After diligently finding all the correct keywords you should be focusing on, it’s time to write content for your site based on those keywords. You know what people are searching for as it related to your business so you can now use that info to tailor your content towards those search phrases. This is one of many ways Google understands what your page and site are about.

Optimize Existing Content First

Assuming you already have a site and that site has content, it’s faster to optimize pages that have already been created. Go through your pages one at a time and work in the appropriate keywords. The important thing here is to keep it natural sounding. After all, you’re writing for humans, not search engines. If a person finds your page and actually reads it you don’t want to turn them off with spammy keyword-stuffed content. on top of that, Google is getting better every day at reading your site like a person would and if they think you’re spammy then you’re done. In addition to optimized content, make sure your url (called a slug) and meta tags include the primary keyword related to your page. If you change a url you’ll also need to add a redirect in the htacccess file to old links know to change locations.

Write New Optimized Content

Once your existing pages are optimized it’s time to add new pages to the site. In looking at your list of keywords, identify any that aren’t represented in your site and start there. If all are represented, look for common variants that you can write on. Shoot for 1000 words, but no fewer than 500 to satisfy Google’s think content algorithm.

Elements of optimized Content

Every page on your site has several elements of content in addition to the standard body section. It’s important to optimize all areas for maximum SEO benefit and the best rankings.

The Title Tag of each page is the most important piece of content for on page SEO. The title tag gives search engines a synopsis of your page and is usually displayed in search results so you want to make sure your best keyword is in the title. Since title tags end up in the search engine listing it’s a good idea to limit them to 65-70 characters so the entire tag fits in the results listing.
The Meta Description is another chunk of content that’s designed to help search engines understand what your page is about and like the title tag it will usually be displayed in the search results. The description is a great place to add keywords (naturally) because the search terms that are in your description are usually bolded which makes your listing stand out from the rest. Google returns about 150 characters of your description so it’s a good idea to keep it in that range, but it’s not the end of the world if you go long.
Don’t worry about the Meta Keywords if you have the option. This used to be required to tell Google what keywords you were shooting for, but nowadays Google relies on your title, description and body copy to figure all that out.
Often you can control the Page Name in your CMS. The page name will usually be the default falue for meta tags and other SEO related sections so if you have it available then add a few keywords in here.
Your Headline or H1 tag is the most important piece of content the visitor will see. It tells them in an instant what the page is about and it’s your first and maybe only chance to convince them to read more. Make sire your primary keyword is prominent in your headline. The headline also tells Google what your page is about and should support the title tag and meta description.
Finally, the Body Content is gives you the most opportunity to sprinkle in supporting or similar keywords that Google and your visitors will pick up on. Again, make sure all content is natural and makes sense when reading it. the best thing you can do is get a friend to look over any content because they will not be biased.

Don’t overdo it

Although you need to be conscious of your target keywords, don’t add the same ones too often (2-3 times per long paragraph max). If you repeat the keywords too often readers and Google will pick up on that and likely be turned off.

Linking

Bonus Info! Depending on the type of content you’re writing (Blog post, Article, Etc) you need to link to other areas of your site to re-emphasize that content. For example this page is about content, but I mentioned keywords and meta tags. You’ll see above I linked to the appropriate pages when I first mentioned each. You would NOT want ot link to another page with a similar topic or keyword because it will dilute the power of this page’s content.

You’re Done?

Not quite. You’ll want to revisit your content from time to time to make sure it’s still relevant and covers the keywords found in your latest research. Trends change and so should your site. You can also come back later and add more content if there’s new information on the topic. Another good place to add a link to a full article on the new info.

If any of this is confusing, give us a call. Our Dallas SEO Consultant can walk you through it or give you a free content evaluation and make suggestions for improvement.