When it comes to online content marketing, SEO is an inevitable component. As Google keeps releasing new updates to its search engine algorithm, SEO specialists need to update their practices to resonate with the new algorithm. Ever since the release of first Google penguin update in year 2012, UX (User experience) has come to the core of the SEO matrix. And this update marked the dawn of era where website owners need to ensure content that can appeal equally to search engine crawlers and human traffic. Simply put, in today's time, you, website owners, need to convince both Google and human visitors about your quality of service and business values. 7 excellent practices to optimize website content for search engines and users Now if you are looking for some tips on how to optimize your web content for search engine crawlers and humans alike, just continue reading. R.I.P. keyword stuffing There were years when keyword stuffing helped many sites obtain higher rankings in search engine results. However, this practice is dead now in the SEO sphere as they don't add any value to user experience of your site. On other hand, keyword stuffing can increase the risk of Google's penalty. Study your target audience Defining your target audience and understanding their needs or wants will help you choose right keywords for your web content strategy. Conduct a survey to learn what keywords or phrases your customers are more likely to use when searching web for products or services you offer. When done properly, the study will help you feed search engines and visitors with most relevant information. Follow the most basic guideline of on-page SEO Search engine optimized title, Meta description, H1 (Headline Tag), Page URLs, Image Alt Tag and body content are vital to on-page SEO. Make sure you embrace right keywords in correct density in all these content. Talk specific and Be Transparent If you are driving human traffic to your site by using various claims or promises, make sure you fulfill those claims or promises. Else it will lead to negative user experience. The words you use to describe your products (or services) and business has to be true and specific. Don't oversight Cross linking Cross-linking different pages will help users navigate your website easily and you can increase visits to higher priority pages. Plan your cross linking strategy in context to your sales strategy. When done right, a cross-linking strategy can guide users along the sales channel naturally. Quickly readable content is the need of the hour Users are less likely to spend more time reading lengthy content. You need to put forth most important information in easy to read format. For example, instead of putting all your content into paragraphs, you can keep a blend of short paragraphs and bullets. Retain the flow Don't include keywords and target phrases forcefully. Instead they should fall naturally in the content flow. Maintain consistency in the flow of the content to make it clutter-free for users and search engine crawlers alike. If you adhere to the best of SEO guidelines, you will create a lasting impression on users' minds. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9353007