Blog Tips: Use Keywords in Blogging for SEO

Keywords in Blogging...Search Engine Optimization...SEO? These blog tips are what you need to make your blogging more rewarding and increase traffic to your quality content. 

De-mystify Keyword

Let's take away the intimidation factor. What is a keyword?

"Keyword is a word or concept of great significance, a word that acts as the key to a cipher or code, or an informative word used in an information retrieval system to indicate the content of a document."

See, that's not intimidating at all. Even though the first two parts of the definition—word or concept of great significance and a word that acts as a key to a cipher or code—are accurate, the last part of the definition is what we'll focus on.

"An informative word used in an information retrieval system to indicate the content of a document..."

Yes, that's exactly what we're talking about today. When you list a book for publication, you select keywords. When you set up a blog and/or a post on the blog, you select keywords. Usually on blogs, those keywords are called Labels or Tags, but they're really keywords in disguise.

When you think about keywords as "informative words used in an information retrieval system to indicate the content of a document," the whole issue of using keywords makes sense, doesn't it?

You want to have words that readers would use in searching for a post, a blog, a website, or a book that fits those words.

Mark, an online friend who is the main editor of T-Ranks has a great article, How to Get Backlinks, 9 Most Effective Strategies. Backlinks are another effective tool that should be a part of your SEO strategy.

FIRST, plan a post & select keywords BEFORE writing

Using Keywords In Blogging

There are simple ways to make your blog post "pop up" when someone browsing online is looking for the subject of your post.

1. Always think about the content of your post.

What is it about? What words would describe the subject of the post? Pick out 3 or 4 words that tell someone what is contained in your post. For instance, in this post I've written, keywords would be: keywords, blogging, blog tips, SEO.

2. Once you've selected the keywords check to see if you actually used them.

Keywords that "indicate the content of your document" should be in: the post title, first sentence, and first paragraph.

3. If you didn't use them, edit your post to include them.

Keywords should be in your title, your first sentence, and first paragraph. You want your chosen keywords to especially be in the title. Here's why.

The most common web crawler is Googlebot. It looks at the entire title, but it only registers the first 65 characters.

Those 65 characters are what a user sees when your page appears in the search engine results pages (SERPs).

Web Spiders, Crawlers, and Bots—Oh My!

Automated bots called web spiders or crawlers, index everything on the internet, looking for new content from the last time they crawled your blog or website.

When your keywords are crawled in the title and then again in the first sentence/paragraph, they're "registered" in a positive way and your post can rise to the top listings in the SERPs.

Takeaway Truth

Thinking of keywords this way—informative words used in an information retrieval system to indicate the content of a document—will help you easily choose them every time.

Now you can click over and check out Mark's post about backlinks: How to Get Backlinks, 9 Most Effective Strategies.