Are You Putting Your Keywords Where They Matter Most?

Keyword placement is sometimes the determining factor if your content is deemed relevant .. or not. Here are some guidelines to ensure you are making the most of your relevant content and expertise.

Always Put Your Primary Keyword in the Title (or H1)

It’s the biggest factor used by search engines and readers alike to determine what your content is all about. It makes perfect sense. The title of the page is what grabs the attention of readers when they do a search on the web. It’s a virtual book cover.

Make it easy for others (including the search engines) to figure what your article/page/website is all about. I’m not advocating stuffing every keyword into the title. Just focus it around your highest priority keyword or phrase. (For example, ‘keywords’ was the priority keyword for this post.)

In addition, it is wise to put your priority keyword as close to the beginning of the title as possible. A good rule of thumb is to work you keyword in by the fifth word. (See above.)

Using Keywords in the Subtitle

The second most important place to put your keywords is in the sub-titles (H2s and H3s). Again, search engines are reading more and more like humans every day, and as was pointed out in an earlier post, people typically scan the pages before they read.

Sub-titles are what the eyes scan for as they move down the page, so you’ll want to include your secondary keywords or phrase in addition to the primary one here.

One More Keyword Search Tip

Beyond the titles and sub-titles, placing keywords in the first and last sentences of an article can also be beneficial in helping them rank well in search engines.