In some of the more recent posts i have been looking at Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and making your blog better equipped for Search Engines.Google and the other leading search engines want to find and index your blog and have become very advanced at their methods but there is lots you can do to help them help you.As i mentioned before many of the blogs i visit are very poorly set up for SEO.I’m not talking about any advanced techie stuff that could go straight over your head but just basic steps anyone can take.
When you first look into Search Engine Optimization one of the terms you will constantly meet is ‘Key Words’.Key Words are something all bloggers should get to grips with and try to understand.Implementing key words into your blog can have a huge effect in the performance of your blog on Google and other search engines.This also rings true when it comes to the performance of individual posts.Explaining Keywords without putting you to sleep can prove hard, the first draft of this post read like a book so here is the shortened version !
So lets start with a simple question.
What Are Keywords ?
Simply Speaking Keywords are words people type into search engines when they want to find something.
If i want a new laptop i might go to Google and type “Cheap Laptops” this is a keyword.Or if i want to improve my typing to speed up my blogging i would type “Improve My Typing Skills” this is also a keyword.
You will notice that i called each a keyword even though there are a number of words.This is just the term used, although “Improve My Typing Skills” has four words it is generally known as a single keyword.You will also hear it referred to as a “key phrase” which i think makes more sense but then i don’t make the rules.
So your job is to find keywords related to your blog and individual posts that people search for.However while it would be great to rank on the first page of Google for the main keywords related to your blog the competition will be huge.It is almost imposable to make your health blog rank high for “health tips”, or make your cookery blog rank high for “cookery tips” and so on.The competition for the most popular keywords is just too fierce.
Long Tail Keywords
This is where long tail keywords come into play.Long Tail keywords are longer keywords that are not as popular but are also not as competitive.Your cookery blog cold rank first for “Simple Sunday Lunch Cookery Tips”, or your health blog could rank first for “New Alternative Cures For Teen Acne”.
If you can find good long tail keywords related to your blog you can generate great search traffic with little competition.
Keyword Tools
You may be thinking how do i know what keywords are popular ? Well there are a number of tools that can help.Tools like the Google Keyword generator will generate a list of keywords that people have been searching for.When you type in a Popular keyword such as Cheap Laptops they will show you related long tail keywords and how popular the are.
Another neat tool is Word tracker, it works similar to the Google keyword tool.The free version will quickly generate pages of keyword suggestions.
Adding Keywords To Your Blog
When you write a post you add the keywords you generated.It is important the keywords fit with the content and are not ‘Stuffed’ in.Try to add the chosen keywords a few times depending on the length of the post in question.Now, it is also great if you can add your keyword or parts of the keyword to the title of the post.
If this seems like a bit too much work you can just keep keywords in mind as you blog.Simply adding some level of keywords to your posts will have a positive effect.So the next post you write if you want research the keywords you use or add some you think will work, make sure you help Google and other Search Engines help you ! Check out more of our Blogger SEO posts.
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