Posted on February 12, 2020
If you want your page reach audience or perhaps potential customers, you need to produce quality content, blogs, anti-plagiarism, and articles that are optimized for search engines, here we’ll call this SEO content. In writing quality SEO content, you will achieve successful result by following this SEO writing guide.
If you read our past blog, you might already know the importance of SEO in Business. Content and the articles have always been playing a big part in SEO. In fact, it is considered as the most important ranking factor in On-page Search Engine Optimization.
In this SEO writing guide will tackle what is SEO writing means and its importance. We’re also going to give away some important tips in writing for SEO for this year and beyond. Let’s get started!
What is SEO writing?
SEO writing is a bit different from the traditional form of copywriting. This is because when you are writing for SEO, you should make an appeal to two types of audiences: the people who are reading and the Search Engine Algorithm.
In a nutshell SEO writing, is a form of writing with SEO in mind. It is about creating quality content that targets certain keywords in the hope that your page will show as the top results when the users put these keywords on the search query.
SEO content is the best way to gain more visibility on the internet. However, you should take in mind that in the two audiences mentioned above, it is the people that should always come first before the search engine.
Similar to the standard process of copywriting, writing for SEO requires creativity, good storytelling, and well-researched data. A good SEO content must able to appeal to the readers and solve a particular problem. SEO writing allows you to connect to your target audience, build organic traffic to your site, and make loyal customers for your business.
SEO Writing Guide
The SEO writer has the responsibility of both copywriters and SEO specialists. They convey the information that readers need in the most effective way and optimize the content for the search engines. Now, that sounds tough but it’s not really that complicated. This SEO writing guide will help you be at the top of the pile.
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Do Keyword Research
After identifying what content you should write, doing keyword research is the first task of SEO content writers. The SEO keywords are the phrases or words in the content which allow the people to find your site when search in a search engine. Keywords in the content are important because it tells what the content is all about.
Nowadays, there are many keyword research tools you can use. Take advantage of those free tools online because they can give you information on how many people search for that particular keyword and the number of competition.
Doing keyword research is vital in SEO writing because if you are not careful, you might rank in a keyword that is not relevant to your business or blog. To avoid this, we suggest using long-tail keywords. So, what are these?
Long-tail keywords are SEO keyword phrases that contain three to four words which are very specific to the services that you are selling. To give you an example, you can use the keyword “online golf store in Bangkok” for a business involved in selling golf apparel.
Identifying and using the right keywords is important in SEO writing guide. To come up with the right one, we also suggest understanding the Search Intent of Your Visitors. This will lead to our next tip SEO Copywriting.
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Understand the search intent of the users
Knowing the search intent of the user can be also very useful in identifying keywords you should use in your article. The search intent is simply the reason why people conduct a specific search of the keyword. In knowing the search intent you are trying to answer: why do people search for this keyword?
By understanding the search intent of your visitors, you can easily align your keyword relevant to your topic and your business. In SEO, there are three types of search intent:
Informational: The searcher is looking for information. Keywords like this include “Orthodontist meaning” or “Who is Donald Trump?”
Navigational: In this type of search query, searchers are looking for a particular brand or service they already know about. Here, they may use the brand name or the location. To give you an example, searchers may use “Orthodontist near me” as a keyword in this kind of search intent.
Transactional: In transactional search intent, the searchers are looking for a certain product to buy. Example of this keyword includes, “where to buy Tiger tumbler”, “Taylor Swift ticket for sale” or “buy used golf clubs”.
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Make a catchy headline
A good specialist may lead your site or your blog as the top ranking, but if your headline is not good or creative enough, searchers may not click your page. The worse is that they would visit your competitor sites.
Make your headline attractive enough to catch people’s attention. Don’t also forget to use a keyword on your title. In this sense, you would appeal to both people and the search engine.
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Spy on competitor
All businessmen are doing this and SEO writers should do the same. There is no shame in spying on the competition. Doing this, you can get new ideas for your next content or keywords to use. Just make sure that you would come up for better content when you spy for competition.
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Numbers of words matter
Yes, I hate this as much as you do. The number of words matter. And the longer content has more value compare to short-form content when it comes to SEO. This is because long-form content is extensive and has a better audience engagement. Long-form content has more chances of earning backlink from different blogs. These backlinks are one of the ranking factors of the search engine.
So, how much content do you need? Different sources on the internet provide different answers. Personally, as an experienced SEO writer, we practice writing content with at least 700 words. This kind of content is optimal for SEO.
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Always proofread
Never skip the proofreading part in publishing content. Building a relationship with your user is a critical matter in SEO so make sure that you only publish quality content. If you want to gain credibility and authority, you must make sure that all your content are free from errors. In proofreading, you were able to identify some grammar mistakes, spelling mistakes, and even improve your writing voice.
Experienced writers suggest proofreading your article three times. After you finish writing the content, read the article twice to spot some errors. After doing that, let your friend or colleague read what you wrote. Nowadays, there are also some tools that can help you. Take advantage of these tools to ensure the quality of your work.