So which is more important, to please the visitors or the search engine spiders? The unequivocal answer is to please the visitors. What good is a site that attracts spiders but not actual people? And what good is a site that only attracts some visitors but not search engine spiders?
In this article, we will go over writing matter that interests and pleases both your readers and the spiders.
So how do you write matter that pleases a visitor?
First, stick to writing matter that is relevant to your site. That means that if your site is about Rock music, you must not have any matter about dogs, as that only makes your site look bad and repels visitors.
Second, write matter in an easy to understand, conversational format. Do not use big, fancy words just for the sake of looking smart or pleasing search engine bots. I can’t count the number of times I’ve visited a site with content that is so hard to comprehend that I do not wish to ever come back to that site again. You want to create a good first impression on anyone who takes the time to look at your site, so make sure your matter is easy to understand.
Third, never ever write matter that is long, dull, and boring. If the point you are trying to get across can be said more in brief in 500 words, than why waste another 300 words droning on and on about the topic? This is a huge turnoff to potential visitors.
Fourth, ensure that all of your matter is grammatically correct. I know, this is hard because we live in the instant messenger world, where sentences like ‘how r u?” are thought to be acceptable. However, anyone who is well-educated will appreciate good grammar. Make your site shine in this department.
Fifth, don’t overuse keywords and keyword phrases. In other words, don’t make it blatantly obvious to the reader that you are trying to attract search engine spiders to your site. Make an effort to ensure that your keywords and keyword phrases flow into the matter of the article. This is easier said than done, but can be accomplished with a little fine tuning.
But what about search engine spiders? How do I please them?
Search engine spiders are actually very easy to please, much easier than actual human beings. This is because search engine spiders aren’t subjective–they don’t care what the subject is about; they just care about the number keywords and keyword phrases.
The only way you can possibly displease a search engine spider is by overusing a keyword/keyword phrase and making your site smell like spam. Search engine spiders are now more advanced than ever, and so they are better able to ignore sites that are full of spam. Too many keywords or keyword phrases that are blatantly there will hinder your site from being crawled by spiders.
Keyword density of 1-3% is usually considered to be good. Any less than 1% is bad and will make it harder for your site to get listed on search engines; any more than 4% makes your site look like spam. Keyword density is basically the number of keywords or keyword phrases in a piece of matter divided by the total number of words.
Before you write your article, take some time to make up a short list of keywords that are relevant to the topic at hand. Then try to naturally sprinkle them into your matter, so that your matter will please both the search engine bots and your readers. If you are able to do that, you will have a successful site in no time. Not only will the search bots love you, but actual people will, too!
Writing matter that is good for both people and search engines is an absolute necessary in making your site a powerhouse. So follow the rules above and you will be able to write excellent, pleasing matter!