Monday, March 14, 2016

Why SEO & CDO are Important to a Writer

The Internet is full of websites. Millions of them. Getting noticed or found in an ocean of sites is a challenge. Even when someone searches directly for us or the content we create, we still might not be one of the first sites to appear.

There are two ways search engines look for content. Both are important and work together to increase the visibility of a website.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) focuses on keywords. When someone searches for a particular word or words, search engines pull up the best examples. Writers can take advantage of this by:

• Good metadata and meta tags. Precise and specific metadata will help people to find you. Metadata describes other data - an image’s resolution or color depth; a document’s creator and length; etc. Meta tags are keywords used to describe a page’s content. These can be added to blog posts in the form of tags or used when setting up a website to list the contents of each page.

• Popular but not competitive key words. You want to use key words in your web copy that people searching for the content will actually use. You also want to appeal to emotion as well as state facts.

• Don’t use generic words. Avoid big words and be more specific. “Automobile” will turn up a million site, but “1975 blue Chevy Corvette” will narrow the search.

• Which brings up the next point - use a string of words. People tend to search with phrases rather than a single word. This is called a long-tail keyword search. “How to write better dialogue” is better than just “Dialogue.”

• Keep an eye on the news and what’s trending. Can you capitalize on what is popular or happening in the world?

Content Discovery Optimization (CDO) focuses on content rather than keywords. It’s looking for detailed and concise information. We can improve our content by:

• Doing our research. Get the facts and the full information. Fluff only works against us.

• Don’t be afraid to go into details. A 200 word piece that casually talks about improving dialogue will be buried in a search by articles that outline all of the options, using bullet points, images, and examples.

• Use current and relevant information. Keep an eye on new developments and the news. Focus on what’s happening right now. Old news won’t draw much attention unless you can put a new twist or spin on it.

Improving our keywords and content doesn’t work just for websites and blogs, either. It can do wonders for our book’s synopsis and gaining its visibility.

Make your work and sites stand out.

24 comments:

Alex J. Cavanaugh said...

I probably need less fluff...

Susan Gourley/Kelley said...

I just thought of some ideas reading that. Thanks for sharing this.

Bish Denham said...

I don't know how to add tags on my blog... :(

Pat Hatt said...

Always good to get less generic, as you say, it can get you away from the millions of other sites.

diedre Knight said...

Wow, I didn't know the half of it! So glad you shared :-)

H. R. Sinclair said...

Always good information and reminders. ;)

Karen Lange said...

Thanks for the info and advice, Diane. Have been writing web copy for a graphic designer and am sharpening my skills in this area.

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Bish, you can add tags under "labels" when you create a post.

Anonymous said...

Every so often I look at my SEO on my blog and see if there's anything I can do to make it stronger.

Joylene Nowell Butler said...

Thanks for this, Diane. It's a huge help. I'm bookmarking.

Denise Covey said...

Great points L Diane.

Yolanda Renée said...

Thanks, Diane!
I'll try harder. So much to learn so thanks for sharing!

Lux G. said...

I am yet to take these two seriously. I'm all just writing to my heart's content.
Thanks for sharing these helpful info.

Richard C. Lambert said...

There are two ways search engines look for content. Both are important and work together to increase the visibility of a website. ​seo services new york

Michelle Wallace said...

Very informative.
So we're saying use less tags... but more specific/unique as opposed to generic tags?

Nicki Elson said...

Thanks for your concise and clear advice!

S.A. Larsenッ said...

This post is perfect for me. I love that you've explained them together. TY!

Sherry Ellis said...

Thanks for the advice and explanations!

Unknown said...

I knew about SEO, but I hadn't heard about CDO before. Thanks for all the tips, Diane. I love bullet points! :)

Robyn Campbell said...

How come I've never heard of CDO? This post is the most useful post I've seen in weeks. TY. I did know about SEO, but now I know how to use it to my advantage. :-)

Robyn Campbell said...

P.S. I've decided to quit making excuses and join IWSG.

Hilary Melton-Butcher said...

Hi Diane - I know we have to 'target' our website so we get the maximum exposure and get noticed. This is fascinating .. and CDO is probably very important ... my blog posts are creative - and not very specific. I shall have to sort this out in the near future ... my labels are awful!

PS - I don't much like being found ... but having just had Denise Covey say she found me inadvertently via Google and promote my blog ever since ... perhaps I really had better get my act into gear! Cheers Hilary

L. Diane Wolfe said...

Lexa and Robyn, Google started relying more on CDO last year, so it's a fairly new concept.

Robyn, so happy you joined us.

Narayana Rao K.V.S.S. said...

CDO Interesting Idea.
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