SEO Is So Much Fun

By Simon M Skinner

Search Engine Optimization. Doesn't sound like a lot of fun, does it? Even when you call it SEO, it still just sounds so... technical. Thankfully, SEO doesn't have to be some sort of dreadful thing. If you take the time to learn a little about search engine optimization and are willing to practice, you just may find that SEO has become one of your favorite things to do! First of all, let me explain what search engine optimization is. In essence, SEO is using keywords (the search terms people use when conducting a search on Google, Yahoo or other search engines) in your website, your articles, anything else which will be published on the web. Why is this done? Because using these terms makes a website or article easier to find using a search engine. Since most people don't look to deeply into their search results ? a page or two, usually, you'll want your website to be as closer to the top of that list as possible. SEO is a big part of getting there. Let's say for instance that you have a website which sells flowerpots. You'll want to make sure that your website is optimized for the same words that people search for when trying to find flowerpots online.

It can be fun doing SEO and it isn't necessarily that complicated. Once you learn to look at the SEO process as something fun and you get a little practice, it'll get a lot easier and you may even start to look forward to it. How can you make SEO fun to do? Here's one idea to try ? think about your website and just start writing everything you want to say on it. Don't worry about keywords or even structure at this point ? you'll go back and rewrite it later. Once you've gotten your ideas down, look through it and examine you text for the keywords and phrases you've used which may be relevant to your site. Then go back and add other keywords you want to use that you missed on the first pass. Try replacing pronouns that refer to your keyword with the keyword itself. Make sure that your text still makes sense and reads naturally ? you don't want to overstuff your site with keywords; this will make it difficult for your readers.

SEO can be something you have fun with, but be sure not to go overboard with it. You can definitely use too many keywords in your text. You've probably come across a website or article yourself which did this ? it wasn't really that great to read, was it? It's best to keep your keyword density to between 1-2%; meaning that your keyword should appear once or twice per 100 words. If you've written a 500 word article, then your keyword should appear between five and ten times. Try thinking of writing this content as a game; see if you can manage to get the keyword density on target in your first draft. This will become easier the more practice you get at it.

Yes, SEO needs to be well balanced, but it is nowhere near as difficult as so many think it will be. If you take the time to be well informed and you work at it, you can make SEO fun to work on. Just make sure that you do your SEO like you would chocolate chip cookies. You need enough chocolate chips to have great flavor, but if you have too many, you will have a huge mess. Remember this when working on SEO. Make it fun, keep it balanced, and you'll find that the SEO just falls into place for you.

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