How to Write Articles Using Search Engine Optimization

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of writing articles or other website content that uses specific words, known as keywords, a particular number of times in relation to the overall word count. The keywords are the words a potential visitor to a website is most likely to search on in their web browser. Websites with SEO content rank higher in the search results, driving more traffic to the site.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

Step 1

Conceive of article topics to write that are appropriate to the website and on topics that visitors to the site are likely to be interested in.
Step 2

Conduct keyword research using tools such as Google AdWords, Overture or Wordtracker. Some keyword research tools require a subscription, others are free to use, but they all function essentially the same way. You enter a term or phrase that you think is a keyword users are likely to search for and that will flow well into your article copy as you write. The software then displays a report indicating how popular that search term or phrase is. You then decide whether or not to include it in your article copy.
Step 3

Select two or three keywords to write into your article or other web content to create SEO copy.
Step 4

Use at least one keyword in your article or page title to ensure that it is search engine optimized. The title should be no more than 64 characters long, and it should be as accurate as possible.
Step 5

Write your copy. Include each keyword a minimum of two or three times in the body of your article copy or other web content. To ensure the proper density, SEO copy should have at least one keyword for every 100 words of copy.
Step 6

Ensure that your copy is original. Search engines give lower ranks to copy that duplicates other websites. Depending on the topic, some duplication may be inevitable, but never plagiarize.
Step 7

Update your content regularly. It's fine to leave your existing SEO articles or other web content up, but try to add fresh SEO content every week.