Writing for Google Searches

Writing for Google Searches

Becky Koch, (701) 231-7875,  November 2011

Unique Content

• Never copy other material; instead, link to it. The purpose of eXtension. (e.g. Extension publications)
• What makes your information different from anyone else’s?

 Keyword Usage

•  Relevant
  
• Think about the words your audience will use to search (e.g. trees, not horticulture)
• Google words to test them – hot dish = 13.4 million, casserole = 34.6 million
• Use Google AdWords
• Use these keywords repeatedly in the page title, introductory summary, subheads, early in the sentences of articles, etc.

 Content Organization

• Inverted pyramid – most important information first rather than building to conclusion; conclusion then why
• Many short articles rather than one very long one
• Subheads
• Bulleted or numbered lists
• Images
• Skimmable/readable

 Links to Complementary Content

• Link to high-quality, complementary .edu, .gov, .org; occasionally .com if appropriate
• Share/market your website so others will link to you
• Make it so “wow” that others share it for you

 Call to Action

• Tell readers what to do to fix their problem, improve their process, etc.
• So what? Who cares?

Avoid PDFs. Not nearly as searchable.

Avoid lists of links.

“In general, webmasters can improve the rank of their sites by increasing the number of high-quality sites that link to their pages.”