How search engine optimization fits in

Search engine optimization (SEO) plays a big part in the first step of this activity. You might incorporate SEO techniques into articles and press releases you distribute around the web; and at the same time, you might incorporate SEO techniques on your website so that it’s easier for search engines to find you.

The problem with SEO

Now here’s where the conundrum is: You need people to find you so it’s tempting to optimize your keywords to make it optimal for search engines. BUT, you need people to eventually buy so you want your content to make sense to them so that they are participating in your sales funnel. Unfortunately, these are not always congruent goals! Some experts pin optimal keyword density at 4%, which means that you need to have the same keyword appear 4 times in 100 words. That might be fine for search engines, and it might even be okay for some keywords, but a lot of keywords (especially long-tail keywords) start to seem excessive when written at that density. In a 500 word article, a keyword needs to appear 20 times. That’s excessive for any live reader. Your work might be search engine optimized but it is not human reader optimized!

When your reader finds your content annoying or difficult to understand, they will not buy from you. So, you might enjoy a lot of traffic (which accomplishes your first goal) but you won’t see as much sales (your second goal).

There are other techniques that you can use in your search engine marketing in order to reduce keyword density and improve readability while still creating search engine friendly content! That’s what this blog is all about!