If you’re looking to learn how to write SEO content – or just want to know what it means – this article will help you get started. We’ll talk about what makes up a good SEO article, give you some sample content to learn from, and even recommend some must-have tools to help you out.
The Basics Of SEO Writing
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is a set of techniques used to improve a website’s search engine rankings.
The basic idea behind SEO is to attract visitors to your site, and retain them using proven methods.
SEO is a combination of on-page SEO (what you do on your website) and off-page SEO (things outside your website, such as links to and from other websites).
On-page SEO includes things like content optimization and structure, while off-page SEO includes link building and content promotion.
The Purpose Of SEO Content
The purpose of SEO content is to improve your website’s rankings on search engines like Google. To achieve this, your content must be of good quality, and it must meet the requirements set by the search engines for SEO.
Top-notch SEO content serves multiple purposes. Not only does it help your website gain rankings, but it also does the following:
– Provides value to your target audience (people who are searching for your products or services)
– Builds credibility and trust through authoritative articles (guides & how-to’s)
– Generates leads (signups for your product or service)
– Builds awareness about your brand
– Builds relationships with potential partners
– Demonstrates your expertise
– Improves your SEO strategy
The Elements Of A Good SEO Article
A good SEO article has the following elements:
– An introduction that provides the reader with sufficient information to understand the topic.
– One or two engaging main points
– A conclusion that reinforces the main points and provides the reader with a takeaway.
– An opportunity to engage with the reader through further information or a call to action.
– An overview of the key terms used in the article (the words and phrases used to describe the topic)
– A well-written body with extensive use of SEO-friendly language
– An indication of the target audience (if it’s a general audience, then you’re aiming for a general tone of voice; if it’s more specialized, then you need to tailor the article to be more informative or appealing to that audience)
How To Write SEO-Friendly Content
Writing a good article doesn’t necessarily mean using fancy words and big phrases. Instead, you want to use language that search engines and humans can both understand and appreciate.
To make your content more accessible to search engines, you need to use the following techniques:
– Use simple words
– Include a vocabulary size of about 5-10 words per sentence
– Use sentence cases (subject-verb-object structure)
– Avoid using complex language or scientific jargon
– Be consistent with the articles that you blog or website about. Having more than one article with low quality content won’t do your search engine rankings any favors.
The Anatomy Of A Google Search
Google searches are what make up the bulk of any search engine’s traffic. Knowing how searches work and what techniques you can use to optimize your content for search engines is essential to being able to write good SEO content.
When a search engine user searches for content, they enter a key word or phrase in the search bar. Based on how they’re phrased, the search engine will then display a list of results – some of which are websites and blogs, some are product pages, and some are images. When a user clicks on a result, they’re taken to a new page where they can read the content and potentially make a purchase or find out more information about the product or service that they’re interested in.
There are three important things to note about Google searches:
– The initial search phrase used
– The location that the search takes place in (typically, Google searches take place within a certain area – the search engine’s “location radius” – of where you are)
– The time of day that the search was performed
Knowing these things helps you determine which keywords to use and how to arrange your content to appear near the top of the search engine’s results when a user clicks on it.
Keyword Research
The first step to effective SEO is keyword research. This entails identifying the specific words or phrases that consumers use when searching for products or services that you offer. Once you’ve got that data, you can begin to incorporate those keywords into your content and optimize your articles and website for search engines.
There are a variety of tools that you can use to perform keyword research. Some of the more common ones are Google Keyword Planner, SERP Hunter, and Keyword Density Checker. All these tools can be used to find the keywords that you need to incorporate into your content, and they can all be found in your Google Analytics under Behavior (formerly known as “Interests”).
The Importance Of Backlinks
Backlinks are essentially links (usually directed to your website) that other websites and blogs refer to and include in their content when they mention your industry. Backlinks to your industry website naturally appear at the top of search engine results when a user performs a search. The more backlinks that you have to your industry website, the better – especially external links from high-quality websites.
You can ask your customers and website visitors for suggestions on what keywords to target, or you can just enter those keywords into the search bar of your Google Analytics – and let the data guide you.
The Search Engine Optimization Process
Once you’ve got your key words/phrases, you can begin to incorporate them into your content and optimise your articles and website for search engines. To do this, you’ll need to perform the following steps:
– Create high-quality content that’s relevant to your target audience’s needs
– Use keywords/phrases appropriately (but not overload a term and risk losing traffic)
– Ensure that your content is always fresh (use a content schedule so that you always have content to post at a certain interval)
– Use the right links
– Use social media to grow your audience (if you have an existing audience, then you can use social channels to encourage them to come back and visit your site)
– Measure the results of your efforts (how many conversions are you getting on your site, and from which sources – organic search or social media?)
Some Useful Links
If you’re interested in learning more about SEO, you can find a wealth of information online. The SEO wiki is a great place to start, and to make sure that you’re getting the most out of your efforts, you can use a tool like SEER Interactive’s Free SEO Tool. All these tools and more can be found at your local library or online through Google.