In its Helpful Content Guidelines, Google states, “SEO can be a helpful activity when it is applied to people-first content, rather than search engine-first content.”
One way to interpret applying SEO is to think of it as a coat of varnish applied to a handmade piece of furniture.
It’s something that’s done after the fact as a finishing touch.
Under this strict interpretation, here is a process for adhering to Google’s instructions to the letter.
Step 1 – Write and Publish
Author and publish a helpful blog post for your audience without targeting a specific keyword. Think more in terms of a topic.
You should follow structural and usability conventions.
Step 2 – Analyze GSC Queries
Wait a few weeks, then examine the top queries by impressions in Google Search Console.
For example, here are the 3-month GSC query impressions for a post about CRM demonstrations, with SEO not considered at the time of writing.
Step 3 – Determine a Keyword
Use a keyword tool to find the highest volume keywords relevant to your content from among the top queries.
In this example, Ahrefs reports that ‘crm demo’ receives approximately 600 monthly searches in the U.S., and that the keyword is of medium difficulty to rank for.
Note that for certain content, you may not find a suitable keyword for the topic.
Step 4 – Find Semantically-Related Words
Use an LLM prompt to uncover words semantically related to that keyword. Gemini Pro provided these 10 words:
- Walkthrough
- Software
- Pipeline
- Dashboard
- Integration
- Automation
- Interface
- Leads
- Presentation
- Onboarding
Step 5 – Apply SEO to the Content
Artfully and iteratively, work the keyword and the semantically-related words into the content without detracting from the original goal of creating a people-first content piece.
You’ve then applied SEO to the people-first content, per Google’s instructions.
While this approach can work, most SEOs will tell you to think about SEO before writing a post rather than applying it afterward.
