SEO Article Writing: Using Different Types of Keywords in Articles and Resource Boxes

In your articles, focus on the long tail...

I thought it might be helpful to discuss the two different types of keywords that you will come up with after doing your keyword research and the different uses for each of these types of keywords.

Your Main Keywords:

These keyword phrases are usually 2 to 3 words long and competitive. This means that there is a high demand for that phrase (many people are using those search terms), but there is also a high supply for it (many websites are targeting that phrase). These 2 word phrases are important because they are extremely popular in your niche, but it is also more difficult to rank highly for them because of the increased competition.

Long Tail Keywords:

These are phrases that are usually 3 to 8 words long. While there may not be as many people searching for the long tail keyword phrases as your main keywords, it is easier to rank higher for the long tail keyword terms (due to less competition), and it’s easier to write an article to satisfy those terms. By writing your articles around your long tail keyword terms (one long tail keyword term per article), over time you can effectively create a blanket coverage of all applicable keywords, all directing readers to your site.

For example…

Main keyword phrases: Home school, home schooled, home schooling

Long tail keyword phrases: how to home school, home school curriculum, home school books, home schooling pros and cons, online home school, home school supplies, etc.

Example titles based off of the long tail keyword phrases:

How To Home School

How To Create A Home School Curriculum

Home School Books: 5 Classics You Can’t Live Without

Home Schooling Pros and Cons

Online Home School Options

Home School Supplies: Where To Find Them

Use longer tail keyword phrases for the articles themselves.

There is a big difference between the keywords you choose to focus on in your article and the keywords you choose to use in linking back to your website (in your resource box).

For the keywords you use in your articles, you’re looking at more longer tail keyword phrases (phrases that are 3-8 words or so long) where the competition is low. This means that you have a good chance of the article showing up high in the search engines (SEs) for the long tail keyword phrase that you’re focusing on.

So this is really in addition to the main keyword phrases for which you want your website to rank highly. With the long tail keyword phrases, you’re trying to get traffic through people finding the article, reading it and clicking through to your website.

Use your main keyword phrases for your resource boxes.

This has more to do with your long-term strategy regarding which main keyword phrases you want your website to rank well for in the search engines and has less to do with the article itself. By linking back to your site, you’re telling Google what your site is about (not the article itself), and you’re trying to get traffic through an increased ranking on Google for your site under your main keyword phrase(s).

The significance of that link is also increased by the context in which it is found – i.e. you’re writing about your niche in the article, and then linking to a site that is within the same niche. This is a more significant link than say if the article was about dog training, and then you linked to a site in the resource box that was about cooking fish. The link would be out of context, and not make a lot of sense to Google.

Summary

The overall strategy is to use long tail keyword phrases in writing your articles, and then use one of your main keyword phrases in your resource box to link back to your website.

The goal is for the long tail keyword term to help the article rank highly in search engines.

The goal for the shorter more competitive keyword phrase is to get your website ranking more highly for those competitive terms.

Both types of keyword terms work together in your article marketing campaign to bring you more traffic via the search engines.

Photo by Tambako the Jaguar

Tweet This Delicious Digg This Facebook Stumble This