So, you are a beginner writer or perhaps a content writer who still doesn’t understand what SEO writing is and why it’s important. This piece will, in no extra time, put you through everything you need to know about SEO writing as well as tips and best practices to use.
If you have ever made a search on Google, chances are — you clicked instantly on the first page displayed on your browser without ever thinking of scrolling down to other pages.
Now, the question is why did Google choose to show you this very page instead of other pages with the same information? Obviously, It’s because of SEO.
Search engine optimization helps your web pages rank on Google’s SERP. Thus, whenever a related query is made, your content shows up immediately.
With that said, how do you incorporate SEO into your content in order to appear in SERPs? This is where SEO writing comes in. So, what’s SEO writing and why is it important?
Table of Contents
What is SEO writing
SEO writing is the art of infusing SEO practices into your content. This type of writing is targeted at helping your website and blog posts rank on search engines — right on the first page.
With SEO writing, your content won’t get dumped on Google’s last page. Because what’s the essence of creating an excellent piece of content — easy to read, engaging, and resourceful — yet no one gets to read it? Sadly, it’s pointless and a waste of time.
However, with SEO writing, your content gets a chance to reach its target audience — the people that need it.
Why is SEO writing important
SEO writing is important for many reasons. First, good content without SEO will likely never get found on search engines. Here’s the truth;
90.63% of pages get no organic search traffic from Google – Ahref
What this means is regardless of how excellent and useful a piece of content is, without SEO, they are never going to generate traffic. And this is because most content pieces lack keywords related to the queries people are searching for. In fact, Ahref noted that “69.7% of search queries from users contain four or more keywords.”
Keywords are an important part of SEO writing. They are useful in helping search engines interpret what your page is all about. When people search for queries, Google scans its database to find matching content with relevant keywords to show to them.
Therefore SEO writing through the use of Keywords helps you reach more people, improve visibility and drive sales.
Every beginner writer, content writer, and copywriter should utilize SEO writing in their content for better ranking and traffic generation on search engines.
Benefits of SEO content writing
SEO writing, also known as SEO content writing, has other benefits asides from helping you rank on the first page of search engines. Here are the major advantages of SEO writing;
1. SEO content writing drives sales
As a copywriter or content writer, the fundamental goal why businesses hire you is to convert prospects into buying customers through content creation. If at the end of the day, your content doesn’t make your clients money, they will relieve you of your duties. This is because business thrives on revenue and revenue comes from sales. Thus, SEO writing will help you drive high conversion for your clients.
2. SEO content writing boosts brand awareness
It doesn’t matter if you’re building a brand for yourself or a client, utilizing SEO writing increases your chances of reaching a new audience. When you create useful and informative content, Google picks your content and presents it to people interested in what you’re offering.
And this is a great way to reach your target audience, engage and convert them into fans. Moreover, when people love your brand, they tend to share it with their friends, thereby increasing awareness for you at no extra cost.
3. SEO content writing establishes your authority
SEO content writing establishes your brand as an authority in the industry. With authoritative content, constantly ranking on search engines, readers and major publications are likely to cite you, link to your content, and seek your opinion on trends and topics.
The best part is, you become a reputable brand and go-to place for topics you write on. Thus, creating content that answers the reader’s questions, addresses their pain points, and educates them on new topics makes you stand out as an authority in the industry.
4. SEO content writing keeps your content timeless
Creating timeless content can be rewarding, especially in the long run. A timeless content never goes out of season. Regardless of what year people are searching for queries related to your content, your content doesn’t fade. It remains useful and relevant.
Also, over time, timeless content drives you constant traffic — year in year out. While traffic may drop at some point because of relevancy, you can always improve on it and update it to meet the required relevancy. Thus, SEO content writing is beneficial for long-term goals.
5 powerful SEO writing tips for beginners
To write content that works — educates, entertains, and converts readers into fans and customers, you should implement the following SEO writing tips;
1. Research your audience
A powerful SEO writing tip recommended for writers is to research your audience. Find out what queries they are searching for and why they are interested in those queries. Write content that addresses these questions. A better approach would be to use search intent as a guide when creating your content.
In simple terms, search intent is the reason why someone makes a search. And to find your audience’s search intent, make a Google search with the same query and evaluate what content type is ranking for them. Using your findings, create a better content than what’s ranking already. This will help your content stand out as useful and relevant.
2. Use Keywords
Keywords are the most crucial part of SEO writing. Without keywords, your content can never appear in SERPs. Simply put, keywords are the phrases people search for on search engines. Creating content with Keywords helps search engines discover and identify what your content is all about. And in most cases, when people search for these keywords, Google shows your content to them.
Sidenote: Use the keyword research tools listed here to find relevant keywords for your content.
3. Use stats and charts
Statistics and charts are a great way to add verified facts to your content. They make your content trustworthy, reliable, and authoritative. And more importantly, search engines love content that provides in-depth backable information to readers. As more readers visit and digest your content, search engines boost and reward you with more traffic. Thus, when doing SEO writing, ensure to use stats and charts to back up your points.
4. Use images
Images make your content easy to read and understand. Many readers may not grasp a concept when they first read it. But on seeing an imagery illustration of the same concept, they understand better and clearer.
Additionally, images help drive traffic to your website. Search engines rank Images for most keywords. So when someone finds your image on search engines, they are likely to visit your website through those images.
Sidenote: Always use high-resolution images when SEO writing
5. Use FAQs
Frequently asked questions are an important part of SEO writing. Search engines have a way of raking a snippet of a content piece that answers a reader’s question efficiently.
For example, Google has a section called “people also ask” on SERPs. This section provides a direct and exact answer to the reader’s question. Using FAQs gives you an opportunity to appear under this section.
Best Practices for SEO writing
1. Incorporate your primary keyword into your headings
A good practice for SEO writing is the use of keywords in your headings. Your primary keyword should appear in your h1, h2, h3, and other subheadings in your content. This helps search engines understand your content and the question it’s trying to answer.
2. Avoid keyword stuffing
While using keywords throughout your content can help you rank, overusing them can as well get you penalized. Google frowns at keyword stuffing. In fact, Google can remove your page or demote your rankings. This is why it’s important you use your keywords naturally or better still moderately within the content body.
3. Write in a conversational tone
A conversational tone is a friendly tone. This means that your content is easy to read. Google favors content that is SEO and user-friendly. Ditch using jargon and bogus words. Every line of your sentence should convey its message in a simple, clear, and concise manner.
Ali Messe opined that effective writing is one that’s lean, clean, and easy to read. Let this always guide you when creating your content.
4. Create a meta description
A meta description is a short line of sentence, displayed on SERPs to give a reader a sneak peek of what your content entails.
If your meta description doesn’t answer the user’s query, the search engine will not favor you. A compelling meta description will help readers click through to your content faster. Thus, using meta descriptions will help your content rank on search engines.
5. Use alt text on your images
Alt text on images is important for ranking on search engines. They help crawlers and humans understand the purpose of your image. Also, they are the only way visually impaired users can make sense of your image.
6. Use shorter sentences and smaller paragraphs
Shorter sentences and smaller paragraphs make your content easy to read for both users and crawlers. They give structure to your content. On the other hand, When your content is unstructured, search engines frown at it. Thus, well-structured content enhances user experience and helps search engines boost your content on SERPs.
7. Build quality links
Building links is a great SEO practice that ranks your content. With quality links pointing back to your content, search engines will rank your content as authentic and authoritative. To build quality links for your content, ensure to write very informational long-form data-rich content that publishers can cite.
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FAQ
What’s an SEO content writer?
An SEO content writer is someone that writes SEO-optimized content that meets the reader’s search intent and ranks on SERPs.
What are some useful SEO tips?
1. Research your audience
2. Use keywords
3. Use images
4. Use stats and charts
5. Use frequently asked questions
How to become an SEO writer?
- Perform keyword research
- Write informational content
- Use high-quality images
- Avoid meaningless phrases
- Cite relevant data and stats
- Interview experts
- Read and analyze other useful content
- Use SEO best practices
