All In One SEO Plugin & Titles

[gracessweetlife]

When I first started blogging I hired a company to design and develop my website. They provided SEO training which I've followed religiously but now I'm starting to wonder (after researching more and more about SEO) if by following these guidelines I may be placing myself in jeopardy.

I write a blog about desserts. I was told that my SEO title should be different than my blog post title and I should incorporate a few different keywords in the title, write a meta description inserting a few keywords, and also attach 10 keywords, ie here is a typical post:

Dark Chocolate Cake with Dark Chocolate Cherry Ganache - post title

Moist Chocolate Cake-Chocolate Ganache Cake-Chocolate Cherry Cake - SEO title

Find recipe for quick and easy, moist Dark Chocolate Cake topped with Chocolate Cherry Ganache & fresh cherries & other Chocolate Desserts at Grace's Sweet Life.

how to make chocolate cake, best chocolate cake, chocolate cake from scratch, best chocolate cake recipe, moist chocolate cake, simple chocolate cake, easy chocolate cake, homemade chocolate cake, chocolate cherry cake, chocolate fudge cake, chocolate ganache recipe

I've come to realize that I really don't know how to keyword search (not so much how to search for phrases but how to implement them properly) and I'm wondering if there's such a thing as "hiring a trainer or consultant" to put me on the appropriate path for keyword research.

[rmontanez]

Grace,

I would suggest for you to read up on keyword research before you hire somebody.  Below are three great and free sources from SeoMoz regarding keyword research and should put you on the appropriate path.

http://www.seomoz.org/beginners-guide-to-seo/keyword-research

http://www.seomoz.org/article/keyword-research-guide

http://www.seomoz.org/blog/6-keyword-research-mistakes-you-might-be-making

[gracessweetlife]

Roberto thank you very much for the resource, by the way am I handling it all wrong so far based on the information I provided in my question? I'm trying to get a starting point of what I might be doing right or wrong.

[DanielFreedman]

Grace:

Arrgh!!!

No, no, no...the advice given to you is all wrong! It's generic and outdated. And it's not appropriate for you

I know because I am  an editor and TV news guy turned "web strategist" and SEO guy.

My clients include leading authorities in the nutrition, health, food, and fitness fields. Many are leading authors and experts.

Nor will the generic keyword advice you will find in most guides prove to be especially helpful. That's because you have something rare: the ability to create high quality content for both your own site and other sites.

There is a pretty easy way through a Wordpress plug in of applying one or two key phrases to each blog post, (past and future) while also picking up the headline of the post (which should be especially written with this in mind.)

The meta descriptions should combine general info on your site with specific i nfo on the specific post.

I'm not sure what you mean by "attaching key phrases". Are these meta keywords (don't bother) or tags within WordPress designed to bring up similar posts for readers?

I agree that it all begins with which keywords you are targeting. It sound to me like you may be dividing your focus.

For example, in the SEO title cited, there is no indication of the topic of the blog: Dessert Recipes. You may be getting useless traffic from people who want to buy chocolate cakes from a shop or mail order. And what if I'm not interested in chocolate cakes but pineapple cake? There is no indication the blog may be useful.

Feel free to PM me. I have more than enough on my plate on the moment (so to speak!) but would be happy to talk to you on the phone.