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How to Write SEO Content That's More Content than SEO

Basically, SEO content is any piece of content where the goal is to have that content attract search engine traffic. Although that's still a noble goal, content needs to do more than rank high on the search engines. If that content doesn't inform readers, address their pain points, and give them something valuable that they can take away from the words you've written, then you won't accomplish the goal of search engine traffic.

Search engines want content that does more than meet the algorithmic requirements. Here's how to write SEO content that informs readers and offers value while making the search engines happy:

Do the SEO Last

Since it's critical that content pleases people first and search engines second, write the entire article first before fitting in the keyword(s) for which you want the article to rank. This allows you to focus on the writing and the main points, where poorly-presented arguments and grammatical errors diminish the value readers will find in your article. Focusing on the keywords last also means that the keywords are included where they can fit naturally without appearing too often in the article. In order for SEO content to rank, the optimization needs to be discreet.

Once you've finished placing your keywords, don't put them in bold! Bolded keywords strewn throughout your article look random to the reader, while also saying that you've written for the search engine and not for people. Keep in mind that it's the readers, and not the search engines, who ultimately become part of your audience and buy your product.

Use Formatting in Your SEO Content

Many writers just compose paragraph after paragraph without any formatting to make the article more reader-friendly. By formatting your article appropriately, you'll be one of the few writers creating additional opportunities for SEO in your SEO content. Subheadings are a great place to include your keyword, but you can't put a keyword there if you don't format your article with subheadings in the first place.

Of course, formatting is much more than subheadings and also includes bullet points and numbered lists. Formatting is about presenting the contents of the article in a way that allows the reader to digest everything in a matter of seconds. If you're writing an article about the five best sushi places in St. Louis, for example, then use subheadings or a numbered list so that it's obvious at first glance which sushi restaurants are the best.

Consider Targeting Less Competitive Keywords

If the goal of your SEO content is to rank on the first page of results and to increase search engine traffic, then you don't want to target ultra-competitive keywords. Not only is it harder to end up on the first page of results for these keywords, but these keywords are also less likely to convert your web visitors into leads. Take the time to target less competitive keywords by doing research on synonyms, related keywords, and long-tailed keywords. An excellent way to target less competitive keywords while also helping your audience is to answer questions from your customers/audience. By doing this, you know you're writing an article your audience will value while also ranking for long-tailed keywords relevant to your business or industry.

Your audience and potential customers want to read well-written blog posts and articles that cover the information they want to know about. Fortunately, the search engines want the same thing for your and your potential customers. The rules of keyword density and meeting a certain word count to please Google/Bing/Yahoo no longer apply. Write great SEO content that's more content than SEO by thinking about the humans that will read your work and what they want out of your words. If people have an awesome experience with your content, then the SEO part should follow without any problems.

Topics: SEO content writing - SEO copywriting - SEO content - SEO content marketing

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