Do you want to see your content on the first page of Google? Big G looks for specific factors when ranking pages in search results, and user experience is the priority more than anything else. So as you serve internet users, Google will serve you.
Here are some ideas that will help you make users love you, so Google will, too.
1. Do some keyword research.
Planning your SEO copywriting ahead can help you determine the best word choice, users’ search intent and gaps your competition is leaving. Once you know the syntax your target audience use to find answers to their questions, and you know what’s lacking in your competitors’ answer to those queries, you’ll have plenty of insight to weave into your SEO writing.
2. Outline your content.
Think through the structure of your content so you can:
- Focus on your main points with clarity of thought
- Avoid wasting your reader’s precious time by going on unnecessary angles
- Minimise the need to rewrite sections that didn’t work well
- Write faster
Tips #1 and #2 go together. As you do keyword research, you’ll gain lots of ideas on topics that are closely related to your main subject. That will help you create content that covers the subject holistically.
3. Follow the best on-page SEO practices.
For the sake of brevity, here are the on-page SEO factors you need to integrate into your SEO copy. Include your main keywords in:
- Title tags
- Meta descriptions
- URLs
- H1 tags
- An H2 tag or two
- The body copy
- Image file names
- Alt image tags
- Anchor texts
Also, include related keywords in the body copy and in the H2 tags. Google looks at all the content on a page, so to reinforce what topic your SEO content is about, it helps to include those keywords.
4. Measure and optimise.
Despite the apparently subjective nature of what makes an SEO copy good, there are a few metrics that can point you to the underperforming aspects.
Click through rate (CTR) from the search engine results pages (SERPs) tells of how compelling your title tag and meta description are to users.
If you have low CTR, ask yourself these questions:
- Did you include the main keyword in the title tag and meta description?
- If yes, is the main keyword visible in the SERPs?
- Do the title tag and meta description promise a clear and direct answer to the intent of the search term?
Bounce rate of visitors coming from search tells of whether readers think your content answers their search.
If your bounce rate high, ask yourself these questions:
- Is your introduction compelling?
- Does the introduction deliver the promise your title tag and meta description conveyed in the SERPs?
- Can readers scan the page quickly to confirm your article has the answer to their search intent?
Engagement rate tells of how compelling readers found your content after or while reading it. The engagement metric you should pay attention to depends on the goal of your SEO content, which can be any of the following:
- Pages per visit
- Time on page
- Time on site
- Conversion rate (downloads, newsletter subscription, free trial signup)
If your conversion rate is low, ask yourself these questions:
- Is your offer in line with the users’ search intent?
- Is your offer compelling?
- Is the next step clear?
SEO writing is more than writing for search engines but more of writing for humans. In short, to create great content, you should do some research to determine what’s great for your target and/or existing audience, and write confidently.
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