How do you proofread your copy for SEO and keyword optimization?

Don’t forget that keyword research can be conducted through interviews with your target audience. You want keyword usage to sound organic and natural to the reader instead of forced or stuffed in.

This is backwards and doesnt belong in an article about editing. You should be doing your audience and keyword research before you begin writing. If you reach this stage and you're just now thinking about keywords, you're not doing SEO, you're turning an article into keyword spam. This should all be done ahead of time and submitted to the writer in a detailed brief (or make one for yourself if you're doing both steps).

There are free tools that you can access, such as Keyword Surfer for Google searches or TubeBuddy for YouTube! Use tools like these to check that the top keywords you've selected are actually being searched for, but that they aren't too popular either, otherwise you'll get lost in the mix! Try looking at short key phrases of 3-4 words instead of just one keyword.

Don't get caught up trying to cram in a thousand keywords. You'll just end up with gibberish! Pick a small number that you really want to rank highly for, and that your keyword research shows is worth ranking for in terms of search frequency, and work them into your copy organically.

In my experience, using a keyword research tool such as SEMrush is highly beneficial. Not only will it provide you with your keyword volumes but also more metrics such as CPC, difficulty, intent, etc. This is a massive help when it comes to proofreading copy because you can decipher whether or not the tone and intent are correct for the niche and topic you are targeting. SEMrush also provides users with real-time analytics that can further be used to find new target keywords that can lead to creatiing new and insightful content.

This is spot on. I’ve experienced a lot of success following the aforementioned guidelines. Further, it can be especially helpful to reverse engineer by using search optimized articles within your specific niche as examples of how to approach keyword placement and gauge effectiveness. Generally, you will find said articles on the first page of search results.

A great trick to integrate keywords in key places is to pose them as questions. This is often how a lot of people search for the keywords that you want to rank for. What questions is your ideal audience asking? Can you create a headline that specifically states that question while integrating those keywords and then answer it? For longer content such as website pages or sales pages, you can even add keywords into your FAQ section.

We all know that Google is looking for one main thing: improving user experience. To do that: 1) Answer the question. If the post doesn't quickly, and accurately, address their initial question, we've already failed. 2) Write in a conversational tone so it's easier to understand. Long, drawn-out or technical posts lose the readers interest or leave them with more Q's than answers. Engage your readers in a way that feels familiar & friendly—not cold & confusing. 3) Write in an easy-to-follow cadence. Run on sentences aren't welcomed here unless absolutely necessary. Opt for: —Shorter sentences —Accurate punctuation that moves the story along —And bullet points when appropriate (like I did here) Keep the eyes moving down the page.

With the availability of Chat GPT and similar that can reword things in the blink of an eye there really is no excuse for copy and pasting anymore.

It's also useful to get an actual human to check your site for you. As part of proofreading websites for businesses I also check usability and click on every link and complete every form. It's the best way to find the mistakes and smooth out any user issues that may lose you clients.

Be sure to check your links to ensure they're adding value. Seek primary sources rather than posts or opinion pieces quoting primary, secondary or tertiary sources. If you are linking to research, be especially careful and make sure it passes the smell test. Bad research and shaky content inevitably diminish the SEO value of your links.

It's possible to over-optimize anchor text. The anchor text of a link should match the content that the user will find on the page you're linking to. Set clear expectations about what they'll find. This is your only priority. If you're executing your content strategy well, these words will naturally improve how users and bots understand your site. Don't prioritize keywords over UX.

Again, I'm not sure what this has to do with proofreading. Testing your pages for device and browser responsiveness is vital upkeep for any website. But if you're doing it while you're trying to proofread text your priorities and workflow are way off. Proofreading is a very specific task.

Reading copy aloud is a fail proof way to make sure what you’ve written is conversational. If you find yourself stumbling over sections, that may be an opportunity to revise that portion for clarity.

I think a human perspective on a website is still VITAL despite all the great tools out there you can use. Your customers will be real people after all.

Proofreading SEO copy is a balancing act! I’m constantly considering: 🤹♀️: Keywords 🤹♀️: Keyword Volume 🤹♀️: Keyword Difficulty Rates 🤹♀️: Style Guidelines 🤹♀️: Readability Some components are more important than others. It depends on the client, their brand, and their SEO goals.