When you have a blog, it is one thing to post whatever is on your mind and then it is another to spend a little time to research your headlines so that they not only grab the attention of your readers but they also get the search engine traffic you need as a result of choosing the right keywords.
The problem is deciding if the keywords you want to use will be competitive or not and if you are a new blog choosing low competitive keywords is the better option, while if your site is older and has good authority backlinks than you can afford to chase higher competing keywords. It is known that if you research keywords properly for your headline and can get them under 100,000 competing pages you can rise to the 1st page fairly quickly and easily.
As a general rule I tend to stick to using keywords that have 1 million competing pages or lower and that have a growing search trend so they will get a good click through rate, the 3 main tools to use is Google Competition, Google Insights and Google Trends. The problem is having to go back and forth to these windows each time you write a blog post takes a considerable amount of time so for this I recommend you use a SEO plugin called Keyword Winner.
You can use something like Google Ads Tool which is also free but the problem is you might have good search count and than next month search count is down, so again remember Google Trends which can give you an overall search count over a six month period or so to see if the keyword is gaining more searches over the months or not.
There is no rule that you should stick to dense keywords in your headline meaning 4-5 words, sometimes I use around 10 words in my headline but are consisted of 2 or 3 sets of key phrases and again can rank well for each set provided I do a quick check on competition before hand.
By researching keywords properly and getting to the 1st page of Google for each blog post you do will bring an exploding amount of traffic to your site, particularly if you keep it consistent. In my experience I have been able to write blog posts that bring in sales using keywords with review or coupon codes and again make money this way too.
Many bloggers fail to spend time to make their headlines in their posts suited for Google and yet by neglecting a small but very important thing can be the main reason why they succeed or fail as a blogger particularly if they take blogging more serious or treat it as a business and a way to generate income.
Always remember having the right headline together with meta title and the permalink is the most important thing. The keywords you choose that go on the page itself is just the icing on the cake.
So what keywords will you use in your next post? Will they be keywords that get you on the 1st page or will you be simply left behind?
This guest post has been written by Daniel Lew – Australian Entrepreneur, Internet Marketer, SEO Professional offering Blogging Tips and Ways to Make Money Online! Daniel Lew is the founder of GSEO.net, Blogger at DanLew.com and Creator of Keyword Winner.
Interesting read! I'm a firm believer in keeping keywords in mind whenever you're writing, but it's also important to ensure that you are not affecting the way you write by trying to cram too many keywords into a post. There has to be a balance. What I like to do is write something without thinking of keywords. Then after I'm finished writing I will insert my keywords wherever possible.
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You're right. I found making headlines and selecting keywords the most challenging.
Hm, interesting stuff. Yea, the keywords are "key". What about the marketing nature of the copy? Sometimes I've seen too many keyword-centric posts that become awkward to read or not as interesting b/c its just so focused on keywords. But I do find your post helpful and for my own posts I think I'll do more keyword research.
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I was told that when you post your blog that in that first sentence your keywords preferably anchor text should be in there to optimize your seo … not mention posting comments and stuff. But either way its not as easy as all those gurus say it is that keep sending me emails for all their stuff to buy. Santa Maria Real Estate
I think any headline should be crafted with keyword in mind to be able to generate attention. I will never read a post if the headline does not lead me to click on it. If the headline is not well written so is the post itself.
Very interesting article!
I agree that proper keywords allow our blog to appear on page 1 of Google. Depending on what our topic is, it could be competing with hundreds of thousands of pages talking about the same subject.
But let us not forget, too, that keywords are not everything. Writing style is important as well as how the articles appear. Long sentences are a turn off, failure to break paragraphs into chewable bits drive readers away. Lastly with the title, make it short and sweet. Use whatever keywords you want, but at the end of the day, it should be eye catching.
@Albert: That’s a great idea. Only very recently did I realize that I could include the keywords after I’m done constructing my article.
@Oceantara: Exactly my point! Too much focus on keywords stifles the writer’s creativity. The article becomes so common that it becomes boring to read.
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