Synonyms and SEO
If you have been in SEO for any length of time, you can see algorithms trying to improve. And they do improve, but sometimes in weird, slow-moving ways.
Over time, one thing I have seen is contextual results becoming more and more important in search, and I see this only increasing as time rolls on. Using synonyms, variations of your main keywords (like plurals), and any related terms should help you build contextual domain strength for your root keywords.
It makes perfect sense.
You are selling widgets. So you, as an SEO writer, go after both the short tail and the long tail keyphrases for widgets. This will include many synonyms, plurals, related terms, and longer strings.
You research what you can about the searches being made. You create a master list of targeted keyphrases, search strings, synonyms, and any related terms that people associate with widgets. Map it all out before you start writing anything--it is much easier to make it flow naturally as you write if you know clearly what you "need" to say.
Nail Down the Short Tail and Grab the Long Tail
Answer to the short tail in navigation/informational architecture (when you can). So you might have a page titled "Widgets" with a main navigational link also named "widgets" leading into the page. This creates a solidly anchored link, making the main keyword an integral part of your site. Great!
Within the page itself, you'll of course want to add some depth to the widget information--you can't simply repeat widget a million times and expect it to work. But here is where your research and knowledge of long tail search habits, as well as your mastery of synonyms and contextual referencing comes into play.
Example: Let's say that "wuggles" is a synonym to widgets. In your widgets page, you can think of wuggles as a second-tier keyword. You'll want to infuse your primary and secondary keyphrases seamlessly into your body content. In addition to the main sentences you write, look at the metadata, the page titles, your headers, bullets, and ordered lists.
Switch back and forth between wuggles and widgets pretty liberally. Connect them to words that comprise potential long-tail searches, like "get a widget" "buying a wuggle" "finding a widget provider" "wuggle information" and so on. By using your main keywords alongside some related synonyms, you can create a deeper contextual meaning to your content.
This doesn't mean you should focus on wuggles opposed to widgets. It means that you should display your understanding that in talking about widgets, wuggles make sense. The user will appreciate it, because they also associate wuggles with widgets and will spend more time reading what you have to say. And, since the algorithms are getting smarter and will want to see wuggles mentioned on a widgets page, it will also make the engines happy...a win-win, as they say.
DON'T STUFF
I've said it before, and will always say it: don't cram keywords into a page. Make it flow naturally, or don't do it...stiff, forced content is hard to read, which goes against the number one rule for SEO writing. You are writing for a user, not a search engine. And over-saturating keywords makes your content crappy, your intentions transparent, and your SEO efforts much less likely to work. Synonyms are no exception.
But honestly, I find that the shifts in the algorithms are actually making it easier to write well. It may be a little tougher to get the rankings you want as quickly, but it is MUCH easier to write a good page and not have to sweat the keywords as much as the writing itself. I consider that progress.
As the engines try to find new ways to get the best content to the user, they are getting better at realizing that keyword density is not the best answer (thank GOD!). The best answer is content that flows well, and speaks authoritatively...content that liberally and naturally uses a variety of related, contextual words. So bust out the Thesaurus, know your topic, research, and write!
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