Your Guide for Writing SEO-Ready Content for Articles & Blogs

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Your Guide to Writing Website Content Yourself

SEO writing is like all other forms of writing, but it’s different.

It’s the same because you’ll still need to write normally for people, but it’s different because you want to be intentional about the keywords and phrases you use to catch the attention of search engines like Google.

Use this guide to help you create killer website content for landing pages, articles, and blogs.

What is SEO (Search Engine Optimization)?

SEO is the method of optimizing a website and the content therein for users and search engines, with the end goal to increase the rankings for the site.

High-quality content will increase the authority of the website and will help the website rank for the keywords on which the content is based.

SEO is such a buzzword.

It’s plastered all over resumes, portfolios, and listed as “recent experience.”

If you can define a “meta title,” “H2 heading tags”, and “image alt tags,” then you’re ahead of the pack.

If these SEO terms sound foreign to you, no fear! Keep reading to learn more.

GOALS for Great Articles & Blogs

Before jumping into what it takes to write a great article, we need to cover the intent of the article or blog.

Here’s a short breakdown of what you should be thinking about before writing a full article:

• Answer users’ questions. This is the most important of all blog writing. Why should a user read the article? What questions are they trying to have answered?
• Add value to your audience. Why should a user come and stay on your website? Adding value to their pageviews will encourage repeat visits.
• Call-to-Action (Send them to “money pages”). This increases Click Thru Rate (CTR) and sends signals to Google that your page website satisfies user intent.
• Increase time on page. If a user lands on your page for 10 seconds then leaves, that’s a sign your website needs work. Consider what you can add to increase time on page. Images? Videos? These are good to consider adding. 52 seconds is a good benchmark.
• Reduce bounce-rate. This included “closing” the page or “clicking back” without clicking a link on the page. Too many of these and Google will start to decrease your webpage in SERPS (Search Engine Results Page).

Keyword Research to Know What People are Searching

Knowing what people are searching for and identifying the keywords that are high in value (i.e. high search volume) is key in getting clicks on your article on the SERPs page.

There are two ways you can do this:

Way #1: Use online tools to identify keywords

Select a favorite tool to help identify relevant and popular keywords and phrases. Here’s a short list of good ones to consider:

• Answer the Public (free)
• HOTH (free)
• Keyword Tool.io (free)
• Moz
• Google Trends
• A Google Chrome plugin like keywordseverywhere.com

Way #2: Use Google to help you find keywords & titles for blogs

There are two main ways a quick Google Search can help you find popular keywords:

1. A quick typed search to find keywords

Begin typing your keyword and see what words are connected to this phrase:

These words are good keyword phases to consider using in your content.

2. Search using “what” and “how” + keyword(s) to find titles.

Open an incognito Google search bar and type a phrase with “what” or “how” starting the phrase.

Like, “What is digital marketing.” Scroll down to the bottom to view other user searches. You will see results like this:

These short phrases will identify LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords.

These are words related to your main keywords and are great for long-tailed keywords.

These are PERFECT for article and blog title topics.

In case you can’t see the videos, “What is digital marketing” brings:

• what is digital marketing explain with examples
• digital marketing course
• digital marketing examples
• what is digital marketing strategy
• how to do digital marketing
• advantages of digital marketing
• importance of digital marketing
• digital marketing introduction

Research Similar Blog Articles

Researching similar blog article titles on the web is an important step in the content creation process.

By researching what topics are popular or in demand, you can gain insights into what type of content is resonating with your target audience.

Although, you don’t want to copy/paste other people’s. content.

To begin your research, open an Incognito Window and search using the keyword on which you’re writing.

Look at the titles of articles that appear on the first page of results page and read 2-3 organic articles (passed paid ads) to get a basic understanding of why that content ranks well.

As an example, “Digital marketing examples” brings:

Look for areas where your content can expand/enhance what is already published and ranking well, like…

• Better/More content
• More quality backlinks
• Better formatting… Bold, italic, underline, or lists.
• Better H2-H5 tags
• Better H1 and Meta Title (use high-value keywords)
• More images, quality, pertaining to article
• Include a YouTube video embed
• Embed a Google Map

Decide Content Format

Deciding the style of how you will share the content is important.

Here’s a short list of how this looks (my favorite type is list posts).

• How-to guides are step-by-step instructions that help the reader complete a specific task.
• Tutorials provide a more in-depth explanation of a particular subject.
• List posts provide quick and easily digestible information by breaking down complex topics into a list format
• Informative articles: provides a comprehensive overview of a specific subject and is typically longer than the other types of content.

Decide Content Angle

Often found in the title as the “benefit” as to why someone should click on your article.

Make a general outline of what you want to write about using H2 (and H3) tags to organize your thoughts.

Here’s a checklist to help you start your content-writing process.

1. Write an enticing H1 title and Meta Title

Write a strong H1 title that will catch users’ (and Google’s) attention.

This is at the top of the article.

You can make it better later.

Here are other important tips for the title:

• A Website title will always be “H1” by default, you can edit your Meta Title that will show in Google. This is an important place to include your keywords
• Add a meta description — highlight keywords you’re using. Give call to action (Click to learn about…”)
• The words “best,” “review,” “checklist,” “tips,” “most,” “free,” “cheap,” “reasons why,” “easy,” “ways” are good options (ex “11 Easy Ways to Get Your Brand Noticed Locally”)
• Odd numbers perform better
• TIP: Eyes are naturally drawn to numbers so write “1” rather than “one” in titles

2. Draft H2-H5 outline

• Note: All other subheadings after H1 will be “H2” tags and “H3” tags
• Longer H2 tags are better. Although, they should be a max of aobut 12 words, Remmeber, this is an outline. Adding more words gives Google a better understanding of what you’re writing about. An example of this would be: “Make coffee at home” rather than “Make coffee”
• TIP: “H2” tags are your best friend. Use these as often as you can — listicles are the best time to use
• TIP: Don’t deceive — make the title what it’s really about

3. Start Writing!

The point of the article is to focus on high-quality content that will satisfy “user intent.”

Write like you’re talking to a friend — remember that you’re answering a question.

Your tone should be honest, friendly, and helpful.

Try to avoid “not” (people want to read what TO do, not to NOT do).

Attempt to write 800-1,200 words; but 500 is okay too, but more relevant content is better.

Write 3-5 sentences — 100ish words — per paragraph.

4. Formatting your content

Use formatting to grab attention: Bold, italic, and underline. Emphasize important points in each paragraph.

Add relevant images with the proper titles and ALT text and include a feature photo.

Include media (photo or video) in text every 300 words.

Include lists where necessary (eyes naturally go to lists).

Important SEO Tips to Remember When Writing Content

Give a call to action. This HUGE and many businesses forget to do this!

What’s the point of the article if there’s no follow-up?

Are they supposed to buy products, contact them, or subscribe? Tell this!

Include an internal link. Like this:

RELATED: How to Land Freelance Content Writing Jobs

Or hyperlink relevant keywords, this because helps with SEO. (Like that.)

If possible, link to Google Maps pages or embed a map.

It’s helpful for the user and tells Google it’s a location.

Use the location’s proper name and address when referring to the location.

When linking to an outside source (link to authority sites but keep this to a minimum), ensure that you select “open link in a new tab” so users stays on your page for higher “time on page.”

Make sure the image’s name is related to the image (like “bedside table image” not “image_49783”).

These titles tell Google that the image has relevance to the artilce.

If using Instagram photos, make sure they do not disappear over time (the user taking them down).

Use a short URL structure for better SEO (like website.com/tips-about-marketing not website.com/tips-to-advance-your-marketing-and-your-brand-strategy)

Avoid keyword stuffing. It doesn’t work anymore.

Top SEO Ranking Factors on Google

Now for the meat of the article.

What factors are important for ranking on Google’s SERPs page?

Here they are in a short list:

• Freshness. Update old articles so they’re new and up-to-date.
• High quality content. At least 500 words (1,800 words ranks best), but it’s better to write QUALITY over QUANTITY.
• Backlinks. Backlinks from high-authoritative websites benefit SEO a lot.
• Internal Linking. You have the power to internal link to the most important page on your site.
• Brand Power and Social Signals. Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Quora, Pinterest, and other social media sites that link to a webpage increase rankings.
• Mobile optimized. Google indexes sites for mobile first. Websites should be easily readable on mobile.
• Page speed. Fast loading times.
• Domain Power. Domains with the keyword you want to rank for. New domain names will have a harder time ranking compared to old domain names.
• HTTPS. Better security increases rankings over HTTP only.
• User experience. The design of the site (UX) is a ranking factor because it helps keep people on the site.
• Low Bounce-Rate. Give users incentive to click to another page (if it’s an informational post or it answers a question, users will most likely bounce once they find their answer).
• High Time on Site. Increase time on site with text, good H2 titles, bold words, images, videos, and other things to encourage a longer time on site.

Best Practice Checklist

Do you need a quick blog writing checklist? Here you go!

• Does blog post answer a question, i.e. go after a keyword?
• Easy to read and make sense, i.e not keyword stuffing?
• Call to action — “money” page, contact form, and any other important pages
• Strong title with…with keyword, a number, words like “How to,” “Tips,” “Best,” “Ways to,” “Reasons,” etc…
• Short URL: 2-4 words
• At least three H2 or H3 tags
• At least 500 words
• Paragraphs that are 3-5 sentences long
• Bullet points (not necessary but a good eye-catcher)
• Feature image added
• Image in text (can be feature image if it automatically included in the post)
• Image per 300 words
• Image titles and alt text has been included — relating to content
• Closing ending paragraph with a call to action to contact or link to a shop page
• Internal linking (do not have to be “open link in a new tab” because it’s the same site)
• Meta Title: include keyword (including site name)
• Meta Description: include Call to Action