With such wonderful role models that created an unbelievable buzz around sport and Great Britain they really can be proud to inspire a nation. The Hotel Club has created this wonderful infographic as a tribute to our heroes of London 2012!
This Infographic was created in association with HotelClub’s biggest Team GB fans who have been helping spectators find the best London hotels this summer.
You might be doing everything right, following all the professional SEO advice you can get and generally, working towards building a more search engine friendly website. That is great, but if you do not know which keywords your potential customers will be keying in every time they run a search, your rankings on the search engine will, sadly for you, not improve.
The process of keyword optimization is a very delicate one. It literally demands you to be able to read the minds of potential clients accurately, and to know just which words they will type in their search.
(Photo credits: woodlywonderworks)
These great tips should help you effectively optimize on your use of keywords.
• Say no to assumptions
So many site owners think that just because they have been in their particular industry for years and they have and the chance to interact with so many clients then they know exactly which keywords any potential customer will key in, and they go ahead to maximize on their use of these keywords.
Most of them are largely mistaken. The very fact that they have been in the industry for years clouds their mind and narrows their view. The keywords that they think will be typed in are mere jargon, highly technical terms that no ordinary customer would think of.
Beware that if you have been in the industry for so long, you probably do not know how a newbie thinks. It might be the first time for some customers to interact with the product or service you are offering, so do not assume you know how they will go about their search. Do your research keenly to come up at the top.
• Create your list of potential keywords and check with a keyword research tool
The fact that it is evident that you do not have all the answers does not mean you cannot have some great ideas. Come up with your own list of potential keywords that you think are the most likely to be used by clients and check how popular they are.
Before, this would have been done by running a search on all the search engines you could access with all the keywords you had, and checking to see just how many results it would yield. This as you can probably imagine was very tedious and not quite effective.
(Photo credits : Search Engine People Blog)
Thanks to technology however, there are now research tools, which easily do this job for you. All you need is to put in that keyword that you think is the one, and in no time the tool comes up with results for you on how many searches have been conducted using that word everyday, and other important information that is useful in analysis. You might even get some better synonyms for the words that will wind up in better results for you.
There are quite a number of these tools available.
1. WordStream for example, offers a number of research tools that you can use to organize your keywords better. This is a pay per click service.
2. Google AdWords is a free research tool that you all should have, as it will show you the popularity of your keyword on the most popular search engine in the world.
3. WordTracker is another powerful research tool that you should not do without on your SEO strategy. It allows you to determine the popularity and the activity around popular search terms. It contains a top 1000 list that reports the most frequently used search terms, and it even offers a service that helps you determine the competitiveness of each word.
4. If you are on the right track but do not quite have the right keyword, GoogleSuggest is a great tool that as the name implies suggests to you synonyms that might be more popular. All you need to do is type the word that you have and a drop down list of related words automatically appears.
5. Take some time to check out the free demo on this site: Keyword Eye too. A wonderful visual tool with great filters you can apply to optimise and increase the efficiency of your keyword research.
The right combination of great keywords and other Search Engine Optimization strategies should do a world of good to your website, resulting in much more profits for your business.
(Photo credits: epSos.de)
This article is written by a regular guest blogger for SEO Gemini – Chad, an avid web blogger who likes to help companies gain an edge in their websites by giving them great tips on how to get better rankings on search engines including where to get the best SEO hosting.
In the first part of this post, we discussed topics such as determining the primary characteristics of your audience, the specificity of the content and its applicability for your readers. These three methods of content writing stand at the core of a successful post that could eventually translate into higher traffic and brand awareness even if your company doesn’t sell the most exciting products or services.
The second part of the post takes our train of thought a few stations further and I aim to introduce you to a few other gimmicks that will certainly keep your readers from dozing off in the middle of your article.
Photo credits: BrittneyBush
Let’s start with your writing tone.
How should you address the audience?
Now, you might think that you stand a better chance at establishing your blog as an authority in your niche by using big words, industry specific jargon and elaborate phrase constructions. However, keep in mind that not all of your readers are university lecturers and that your goal is not to publish a thesis on the advanced principles of the string theory.
To put it simply, you want the reader to understand what you’re saying without the help of the Oxford dictionary or a guide to the terminology of your industry niche. Don’t patronize your audience, don’t make the subjects you approach seem inaccessible and don’t write exclusively in a formal tone.
It is in fact much easier to connect with the readers by addressing them directly and speaking in an informal tone, you know what I’m saying? Furthermore, a few humorous remarks that relate to the content as well as a pop culture reference here and there are always welcome. Just make sure they are part of the text’s natural flow and not inserted artificially.
That’s all fine and dandy, but how do you explain more intricate concepts?
Ah, yes, this is the tricky part. At first glance, certain ideas may appear incomprehensible without a solid knowledge background of the niche. Don’t despair thought, there are ways to surpass this seemingly insurmountable obstacle. I’m going to ask you to think back about your high school days, more particularly the science class. Do you remember how your teachers explained the invisible and intangible principles of science that make the world go around?
Exactly, by utilizing analogies with the tangible and visible objects/common situations, here is where your imagination comes into play. Considering you are the keeper of knowledge for your industry niche, try to come up with similarities between the functioning of a certain product and a real life ordinary situation.
To simplify your task even further, current events can also constitute an excellent source of analogies. Just take a look at the evening news and you should be able to understand what people are preoccupied with. On a side note, this principle is referred as news hijacking or “news-jacking” in the SEO niche.
Boosting the readability of the content
Ok, this part has nothing to do with the way you write the content, but rather focuses on the way you present it to your audience. I did mention that you should avoid intricate constructions of lengthy phrases, but the same should apply to the way you structure the paragraphs. Large bulks of text are anything but readable and this approach makes it confusing to find any information. Therefore, try to stick with shorter paragraphs that present one or two basic ideas each. Furthermore, adding a subtitle to describe the contents of the paragraph enhances the overall readability even more.
Another important thing to remember is that plain text content is dead and buried. Nowadays, pictures, charts and infographics rule the internet, but this happens for a good reason: these gimmicks constitute an excellent way of presenting your ideas in an intuitive and comprehensible manner. Keep in mind that the human brain interprets relevant imagery faster and easier, particularly for topics that don’t exactly stimulate the imagination.
Stir up some controversy, ask for feedback, profit!
You should understand that you’re treading on thin ice here and you have to watch your step. However, if there’s one thing everybody loves nowadays, that has to be the freedom of expression. Put two contradictory concepts head to head (relevant to your niche of course) and ask your audience to share their opinion. Even the most “boring” subjects can spark flaming debates!
This post constitutes the second part of our two part section about content driven SEO driving traffic to less exciting industry niches. These posts have been kindly contributed by one of our regular guest authors Michael Melen:
“Hi I’m Michael Melen and I enjoy blogging about SEO and its ever changing landscape. Find me on company’s Facebook!”
All internet surfers can testify to the fact that they are highly unlikely to finish reading, not to mention clicking the link to blogs, guides and articles that debate topic proprietary to the so-called “boring” industry niches. Let’s be fair, it’s very difficult to generate as much traffic and gain the same popularity when you’re talking about the recommended frequency of oil changes on your Chevy or the technical flaws of the latest Java script than if you were say, posting about the latest Hollywood gossips. Or is it?
Photo credits: Grevel
The main issue with online marketing in these less exciting niches brings us face to face with the wrong approach. You see, topics like the entertainment industry or weight loss can get away with a lot of things because of their innate ability to capture and maintain the interest of our generation. It doesn’t matter if over 60% of the content is formed from virtually unhelpful promotional blabbering about the latest magazine or fitness product.
However, this does not really apply for the “boring” niches. No, that does not entail that content-driven SEO is inappropriate in their case, but rather that there are certain standards that apply when creating it that will help you avoid boring your audience to death from the first paragraph.
Learn more about the demographic specs of your target audience
Evidently, if you don’t know who your main public is, then you will not be able to adapt the content according to their preferences. Finding out the primary source or readers that you need to tap first consists of knowing the general industry clientele, their normal web-surfing behavioral patterns, who they perceive as authorities in the field, etc.
The well-established competitors of your company are definitely useful in this matter, because their websites provide an invaluable source of information to guide you on your journey. Look, listen, learn, act. How does their most proficient content in terms of traffic look? When was it published? Who shared it? Can you spot any loopholes in their content that you could take use in your advantage?
Focus on creating content with actual applicability for your current and future audience
The temptation of giving in and posting exclusively content that advocates your products is great, I know, especially if your particular type of industry is not the most interesting one. However, do remember that people also search the web for answers to mundane questions and yes, even regarding your niche. For instance, if you manufacture/sell electric screwdrivers, you can still make the content relevant by providing a response to queries concerning:
• Proper screw sizes for a certain project
• The category of tools that should be utilized and when/how
• The best way to remove the nails/staples from a medium density fiberboard
• How to build your very own patio deck
In other words, think outside the box for a bit and you will be able to create instructive content that will appeal to the target audience you established. If one of your clients is interested in acquiring electric screwdrivers, that means he might also be interest in woodworking, DIY projects, furniture refurbishments, so on and so forth. In this case, the content is useful in generated specialized leads and, although it can be regarded as tedious by some, it has a unique value for a carefully delimited audience.
Specific content is vastly superior to generic topics
Closely related to the applicability of your content, specificity goes a long way in terms of appealing to your predefined audience. Of course, this entails knowing the specifics of your potential and current clientele. Unspecific titles and text contents may seem to address a broader audience, but in fact they don’t really attract anybody.
For example, the guide you are reading now could have targeted a topic on the best practices of successful blogging or creating quality blog posts. Yet, not only have these subjects been done countless of times, but there are so many facets to them that a single post would never be able to cover everything. By presenting a singular angle of the story, you have the freedom to elaborate on the details. At the same time, the reader knows exactly what type of information he should expect to find in the article.
Stay tuned for more tips on this topic in the second installment!
This is another fantastic guest post from one of our regular contributors Michael Melen:
Hey, I’m Michael Melen. If you want to learn more about SEO and its essentials, you can take a look at our work in Backlink Build.
So, Google doesn’t like to sit still. Whether you feel this is innovative or annoying it is one thing and that’s inescapable. Pretty much everyone on the planet uses or is influenced by Google in some way, shape or form. It’s a key component of business, contributes to online marketing, connects all corners of the world and is the undisputed ultimate heavyweight encyclopaedia! Due to its universal nature it needs to cater to and perform optimally for a lot of tastes – for this reason I’ve spent some time gathering opinions from different users of Google and their perceptions of its usability for their own purposes.
Users with specific intent
I asked people who used Google when looking for something specific like a service, for example a nail bar or car garage what they thought. These predominantly reported that oftentimes the best results hover around page 3. With some of the not-so-good results coming up before it seems as if tactical SEO still plays a part here. Those firms that employ it versus those who don’t could come out on top; perhaps more work needs to be done to filter these results and make them more naturally representative.
SEO folk
Opinion here is understandably more detailed and specific! Two SEO folk I spoke to spoke of the tabs around the site. One noting the loss of the news tab, another the Google Analytics tab, opinion appears to vary from user to user though and I imagine there’s a way of dictating what comes where on the home page interface. Adding my personal view to this, obviously with biased eyes too I find the results good on a day to day basis. I can usually find what I’m looking for although I do frequently have to use a “Google” head, when searching directly for what I want adding in time frames, dates or different phrasing or wording often yields the best results but I wonder if regular users would think to do this?
Big Biscuits CEO
This opinion is from a social media authority that loves Google just the way it is! She hasn’t noticed much with the introduction of Google+ results and still thinks it has great usability: “I love Google and the way you search. It always predicts the right results and it’s been easier since the tab with the news and other bits have been added. I like the virility of real-time and most viewed/nearest on the home page”.
Business searches
A local businessman with a good online presence for his company who uses Google for business purposes; scoping out clients, staying on top of industry news and events and researching into ideas and other firms. He enjoys it too and when I mentioned about ads, not only did he say that these weren’t excessive, they must be subtle because he barely even notices them! He recognizes PPC ads though and tends to look below these as he believes organic results show a higher relevancy.
Occasional user
This user uses Google to find specific websites for example to get onto eBay and for eCommerce purposes. They didn’t have much of an opinion but did say that even for well known sites such as eBay that they still often go through Google to get onto these. It seems to be the default and they liked the fact that typing in big names gets you to the right URL eliminating the need to guess where the hyphen is or if you’re looking for a .com or .org. Without the knowledge that redirects should take you there whatever you type in, this is how they use Google, as a solid and reliable stepping stone.
Despite all the changes and the increases in ads usability seems to have remained at a good level. For those whom Google is literally just a search engine it is perfect, for those looking for the best choice its ok but does not deliver best results on the first page and for those with a bit more knowledge, the ins and outs don’t seem to detract from what it does best – be a search engine. To celebrate this we’ve got a fun video from What Do You Love? Searching across numerous Google products with one click. Please leave your comments below!
So…for those of us who love a challenge…no longer are organic rankings the only responsibility to fall into an SEO Professional’s remit;
Now it’s PR…
And offline efforts…
And social media…
And forging of relationships via outreach…
And outreach in general…
And consistency…
And paid search results.
Apart from that it’s still exactly the same…
It’s no obscure fact that this industry is not stagnant – it doesn’t sit still and it never gets old. Whether those in it love a challenge or simply love the chase, one thing is for certain – those immersed in it love every second 
Evolution
Now though, SEO is by far more effective when used in conjunction with other disciplines as part of a broader marketing strategy. For this reason it can be frustrating; our previously stand-alone industry that answered to no one, did it’s thing, got rankings and made money with those ignorant of it scratching their head’s in bewilderment as to how we did it is no more. Now we have to integrate with other teams, learn about non-SEO type things and alter our strategies to fit in with others…
Integration
Operating as part of a wider marketing team is now vital; integrating and coordinating strategies to fit with PR efforts, offline initiatives, sponsorships or product launches as mentioned above is now part of the job description. Integrating SEO into these other services is a requirement and no longer can the SEO be whisked off to “do their thing” without speaking to anyone else. Learning to embrace these other services and learn at least the basics of them will land you in a position to recognise their need within a campaign and prove you adaptable to the changing needs of our industry.
Social
Social media is no longer optional either. Targeting and interacting with the online community takes care of so many tasks in our remit nowadays making social media a great tool at our disposal; creating influence, forging relationships, building quality links, performing outreach and getting answers to those obscure client needs we’ve all experienced…just in case you can’t tell I’m an advocate of it 
.
Social is also amazing in that is caters for people’s preferences in how they consume information. With multiple platforms available each displays information differently; via pictures, audio, video, animation, powerpoints, infographics or just plain old text. In the formal environment information displaying is limited, with social media there are so many different avenues with which to distribute content there are practically no limitations at all. It’s mobile and no matter your audience you can interact and engage with them effectively. Promoting your content is also heavily linked with SEO by driving traffic through social channels appropriate to your industry.
Investment
All this extra effort takes extra money, which in turn demands extra results. For this reason statistical analysis subscriptions for social and SEO analysis are now more important than ever in proving the worth and ROI of what we do. Of course these cost money too…
That little bit extra…
Although most have a wider aim than obtaining rankings now those firms vying for competitive terms tend to have to do something a little bit special to get them to the top. Becoming an authority themselves or gaining endorsement from other already established authorities, having some unique and innovative content often gains the traffic, trust, attracts the links and ultimately wins the place.
Conversions
Something I come across frequently is clients asking about conversions and as something I’ve had trouble with in the past this can be a very technical field, again time intensive and expensive depending on how far down the rabbit hole you want to go. My advice so far – learn the basics then if it gets too advanced, find a conversions expert – they’ll be worth the investment, IF you can convince the client that is .
SEO Gadget released a wonderful infographic on conversion rate optimisation last week – the guide is a valuable tool to refer to when embarking on your CRO client campaigns. We particularly like the “bad” path as useful reminders to keep us executing an effective strategy!
A CRO infographic by SEOgadget.co.uk, read the full guide on SEOmoz
So, you’re all set to open your first online eCommerce store. Everything’s ready and all that’s left to do is to go live with your masterpiece. After the testing times of the site build however, there’s something else important to consider…SEO.
SEO [Search Engine Optimisation] when done properly and as per the guidelines of Google can effectively generate quality traffic and conversions to increase sales and consequently profits. Below are some great SEO tips to apply on your ecommerce website to ensure that when Google Bot goes crawling – he likes what he sees…
1. Content
Problem - The need for genuine descriptions and specifications about each product. You can rarely fit a targeted keyword into these naturally, if you do its likely to look forced – something which can be a major setback and stop people continuing through to other pages of your site. Even on the homepage of many online ecommerce stores, content remains limited because of products being displayed alongside categories with bold prices and discount promotions.
Solution – Try to create a space to add some relevant content into your homepage or even “about us” page talking about the brand and service which are topics where it could be easier to fit keywords in more naturally. You could also potentially expand on the product category pages by elaborating on descriptions and going into more depth perhaps about the history of the product. Finally, the addition of a news or blog page updated regularly can help not only add content, but attract targeted traffic that finds you from searching different terms and phrases and not just for specific products that you sell.
2. URL
Problem - Ah wouldn’t life be easy if these ecommerce sites could have been made or developed into HTML rather than PHP, .Net or Javascript? Then we could easily make the name on the site URL into something slick like this: “http://www.xyzecommercestore.com/mobiles/blackberry-9220” instead of something ugly and SEO un-friendly such as the below: “http://www.xyzecommercestore.com/Products/ProductDetail.aspx?103=144andproductid=57603”.
Solution – It is possible to use SEO friendly URLs while developing your site. Ask your developer to make your URL of your category and product pages clean and tidy so that whenever visitors see your URL, they know they’re in the right place.
3. Broken Links
Problem - It happens…lets start with an analogy; you have a ladder in your tights or a stain on your shirt, you don’t notice for hours then one of your friends kindly points out at the END of the day your harmless little misdemeanor… The same goes for websites; there are millions of pages whereby either accidentally or intentionally some products have been removed or hidden. Google has already indexed these pages in the past though and may not taken them off its index yet allowing these pages to show and visitors to click on them. What they are most likely to see if they do this is “Sorry the page you were trying to check is hidden or removed” which could put people off visiting, potentially losing you custom.
Solution – Give them a diversion route! One of the most common ways is to 404’ that page, let people know that it no longer exists and give them an easy way of finding the right page. A wonderful example of this can be seen from technology mogul Apple where they’ve shown a Mini-Sitemap to visitors of their expired pages: http://www.apple.com/404.
4. Images
Problem - Hosting an ecommerce website with no product images is akin to going to a clothes shop with no clothes in…you just wouldn’t buy them! Continuing on with the analogy theme… it’d be like watching a movie on a blank screen where we can only listen but not see any characters.
Solution – Add top quality images to your site, ideally 3 to 4 of each product from different angles. These can aid massively with conversions in addition to allowing you to optimize an Alt Tag or two! Don’t forget to add these tags on each and every image with the product’s name to help assist Google Bot when he crawls your site.
5. Meta Tags
Problem - Whether you call them Mobiles, Cell Phones, or Lifelines what they all have in common is the fact they are plurals and if you are working on meta tags for a client they could well ask if it’s possible to rank for both singular and plural terms. The answer is yes but first it’s suggested to look at the search volume for those keywords; for example if “Mobiles” and “Mobile” have different search volumes you might want to target one more heavily than the other. However what if they do both have similar search volumes…
Solution – Think smart – you can add both keywords into your title tags in a unique way and not by stuffing. See here for an example: “Blackberry Mobiles: Buy Blackberry Mobile 9220 at MobileShop.com”. Et Voila! Both the singular and plural versions are now included in the title tag. Meta description tags do not count in ranking but should be made descriptive and enticing to encourage click throughs to your site. As a final tip try to add unique meta tags on each and every product page too – a laborious task but a necessary one.
There are lots more tips I could give you for applying SEO to an eCommerce site but the above are some the most important and actionable – I hope you find them useful!
Hyderali is a SEO Analyst at Red Door Online Pvt.Ltd currently working on an online shopping store called eZmaal.com. At the risk of sounding like a dating profile…he loves chatting about SEO, SMO, Analytics and anything internet!
One point five million dollars of investment from firms including Google along with an additional three million dollars from other sources; 200 sales before a working product was launched and 5500 total sales in less than six months of trading – this could be good.
In fact it’s just won “Best Business Model” in the US…check out the Press release here.
The Sales Pitch
I appreciate that mobile searches day is coming…and it has been for a number of years now. Success of relative newcomer Appstack to the concept could be the beginning of the coming of age mobile search has been chasing for so long. Originally pitched to Google the idea was
“A mobile website for small to medium sized businesses with the functionality of an app”
Another tagline being:
“Targeted mobile advertising”
Take a look at this:
The History
The company, now 30 strong in the US is growing at a well deserved rapid rate; if you take a look at them onsite you’ll see a fantastic website with a wonderfully fun, light and genuine feel. The staff pictures in particular inspire a chuckle in most, well…they do for us digital geeks anyway
The Product
So, you’re a local business, you have a website – but you don’t have a mobile website. Darn…
Appstack works alongside your website, displaying a mobile website when people searching on mobile devices, conduct their Google searches. The cinch comes in that because of investment from and an affiliation with Google, your mobile site is connected with Google Adwords. Location is set for example for all people within a two or three mile radius (all dependent on industry and search volume), as are your PPC keywords and phrases – all amendable and monitored monthly, then when people search for your target phrase which has been derived for you from Appstack Adwords testers on their mobile, your mobile site shows up in the search results. At present this is the only mobile search tool linked in with Google’s PPC system.
A choice of interfaces is available for your mobile site dependent on your industry for you to choose from and I believe you can also get a bespoke design should you wish. Having been shown the interface by their UK representative I can verify its simplicity and usability, even among non-computer folk. Most of the designs I’ve seen are between five to ten pages and you can design and edit your mobile site whenever you choose. As with other content management systems such as Joomla or WordPress, you receive a log in where you can go and edit your contact information, data, content or special offers at any time, you can also link your mobile site to your main website. Once you’re all set up and agreed, your mobile site goes live within half a day – the reason this is not instant is that time needs to be spent linking the site up to Adwords.
Results & Reporting
The reports are fantastic and delivered monthly. They list items like the number of impressions, number of times your site was displayed, the number of click throughs and the number of conversions i.e. the number that clicked to call or the number that clicked to ask for directions. Data for these figures is derived from Google Analytics. See below:
The Price
Fifty pounds (£50) per month; £30 of this goes on your PPC Adwords spend, £20 goes to Appstack for monitoring of the campaign and any admin…that’s actually it for once!
As a comparison I’m told the cost of a lower end mobile site is around £600 and with regards to statistics – in America 85% go from the free trial in to full service.
There is an opt out option too if you don’t feel the service is working for you and you get the first month for free due to Google’s offer of £50 free advertising for their first month.
The Techy Stuff
Once linked up, each client has their own automatic account which is linked to the Appstack MCC used to run each individual PPC account.
Issues
At the moment your URL on your mobile site shows up as a sub domain of Appstack reading something like www.appstack.com/YOURBUSINESSNAME. Programmers are working on this to make each site a subdomain of your original website.
Give it a Go!
Click here to have a play yourself NB: the two pink buttons on the bottom of the interface bring up more options.
Conclusion
I went into this meeting a skeptic; I came out still looking but not finding a flaw which is rare for me! I think this is a wonderful solution for local, targeted mobile search and I will be recommending Appstack highly as a service.
More Information
The UK representative is Charlie Whitaker who can be contacted at: Charlie@goappstack.com and connected with on LinkedIn as Charlie Whitaker.
You can also like Appstack UK here: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Appstack-UK/230985110309243
Dissimilar to printed media, its digital counterpart presents very few limitations nowadays and this is perhaps the best explanation as to why it is quickly consolidating its place in our society today. While on printed media you would need additional physical resources to increase the quantity of text, the digital content permits you to write as much as your heart desires. Or does it?
Lately, I can hear numerous questions regarding the optimal word count in blogs, articles or posts due to the Penguin mayhem so I’ve decided to state my personal opinion on the matter. The first thing you need to understand that online content cannot be subjected to any one size fits all rule. Some are perfectly capable of expressing their ideas in 200-300 words (synthesizing the points). Others prefer the more comprehensive approach, so their posts on a similar subject can easily exceed 2000-3000 words. Neither category is absolutely right or wrong and let me explain why.
Aspects to consider
First and foremost, keep in mind that in the online world, all niches have different requirements and rules. I’m not saying that there is a pre-established word count for every niche, well not really. However, there are certain practices concerning the word count average for the type of post you write.
For instance, informational blogs presenting the latest news or hottest trends in a niche will typically have a lower number of words, because their goal is squeezing in as much information as possible within a limited amount of space.
(Photo credits: Poster Boy NYC)
On the other hand, assuming that the website or blog is directed towards client interaction or presenting technical reviews for a certain category of products, then the length of the posts definitely increases in order to present a more detailed picture.
The thing is that these are simply guidelines and in the online world, you will rarely see blog examples that fit exclusively in one category. Therefore, what you really need to consider is the type of post you are writing and its purpose, rather than the overall genre of the blog. Take it on faith, it will definitely simplify decision making. Oh, and I should also mention that in order for your blog to gain consistency, try to stick to an average word count. At least as much as possible, don’t excessively crop your content in the process.
Setting achievable writing goals
In the blogging community, the perceived average word count for newcomers is around 400-500, so my advice is to set this as your target. 500 is neither too long (in fact, a post is considered long when it exceeds 1000 words) nor too short, so you will not bore the audience or leave the impression of spam.
However, once you become accustomed with this word count, you should set incremental targets. 600, 700, 800 and yes, why not, 900 words! Between 500 words and 1000 words, anything goes. Confused about the reason you should gradually increase the length of your posts rather than stick to the iconic 500? Here is why…
Word count and Google
When you write a blog post, you do it because you have valuable information and opinions that you want to share with the online world. But in order to do so, you must first show Google that your blog is worthy of making the top ranks in SERPs. Among the numerous changes to the search algorithm in the wake of the Penguin update, the longer, high-quality text content is prioritized compared to other forms of media. This means that once you get the hang of writing good content, you can take advantage of it by offering the Google bots more of it to crawl and index.
Planning ahead
But hold on, there’s more. In its holy war on terrorists… eh, spam I mean, Google now has a tendency of branding short posts – the ones commonly utilized in link building campaigns – as worthless.
While this currently applies to 50-100 words posts, who can predict the minimal length required by this search engine in the future? Better safe than sorry I say! And one more thing, the 500-1000 word count is the best way to introduce natural keywords without exceeding the maximum allowed by Google or making the content sound genuinely weird. Don’t forget to make the information readable by splitting the content into paragraphs or introducing relevant subheadings!
Byline
Hey there, my name is Chad Faith and I enjoy sharing my thoughts on issues like the optimal word count and other hot trending SEO topics!
Tracking a site is as important as developing it. Google Analytics is a powerful tool that will help you get the right insight about your website and each of its elements, by providing supporting facts and figures and enabling you [...]
Posted on March 29, 2013