IPSEO - Topic targeteting for SEO

SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is divided into two major sections the first is #IPSEO or In Page Search Engine Optimisation and the second is #OPSEO or Off Page Search Engine Optimisation.  These two sections are both important, with Off Page Search Engine Optimisation caring more weight than In page Search Engine Optimisation, how ever the In page stuff needs to be done first, and needs to be done correctly and with intent on ensuring that the correct set of key words and related information flow patterns around these selected key words is actually in-place, to suit the purpose, aims and objectives of the page in question.

Key word targeting is not an easy task, as there are so many surrounding issues that need to be considered, and the subject matter needs to be clearly understood along with where in the sales / marketing funnel the page in question is considered to be.  Here questions  around the following issues, amongst many others,   need to be addressed.  You will know what these other issues are once you take the time to document and understand the purpose, aims and objectives of the page in question.

• What is the purpose, aims and objectives of the page in question
• is this a general information page
• is this page near the top of the marketing / sales funnel
• is this page near the bottom end of the sales / marketing funnel
• how many in page CTA's (Call to action) are important for the sales / marketing funnel's next stage
• is this page connected to a Google community (or other social media community) information drive
• what is the theme of the page in question, and where does it sit in the total marketing strategy
• issues that come up during key word research and target market matching
• copy writing  issues connected to target market and keyword matching 
• Who are your target audience, and why is this group considered to be your target audience.
• is this page part of your network building strategy
• is this page part of your link building strategy, and if so how does this fit in with other in-page issues

 Key word targeting is subservient to the issues around topic targeting, which is determined by the purpose, aims and objectives of the page in question along with the marketing / sales funnel stage and related relationship building activities.  When a page has a clearly defined topic then key word selection is an awful lot easier, and copy writing will also be simpler.

Defining a topic for your page is not as easy as one would think, and there are many different issues that come to play, with copy-writing, and the core subject matter as well as the intentions of the page being a very big parts of the long term planning of every page in your site or blog.  Copy writing for a specific topic is an awful lot easier than writing for a whole bunch of different topics that have a similar focus area.

Understanding the intentions of the page in question will help in defining the topic for the page, and that will then define the criteria to be used for your key word selection process.  Topic targeting is not very well understood, as most people within the SEO industry only talk of keyword targeting, but do not inform people of the methods involved in determining the criteria that one has put in place, or *should have put in place* to manage your keyword selection process.  Selecting an appropriate topic that defines the intentions of the page in question is very helpful, and this should be considered when defining the tile of the page within the title tag in the head section.  The title tag in your head section should have a very clear and obvious connection to the topic of the page, as well as the description and key words listed in the meta tags of your page.

Many will tell you that the key words as well as titles and descriptions of your page are not needed in the meta tags of your page. Ignore these people, and use these very powerful #SEOVI (Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators) which Google Humming bird uses within their semantic foot print and trust factor evaluations of your web site.  The META TAGS in the head section carry an awful lot more weight than most SEO practitioners will tell you, but many now ignore these powerful SEOVI because they have heard rumors that these tags are dead.

These very powerful meta tags that reside in the *HEAD SECTION* of your HTML 5 CODE should not be sneezed at, and you should be very weary and not easily trust those who tell you that these high level SEOVI are worthless.  They are used in many new places since the Google Humming Bird Algorithm has been introduced.  These SEOVI (Search Engine Optimisation Value Indicators) that are hidden within the *HEAD SECTION* of your web site or blog are an awful lot more powerful than you think, and they are directly connected to the in-page trust issues, so use them wisely and do not spam or misuse these great opportunities to get deeper penetration within the SERP's (Search Engine Optimisation Results pages)

Using the page title, page description or key words lists within the head section of your web site or blog to spam the search engines, or attempting to mislead the search engines through inappropriate use of these HTML 5 META TAGS will backfire and cause your page, as well as your domain some considerable harm.

Ensuring that the META TAGS within the HEAD SECTION of your web site reflect the*TOPIC OF YOUR PAGE* is essential for good SERP's and should be done as part of your basic SEO practices that you implement for your site.

Once again taking a #FUFISM based marketing view of things is very helpful, as this will give you the tools and thinking patterns needed to be able to select relevant topics, as well as page titles, page descriptions and related key words to be used in your copy writing. These issues associated with topic selection for your pages are not easy and require quite a bit of input from others in your team.  The topic of your page does need to be brainstormed by your marketing team, after everybody has read the marketing brief which should contain the intentions, purpose aims and objectives of the page in question.


This post has been written around a post by +Cyrus Shepard  of +Moz  Visiting this page will help you expand the ideas generated in this post.


http://moz.com/blog/on-page-topic-seo?utm_source=google_plus&utm_medium=social&utm_content=on_page_topic_targeting&utm_campaign=blog_post