The Mystery Of The Magical Keyword Density Formula
|
|
Keyword density. When it comes to SEO copywriting, this has to be one of the most talked about subjects. Why? Because keywords are the very foundation of search engine copywriting. Without keywords we wouldn't even have SEO copywriting. Because keywords (or more accurately, keyphrases) play such an important role in search engine copywriting, it might make sense that there are certain rules and regulations - certain formulas - that should be followed. It might make sense, but, I'm sorry to say, the mystery? the magic? is more like a myth.
I have a guess as to where these magic formulas come from. Someone brags to their friend that they got #1 ranking for a particular keyphrase. The friend studiously looks over the site and starts taking notes. "He used this phrase eight times in a 500-word piece of copy. He put the keywords in here and there and over here, too. That means you have to put keyphrases in these places and reach a keyword density of 1.6% in order to get a #1 ranking." Not so! Let me explain why keyword density formulas don't fly.
Copywriting Is One Piece of the Search Engine Optimization Formula
Copywriting, in my opinion and the opinions of respected search engine optimizers, is 1/3 of the puzzle; but there are other pieces to the puzzle, too. What about coding and linking? Those are two extremely important factors that also come into play.
*IF* copywriting were the sole factor, then maybe - just maybe - keyword density formulas might be a reality instead of a fable. But alas? it isn't.
Keyword Density Formulas Are Unproven
Go to any search engine. Type in your primary keyphrase. Look at the results that fall into the number one through five slots. Do they all have the same keyword density? No. Some have higher levels, some have lower levels.
If keyword density formulas were carved in stone, every single site in the top 10 would have the same keyword saturation levels. But alas? they don't.
All Keyphrases Aren't Created Equal
Think about the competitiveness of the various keyphrases on the Internet. You have some like "search engine marketing" that are exceptionally competitive. Then there are others like "sushi restaurant in Charlotte, NC" that aren't. You have to account for how many other sites you'll be battling with when you write search engine copy.
Positioning of Keyphrases
In addition to the number of times a keyphrase is used, you need to pay attention to *where* your keyphrases are used. While it has not been proven to my knowledge, it is strongly suspected that keyphrases that have special formatting carry additional weight. By special formatting I mean bold, italics, in bulleted lists, in tags, etc. As I said, this has not been proven. Again, go to your favorite search engine and type in a keyphrase. If formatting and positioning were a carved-in-stone rule, all the sites in the top 10 would be using these tactics. But alas? they aren't.
Why the Myths?
I understand why people want formulas. Having hard and fast rules to follow means, if you apply the formula, you know you've done the job right and you can't fail. The problem is there isn't just one right way to create search engine copy. There are as many ways to write SEO copy as there are sites on the Web.
Am I holding back? Am I trying to protect my highly classified industry copywriting secrets? Not at all. In fact, go to my site at http://www.marketingwords.com. Visit the portfolio section. If I had a fiercely protected secret that I was holding out on, all the sites with SEO copy in my portfolio would have the same keyword density. But alas? they don't.
What DOES Work?
So after I've dashed your dreams, the least I can do is give you some insight into how *I* write SEO copy. I don't do any or all of these in any particular order. I don't do them all every time I write. I am NOT saying that you should do all of these things every time you write.
1) If possible, I try to include keyphrase(s) in the headline and sub-headlines. If it doesn't make sense, if it sounds odd, I don't include them.
2) When it flows, I include keyphrases roughly once or twice per paragraph. Do I count words? Do I run keyword density ratios? Never! I just eyeball the page to see if it looks right.
3) This I do EVERY time I write? I focus on natural language. If the copy sounds forced or stiff after including keyphrases, I scrap it and start over. Read your copy out loud. If it sounds stupid or redundant to you, it will sound stupid and redundant to your site visitor. Don't compromise the flow of natural language for the sake of search engines. What good will number one rankings do if - as soon as visitors get to your home page - they click away because the copy is so awful? All the number one spots in the world won't pay your grocery bill. You ultimately have to have sales and that means winning over your human visitors.
4) If possible, I try to include keyphrase(s) in bold, italic, bulleted lists, or in other text that is specially formatted. If it doesn't make sense, if it looks funny or sounds odd, I don't include them.
So that's it. Are those feelings you had when you learned there wasn't a Santa Claus or Easter Bunny coming back? Sorry. I truly am. But it's for your own good. If you're going to be an effective search engine copywriter, you have to learn the truth. Relying on myths will only hold you back. Now pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and get moving on that next number-one-ranking page.
Karon Thackston © 2004
About The Author
Copy not getting results? Learn to write SEO copy that impresses the engines and your visitors at http://www.copywritingcourse.com. Be sure to check out Karon's latest e-report "How To Increase Keyword Saturation (Without Destroying the Flow of Your Copy)" at http://www.copywritingcourse.com/keyword.
|
|
|
Created & Maintained by Empower! CMS Web Sites
Host2Sell Web Hosting | Emarketing Workshops | Site SEO Review | FREE Newsletter2 Lesser Known Ways To Brainstorm For Internet Home Business Keywords
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) doctrine states that you should always find a keyword that has little to no competi...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
Finding The Best Search Engine
With Billions of pages on the internet how do you find exactly what is that you are looking for? Chances are you have stumbled across different search engines, and maybe even used and tried out a few of them.Aside from look and feel which search engine really is the best?It used to be that Google's search results were far superior to any other search engine on the internet. With an increase in technology by Google's closest competitor's Yahoo and Msn, it's getti...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
Its The Same Deal For Both Search Engines And Real Estate
It's all about location, location, location!In the past...back in the days when Google was IT when it came tonatural search results...everyone was very focused (or shall wesay obsessed?) on Google page rank.Now that Google is a public company and the search busine...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
Website Copy-writing For Higher Sales And Higher Search Engine Ranking
Why, you ask? Mainly, because search engines want to provide their users with good content. How do they find it? By surfing the web for it. However, search engines don't view websites with human eyes, instead they use "spiders" (also known as crawlers, or robots), a "spider" is an automated program used to browse the web in a methodical manner.These spiders rely on actual words to provide the search engine with information about the topic and related content of a website, and its relationship with other related topics or websites. They love text copy, so give it to them! (This is why flash and image based websites don't work!) The more content you have the more text the 'spider' can find and the more valuable y...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
The Value Of Search Engine Marketing
Search engine marketing vs traditional offline marketing. Most often, traditional offline marketing such as TV and radio ads cater to the masses. Out of the tens of thousands of TV viewers or radio listeners, there may only be a handful of prospects who are interested in your ser...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
Feed Me - Satisfy The Search Engines And Your Sites Visitors With Keyword-rich Content
Search engines love content. Graphics may make your site look great, but a nice picture does not attract a search engine. Or a searcher for that matter. Good, relevant content does.Search engines aren't all that different from people. When faced with a ton of choices, they want to know which sites are the best. And, the best sites are the ones that give the most accurate and relevant information.Good content serves three main purposes:1. Search engines will rank your site higher for keywords and phrases included within your content.2. Users will return to your site, and recommend it to ot...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
Submit Your Website To Search Engines
Some search engine submissions are free and some pay for this benefit but before I get into it I would like to place a little word of warning.There will be some places that will offer to submit your website to hundreds or even thousands of search engines for free. Avoid these at all costs! I know I know they are tempting, thoughts stray to "woohoooo now I can do it in one push of the button".Problem is this, when you submit your website to these programs they ...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
Google Page Rank - Important Or Just Another Number?
In my last newsletter I wrote about how your websites Alexa rating is not actually that important to the success of your online business. In this issue, I want to look at another popular statistic - Google Page Rank - and ask a similar question - is it that important?First a quick overview as to...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
Submitting Your Site To Search Engines And Directories
Regardless of which type of business you currently have, you will definately want to have a website and begin marketing it on the world wide web. After you have designed your website, the next step is to ensure it is properly "optimized", meaning that it's body text(the text you see), title and meta tags(the text that you don't) all have the words you are trying to be found for on the search engine results.Many individuals optimize each individual page of their website for a different search engine, but I recommend that you focus on the biggest Search Engines like Google and MSN Search. Some high profile Search Engines such Altavista seem to be fading in importance fast so it may not be crucial to optimize any pages for such engines that only send a small amount of traffic anyway. I recommend a keyword de...(related: Search Engine Optimization)
site-map - Copyright © 2006 Empower! Web Design | All Rights Reserved. | Search Engine Optimization