How To Write Around SEO Keywords And Phrases In Your Articles

When you write around SEO keywords in your blog posts or articles, it helps search engines index your content.

But you have to write for your readers and keep the context of your content informative.

Concentrating too much on including keywords can result in poor-quality writing.

Yes, you should always consider keywords in your content creation, but you have to use them sparingly and include them naturally.

Write around SEO keywords, naturally

You’ve certainly read many blog posts where too many keywords interfere with the flow of the writing.

If you try to include too many keywords related to your topic or business, your article will probably make little sense to a reader.

Keyword stuffing is a well-known phrase among bloggers and readers alike, so you need to avoid it at all costs.

It might sound like a good idea to an inexperienced blogger to help increase your search engine ranking.

But it’s not a great idea and will usually have the opposite effect.

If a reader finds a blog post and certain words are repeated continually throughout the text, it makes for a terrible read.

Worse than that, search engines will notice and perhaps deindex your content.

Keyword stuffing worked and was very popular many years ago, but you won’t get away with it today.

When you write a new article, your main priority should be offering your readers your knowledge, answers, and value. Write for humans and not for algorithms.

But yes, search engines need a little guidance, and this is where the appropriate use of relevant keywords comes into play.

Research your keywords

Do your keyword research to find a good keyword phrase that relates to your article topic.

Look for one seed keyword phrase and perhaps a couple of associated phrases.

You can include your phrase in your title tag and meta description, but go easy and only use it once or perhaps twice in your text.

But make sure you include the term naturally in your text, and don’t force it. You can use a variation, but if it doesn’t fit, don’t use it.

Your text should be sufficient for search engine algorithms to understand your article’s primary topic or subject.

Write longer blog posts

You can use your keywords and phrases more by writing longer posts. If your post is only 500 words, and you use ten keywords, it’s obvious that you are keyword stuffing.

You can’t write with any flow with such a high keyword density. However, it can work if you use your target keyword a few times in a blog post that is 2,500 words long.

Long-form articles also allow you to add more value to your post and more information for your readers.

It also gives you opportunities to include your keywords or semantic keywords naturally.

There are so many blogs now pumping out poor content every day. If you want to stand out from the crowd, write comprehensive and unique articles covering your topic in full.

Google also seems to favor longer posts, so it can only help your prospects of ranking a little higher.

Yes, it takes longer to research and write a long article. But it is far better to publish one fantastic article per week than one short one every day.

Excellent writing will always increase your traffic over time and bring readers back to your blog.

Write for people, not machines

The most critical feature of creating great content is writing for people, not algorithms.

Your audience will relate to you and build a relationship with you and your blog.

If you want your readers to bookmark your blog and come back to check for more posts, you need to write content that brings value to them.

As much as keywords are essential, skip the paragraph or two where you are trying to include your keywords and phrases, and just write naturally.

Your audience should find so much information in those paragraphs that keyword placement is unnecessary in your text.

People relate to what people think and believe. So inform them without relying on your use of keywords.

However, if there are keyword phrases you want to use, include them as carefully and as naturally as you can in your title and content.

But keep in mind that search engines don’t need a lot of guidance now and can understand the thrust of your content without relying on keywords.

Another tip is to decide on your topic before you hunt for keywords. If you decide on a keyword first, you stand a chance of forcing your writing to suit.

Proofread every word

If you write around SEO keywords for the sake of it, it always carries the risk of errors in context and grammar.

When possible, always ask someone to read your post before you publish it. This way, you can get an unbiased opinion.

Writers can be their own worst enemies when it comes to proofreading and editing. It’s difficult to quickly turn your creative writer’s brain into an analytical mind.

Always get a second opinion, if possible.

Keywords and phrases in sentences often create a problem with sentence structure.

If you can’t get help, then at least use a good online grammar checker to analyze your article drafts.

Many of the better checkers now can dig deeper than ever and even give you help on tone, style, and reading ease.

Proofreading is a vital component of quality writing, so never overlook this step.

Summary

We all know that we need to include a keyword or phrase in the title of blog posts or articles.

But they shouldn’t read like advertising billboards in the middle of an article.

Search engines like Google and Bing are getting smarter and smarter and rely a lot less now on keywords.

Search engine algorithms can now discern the difference between naturally written quality texts and forced or AI-generated texts.

Sure, if your keyword is sweet potatoes, it will help Google know where to index your post.

But how high it ranks depends on the depth and quality of your writing, your original images, and perhaps even an instructional video.

Ultimately, it’s about your topic, the quality of your writing, and how well you can connect with your readers.

Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that keywords alone will win the day for you.

Related Reading: The Nine Most Powerful Trigger Words You Can Use In Writing