Sunday Morning SEO: How Keyword Research Improves Your Writing
Dee Barizo wrote this post on March 21st, 2010 in
2 Comments
I sometimes hear bloggers say they don’t do keyword research. They have various reasons for ignoring this fundamental SEO strategy.
They say it’s too boring and laborious. They’re afraid it will make their writing too wooden and stiff. They believe it stifles their creativity as a wordsmith. They want to focus on their writing without resorting to a crutch.
They are similar to some of the writers I know who won’t use a thesaurus. (My response has always been, “Don’t you want to use every available writing tool?” I understand that it’s not good to use the thesaurus too much but I don’t see what’s wrong with using it occassionally.)
Many of these bloggers don’t really care about getting more search traffic so the traffic benefits from keyword research falls on deaf ears. But I’m here to tell you that keyword research, instead of stifling your writing, actually makes you a better writer.
Keyword Research and Clear Writing
If you’re concerned about communicating clearly, then keyword research should be your friend.
This SEO tactic allows you to see which words your audience is using to describe your niche. By using the same words in your writing, you will be able to reach your audience more effectively. By using words they are familiar with instead of words they may not completely understand, you will improve your communication.
Changing a couple words in a post can make a big difference. It can make it much more understandable.
You may think you know a lot about your niche, so you won’t miss relevant keywords. However, you could be wrong and it doesn’t hurt to check. I thought I knew my niche inside and out. I have a lot of experience and knowledge in my industry but I still found many keywords I wasn’t using.
If I’ve convinced you, check out Google’s keyword tool. Enter the name of your industry and common topics in your niche. The keyword tool will spit out related keywords.
Take note of the relevant words you aren’t using and start including them in your posts.
If you want more search traffic, include the words in your post titles.
Dee, this is a very informative and useful piece. I am definitely one of those writers who needs to improve upon SEO techniques and keyword research. Though I do agree that it sometimes interferes with flow. After reading this article, I will perhaps try it more and see what difference it makes.
Thanks for sharing these “words of wisdom.”
Google’s keyword tool can be time consuming to use.First you have to type in your seed keyword and get related keywords,filter and sort.Finally you have to copy them to a spreadsheet for further analysis.With IMeye you can reduce your workload by 75 percent and it is the best keyword research tool right now