SEO Add-ons
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      How To - SEO Add-ons

      There are two different scenarios you may find yourself in when doing an SEO Add-On. 

      In some cases, the client may provide you with keywords to use. In other cases, you won’t be provided with keywords and will need to own the entire keyword selection process. 

      Please read through the entirety of this document to understand 

        • what you need to do on each assignment brief prior to dispatching based on whether or not the client has provided keywords, 
        • what you should look for when reviewing a writer’s piece to ensure it is SEO optimized, 
        • and how to avoid common SEO pitfalls. 

      If you have any questions about anything in this document, please email Managing-editors@clearvoice.com or reach out to your managing editor directly via slack or in the client slack channel. 

      Prior to Dispatching Assignments

      Scenario 1: The client has provided keywords

      • Review the keyword list the client has provided.
      • Select relevant keywords from the list for the article based on the best practices provided below for how many keywords to use per article.
      • If the keywords the client has provided are not relevant to the article topic, OR you don’t have enough keywords to use based on the best practices below, use UberSuggest to select relevant keywords for the piece. 
      • Add all selected keywords to the “Keywords” section of your assignment brief.
      • Select pages from the client’s website (1 page per 500 words) that the writer can link to in the article. Drop these in the “Internal Links” section of the assignment brief.

      Notes Regarding Internal Links:  

        • In some cases, it may not make sense to include internal links. This could happen in situations where the subject matter of the article doesn’t directly relate to any pages on the client’s site. One way to slide this in is by linking to another blog article that speaks to a related topic. However, including at least one in an article is a SEO best practice.
        • The internal links you select should be relevant to the content in the article AND have been published within 2 years of the current date. 
      • Instruct the writer to link to the references in the article (only if it makes sense).
      • Instruct the writer to construct the title tag.
        Title tag should be between 50-60 characters including spaces.
        A title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. Title tags are displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) as the clickable headline for a given result.
      • Instruct the writer to construct the meta description.
        Meta description should be between 150-160 characters including spaces.
        A meta description is an HTML element that describes and summarizes the contents of your page for the benefit of users and search engines.

      Scenario 2: The client has NOT provided keywords

      • Use UberSuggest to select relevant keywords for the piece. 
      • Add all selected keywords to the “Keywords” section of your assignment brief.
      • Select pages from the client’s website (1 page per 500 words) that the writer can link to in the article. Drop these in the Internal Links section.

      Notes Regarding Internal Links:  

        • In some cases, it may not make sense to include internal links. This could happen in situations where the subject matter of the article doesn’t directly relate to any pages on the client’s site. One way to slide this in is by linking to another blog article that speaks to a related topic. However, including at least one in an article is a SEO best practice.
        • The internal links you select should be relevant to the content in the article AND have been published within 2 years of the current date. 
      • Instruct the writer to link to the references in the article (only if it makes sense).
      • Instruct the writer to construct the title tag.
        Title tag should be between 50-60 characters including spaces.
        A title tag is an HTML element that specifies the title of a web page. Title tags are displayed on search engine results pages (SERPs) as the clickable headline for a given result.
      • Instruct the writer to construct the meta description.
        Meta description should be between 150-160 characters including spaces.
        A meta description is an HTML element that describes and summarizes the contents of your page for the benefit of users and search engines.

      When Reviewing A Writer’s Piece

      • Verify the writer has included all of the provided keywords the recommended amount of times. However, ensure that the article “flows” well with the keywords. They should be evenly distributed throughout the article (not clumped together or only living at the beginning or end of a piece). 

      Note Regarding Keywords:

        • The article should not sound unnatural or feature “keyword stuffing.” Keyword stuffing can harm a client’s SEO rating and refers to the practice of loading a webpage with keywords or numbers in an attempt to manipulate a site’s ranking in Google search results. Often these keywords appear in a list or group, or out of context (not as natural prose). Filling pages with keywords or numbers results in a negative user experience and can harm your site’s ranking.
        • If you find that the writer has stuffed the article with the keywords in an unnatural way, please remove the unnatural mentions until the article flows well. Then, provide the writer with feedback, educating them on keyword stuffing and why we want to avoid it all costs. To learn more, please read this article from the ClearVoice blog - Keywords in SEO.
      • Verify the internal links and reference links have been included (when applicable).
      • Verify that both the title tags and meta descriptions include at least one of the target keywords. 
      • Verify that the article contains headings that incorporate the primary keywords. Ensure the primary keyword lives within the title of the piece as well. Finally, make sure the keywords appear throughout the article and are evenly distributed (not clumped together or only living at the beginning or end of a piece). 

      Frequently Asked Questions

      How Many Keywords Do I Need? 


      Below are some guidelines based on SEO best practices.

      • For 500 - 999 word pieces 
          • Select 1 - 2 primary keywords.
          • Target Keyword Density: 2 - 3 mentions of primary keywords throughout the piece. 
      • For 1,000 - 1,500 word pieces
          • Select 1 - 2 primary keywords and 1-2 secondary keywords.
          • Target Keyword Density: 3 - 5 mentions of primary keywords throughout the piece. 
      • For 1,501 - 2,000 word pieces
          • Select 1 - 2 primary keywords and 4 - 7 secondary keywords.
          • Target Keyword Density: 6 - 8 mentions.
      • For 2,000 words - 2,500 word pieces
          • Select 1 - 2 primary keywords and 2-3 secondary keywords.
          • Target Keyword Density: 8 - 11 mentions.

      How Do I Know What Keywords to Select? 


      Please select keywords that are highly relevant to the piece and have a high average monthly search volume. (10,000+ is ideal, and 1,000 - 10,000 is acceptable). 

      For smaller clients (SMBs), focus on keywords with low to medium competition levels. For larger clients, you can consider keywords with high, medium and low levels of competition. 

      The best keywords to help move the needle for clients are those with medium to low levels of competition that are highly relevant to the content’s subject matter. 

      UberSuggest will often focus on 1-3 word key phrases, but you can also consider long-tail keywords (those with 4+ words) that speak to the article’s content.

      For example, say you’re writing an article about the benefits of swimming lessons. 

      “Swimming” is too general of a keyword to select. It is likely highly competitive and doesn’t give much insight into the user’s search intent.


      “Teaching Swimming To Kids” is a longer-tail keyword that is highly relevant to the article topic. This would be a great keyword to select.

      How Do I Know If My Client Has An SEO Add-On?


      Check the client’s Talent Agreement. From there, you’ll be able to tell which content types will accompany an SEO Add-on. 


      As well, within your assignment view of the account, you’ll have predefined assignment templates for each content type set up by your Managing Editor. In those brief templates, there will be instructions for the add-on. 


      As well, at the overall assignment view, there will be labels to speak more broadly about what add-ons the content may entail. 

      How Many Internal Links Should I Select?


      When it comes to internal linking, we suggest a ratio of about 1 per 500 words. For example, for a 1,500 word article, you’ll want to shoot for 3 internal links. 

      Glossary

      • Internal Links - Internal Links are hyperlinks that point at (target) the same domain as the domain that the link exists on (source). In layman's terms, an internal link is one that points to another page on the same website.
      • Keywords - Keywords are the words and phrases that people type into search engines to find what they’re looking for. 
      • Keyword Stuffing -  A spammy tactic involving the overuse of important keywords and their variants in your content and links.
      • Long-Tail Keywords -  Long-tail keywords are keywords or keyphrases that are more specific – and usually longer – than more commonly used keywords. Long-tail keywords get less search traffic, but will usually have a higher conversion value, as they are more specific. They allow you to gradually get more traffic to your site and be found by new and motivated audiences.
      • Meta Description - HTML elements that describe the contents of the page that they’re on. Google sometimes uses these as the description line in search result snippets.
      • Search Engine Optimization - SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, which is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.
      • Search Volume -  The number of times a keyword was searched. Many keyword research tools show an estimated monthly search volume.
      • Title Tag - An HTML element that specifies the title of a web page.