Whether you operate a start-up or a Fortune 500 corporation, SEO has a significant influence on your company’s performance. Your SEO approach determines the ease with which your intended customers can reach you. But it’s no simple feat, given that 75% of internet users never browse past the first page of search results.
Search engine optimisation (SEO) has advanced significantly, especially in terms of what SEO content writing you produce. You might have heard of the term “Content is King”, and really, now more than ever, that is true.
Google recently changed its algorithms to favour helpful content over almost any other SEO factor. So, with proper keyword research and incorporating other best SEO content writing tips & strategies, you’ll be well on your way to getting the results by these Search engine optimisation tips. Here are the best 10 SEO Writing Tips that you can follow to improve your content writing a lot
1. Place Keywords Strategically
Some SEO ‘gurus’ will tell you the same content optimisation techniques that you need to hit a specific keyword density percentage for each page. Maybe this used to be the case, and maybe it still works to a certain extent, but unnatural keyword stuffing can do you more harm than good.
Google considers intentionally adding keywords to a page — a technique known as “keyword stuffing” — an attempt to deceive the system at the expense of the customer experience. And, as we all know, Google is obsessed with the user experience these days.
The solution is straightforward: forget about keyword density and just write intuitively. Of course, your keywords should be mentioned in the content. However, you typically don’t need to make any special effort to do so since it comes organically as you write. I generally go off a rule of 1 keyword every 300 words or so, but again, it’s more important they come naturally and not forced.
2. User-Generated Content Sites
User-generated content (UGC) has grown more popular than ever with the emergence of social networking sites. Customers and brand loyalists are mostly responsible for creating this brand-specific material, which is critical in shaping the buyer’s journey.
According to a UGC survey performed by Dynata, 80% of customers are more willing to make purchases if your business give individualised customer experiences.
The primary categories of user-generated material are as follows:
- Images
- Live broadcasts and videos
- Content for social media.
- Product reviews and recommendations.
- Blog posts
- Q&A forum
- Surveys
Help a Reporter Out (HARO), Featured.com and Helper a B2B Writer are internet-sourcing services that connect journalists and bloggers with expert sources. These tools can assist you in creating naturally linkable material. You have a built-in library of experts who can reach out and answer your questions. You can make highly targeted blog posts from your answers with almost no effort on your side.
3. Long-Tail Keywords
Long-tail keywords are longer, more specific keyword phrases that visitors are more inclined to use when they are getting closer to the point of purchase. The search volume for most long-tail keywords is lower than for short terms. This can appear to be counter-intuitive at first. However, they can prove extremely helpful if used correctly.
If you offer vintage furniture, chances are your pages will not show at the top of an organic search for “furniture” since there is too much competition (this is especially true if you are a smaller firm or a start-up).
However, if you specialise in, say, modern art-deco furniture, keywords like “contemporary Art Deco-influenced lounge furniture” may only get a search volume of around 100 per month, but you’re much more likely to be able to rank on page one for them.
It’s all about balancing between competition and search volume. More volume generally means more competition, so its good to target a range of different keywords across multiple search volumes and competition values.
4. Helpful & Useful Content
Begin writing your first draft section by section. Don’t overthink things or be concerned about getting it perfect. At this point, it’s really just a matter of putting everything out there. When it comes to structure, the AIDA model can come in handy for specific forms of content, such as writing promotional emails.
As you write, try to keep things flowing congruently. Write as if you are the reader. What would the reader be asking themselves during this section of the article? Then answer these questions in your next section.
You want the content you create to be as helpful to the reader as possible. It’ll position you as a reliable source of information. This will get searchers returning to your website and show off to Google crawlers you know your stuff.
5. Use Header Tags to Your Advantage
Header tags are used on websites to distinguish headings and subheadings. They are numbered from H1 to H6, with H1s generally being the title.
Headers assist Google’s web crawlers in understanding your blog content and its sections. Consider the crawlers to be readers who are browsing your content. Your H1 should provide a summary of what your article will discuss. The H2s, H3s, and H4s then break down the subtopics inside the writing.
Top Tip: Placing keywords in the headers is one of the best ways to show Google what your content is about. Try to use your keywords in headers as much as possible (but again – naturally!!)
6. Meta Descriptions
Do you include meta descriptions when you post a new page? If not, you’re most likely not receiving as much traffic as you could be. Let’s look at why…
Google will be crawling your website to scan specific sections so it can make sense of what your site is. Headers are important for this, but meta tags also play a huge role. Google analyses meta-descriptions to further determine the topics of your pages. Meta descriptions are one- to three-sentence summaries that appear beneath a result’s title. A good rule of thumb here is no more than 160 characters.
Use meta descriptions to summarise your post’s content, and remember to:
- Keep it brief – 140-160 characters.
- Use between one and two keywords.
- Make it interesting. This is the part that shows up on SERPs under your heading.
7. Internal & External Links
External links direct viewers to a reliable page on a different website, while internal links one page to another page of your own website. Both are helpful in terms of SEO.
External links may look illogical – you don’t want users leaving your site by clicking on links. But embedding an external link shows Google how your content links to other web pages’ content and forms connections. This allows Google to better understand your site’s content.
Internal linking forms a site map for Google, which is all of the interconnection from page to page on your website. It also assists in the searcher’s user experience in finding different connecting pages related to the current page they are visiting.
Let the links flow naturally, externally link to reliable sources when quoting data and internally link to help your visitors find more of your content. Again, a good rule of thumb is one link per 300 words or so. But I’ll say it again: natural need to trump rules of thumb!
8. Engaging Titles
Headlines are the first thing that readers and search engines see when they encounter your content. They need to capture attention and communicate your main idea to entice people to click and read more.
To write effective headlines, you should use keywords that match your audience’s intent, convey a benefit or a solution, and create curiosity or urgency. For some reason, headers with odd numbers or round numbers (10, 20, 30) work best. Questions are also great as they get the reader thinking.
We’ve all been a victim of clickbait – don’t be that person. A good headline establishes the tone for the rest of the page, and it doesn’t try to trick people. Try to use them to prompt emotion, stimulate people’s interest, and showcase a unique value offer.
9. The Special Sauce of Quality Writing
Great content is something that can be easily read by anyone. But that’s not where it ends. In fact, that’s where it starts. Great content should be simple, elegant, clear and evocative.
Simple allows for easy reading so that anyone can understand things without having to backtrack. Curly sentences are when one point is linked to the next and then back to another point. Spinning your head around trying to understand which clause relates to which. Keep it simple.
Elegant and clear content reflects flow. Smoothly moving from one point to the next in a manner that connects and makes sense. Evocative content, on the other hand, makes for interesting reading. Reading the evokes emotion and relates to the reader.
It all depends on the type of content you are creating and finding a balance between the 4 elements of this secret sauce.
10. Structuring Content for Maximum Flow
If you want to rank higher on search engines, you need to create content that is not only relevant and engaging but also optimised for SEO. SEO-friendly content structure and format can help you improve your readability, user experience, and authority, as well as signal your intent to search engines.
Subheadings and paragraphs are essential for making your content easy to scan, read, and understand. Subheadings should highlight the main points of each section. Bullet points and numbered lists help this even more, especially from a reader’s perspective.
Paragraphs should be short and focused, with one main idea per paragraph, using transitions and connectors to create a smooth flow.
Final Thoughts
If you stick to these 10 points, you’ll be well on your way to creating great content for readers that’s also easy to understand for Google crawlers. I hope you found this article helpful. If you need a hand with any form of best content writing, feel free to drop me a line, and we can discuss things in more depth.
