Founder/Editor in Chief @ Tech Up Your Life and Cup of Moe. Bylines @ WhistleOut, MakeUseOf, TechBeacon, DZone, SmartHomeBeginner, DVD Netflix, Electromaker, and Electropages.
Location
Carrboro, NC
Education
English BA, Creative Writing Minor from UNC Chapel Hill
Absolutely, @petermortensen
! Basically, before I sit down to write an article, I do research to figure out what topics and sub-topics I need to cover in an article in order to fully convey a topic or answer a query. A good place to start can be looking at the People Also Ask and Related Searches sections in Google.
After that, I'll use a keyword research tool and look at monthly search volume as well as keyword competition. While volume is great, keyword competition lets you know how hard or easy it is to rank for a particular keyword. Ultimately, I'd rather rank really well (top 1-3 spots in a Google search) for a lower volume keyword than lower in the SERP (page 2, for instance) for a high volume search. There's that old SEO joke, "where's the best place to hide a dead body? Google, page 2." Click through rate (CTR) drops substantially even with the page one 4, 5, 6, etc. slots versus 1-3.
Then, I outline my article, integrating different keywords I'm targeting. And I optimize my content extremely well on-page, i.e. using a keyword-friendly URL, having my focus keyword as the headline/H1, using appropriate keywords as image alt text, incorporating keywords into my meta description. Of course, it's important to do all of this organically rather than forcing it. A lot of my SEO approach is just creating really high-quality, long-form, evergreen content that's keyword-rich and provides a lot of value to readers.
For further actions, you may consider blocking this person and/or reporting abuse
We're a place where coders share, stay up-to-date and grow their careers.
Can you summarise the SEO part here? What is the gist of it?
Absolutely, @petermortensen ! Basically, before I sit down to write an article, I do research to figure out what topics and sub-topics I need to cover in an article in order to fully convey a topic or answer a query. A good place to start can be looking at the People Also Ask and Related Searches sections in Google.
After that, I'll use a keyword research tool and look at monthly search volume as well as keyword competition. While volume is great, keyword competition lets you know how hard or easy it is to rank for a particular keyword. Ultimately, I'd rather rank really well (top 1-3 spots in a Google search) for a lower volume keyword than lower in the SERP (page 2, for instance) for a high volume search. There's that old SEO joke, "where's the best place to hide a dead body? Google, page 2." Click through rate (CTR) drops substantially even with the page one 4, 5, 6, etc. slots versus 1-3.
Then, I outline my article, integrating different keywords I'm targeting. And I optimize my content extremely well on-page, i.e. using a keyword-friendly URL, having my focus keyword as the headline/H1, using appropriate keywords as image alt text, incorporating keywords into my meta description. Of course, it's important to do all of this organically rather than forcing it. A lot of my SEO approach is just creating really high-quality, long-form, evergreen content that's keyword-rich and provides a lot of value to readers.