SEO Article Writing: 15 Tips For Writing Properly Optimized Articles

Do SEO article writing correctly, and you will make your article more appealing to readers, publishers and search engines.

Do it incorrectly, and the article ceases to make sense and appears to be of much lower quality.

Not sure how to write with keywords effectively?

Here are 15 tips to help you write properly optimized articles:

1 - Long tail keywords (usually non-competitive phrases that are 3-5 words long) should be used as the topic of your article.

2 - Use your main keyword phrases in the HTML resource box. Use the main phrase as the anchor text that forms the link going back to your website.

Your main keywords are competitive 2-3 word phrases. By "competitive", I mean that there are many people searching for this term associated with the topic of your website, but there are also many websites that are competing to satisfy the demand.

3 - Vary the keywords that you target in your HTML resource box. Create a list of 10 or so main keyword phrases and alternate using them.

4 - If you are doing local business article marketing, use the HTML resource box for the keyword phrases that specify your location. Don't worry so much about trying to incorporate your location into your title and article, but rather write the article on your general niche and put your location specific phrase in your HTML resource box.

5 - Create a spreadsheet or just use a pencil and pad of paper to list your long tail keyword terms. Next to each term, brainstorm article ideas and possible titles that use the term in a natural sounding way. One productive brainstorming session can give you enough keyword-rich article ideas for months.

6 - The term that you are targeting should fit naturally into the context of your article--don't force it! Always be sure that the key phrase makes sense within the context of your article and is grammatically correct in the sentence.

7 - What if one of your keyword terms contains a spelling or grammar error? Don't use it. Grammar and spelling errors in your article hurt the quality and make your article less appealing to publishers and readers.

8 - Incorporate your key phrase in the title, of course in a natural sounding way. If possible, try to use the phrase as close to the beginning of the title as you can. If you can get your targeted term within the first 3 words of your title, all the better!

10 - Make certain that your title makes sense and is free of spelling and grammar issues too. Remember, the title is meant to draw readers to your article, so you really want to create a title that is memorable, in addition to having your special phrase in there. You will not always be able to fit your keyword phrase in the first 3 words. If you can't, then just create a title that is appealing and makes sense and has the phrase in there somewhere.

11 - Your resource box should contain complete sentences, rather than just a hyperlinked key term.

12 - Also, try to work your special term into the first paragraph of your article.

13 - Target just one phrase per article and one phrase per resource box. Resist the urge to pepper your article with the term that you are targeting. That tactic is not necessary, and you end up compromising your article's quality.

14 - If you put the keyword phrase in the title, then the article must be about what the title indicates. The title must specifically relate to the article.

15 - Always remember that your primary audience is human readers--your article needs to provide valuable information that a person in your target market would find helpful. First and foremost, write for the real people who will be reading your articles, rather than for search engines.

As you are doing SEO article writing, focus on creating high quality articles that are interesting and helpful, and then you can target a particular keyword phrase in a subtle and natural sounding way using the 15 tips in this article.

About the Author:

For more info on how you can use article marketing to reach thousands of potential prospects for your website, go now to www.submityourarticle.com/report Steve Shaw is an article marketing expert and founder of the popular article directory at SubmitYOURArticle.com/articles visited by thousands daily.