Day 8 - On-Page SEO

[Éowyn]

How do you show entity code in the schema?

Do I add a tag for the entity to the end of the post or link out to the entity’s Wikipedia page via a mention? Good day -

 

[chand3g]

I wouldn't straight list 50 locations. That'd be boring. I'd find a way to subdivide them. And those subdividers would form the H2's. The reason is is that I could create better optimization by emphasizing fewer H2's, and then letting there be a ton of H3's, which will feature less of an on-page impact. So it might look something like this, including how I'd use ordered lists:

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H1 - Top 50 Vacation Locations for Lonely SEOs

There's a whole ton of spots around the globe for neckbeards to relax... especially where your native language isn't spoken that well. Now you can meet people without the anxiety of feeling like you'll say something wrong. Let's make our way around the globe...

H2 - The Best Vacation Spots for IMer's in The Levant

The Middle East has a lot to offer an internet marketer, especially if you bundle India into the mix as some do, which is silly. Choose the right location and you can get as much done as normal for pennies on the dollar while maxing and relaxing.

H3 - Saudi Arabia

[Picture]​

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean varius velit id eros hendrerit vestibulum ut eget libero.

H3 - India

[Picture]​

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Aenean varius velit id eros hendrerit vestibulum ut eget libero.

H3 - Turkey

[Picture]​

Blah blah, here's a list of the top 5 cities in Turkey for the digital nomad:

1. Istanbul
2. was Constantinople
3. now it's Istanbul
4. not Constantinople
5. it's nobody's business but the Turks

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Then I'd hit up the next H2 and go through the Occident, Orthodox, Orient, etc. There's all kinds of data you could cram in those sections that you could use lists for, tables, etc.

I don't ever recommend skipping a header depth. They are meant to be nested. If you see someone doing that, it's often because they like the CSS of the H3 better than H2 and don't know how to change it and don't realize that it can matter. Can you get away with that stuff? Sure, at your own peril.

With 50 H2's, you might as well have zero H2's, which means you've lost a major chance at some free organic traffic for the lifetime of the article.

@Ryuzaki, does it still work in today's SEO landscape or do we need to adjust our approach? What are your suggestions for structuring such articles to maximize organic reach in today's scenario?

I typically use the same approach you talked about, but it seems that it's now considered keyword stuffing and lacks value due to the extra h2s, just to support our main keyword. Maybe I am overthinking it. What's your take on this?

 

[Ryuzaki]

@chand3g, I would follow the same structure, but I'd consider adding more detail in the H3's (to bring more variety and "value statements" for the benefit of the users and to bring more subjectivity for the algorithm. In addition to that I'd stick to "I" and "we" statements, in the first person, as Google is looking to showcase Experience and Expertise, which will extend to Authority and Trust (EEAT).

To add detail to the H3's, I'd consider things like this, using the same examples:

• Saudi Arabia - A Beautifully Transformative Environment & Economy
• India - A Rich Spiritual History & Leaders of the Tech Industry
• Turkey - Friendly People, Culture, History, & Community Abound

In general the structure remains the same. But focus far more on the person reading it than the bots, which are doing a better job of understanding these days (even if the algorithm is retarded at the moment) with NLP, AI, and all the newest advances. And remember, people don't want to spend a million years reading your article, which is why info density matters. Satisfy the reader. It'll net you more shares and links as well.

Information Gain

One of the main things going is "Information Gain", so don't just rewrite the same stuff everyone else is talking about. Add new angles, thoughts, topics. Scramble the list. Add new locations, remove (or be very brief) with obvious info. "Info Gain" isn't just what you can add but what you can remove, sort of like "Info Density".

 

[chand3g]

I was wrong. It's absolutely good thing to follow the same structure with additional details. Actually, we have to talk with the reader in more engaging manner. That's the key to success. I will follow your advice for H3s and optimize them this way from now on.

And remember, people don't want to spend a million years reading your article, which is why info density matters. Satisfy the reader

So, we shouldn't bombard people with a content piece of 20k words, as you mentioned somewhere earlier. People consume more short-form content in this era. Nobody has time to read a Bible-length piece on something. I need to work on it. @Ryuzaki Thanks for this valuable sharing.