

2. Do Keyword Research. Use a keyword research tool to determine what keywords and keyword phrases are being searched for most. I recommend the following tools:

a. Google Keyword Research Tool - Free

b. Wordtracker - Free Trial (I find that it's a bit overkill for typical SEO jobs)

c. Yahoo Keyword Tool - Gives precise numerical activity of searches

The goal of your keyword research is to obtain a list of keyword phrases relevant to your website's theme. Note the levels of searches being conducted for the various phrases. This will help you determine what you want your keywords to be.

Tip: Google's Keyword Research Tool allows you to add your keywords to a list and export them into an Excel file.

3. Determine Main Keyword Phrase (Main KP). First, rank the keyword phrases you discover in the order of importance. The keyword phrases that are searched for the most should get higher ranking than the ones with no searches.

Second, rank the keyword phrases in terms of competition. If you find a phrase with a high search volume but a small amount of advertiser competition, you can bet that it will likely have less competition in the natural search area as well.

Choose the keyword phrase to be the Main KP of your site that does all of the following:

a. Has the most searches with the least competition

b. Accurately describe your web site's chosen theme

c. Describes your product or service in a very common way

d. Includes your main geo-target (city, state, country)

4. Determine your secondary Keyword Phrases (secondary KPs). The remaining keyword phrases play an important role in the content of your website. Keep your ranked list handy for integrating into your website's content. In fact, these secondary keyword phrases will later become the Main KPs of the interior pages of your Web site.

5. Pick a Title - Start writing the content of your web sites interior pages before you write the home page. Decide how many pages of content your site will have and select one keyword phrase from your research that most closely relates to your theme and meets your objectives. Starting with only 3-5 pages when you first launch the website. You can always add more pages later.

6. Start writing interior pages. Start by putting your keyword phrase on the page. This will be your title. Research your page topic and write basic facts pertaining to the keyword phrase. Keep in mind that it's facts that people are looking for and stay away from all forms of puffery. Give the facts without a lot of hype. This will naturally pull more keywords into the equation. Feel free to weave keywords into your content, but be careful not to overdo it as you can set-off Google's penalty triggers.

If you find yourself writing sentences just to incorporate keywords-don't. Stop yourself and get back to the topic. If you are really writing on topic, keywords should flow naturally.

Web Content Writing Tips

a. Write scannable text. People scan the web; they don't read it so write text that can be scanned

i. Use bullets like they are on sale two for one

ii. Bold keywords

iii. Use a combination of compelling and keyword rich headings

iv. Use headings liberally (practically for each paragraph)

v. Write short, choppy sentences (long ones are for print)

vi. Use the shortest word possible to get your point across

vii. Write at the 9th grade level (even Rhodes Scholars prefer this when scanning)

b. Remember your goal is to provide information. The search engines today have become answer engines. People come on line wanting an answer to their question. Providing the answer to these information hungry visitors will help you put them at ease, gain credibility and build rapport. Credibility and rapport online can lead to the same in person when that visitor becomes a lead.

c. Incorporate KPs and Keywords. Add keywords liberally, but don't make it sound unnatural. It's wise to add them to the beginning of sentences, paragraphs and headings. The very end of the page is also important. Staying on topic is one sure way to get more than enough keywords on the page. Be sure not to over do it. You need a keyword density of 6% per phrase to get real recognition from search engine crawlers. More than that can get you penalized.

d. Don't try to sell too soon or too hard! Save your sales copy for the end. "Give to get." Provide the information they crave and at the end, offer your services. Do this as opposed to selling from line one which puts people off and puts them on guard. Be the one to give people the answers they are looking for and they'll respect you for it and be more open to your soft sell approaches at the end of the page or in the right and left columns.

e. Keep your opinions to yourself. Using words like "fantastic" or "incredible" too often sounds fishy. Take a look at the successful Wiki's and notice that there is very little opinion going on. Of course, your opinion is valuable, but it's more important to give the facts.

f. Edit to the bone. Please do not put copy that's destined for print on the web. Yuck! Copy written for print is just totally different than that on the web. The web is more succinct, choppier and less visceral, so get out your pencil and click "delete" to many of those extra words you don't need.

g. Be original. You can't get away with copying the content of someone else. Google will catch you, and if they even remotely THINK your content is duplicated, your page may never see the light of day. Try to take an angle that no one else is taking. Be thorough and go the extra mile to bring content to the table from sources other than the web (like the newspaper, the tv news or Barnes and Noble).

h. Do a spelling and grammar check. This goes without saying, since it's easy to get in a hurry when writing on the web.

7. Write an Introduction to the Series - In it basically 2 main things are done- Firstly it is outlined where one will be headed over the coming days. This might even include announcing your actual topics (if you’re that organized) but could be more general also. Secondly (and more importantly) the focus of the introductory post is to help highlight the ‘need’ that the series will help to address.

8. Finish your series well - While it might sound obvious to ‘finish your series’.It’s important to do this well. Readers like closure (as do bloggers themselves) and it’s often good to finish a series with a short summary of what’s been written and/or some reflections on the process of writing the series itself. Especially helpful in a concluding post (or just a concluding paragraph in the last post) is the invitation for readers to add their own thoughts and points. On most occasions in my experience a series could have other posts added to it and so it’s a good thing to acknowledge this and invite others to continue it in comments (or on their own blog). In this way you not only get reader interaction but also develop a more well rounded coverage of the topic as your readers add their own expertise and experience.