Halloween has arrived, but when it comes to really scary stuff, some blog and website owners want work done that’s scarier than any haunted house. The reason you hire a writer to create great articles that attract more readers to your site. If you insist on ordering articles that follow outmoded SEO rules, you’re wasting his time and your money. The internet is always changing, and what drew in numbers a couple of years ago will turn people off or even downgrade your site in the eyes of Google. Are you guilty of any of these scary ghostwriting practices?
Keyword Stuffing
If you use a keyword once, Google will pick up on it to rank your site. So using the same keyword multiple times must be even better, right? Just the opposite, actually. Adding your keyword or keyword string once every 200 words or so can attract Google’s attention in a good way, but using it every other sentence makes no sense and will get punished by getting downgraded in rank. Keyword stuffing is the mark of people who put up hundreds of sites, hoping to play the numbers. Google no longer rewards them, but instead focuses more on the actual content and its usability.
Concentrating on Only One Keyword
Using a keyword or keyword string wisely on each page is a good idea, but if you’re trying to rank for the same keyword on every single page, you’re wasting an opportunity. Once you get as high as you can on Google ranks with one keyword, it makes more sense to concentrate on another related keyword string for the next couple of posts. If you have a high rank for “cooking with kids,” for example, expand your reach by using “cooking with children” as the keyword in a couple of articles. Use a keyword tool to find similar long tail keywords, and rotate them around to reach the largest pool of potential readers.
Too Many Keywords on a Page
Trying to rank for multiple keywords is a smart business practice, but not when you do it all in one article. Asking your writer to include six different keywords in each piece is an exercise in frustration for him, and will waste any opportunity you may have to rank for any one of the keywords. If you have a list of five or six keywords or long tail keyword strings that you want to concentrate on, create one or two articles or blog posts for each word for better results.
Keeping it Black and White
The internet is a visual medium and readers find large blocks of plain print boring. Make a point of adding a picture or video to each of your articles and blog posts, just to break up the visual picture. It’s more likely that people will share your site if they have an attractive picture to use, and one of the hottest social media sites, Pinterest, uses only pictures for sharing. Keep it colorful to help increase your readership.
Victoria B is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
