Is Keyword Density Important?
A recent algorithm update by Google recently slapped popular article directory EzineArticles. The site lost traffic and commenced to cleaning up its directory to rid itself of problem articles. Then they underwent some quality changes of their own. One of those changes I find rather interesting.
Monitor Keyword Repetition – The use of any one keyword needs to be limited to no more than 2% of the total amount of words in your article. Take the total number of words in your article, and multiply it by 2% (ex. 450 words x .02 = 9 times). This will give you the maximum number of keywords permissible in your article.
In other words, keyword density is back.
Hold on a second, Lone Ranger. That’s EzineArticles, not Google. Don’t mistake this quality guideline for a search engine guideline. It is far from being that.
Search engine optimizers gave up on keyword density about five years ago – some of them before that. This guideline is likely EzineArticles’ attempt to control its own spam. They are trying to stay within Google’s good graces. And because of that, you might get the mistaken idea that Google looks at keyword density patterns. Don’t count on it.
I think it’s safe to say that Google does care about too much in terms of keyword usage, but I doubt that they are counting your keyword density. “Too much” is likely a moving target and changes from article to article.
Just thought I’d give you something to think about.
How Many Ways Can You Go Viral?
Viral marketing is a concept that is hard to pin down. Just what is it?
In a word, viral marketing is any type of marketing that catches on and gets people talking about you. When an idea spreads, either spontaneously or as a part of a planned effort, then it is said to have gone viral. That can happen in a variety of media.
Videos, for instance, can go viral in a number of ways but one very popular way that they often catch on and take a life of their own is through the popular video channel YouTube. Articles can go viral through one of many e-zine directories or on a content website. Photos can go viral at places like Flickr and DeviantArt.
What medium are you using? It helps to know what you have to offer in order to present it to the right people in hopes that it might go viral. Your blog can viral if you get it in front of the right eyes. One blog post can go viral if the right people see it and share it. The key is to get it in front of the right people.
So how do you do that?
One mistake that marketers often make is to present their material to all of their friends hoping that their friends will share it and then their friends will share it and so on and so on. But a better way to ensure that your content goes viral is to present it to half a dozen influencers. These are people on social networks like Facebook and Twitter who have thousands of followers. A single tweet or Facebook update can often lead to thousands of hits to your website in minutes if the right influencer likes it.
But simply submitting your link or content to an influencer isn’t enough. You should study the influencers you want to target and learn what they like. Develop a relationship with them. Interact with them and get to know them as a person, let them get to know you.
People, even influencers, respond better to people they know than to random strangers. Get to know the right people and your content will stand a better chance at going viral.
How To Kill A Viral Marketing Campaign
Viral marketing is much more sophisticated than it used to be. It is rare that someone mass submits hundreds of articles in one day to thousands of article directories and expects to get a flood of new traffic to their website that converts. Sure, it happens. But it’s rare.
Today, viral marketing is more about the Wow Factor. You’ve got to the wow the audience before you get them to your site. If you don’t wow them until they get their then it’s too late. So what are the tools for producing the wow effect that will get new visitors to your site?
- Articles
- Social bookmarking websites
- Social sites like Facebook and Twitter
- Videos
- Blogs
In the old days of viral marketing, the product was mostly content. Today it is largely social. Look at the list – social bookmarking, social networking, videos (think YouTube, a social network that is also the No. 2 search engine), and blogs (a medium that is half social and half SEO tool). See the theme?
So the question is, how do you kill a viral marketing campaign? Take it out of its social context. Be anti-social.
Viral marketing is social media marketing on steroids. It is, in a word, the maximum effective use of the combination of social media and SEO. Want to kill it? Just break one of those two legs of the viral marketing stool and your campaign will fall on its face.