Should you write first - optimize later?
-
We are redesigning the website for our blog and podcast for an upcoming press release. In rewriting to improve some of our blog posts, podcast descriptions, copywriting and overall presentation, would you recommend writing for the reader _first - _then optimizing through SEOMoz? Or should you write with SEO in mind first? I'm a rookie to SEO and would appreciate any recommendations or strategies you may have. Thank you!
-
Thank you for the reply, Dawn. I appreciate the feedback!
-
I'd definitely recommend writing for the humans with quality, focused content, but then optimizing the page so that it ticks the boxes from an SEO perspective. Nothing is worse than a page which is obviously written for SEO. Likewise, it's also no good if the page never gets seen as it doesn't rank.
A few tweaks here and there with written content to optimize subtly should do the trick.
-
Great analogy, Stephen - a perfect marriage of form and content. I really appreciate the feedback. Have a great night and an even better 2013!
-
I agree with Will. However, imagine that writing content is like building a really awesome skyscraper: you obviously are doing it for "the people" but you have to remember that the "building code inspector" (Google) will come along and make sure everything is in order.
Short story -- you should design for people and code for Google.
Just because the content is killer doesn't mean that it'll explode. However, if you write killer content that is coded for SEs and then distribute it to all your network, once everyone starts spreading it... Google will "endorse" it because they like the markup and you'll see great rankings as a result.
-
Really appreciate the feedback, Will. All the best and Happy New Year!
-
I am firmly in the write for humans camp, but I need to caveat that. You need to make sure that your re-design is optimized from a structural standpoint -- it sounds like you have done that, and you are just asking about whether you should write your content for humans or for algorithms. If that is the question, then I think you are much safer if you write for humans and make sure you create compelling, interesting, highly appealing content for your audience, and after that, you can do a keyword review. For almost any website, you are not going to succeed if you write boring content that hits your top keywords. But you will succeed if you write outstanding content that hits your keywords. Hope this is helpful.
Browse Questions
Explore more categories
-
Moz Tools
Chat with the community about the Moz tools.
-
SEO Tactics
Discuss the SEO process with fellow marketers
-
Community
Discuss industry events, jobs, and news!
-
Digital Marketing
Chat about tactics outside of SEO
-
Research & Trends
Dive into research and trends in the search industry.
-
Support
Connect on product support and feature requests.
Related Questions
-
How do I create multiple page URLs that are optimized for location and keywords that may be overlapping or the same?
Hi guys, I am attempting to create unique URLs for several different pages on a website. Let's say hypothetically that this is a website for a chain of Ice Cream Shops in Missouri. Let's say they have 15 locations in Springfield, Missouri. I would ideally like to optimize our Ice Cream Shop's in Springfield, Missouri with the main keyword (ice cream) but also the geo-specific location (Springfield), but we obviously can't have duplicate URLs for these 15 locations. We also have several secondary keywords, think things like: frozen yogurt or waffle cone that we can also use, although it would most likely be more powerful if we use the primary keyword. Any suggestions for how to go about doing this most effectively? Thanks!
On-Page Optimization | | GreenStone0 -
How to Optimize Multiple Listing Pages
Hello Webmasters, How can I optimize a site having a listings which creates various multiple pages? e.g: Pages like below: http://moz.com/blog?page=2 http://moz.com/blog?page=3 etc I want to optimize meta tags of these pages. If i put common title and description. My moz analysis showing duplicate meta tags and duplicate description issues. Please guide me to optimize these type of pages.
On-Page Optimization | | wmsindia0 -
The need of two-keyword optimization in the same page
Hi there! Due to the business model of my company I have to optimize two keywords in one page. I just asked about this question before and someone told me thant as long as they refer to the same concept and have almost the same "meaning", it is possible. The problem is how to face it up. I mean, there's one H1 label, one title, etc....and what's the "policy" of key distribution in the content in order to priorice these keywords? What you guys recommend? many thanks
On-Page Optimization | | juanmiguelcr0 -
I am optimizing my webpages according to suggestions from the On Page Report Card. Should I have more than one keyword for a page?
I am optimizing my webpages according to suggestions from the On Page Report Card. Should I have more than one keyword for a page or should I make separate pages for each keyword even when they are similar? Will Google penalize me for making similar pages? Imagine selling, bargain milk chocolate peanut clusters. Keywords examples could be: Bargain chocolate Bargain milk chocolate Bargain milk chocolate peanut clusters Bargain chocolate peanut clusters Chocolate peanut cluster bargains Milk chocolate peanut cluster bargains Etc. Will one page called http://mycompany/bargainmilkchocolatepeanutclusters.com be OK or should I have one called http://mycompany/bargainmilkchocolate.com and one called http://mycompany/bargainmilkchocolatepeanutclusters.com and one called http://mycompany/chocolatepeanutclusterbargains.com , etc.? Thanks for your advice.
On-Page Optimization | | KSHAYY0 -
Optimize a PowerPoint presentation
how to SE optimize a PowerPoint presentation on the website? Will it help to upload it to slideshare ?
On-Page Optimization | | intiGrow0 -
Can you optimize for 2 keywords per URL?
Or should you just stick to 1 page, 1 keyword all the time? If you do 2, are there any things you should watch out for? Thanks
On-Page Optimization | | inhouseninja0 -
Title optimization best practices for clients with insanely long business names
How do others utilize keywords and preserve branding in the title tag for clients with a REALLY long name? Two examples. Example 1: Business name is 38 characters long in the following format: [Firstname] [initial] [Lastname] [Businesstype] Services 38 characters is workable, but the keywords for what he offers and this industry in general are long too. He abbreviates to his initials in the domain name - I don't love doing that as the acronym has a meaning of its own. (We unintentionally acquired at least one very amusing if useless backlink thanks to that.) Leaving off "Services" saves a few characters. Example 2: Business name totals 58 characters and references their two related lines of business. Similar to: Rogers Institute of Robotic Studies and RIRS Robot Repair
On-Page Optimization | | MaryAnneG
or (saves a few characters)
Rogers Institute of Robotic Studies and Robot Repair How would you handle that? Use the appropriate half of the name on pages related to that particular LOB? Only use the brand on some pages? Abbreviate more? I've been using their full name on the more "general" pages of the site and omitting it in favor of keywords on the more specific pages . Suggestions? Other ideas?1