SEO Writing Guidelines

Users Before Search Engines
Building a page and a site is a balancing act. For search engines, the portions of the page that matter most, and that you have the most control over, are the text parts. Some places try SEO so hard that the copy reads like rubbish. Obviously, that is no good. Traffic means nothing if people do not convert.

Focus
Optimize every page for 1-2 keywords, not more.

Use Keywords in Headings
Use keywords in headings and subheadings throughout the page—this heading should capture the person’s attention and tell them they are in the right place. Think of these headings like you would a heading in a newspaper; a classic, straight SEO approach might be:

“Optimize Web Pages – Learn SEO Copywriting”

You may wish to use something with a call to action as well. That would appear more like:
“Learn SEO Copywriting Techniques that Drive Killer Converting Search Engine Traffic”.

Heading tags go from H1 to H6, with the biggest tags being the smallest number
(i.e., H1 renders the biggest font). You can change how the text appears with CSS.

It is recommended to use a single H1 tag on each page. Also try to use many H2 or H3 tags to break up the page copy and help structure the data.

Place Your Keywords Where it Makes Sense

• Place keywords in paragraphs, especially in the first and last 25 words.
• Spread your keywords throughout the page. Typically one keyword instance per paragraph makes good sense.
• Place keywords in heading tags.
• Place keywords in img alt tags.
• When the word is part of a small statement making a specific point, you may bold it or italicize it.
• You may also want to include your keywords a few times in bulleted lists.
• When possible, place the keywords in links.
• Don’t focus on just one core keyword over and over again. Mix in many logical variations (e.g. ‘compare prices’ and ‘price comparison). the search engines are smart enough to figure this out.
• The key focus of the page should be on readability. If the page does not make sense to human eyes, then it is no good for a search engine and it will not make sales. You want to use keywords often, but not to the point where it sounds like you are writing for the search engine and not the user.
• When in doubt, ignore the keywords, write your article for people, and then come back to it and make sure you covered all the important.

Naming File Paths

• Keep important optimized pages close to the root.
• Try to include your keywords in each filename or folder.
• Use lowercased file paths because some directories & content management systems do not handle upper-case filenames.
• Separate words with a hyphen (-) between each word.

Page Copy Length
Article pages should typically aim for approximately 800 words.
That said, clarity and formatting are more important than shear length of copy, and the page length can vary based on the goals of the page.