Keywords for Robots and People
I’ve read that keywords are dead. Well, the individual “keyword” may be a little sick these days. One, singular keyword may not hold the significance it did with Google, but it may be more significant than you know.
Today, it is reported that Google is “looking for meaning” on your webpage. This is a bit eerie, but it is the new world of artificial intelligence. So the individual words may not be as important, but the word strands (or long-tail keywords) are more important. Google is trying to pair your queries to the phrases on a page – this is called relevancy. So it is more important to optimize your site for specific meaning rather than specific keywords.
As a writer, I know words matter. And they must still matter in the digital space as well. Sure, now you can use synonyms instead of stuffing the same keyword over and over in a paragraph, but if you are searching for “keywords,” you better see articles with the word “keyword” in the title, subheads, photo description and body copy or you will bounce out faster than a speeding ticket.
Robots may select what is served to you, but people must find a direct link between what they searched and what is on the page. And since we know people only spend seconds on a page, the connection between the search query and words on your page needs to be loud and literal.
Other considerations for SEO in the modern age:
- Structure – You must adhere to Google’s parameters on structure of headers, body copy, sidebars, footer and photo/graphic descriptions. (Anything to make the site simple for Google to search and derive your meaning.)
- Crawlable sitemap
- Improve site speed
- Add video and properly optimize it for search
- Don’t forget that photo cutlines and descriptions may be just as important as headlines
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle.
After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant.
He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.”
Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.”
One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College.
Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board.
Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.