The first paragraph is very important
In the previous "keyphrase selection" topic we discussed the importance of selecting the most appropriate keyphrases to optimise for. There are several places where you can optimise, however the "first paragraph" is the most important.
Consider this, the first paragraph on your page is the paragraph most likely to be read by the most people. So therefore google also gives greater importance to the "first sentence immediately following the first main heading".
Referring to our previous keyphrase selection example, on your home page you need to write something like the following as your first paragraph.
- We provide the best accommodation in Frankton, Hamilton, NZ. When you are visiting the Waikato, come stay at our hotel in Frankton, Hamilton New Zealand.
Please note that i have bolded the keywords for clarification here.. however you don't need to do this yourself. (although it is said in some forums that some value is given to bolded or italicised words)
It's important not to over stuff your text with keywords. A general guide is to include your keyword around 1-3% of the total text on a page.
Every page is different
Every page of your website is a new page. You need to optimise each page individually. Now this is a good thing, because if your business has several focuses, then you can optimise each page for a different service or product you provide. So don't try to catch all with the home page.
Dedicate a separate page to each of your key phrases. After your first paragraph, you can continue to use more human friendly grammar, however, do try to use your keywords as often as you can on your pages.
You can even do this with your about us and contact us page. Just write a slightly different first paragraph on each one using a different keyphrase... Thus a searcher using that keyphrase might end up on your about us or contact us page, but typically, they will be able to navigate back to the appropriate section.
Be generous with the content on your website. Have about three paragraphs of text, containing plenty of keywords phrases, on any page clickable from the home page, or from a menu button. You can bury more detailed information further down on your website. Remember... too few words will prevent you from being search optimised. Too many words will scare a real person from reading it at all.
DO NOT CHEAT
Do not just repeat your keyphrases over and over... Google is smarter than that.
You need to rephrase each keyphrase differently each time you use it, as well as using words which mean the same. For instance, using suburbs within Auckland, or the City of Sails, instead of using Auckland each time.