Word count must serve the reader, not search engines. A gaming news update does not need 2000 words. A full game walkthrough should not be cut to 800 words. Write until the topic is fully covered and stop. Never pad content with repeated points, filler summaries, or obvious statements just to hit a word count target.

Every article must open with a clear introduction that explains what the reader will learn and why it matters. Every article must close with a conclusion that summarises the key takeaways. Both sections count toward your word total. Introductions should be 80 to 150 words. Conclusions should be 60 to 120 words.

Keep individual paragraphs between 2 and 5 sentences. No wall-of-text paragraphs. No single-sentence paragraphs unless used intentionally for emphasis. Each paragraph must contain one clear idea or point. Google and readers both reward scannable, well-spaced content.

Every article has exactly one H1 heading. The H1 is the article title. It must contain the primary keyword and be between 50 and 60 characters so it does not get truncated in Google search results. The H1 must accurately describe what the article covers. Clickbait or misleading titles are rejected. Do not repeat the H1 anywhere inside the article body.

Format example: Best RPG Games for PC in 2025 (Top 15 Picks)

Submit a suggested meta title between 50 and 60 characters and a meta description between 150 and 160 characters. The meta description must include the primary keyword naturally, describe the article content accurately, and include a soft call to action such as “find out more” or “read the full guide”. Do not use special characters, excessive punctuation, or all-caps text in meta fields.

Meta title limit: 50 to 60 characters   Meta description limit: 150 to 160 characters

Submit a suggested URL slug with your article. The slug must be lowercase, use hyphens between words, contain the primary keyword, and be as short as possible while remaining descriptive. Remove stop words like “a”, “the”, “and”, “of” from slugs. Never use underscores, spaces, or special characters in slugs.

Good example: best-rpg-games-pc   Bad example: the-best-rpg-games-for-pc-in-2025

Use H2 headings for all major sections of your article. Use H3 headings for subsections within an H2 section. Never skip heading levels (no jumping from H2 to H4). Never use headings just for style. Every H2 must introduce a meaningful section and ideally contain a secondary or related keyword naturally. A standard 1200-word article should have 4 to 6 H2 headings. H3 headings are optional but useful for step-by-step content.

Primary keyword density should sit between 1.0% and 2.0% of total word count. Do not exceed 2.5%. Place the primary keyword in the first 100 words of the article, in at least one H2 heading, in the meta title, in the meta description, and in the image alt text of the featured image. Secondary keywords should appear naturally throughout the body without forcing them. Keyword stuffing will result in immediate rejection under Google spam policies.

Keyword density target: 1.0% to 2.0%   Hard limit: 2.5%

The primary keyword must appear within the first 100 words of the article body. This signals topical relevance to search engines immediately. It should feel natural, not forced. Avoid starting articles with the keyword as the very first word — work it into the first one or two sentences naturally instead.

Use related and semantic keywords throughout the article to build topical depth. If your article is about “action games for PC” then related terms like “best PC action titles”, “top action games download”, “PC gaming action genre”, and “single-player action games” should appear naturally. Google uses semantic analysis so using varied related language improves topical authority significantly.

Any article over 1000 words must include a table of contents after the introduction. The table of contents should list all H2 headings with anchor links so readers can jump to any section. This improves user experience, reduces bounce rate, and Google often uses table of contents entries for sitelinks in search results.

Every article must include a minimum of 2 and a maximum of 5 internal links to other relevant F95Zone pages or articles. Internal links must use descriptive anchor text that tells the reader and search engines what the linked page is about. Never use “click here” or “read more” as anchor text. Internal links should point to pages that are genuinely related to the current article topic.

Minimum internal links: 2   Maximum internal links: 5

Every article must include 1 to 3 external links pointing to high-authority sources. Acceptable external link sources include official game developer sites, Wikipedia, major gaming publications such as IGN, Kotaku, or PCGamer, and official Google documentation when referencing SEO or policy topics. External links must open in a new tab and use rel=”noopener noreferrer” for security. Never link to low-quality sites, link farms, or direct competitor gaming platforms.

Minimum external links: 1   Maximum external links: 3

Anchor text must be descriptive, natural, and contextually relevant. The anchor text should give the reader a clear idea of what they will find on the linked page. Avoid exact-match anchor text used repetitively across multiple links in one article as this appears manipulative to Google. Mix exact-match, phrase-match, and branded anchor text naturally throughout the article.

Affiliate links must be disclosed clearly at the top of the article with a statement such as “this article contains affiliate links.” Sponsored links must carry the rel=”sponsored” attribute. Undisclosed affiliate or sponsored links violate Google’s link spam policies and may result in a manual penalty against the entire site. Writers who add undisclosed commercial links will be permanently removed from the contributor program.

Check every link in your article before submitting. All links must be live and point to the correct destination page. Do not link to pages that redirect multiple times. Do not link to pages that return a 404 error. Submitting articles with broken links delays publishing and reflects poorly on the contributor.

Every image file name must describe the image content using hyphens between words and include a relevant keyword where natural. Never submit images named “image1.jpg”, “screenshot.png”, or “IMG_4832.jpg”. Google crawls image file names as part of image SEO. A good file name looks like this: best-rpg-games-pc-2025.webp

Every image in the article must have a descriptive alt text attribute. Alt text tells Google what the image shows and is critical for image search rankings and accessibility compliance. Alt text should be 5 to 15 words, describe the image accurately, and include a keyword where natural. Do not keyword stuff alt text. Do not repeat the same alt text on multiple images in the same article.

Good example: player character fighting a boss in action RPG game   Bad example: rpg games rpg games best rpg 2025

Google recommends WebP format for all web images because it delivers smaller file sizes with the same visual quality compared to JPEG or PNG. Submit images in WebP format wherever possible. JPEG is acceptable for photographs. PNG is acceptable for screenshots with text. Never submit BMP, TIFF, GIF (unless animated), or uncompressed image formats.

All images must be royalty-free, original screenshots, or images you have legal rights to use. Acceptable sources include your own screenshots, Unsplash, Pexels, Pixabay, and official press kit images from game developers. Never use Google Images search results as image sources. Never use images from other gaming websites without explicit written permission. Using copyrighted images without a license violates copyright law and Google’s content policies.

Compress all images before including them in your submission. Uncompressed images slow down page load speed which directly harms Core Web Vitals scores and Google rankings. Use tools such as Squoosh, TinyPNG, or Compressor.io to reduce file sizes without visible quality loss. Target under 100 KB for all in-body images and under 150 KB for featured images.

Every article must include at least 1 featured image and 1 in-body image. For articles over 1500 words, include at least 3 images placed logically throughout the content at natural reading breaks. For complete game walkthroughs or guides, include a screenshot for every major step or section being described.

Minimum for standard article: 2 images   Minimum for articles over 1500 words: 3 images

Google’s E-E-A-T guidelines require the first E, which stands for Experience, meaning content must demonstrate that the author has direct first-hand experience with the topic. For gaming content this means mentioning your actual playtime, describing specific in-game situations you encountered, referencing your own decisions or strategies, and writing from a perspective that only comes from having played the game yourself. Generic descriptions that could have been written without playing the game will be rejected.

The second E in E-E-A-T stands for Expertise. Your article must demonstrate genuine knowledge of the gaming topic. For guides and walkthroughs this means providing specific, accurate, and detailed information that helps the reader succeed. Vague general information, surface-level overviews, and content that simply restates what is already on the game’s Wikipedia page do not demonstrate expertise and will be declined.

All articles must be submitted with a complete author bio of 50 to 100 words. The bio must include your real name or consistent pen name, your relevant gaming background or expertise, how many years you have been gaming, and any relevant credentials or achievements. Anonymous articles are not accepted. A strong author bio builds the Authoritativeness dimension of E-E-A-T and improves the visibility of your content in Google’s quality assessment.

Every factual claim in your article must be accurate and verifiable. If you state game statistics, release dates, player counts, hardware requirements, or any other data point, it must be correct at the time of submission. Inaccurate information harms the Trust dimension of E-E-A-T and can lead to articles being unpublished after going live. When citing statistics or data, link to the official source so readers can verify.

Your article must offer something that cannot be found by simply reading other articles already ranking for the same topic. This could be a unique perspective based on your personal experience, a comparison that has not been done before, a more detailed breakdown of a strategy, or insights from your own testing. Google’s Helpful Content system specifically rewards pages that go beyond what is already available and provide genuine additional value to readers.

Submit all articles as a shared Google Doc with editing access or as a clean plain-text file. Do not submit in PDF format. Do not submit in heavily formatted Word documents with embedded styles. The Google Doc should be clearly structured with proper heading levels applied using the Paragraph Styles dropdown, not just bold text that visually looks like a heading.

Use bullet points for unordered lists of features, tips, or items where order does not matter. Use numbered lists for step-by-step instructions, ranked lists, or sequential processes. Do not overuse lists. An article that is entirely made up of bullet points with no substantive paragraph writing does not demonstrate expertise and will be declined. Lists should complement written content, not replace it.

Use bold text to highlight key terms, important facts, or critical instructions that readers must not miss. Use italic text for game titles, quotes, or technical terms being introduced for the first time. Do not bold random phrases for decoration. Do not italicise entire paragraphs. Overuse of bold and italic text reduces their effectiveness and makes content harder to scan.

Use HTML tables or Google Docs tables for any comparison content such as comparing game editions, comparing hardware specs, listing game features side by side, or showing stat differences between in-game characters or items. Tables improve readability, reduce bounce rate, and Google often features well-structured comparison tables in rich results.

Write at a clear and accessible reading level that a 14-year-old gamer could understand without difficulty. Avoid overly academic language and jargon unless writing for a specialist technical audience. The tone should be informative, conversational, and engaging. Do not use slang excessively. Do not use profanity. Write as if you are explaining something to a knowledgeable friend who wants genuine help.

Google’s Helpful Content system rewards content written for people and penalises content created primarily to rank in search engines. Before submitting ask yourself whether your article would exist and be useful even if search engines did not exist. If the honest answer is no then rewrite it with the reader’s needs as the primary goal. The Helpful Content guidelines state that pages should provide a satisfying experience that leaves readers feeling they got what they came for.

Official reference: developers.google.com/search/docs/fundamentals/creating-helpful-content

Google’s spam policies explicitly prohibit the following practices. Keyword stuffing which means loading text with keywords in a way that is unnatural or unhelpful. Cloaking which means showing different content to search engines than to users. Hidden text or links which means making content invisible to users but visible to crawlers. Automatically generated content which means text produced by software without meaningful human review or editing. Scraped content which means copying or paraphrasing content from other sites. Link spam which means building links through schemes or undisclosed payments.

Official reference: developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies

Google does not ban all AI content. Google bans AI content created primarily to manipulate search rankings rather than help users. F95Zone’s policy is stricter than Google’s minimum standard. We require that the primary author is a human with real gaming experience who uses AI only as an editing assistant. The author must be able to personally verify every claim in their article. Articles that contain demonstrably AI-generated phrasing patterns, hallucinated facts, or generic non-specific language will be rejected.

While writers do not control the technical side of the site, your content choices directly affect page experience signals. Large uncompressed images slow Largest Contentful Paint. Excessive embedded videos affect Cumulative Layout Shift. By following image compression requirements and avoiding unnecessary embeds, writers contribute to the overall Core Web Vitals health of the page. Google uses these signals as direct ranking factors.

Official reference: web.dev/vitals

All content must comply with Google Search Essentials which covers technical requirements, spam policies, and key best practices. The key best practices section states that Google recommends creating content that uses words that people would use to search for your content, ensuring content is easily accessible to Googlebot, and providing accurate and helpful information. Violations of these fundamentals risk removal from the Google Search index entirely.

Official reference: developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials

Google’s link spam policies state that any links that are intended to manipulate rankings in Google Search results may be considered link spam. This includes buying or selling links that pass PageRank, excessive link exchanges, and using automated programs to create links. Writers must not add commercial links, affiliate links, or links to client websites without prior editorial approval. Undisclosed paid links are a serious violation that can trigger manual actions.

Official reference: developers.google.com/search/docs/essentials/spam-policies#link-spam

All blog posts and articles published on F95Zone receive Article schema markup automatically by our editorial team. As a writer you need to ensure your article includes a clearly defined author name, a publication date, a clear article title, and a featured image with the correct dimensions. These elements are required for valid Article schema which helps Google display author information and article details in search results.

If your article includes a Frequently Asked Questions section with questions and answers, format it clearly with each question as a heading and each answer as a paragraph below it. This allows our team to add FAQPage schema to your article which can result in expanded FAQ entries appearing directly in Google search results, increasing your article’s visibility without needing to rank higher. Include 3 to 5 genuine questions that your target reader would ask.

For step-by-step gaming guides, format each step as a clearly numbered section with a heading and a description. This allows our team to apply HowTo schema to the article which enables Google to display the steps directly in search results as rich results. Each step should be self-contained, clearly numbered, and written in active voice starting with a verb such as “open”, “select”, “click”, or “navigate”.

If you are submitting a game review, include a clearly defined overall rating score out of 10 with specific sub-scores for categories such as gameplay, graphics, story, and replayability. Present the rating visually in the article so our team can apply Review or AggregateRating schema. Valid review schema can result in star ratings appearing next to your article in Google search results which significantly increases click-through rates.

Aim for a Flesch Reading Ease score of 60 or above. This corresponds to plain English that is easy for most people to read. Use short sentences of 15 to 20 words on average. Use simple words where complex ones are unnecessary. Avoid writing sentences that stack multiple clauses together. Tools such as Hemingway Editor and Yoast SEO’s readability checker can measure your Flesch score before submission.

Target Flesch score: 60 and above   Average sentence length: 15 to 20 words

Use transition words throughout your article to improve flow and help readers move naturally from one idea to the next. Words and phrases such as “in addition”, “as a result”, “on the other hand”, “for example”, “in summary”, and “this means that” improve coherence. Aim for at least 30% of sentences to include a transition word or phrase. Articles with poor flow feel disjointed and reduce the time readers spend on page.

Over 60% of F95Zone’s readers access content on mobile devices. Write with mobile reading in mind. Keep sentences short. Keep paragraphs to a maximum of 3 to 4 lines when viewed on a standard mobile screen. Avoid very long unbroken blocks of text. Use subheadings frequently to give mobile readers visual anchors as they scroll through the article.

Every article should guide the reader toward a next step at the end. This could be inviting them to read a related article, try a game you recommended, leave a comment with their experience, or explore the F95Zone games library. A clear call to action keeps readers engaged with the site and reduces bounce rate which is a positive user experience signal for Google.

Run your article through a plagiarism checker such as Copyscape, Quetext, or Grammarly before submitting. Your article must have less than 5% similarity with any other published content online. F95Zone runs every submitted article through plagiarism detection tools. Articles exceeding 5% similarity are automatically returned regardless of the explanation provided.

Maximum similarity allowed: 5%

Content submitted to F95Zone must be exclusive and must not have been published on any other website, blog, forum, or social media platform in any form. This includes your own personal blog. If you want to reference your F95Zone article later, link back to it rather than republishing the content. Duplicate content published across multiple domains is penalised by Google as thin or low-quality content regardless of which site published it first.

Reusing substantial sections of your own previously published articles on other websites is considered self-plagiarism and violates our duplicate content policy. Writing a new angle, updating with new information, or referencing your past work in a new context is acceptable. Copying and pasting paragraphs from your own past articles is not. Each submission must be written fresh for F95Zone.