Once you start writing, make sure you have the list of the keywords you want to use, next to your PC. Don't have them on your screen—print them out or write them down. This is because you need to be able to write the content of your page without having to switch back and forth from one application to another to view the list. Get those keywords into your head and start writing your article. You will see how it will flow into your content without much effort.
One thing that I always struggle with is the structure of my content. By structure I mean the way in which content is placed on the page, does it have a natural flow, or is it jumping around and changing focus all the time. It is important for your visitors to have some sense regarding where the article is heading and how it can help them.
I learned a nice trick that you too can use:
- Write the most important subject of your topic first
- Add the sub-topics below the main ones
- Fill in the content
This way you have the main content in place and you can move the subjects around, within the topic, to give it the structure you are looking for. It is like cooking—first make sure you have all the ingredients (the subjects), do your preparations such as cutting and slicing the ingredients (writing the content), and then start cooking. At the end it all comes together in the dish you made.
After you are done with writing, check if the framework of your page is still correct. If not, copy and paste it into shape. Now here is the big difference, if you get the order of putting the ingredients wrong the dish is messed up, while writing the content you can rescue the dish by changing the order to provide a better structure.
You have seen how Google and Yahoo! show your keywords. If you have a closer look, you will see that your keywords should be in place first. You should place them in title, meta tag description and keywords, and of course in the content of your article.
One of the best places to have your keywords in your article is the first paragraph. Make sure to use your keywords in the first 100 to 200 words of this paragraph. If you can get them into the first two or three sentences, that is even better. Also the last paragraph should contain the keywords but your content needs to be on topic. In this paragraph your keywords should be in the last sentence.
You see how things keep coming back. It is not just the single simple placement of your keywords, but the whole package that makes it possible to outperform your competition.