Best Practices for Content Headers & Optimization

Writing a great article for your website that gets across your key points, keeps the reader interested, and maximizes your online ranking is not always an easy task. But, as with most things in life, the devil is in the details. So planning how you are going to approach it is the key to success.
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Start with the Outline

Whatever the topic you are writing about you need to have a plan. It does not have to be detailed. What is more important is that it outlines the structure of the article and the relevant keywords that you want to include. Knowing the keywords is essential as you are going to use them to guide the reader through the topic while also boosting your rating on search engines. Through the outline, it should be relatively easy to pick out the most important keywords that fit seamlessly into your article, without feeling forced.
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Headers

As you probably know, keywords need to be used sparingly throughout the article. This not only prevents the article from becoming boring with the same words repeated over and over. It also adds an extra punch when you do use them and will help your search engine ranking. So from your list of keywords, form a structure that helps the article flow from point to point. The main header should also be your H1 tag.
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 Next, where possible see if you can use the keywords in the sub-headers (H2, H3 etc..). This will help optimize your text but be careful not to form the text solely around the keywords. Your text should flow naturally from the main topic to the subtopics before reaching the closing paragraph. This is where having an outline is crucial, so you can plan your keywords and balance them with the flow of the article.  You want to keep the reader along for the ride from the beginning, to the final call to action at the end.
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Structure

With headers, they are ranked from the most important which is H1, down to H6. You do not need to have all six, as just two or three will do for a 700 word article (try to keep posts, blogs and copy a minimum of 700 words). Next, tailor your sub headers so that they form a structured article that flows from sub-topic to sub-topic seamlessly. Basically you are adding an explanation for each sub-header so that it neatly flows into the next part of the article.
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This should be relatively easy if you have done your outline correctly. If you are having trouble, go back to the original outline and see where you are having problems. Remember, you are not in a race. You are creating interesting, engaging content that will keep your potential customers eager to learn more.
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Review

Once you have your content along with the relevant headers and keywords. Take a step back and review how it reads. If it is interesting to you then most readers will likely feel the same. Preferably you have already optimized your images, but if not be sure to go back and optimize all your images.