You probably know this one:
A woodcutter was straining to cut down a tree. A passer-by stopped to watch, and suggested that the woodcutter took a few minutes to sharpen his saw.
“If you stop to sharpen your saw, you would cut the trees much faster.”
The woodcutter retorted: “Who has time to sharpen their tools? Can’t you see how busy I am?”
The story applies perfectly to the realities of SEO.
Many companies feel that they have to choose between creating content for their website or optimising what they already have for the search engines.
When trying to make the decision, there are two common choices:
Meltdown: making the decision is so difficult that no decision is made. Both content and SEO are neglected and suffer accordingly.
Compromise: a half-assed approach to both produces poorly-optimised lacklustre content. Both content and SEO are neglected and suffer accordingly.
It doesn’t have to be this way, but in order to create that better-optimised content, a strategy is required that is both productive and realistic. Something that can actually work.
Jump back in time briefly, and people had all sorts of clever ideas for how to do this.
Clever was fine when it was below the radar, but then too many people started doing it. And when too many people use the same clever ideas, they become standard and ordinary. Eventually these become a clear target for Google. So they’re not clever any more.
Yet today things are easier, and best practices are replacing tricks and manipulation.
So here’s your workable, practical and realistic strategy. Not only does it work, but it carries no risks.
Step 1: Screw the spiders. Write for people.
Content created for spiders is ugly and no longer works. Impressing the bots is pointless if the people who click on your listings recoil in horror and leave.
If you think that people and spiders like the same things, you’re wrong.
Step 2: Help Google see what the visitors see. (Optional)
Don’t spend time working on your uber-cool optimised headlines – the ones where you cunningly inserted all four keywords into your title.
Instead help Google identify what it is that your visitors want to see.
If enough people want to see it, Google will know it.
Step 3: Optimise the content. (Even more optional)
If you have the time, skills and inclination, do the keyword research, and get some of your main keywords into the page body.
A vital rule of thumb is that they have to blend perfectly.
If someone can read your content and spot your keywords, you’ve done a bad job.
Step 4: Sit back and wait. If it’s good enough they will come.
That’s it.
The basics of SEO really are that simple.
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