Writing content for Search Engine Optimization

Writing website content can seem like more of an art than a science sometimes. Search Engines use ever-changing algorithms that analyze the relevance of a website to the search “keywords”.  Writing content with search engines in mind is an important factor in ranking highly on Google or any of the other major search engines. 

1. Write Naturally. A site that maintains it's readability is more likely to stand to test of time from both a SEO and Client standpoint. If a page seems awkward because you are trying to fit in too many keywords, you may want to consider creating separate pages for each keyword.
    
2. Keyword Weighted Average. Take the number of words that you have in your text and devide it by the number of times that your keyword is used. For most search engines, a Keyword should account for 2%-9% of the content. Including a word or phrase too many times can lead to negative ranking. Synonyms and diferent tenses are often counted as the same word by some search engines (i.e. finance = financing)
    
3. Headings and Links in Text. Words used in headings and hyper-links are weighted slightly stronger by most search enginges.
    
4. Title and Description. The Title (which appears in the bar at the top of your browser) and Description (which does not appear on the page, but is visible to search engines) are both important factors to SEO ranking.
    
5. External Links. One of the most important changes that Google has implimented recently is the strong weight that it gives to links coming into your site from other popular websites. This can play a major role in where your site ranks. Links from major websites (i.e. www.denverpost.com )will help your site more than links from smaller websites (i.e. www.VailDaily.com). You should encourage associated businesses to add links to your site.