Keywords are Limiting, but Topics Bring a Broader Perspective
The current Google algorithm highly values the user experience online. The algorithm seeks to provide users with immediate solutions to their present needs and wants. Essentially, Google’s “focus is to create the best possible [user] experience online in the most efficient way possible.” – B2C.com.
The algorithm relies upon excellent content – content that is:
- Easy to Digest
- Well-written with a Focus on a Trending or Highly Searched Topic
- Authored by an Industry Expert
- Easy to Apply
- Timely
From such content, the algorithm dishes out the perfect morsel for the hungry searcher to consume; and the best way for searchers to find your consume-worthy content is for you to focus less on keywords and more on topics. In other words, focus less on mechanical terms that lack synergy and flow, and more on over-arching topics that are infused with applicable terms.
In comes theme-based SEO.
B2C.com defines it well by saying, “theme-based SEO is about delivering topics for users instead of stuffing keywords into content. This strategy creates a ‘theme,’ and optimization means using this approach rather than the old method of only focusing on the keywords.” They continue: “Organic search is more important than ever, and Google has taken a firm stance against keyword stuffing and the over-use of optimization. This directly affects a website’s ranking, and could result in being removed from the search results.”
So if theme- or topic-based content is key, how do you implement it?
- Use tools like Google’s Keyword Planner, which will highlight 30-50 words that fit into a particular theme.
- Narrow your findings down to your core keywords and infuse those (using synonyms for fluidity) into your content.
- Don’t leave out the basics – you should still pay attention to your tags by filling them in properly, and you should still implement reasonable link building.
The Takeaway…
The main thing to take away from this article is: just as organic search is becoming all the more important, so is organic content. What do I mean by “organic content?” Content that is fresh, of-the-moment, well cultivated and designed with the reader (or searcher/consumer) in mind. Allow your reader a refreshing trip to the farmer’s market, where the pickin’ is aplenty and the products (search results) are of high quality. Searchers aren’t looking for content that has been mechanically stuffed to the brim with keywords (think canned veggies); rather, they are seeking out content that speaks to them and offers them answers, keys and solutions to their questions (the reasons they’re searching in the first place).
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