Optimization Debate: During or after?

by Alyssa Ast

There is a constant optimization debate over whether the appropriate time to optimize content is during or after the writing process. Most say, the best time to optimize content is after the piece has been written, and then later go back and fill in the keywords/phrases. Others, however, choose to optimize while they write. The debate stems over the density level and how well the content flows when optimized during the writing process. Those who support optimizing after writing say content flows more naturally and the overall results are better than if optimized during writing. In my opinion, I think it all boils down to personal preference.

Which is the right way?
Honestly, I don't feel there is a right or wrong way when it comes to optimizing content as long as it's done correctly, and you achieve the results you desire. 99% of the time I choose to optimize content while I write it, and then go back thru afterwards to ensure it's how I want it to be. During my pre-writing process, I normally have sentences or phrases in mind that contain my keywords/phrases. I then just simply place these sentences where they fit within the content. Afterwards, when I do my final read thru, I check the density level, the flow of the content and where the words/phrases are placed. I have yet to be dissatisfied with my results. Rarely, if the keywords/phrases are tricky, then I will optimize after I have written the content.

I don't think it matters if you optimize during writing or after as long as the job gets done correctly. Do what feels best and natural for you.

Which do you prefer, to optimize during or after the writing process?

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by Alyssa Ast

'The Fundamentals of SEO for the Average Joe' is a valuable resource for increasing web traffic and profit potential. Author Alyssa Ast provides the basics of SEO (search engine optimization) in a clear and concise format. This resource also explains how SEM works to improve traffic and SERP's ranking. The combination of these methods ensures website visibility and profit probability.

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Google Panda: What Does It Mean for You?

by Alyssa Ast

Have you heard about Google's new Panda? No, it's not a cute, black and white cuddly bear, but a new method Google uses to index websites and web content to produce a SERP ranking. Some of you may not have noticed the changes as Panda was put into place, but others may have noticed a drastic decline in site traffic and ranking. If this is the case, it's essential you become up to speed and learn how to get your site back on top!

Google Panda
Google put the new Panda program into effect to basically weed out low quality sites, such as the content produced on many content mills or content farms. Why did they do this? Well, the answer is simple really. When someone searches for information on the Internet, they want to find the best content possible, easily, and not have to sort through endless pages of garbage to find what they are looking for. The idea behind the program is to make the online experience more enjoyable for the reader. It raises the bar for you when creating content, enforcing the fact quality content ranks over the quantity of content.

What are the indexing changes?
Now, when indexing content, Google is taking more factors into consideration, as well as the quality of the content they are indexing. Google is now looking at how quickly pages load, the relevancy of sites, and how and what types of links are used within content. Some of these were used with Google's previous indexing requirements, but they are now stricter with the new requirements. When Panda launched, only large sites were effected first, but now that the program has been put into place smaller sites are now seeing the results of the program.

What can you do?
If you've noticed your site has been hit by Google's changes, this first and most important thing to do is ensure you're producing quality content and your website/blog is something a reader will want to search for. Make sure your site can be found easily and the topic of your site is clear and relevant to the content you're producing. The content on your site needs to be original.

Take into consideration the ads you have on you site. How many are posted? Where are they located? If the ads make your site difficult to navigate it could cause a negative impact for your SERP ranking. The entire site needs to have authoritative and quality pages that are engaging to a reader. Now more than ever you must produce quality content in order to maintain your ranking.

Has your site been hit because of Google's Panda? What has your experience been like?

SEO Website Review: GettingItWrite.com

by Alyssa Ast

Stephanie Holbrook Stevens and Sarah Porter-Pennington, owners of writing resource GettingItWrite.com, granted me permission to review their freelance writing website. GettingItWrite.com provides valuable information to freelance writers in a clear, concise and informative technique.

Website: GettingItWrite.com

Search Ranking
When searched for on 2 of the major 4 search engines, Google and Yahoo, GettingItWrite.com landed in the top 10 results for both search engines. It ranked 9th on Google and 5th on Yahoo. This is a decent ranking because you never want to rank lower than the top 10. Their top 10 ranking is attributed to their catchy website title that also has a great search-ability level. The keyword phrase "Getting It Write" receives an estimated 5,400 global searches per month. Stephanie and Sarah did an excellent job picking a domain URL. This website is updated almost daily, which is essential for maintaining your search engine ranking. Great job!

URLs and Page Titles
Stephanie and Sarah picked excellent URL's. Their Welcome page URL is correctly hyphenated to maximize indexing. It's short, simple and easy to remember. My only recommendation in this area would be to make the page title and URL similar. The keyword/phrase used in the URL should also be used in the page title as well to maximize ranking.

META and Tags
I was unable to find the home page's Meta description on either search engine; however, the tags sections of each blog post are correctly utilized. It's best to have a correctly optimized Meta appear on a search engine's results page. This provides a website with the opportunity to entice readers to choose your site over another and also helps when a search engine indexes a site for ranking.

Links
GettingItWrite.com does have a few internal links within their posts, which is great! Some open to new windows; however, others don't. You always want to have your links open to new windows because it will keep the original web page from becoming lost. I recommend more internal links are used, at least once per post to relevant content. Also, outbound links to other sites help with indexing as well, as long as it links to authoritative and relevant content. Links play a large role in ranking. General rule of thumb, a 400 word post should have about 2 links.

Keyword Density
Unfortunately, when I ran the keyword density for the website, the density level came back very low, less than 1% on all keywords/phrases ran. You never want your density level to be below 4%. Luckily, this is an easy fix. By creating titles with catchy keywords and phrases, and then using those within the post and tags section, you can quickly increase your density level. Also, since this is a writing website and from what I gather from many of the posts, many are similar in topic. If the posts are categorized, for example "writing tips" or "writing jobs," and those are used in both the tags and title section, the density level will increase as well.

Recommendations
GettingItWrite.com has an excellent foundation. The strong areas are definitely the URLs, titles and ranking. However, my top priority for the site would be to get the META visible on the search engine and to beef up the keyword density level. Also, increase the number of internal links to boost on-site traffic.

GettingItWrite.com is a great site. If you're beginning your writing career, I recommend you check them out because they have a ton of valuable writing information.

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Free SEO Webite/Content Review Service!

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What are SEO/SEM review services?

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