When you place an order for web content writing from freelance bloggers, choices you are asked to make include the keywords you want included and any special instructions. Since the first search engines were launched, speculation about keywords has abounded. How many could you use? What sort of density? There are a lot of myths and ideas about how much keyword density mattered and how the keywords you used would affect your results.
The truth is, it really never did.
According to recent research, top 10 search results on a number of keywords include anywhere for .5 to 20% keyword density. Google has never addressed the idea of keyword density except to tell people not to keyword stuff. And, that makes sense; it’s a practice that leads to web content that is a chore to read.
And, the right density to rank is a moving target. A 4% density in a 200 word piece is going to look a lot different — and a lot worse — than 4% density in a 1000 word article.
Early search engines weren’t all that smart. Lycos, Ask Jeeves and the like probably did use keyword density to figure out what a page was about. But, search engines today are much smarter. As long as the keywords you want to optimize for appear somewhere on your page, preferably in an H1 or H2 tag, you probably have your bases covered.
What really matters? Searcher intent.
While Google is very careful to protect how their algorithms work, they’ve always been very honest about what they want from webmasters: quality content that meets searchers’ needs.
Instead of getting hung up on how many keywords you have per 100 words, think about how happy a searcher will be with the content she sees when she gets to her page. Will she learn something? Will it answer the questions that she has? Is she likely to keep on reading and maybe sign up for more, or is she going to navigate back off your page to look for something else?
By hiring freelance web content writers to create material for your sites that is genuinely helpful and interesting to your prospects, you are more likely to win them as readers and clients. And, you’ll do better in the search engine results along the way.
Bio:
Lara S is a freelance writer who lives on the Gulf Coast of Florida. She’s written extensively about inbound marketing, effective content, and building relationships. Contact her for white papers, ebooks, blog posts and articles that help you win new clients and keep them coming back.
Web Content Writing Freelance
