So, I started writing a blog, in part, for the SEO benefit. For the uninitiated, search engines like sites that offer fresh content on a regular basis. They also like sites that are larger in scope. So, naturally, writing a blog and increasing the number of pages on your site, while also offering fresh content, is a great way boost your SERP.
So after writing five or six blog entries, I noticed that my site, which I had built from not ranking in the top 120 for the keyword “James Lambert” when I launched it five weeks ago to 28 on the search engine results page last time I checked, had slipped considerably. It was now coming in at 66. Had my site become that much worse over night? Did all those other sites become that much better?
I thought search engines like blogs?
Ummmm ... yeah. One thing I didn’t keep in mind when I began my blog was my keyword density. I had so-so keyword density as it was because I didn’t want to turn the site to gibberish by repeating my keywords – I would like my site to appeal to humans as well as search engines.
But taking a look at the numbers on the SEO grader I use, my keyword density on “James Lambert” had slipped considerably, and I think Google noticed (glad you are keeping such close tabs on James Lambert, but feel free to pay a little less attention next time).
Many suggest keeping your keywords density around 10 percent. It’s doable, I guess, but the result doesn’t always read really nice. Also, I’ve seen some people just pile a bunch of keywords into a footer to improve density. This might work, but I wouldn’t advocate for it. Something tells me the fine folks (mathematicians) at Google have an algorithm that can detect just that sort of thing. And if they detect something like that, be sure that they will ding you for it.
So, how do I fix this? Or closer to your heart, if you are realizing you have this problem also, how do you fix it? Here’s what I’m doing:
I’m adding a tagline to each of my blogs that includes some keywords, but still makes sense in real English. This was an oversight, and something I should have planned for in the first place.
Second, I am putting my name (my most important keyword to me) in the title of the blog.
These fixes, I hope, will get me back on track, because James Lambert hates when James Lambert’s keyword density slips on the keyword phrase “James Lambert.” (haha get it?)
Visit my design portfolio at http://www.jblambertdesign.com
James Lambert is a Vermont newspaper editor, more specifically the design editor at the Rutland Herald. He is also an MSIT student at Marlboro College and enjoys developing Web sites and SEO. He blogs here from time to time about these topics.