First, what is SEO content writing? SEO refers to Search Engine Optimization. When marketing experts talk about SEO content or SEO writing, they are referring to content that search engines can easily understand.
How does Google know that a page titled – “Best Summer Clothing” should be shown? It takes a look at the content on the page. And, the page with the best SEO content gets ranked on the first page of the search query. SEO writing has changed in the last twenty years with Google making constant updates, however, there are basic writing tips that have always remained the same.
From keyword optimization to local content to content marketing, here’s your basic guide to SEO writing.
Create SEO content strategy with Keyword Research
It all starts with effective keyword research. Effective keyword research tells you what keywords are being searched for. For example, if you write an article around the “1990 clothing styles” – but no one is searching for it, the content won’t generate traffic.
The right keywords help you create an effective SEO content strategy. This, in turn, enhances your digital marketing.
Method One: Use Keyword Tools
There are keyword tools like Google’s Keyword Planner and Keyword Planner that gives you an idea of which keywords you need to target.
Here’s how Google’s Keyword Planner shows you keyword data
You can clearly assess which keywords have a high search volume and target such terms.
Method Two: Steal from your Competitor
Identify the top competitors in your business and visit their website. You can check the keywords they use by taking a look at the source code. You can also use SEO tools like Ubersuggest that will help you identify the top keywords used by your competitors.
Here’s a snapshot of the keywords used by Burberry
Use these two methods and keyword tips to build your keyword list.
However, higher the volume search of the keyword also means that your content is competing with others to rank on the top pages. So, choose your keywords depending on your current SEO ranking.
Pro Tip: Understand Search Intent
Once you have your keyword list, you need to match the keyword with the search intent. For example, someone searching for “Clothing trends for 2021” wants to know about the new fashion trends in 2021.
Understanding search intent might seem simple since you associate the keyword with what the searcher wants. However, it is always crucial to understand what the user’s search intent is.
Do a Google Search
After doing a Google search of your targeted keyword, there are two things to check:
- Check the title of the page – This will give you an overview of what the audience expects to read
- Check the on-page content – Check the content within the pages and this will give you an in-depth insight into what the search intent is
SERPs is always the place to start with to understand search intent. With long-tail keywords, it becomes even easier to understand search intent.
Once you know what the search intent is – your content should match it.
Write SEO Content for User Experience
A key mistake made by amateur content writer is to follow the A-Z of SEO when writing the content, but forget to write content that is interesting to the audience.
It’s vital to ask: Who is my target audience?
Answering this question will help you understand the tone, language, vocabulary, and information-detail that the article should have.
Read articles published by The Economist, Huffington Post, and The Onion, and you will find widely differing styles of writing. This is because the audience across the three platforms is different.
Additionally, any content you write must answer the subject matter. Your audience will click on the link with the expectation to get certain information. Ensure that your content shares this information. If it doesn’t, the audience might click on your link, but immediately bounce off because the content does not have the information they want to read.
This is a key element to ensure that your SEO content is highly engaging for your target audience.
Use the Right Amount of SEO Keywords
Good SEO content is always about having the right amount of keywords. A mistake made by writers is to stuff the content with keywords. The basic idea is that the higher the number of keywords equals a better chance of ranking on Google. However, this premise is wrong.
Add too many keywords to your content and you may incur negative SEO ranking. Keyword stuffing is identified as a black hat SEO technique and it is to be avoided completely. The problem with keyword stuffing is that it reduces focus on delivering quality content to the reader.
Once you have identified your focus keywords, your article should have no more than 4-5 mentions of it.
Have Headers Integrated with Keywords
Have headers throughout your content. In the online world, your audience has a limited attention span. By writing section headers for your content, they can read your headers and take the information they want.
A perfect example would be this article itself. Without giving an in-depth read, you can quickly read the section headers and be aware of the information that this article offers.
In addition to that, integrate keywords in your headers. H1, H2 and H3 are given more importance by Google and hence it is vital to add-in keywords.
Use SEO content writing tools
Before publishing your content, use content writing tools to improve your quality.
- Grammar Check: Grammarly and ProWritingAid offer assistance in ensuring that your grammar and language style is excellent.
- Keyword Optimization Check: SEOScout runs a check on your content and ensure that appropriate keyword optimization has been done.
These are just some content writing tips to help you get started with better SEO content writing. In addition to this, there is also ensuring that your content has a good number of internal and external links. Geo-local optimization can your content a competitive edge, so your audience searching locally will find your content. The last point for good SEO content is that good SEO content writing is not about how many keywords, links or images you add. Instead, it is about how well your answer the search