The importance of optimized online content for Web sites: Improving your search engine rankings.

     In today’s world, if Google can’t find you, you might as well not exist. That’s why having a Web site rich in optimized online content is so important if you want to improve your search engine rankings and increase your Web presence.

     Search engines like Google rank Web sites on their search results pages according to how relevant they deem that site for specific search terms.

     As Internet marketing affiliates and others keep trying to outsmart Google, Google will keep modifying its search engine ranking algorithms. Today, search engine optimization (SEO) experts agree that the one thing Google will always reward with high results rankings are unique, content-rich Web pages.

     These must be properly optimized—that is, they must contain important keywords and search terms. But the great news for legitimate Web site owners is that content can—and should— be written in a natural, free-flowing manner by real humans, and that this content will receive better rankings than software-generated content chock-full of keywords.

     This means Web copywriters should focus just as much on writing articles that are engaging, informative and can generate a reader response, as on writing content that’s keyword-rich.

     Using original online content to improve your rankings is called organic SEO. This is important because sites that have been organically optimized will stand the test of time as Google and other search engines continue to update their algorithms to exclude ‘dummy sites’—those that are content-free and ad-rich—from their results pages.

     A high search engine ranking—meaning your site appears on the first few pages of a search engine’s results pages—is also important because Web sites listed on page 1 get the highest traffic volume. Surfers rarely visit sites that are buried deep in the search results. A keyword-optimized site means you’ll get more traffic, and that visitors are more likely to find your site to be relevant.

     But Google has caught on to some past online copywriting tricks. Now, if a keyword appears too frequently in a site’s content, search engines are likely to deem it a dummy site and exclude it from results pages. So while keywords and keyword phrases are important for properly optimized Web page—they mustn’t be used too much. Again, what is more important is that content is written in a natural, free-flowing style.

     Another quality that search engines are now looking for in online content is the presence of expert lingo. Expert lingo means the terms and phrases that experts naturally use when discussing a topic. The presence of expert lingo in Web copy usually means a human did the copywriting, that the articles are legitimate, and that visitors will find the site to be useful and informative.

     This change to the search engine algorithm is bad news for owners of dummy sites, short on quality content but rich in ads. But it’s good news for those who want legitimate sites to promote a legitimate business. It means that all you have to do to get a good search engine ranking is to write original content using natural, expert lingo and optimal keyword phrases for the search terms your target traffic is likely to use.

     In addition, in order to get and maintain your search engine ranking, you should regularly update your content. This includes adding new copy to your existing articles, as well as adding new articles on new topics. It also means incorporating new search terms, in order to expand the number of terms for which your site scores a high ranking.

     For example, if you have a Web site about lawn care, your site might rank third when people searched for ‘lawn mowers’, but not rank at all when they searched for ‘grass seed,’ even though those searchers would find your site to be relevant. Adding fresh content about additional topics will increase the number of keyword phrases for which your site ranks high on SERPs.

     In addition, high rankings for long-tail or secondary keyword phrases will help to boost your ranking for the highly competitive terms. So instead of just trying to get a high ranking for ‘lawn care’ you’ll do well to write online content that is optimized for many relevant phrases that are less competitive.

     In summary, writing unique articles for your Web site so that your pages are original and content-rich will give you an organically optimized site to which search engines will give a high ranking over the long haul. In the next article we discuss in depth how to write readable, optimized Web copy for high search engine rankings and an effecting visitor experience.

Contact us to learn how Hired Gun's SEO experts and Web writers can help you make the most of your Web site with high-quality, affordable SEO content.

           Read the next article: Creating optimized Web content for search engine and reader results.

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