Keyword research and SEO editorial for the web: best practices

We’ve talked a little on the blog lately about content marketing, search engine optimization (SEO) and the importance of using keywords when creating your website copy, but I’ve been thinking that some of what we’ve written might have disappeared into the void.

After all, the notion of keywords is a bit confusing, especially if you’re new to the world of SEO.

With that in mind, I thought I’d write a little about keyword research and best practices in order to get you off on the right foot and inspire you to write some new, keyword-heavy editorial content for your website.

First off, you should know what I mean when I say “keyword research.”  Keyword research is looking into the sorts of words and phrases that users (internet users, that is) type into search engines like Google, when looking for information from an organization or business like yours. For example, a phrase that people often type into Google when looking for an organization like Nyman Ink is “Toronto graphic designer.” So we use those words variations on that phrase in several places on our website. But how did we find out that people search for Nyman Ink using phrases like the one noted above? It’s not just guesswork (although educated guesses will definitely help). We use free research tools to help us figure out what people are searching (and you should too). Try Google’s Keyword Tool, for example. It’ll help you figure out which words and phrases people are using to find you.

Once you know which words and phrases to focus on, it’s time to begin writing some new editorial content for your website. But simply including the keywords and phrases discovered in your research isn’t enough to guarantee good SEO. You also have to keep the following in mind:

Use root terms and modified root terms

For example, if you, like us, offered editing services and wanted people to find you, it would be worthwhile to include all of the following terms in your web copy: Proofread; Proof read; Editing; Edit; Proofreading; Proof reader, Proof reading; Editor.

Use synonyms and alternative words

Alternative words that basically mean the same thing as your root terms are powerful things in the word of keyword SEO. For example, according to the thesaurus at dictionary.com [link] (another helpful tool), some synonyms (and pseudo-synonyms) for the word “grammar” are: alphabet, elements, fundaments, linguistics, morphology, principles, rudiments, sentence structure, stratification, structure, syntax. Using the most commonly used of these synonyms helps us optimize our website. That said, we don’t just pile in the synonyms willy-nilly. We pick and choose. We always try to focus on using broad terms like proofing before moving on to including more specific or less-used terms like syntax.

Don’t forget iterations

Including plural versions of your top keywords is important. For example, in our case, the words proofreaders and editors are as important as the words proofreader and editor. You don’t want to include just one iteration of any main keyword. (That said, this sort of differentiation is not necessary if you’re optimizing for a search engine like Yahoo, as Yahoo does not differentiate between singular and plural words. However, Google does.)

Keep the most important words near the top of your copy

No matter what keywords you use, try to keep the most important ones front and centre in your web copy. Use keywords and phrases in the titles of your web pages, in the subtitles and in the first paragraphs of your text, whenever possible. Anyway, I hope this post has helped you get a handle on the notion of keyword research and best practices. Modify your web copy today keeping these rules in mind, and you should begin to see better search results soon.

_{Creative commons image “ergonomic glows” by Laura Leavell from Stock Xchng.}