Not so long ago I wrote a post on my rant blog about the Australian federal election. Being mindful of keyword selection, I included the names of the main party leaders in the post title. Just as I'd hoped, a reasonable number of people were including those two keywords in their searches and I managed to sneak onto the first page of Google for it. That particular post has well and truly slipped down the list but it did manage to bring in scores, if not hundreds, of visitors.

Something similar happened today. I read about a point blank execution in Dianella, which was the suburb I grew up in. Compelled to comment on the changing nature of Perth, I wrote a blog post on the chilling event. I thought about what people would most likely include in their searches and titled the post "Shooting in Dianella". Again, more than a few people were typing in those exact words, or something similar. And I've had dozens of hits as a result.

I know it's a pretty opportunistic, even ghoulish way to bring in some traffic. Still, there's no point in writing a blog unless you get people to read it, right?

And the lesson from this (particularly for bloggers who write about current events) is that you should always try and think what people will most likely type into a search engine when seeking information and opinions. If at all possible, you should include those keywords in the post title. If the post is about topical information there's almost certain to be very little competition for popular searches related to it. And if your hunches are correct (which they're pretty much bound to be from time to time) you can end up getting some really nice spurts of traffic as a result.
 


Comments

Missy link
10/24/2010 17:21

Absolutely. I run a electronic accessory site and lately i've been doing topical type stuff, as far as going to Google Trends, Twitter and Yahoo Pulse.

It's working, I'm getting get good ideas and traffic this way.

Cheers,
Missy

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Topless waiters link
10/28/2010 18:44

I've heard a rumour that key words on domains are going to mean less soon? That changes are coming that will make the key word any the domain less significant?
Is their truth to that matt?

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Matt link
10/28/2010 22:48

Missy, great to hear you're having success with that. I think it's a really good tactic, particularly for bloggers, since a blog affords you ongoing opportunities to "throw your line out" and snare some of that traffic. But just a website with a few pages and no blog incorporated doesn't allow this.

Topless Waiters, I've read lots of articles and blog and forum posts saying that keywords in domains will lose their effect. I've also read heaps saying the opposite.

There are always conflicting reports about so many aspects of SEO, simply because the algorithms are kept secret to a large degree, and most of the information is conjectural - or just from webmasters doing their own experiments. I do think the effect probably has been waning, but it still certainly helps. I know it from my own experience. I suspect it will always be a factor, so I think people should use it if appropriate. It's certainly not going to hurt.

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