Getting noticed in Local Smile

Write to be read, write to be found. Keep in mind the words people will use to find your article and include them in your title and major points in your content. Treat the algorithms Google has in place the same as a friend reading your article. If it reads well and doesn’t have anything that could be considered spam you’re on the right SEO track.

Always stay on topic. Trying to include lots of keywords will do more damage than good for your search rankings. Pick one topic and write quality content around it. Google will reward you for it.

Be original. You can’t hijack search terms, so don’t copy and paste other articles. Write original, interesting content that shows off your personality.

Always use text. Try to use text instead of images to display important names, content, or links. What Google can’t read, Google won’t index.

Don’t cheat the system. Avoid tricks that attempt to improve search engine rankings. You’ll only alienate your readers and damage your future rankings.

So, how do I structure my blog posts for SEO?

Titles
Titles are the first thing Google reads, so make it count. Include terms that people will be searching for, while keeping it relevant to the post you’re making. Remember to keep it simple, a cute play on words is often at the cost of your search-ability.

Content
Write clearly and leave the thesaurus on the bookshelf. When you write naturally you’ll create search terms people will actually use in their Google searches to find your article. Avoid repeating keywords in order to artificially boost your ranking.

Tag it
If done right, tagging will help with your search results rankings. If done wrong Google will suspect your attempt to flood the tag terms. Use around 5-10 tags per article and always keep them relevant.

Link it
If you have a website and social networks; link your article! The more external websites linking to your article, the more Google will recognise the relevance of your article.

Happy writing!