Writing SEO friendly content is no cakewalk as there are many aspects that need to be considered. Did you ever wonder how google ranks a particular website? Or what are the mechanisms behind it? Well, through this article, we will cover all the essential tips required to write killer content that will rank on google.
First and foremost, you need to know about SEO and its role in writing content.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing your content in a way that ranks higher on the search engine bringing more traffic to your website. It is a part of digital marketing, for example, marketers constantly try to improve and put more focus on the SEO part to make it rank on google.
There are basically two types of SEO i.e. On-page and Off-page SEO.
ON-PAGE SEO: On-page SEO is the process of optimizing your website and its content internally. Let’s say you can improve your website by incorporating proper keywords or working on your website’s HTML code.
OFF-PAGE SEO: Off-page SEO is the process of building your website’s credibility by getting links from other websites that rank high on Google or other outside activities.
Keywords play an important role in both these types. To work on your website’s SEO, it is necessary that you incorporate relevant keywords that the majority of the searchers search on google.
There are many factors that affect your website’s SEO and you need to work on it to make the most of your content writing skills
Without further delay, let’s look at some of the important tips to write SEO friendly content that ranks on google.
1. Write Catchy Headings for SEO Friendly content
When you search for something on Google, it shows many search results related to your search. The first thing that you see on your search is the various types of headlines followed by a meta tag (for now let’s just focus on the headline)
It is important that you write a catchy headline that grabs the searchers’s attention and lures them to click on it. Now, you may want to write a headline that stands out from your competitors.
How do you implement that? There are many tools available online that you can make use of. Also, headlines that contain numbers in it are most effective and get a higher number of clicks.
For Example, if you are writing about practices to improve SEO then you can write as follows: Top 10 proven practices to improve your SEO game
2. Write Catchy Subheadings for SEO friendly content
Not only does your title plays an important role but your headings need to be catchy too. For writing SEO friendly content, you must make use of proper subheadings wherever necessary.
Try to use phrases that searchers tend to search more on google and use it in your subheadings. Proper use of subheadings will ensure that your content is neat and that it contains relevant pieces of information.
3. Use of Keywords & its Density
As we discussed above, the value that keywords hold in your entire SEO can’t be ignored. It is one of the best practices to rank on google. Here, you need to use proper and relevant keywords in various parts of your Web pages, articles and blogs.
Note- You need to use keywords in:
- Title
- Introduction
- Subheadings
- Main body
- Conclusion
- Images (Alt Text)
- Meta descriptions
Now a common question among all of you must be how many keywords to include in your content? I.e. how many times should you include the keywords on your 500, 1000 or 2000 words blog post or article.
That basically depends on the length of your content i.e. number of total words used in the entire blog post or article. Keyword density is important in some contexts for organic search.
One thing that you should keep in mind is that never overuse the keywords (keyword stuffing) for the sake of ranking on google. A few years ago and also now this technique is applied by many marketers and others to rank their content on google. However, it is considered as an unethical way as google finds this content and blacklists them.
Over the years, Google's algorithm has been updated in a way that it only allows those content to rank that have a proper balance of keywords, great quality content and other factors which we will discuss further here.
4. Optimize your Meta Description
A meta description is a small snippet of information that you see below your search result’s title on google. This is the most effective part that shows the user what the article/blog post/webpage is all about.
Not only the user but it guides the search engine to verify that your content is relevant and that it should be ranked higher on google.
To optimize your meta description, you must use your targeted keywords in it and specify exactly and on point about your content. The word limit of meta description ranges from 150-160 words. So, we advise you to write only the important and exact content in it with the proper use of keywords.
5. Optimize your Alt text
One of the factors that you need to consider to write an SEO friendly content is to optimize your alt text. Add target keywords to your text and unlike a meta description, only use exact and informative content on your alt text.
Also, we recommend you to use images wherever possible as a searcher will click and engage only with those content that is visually appealing. Meanwhile, use images that are small in size but has high quality.
If you use big images that take up more space, it will increase your site’s loading speed resulting in the searcher losing interest and navigating away from your site. You sure don’t want to make them run away from your site as they could be a valuable contributor or a potential client.
6. Keep the content length in mind
Earlier, marketers used to write tons of articles varying from 300-400 words only. In those times, the content used to even rank on google. However, the face of digital marketing and search engines is changing now and it will bring more changes in the coming years.
This is not the case anymore! Google’s Panda algorithm (released in 2011) removes the content that contains very little information or we can say a thin content of lesser interest to the searcher.
So keeping this algorithm in mind, how many words should you include in your next article or blog post? Well, the optimal length could be anywhere between 1000-2000 words. Not only the words but you should focus on the quality of the article or blog post too which we will cover in the next point below.
7. Write Top-notch Content: How to write content like a pro?
Neglecting your content’s quality can be the next big mistake that will hinder your content from ranking on google. An information-rich content is what Google loves and the searcher too.
Did you know that according to Microsoft’s study, the average attention span of an online user is 8 seconds only?
Shocking right? So in much less time, how will you keep your searcher engaged on your site? The answer lies below.
Did you know that according to Microsoft’s study, the average attention span of an online user is 8 seconds only?
Shocking right? So in much less time, how will you keep your searcher engaged on your site? The answer lies below.
How to write content for google?
- The first step in writing great content is to come up with a niche you are interested in. A niche will give you a clear direction for where to proceed.
- The second step is to refer to top websites that write and shares information on that niche. Study closely their topics, headlines, structures, content quality, keywords used, media (if used), etc.
- The third step is to come up with a topic idea of your own, research about it and then start writing.
- While writing, you can make use of all the points which we just mentioned in this article and you are good to go.
8. Share Links to previous articles
Links help you build credibility for your site and lets your target client or reader stay and navigate through your entire site for a more amount of time.
Adding links to your previous content will do the same work for you. Your readers will navigate through your entire site and may want to know more about you and the services/products that you deliver. You can convert these readers into your clients as well.
9. Pay close attention to Structure and format
The structure and format of your web page are as important as writing high-quality content. Before writing your content decide the structure of it. Normally, we suggest you follow a standard structure that is
- Writing a headline
- Writing a short introduction (100-150 words)
- Main body
- Conclusion
You must also pay attention to the formatting of your web page/article. Try to use white space wherever possible and make the overall content readable for your readers. Avoid using length paragraphs loaded with monotonous information. Try adding some innovation and make your content interesting to read.
Digital marketing in 2021 will take a step ahead where all the marketers/aspiring markets need to gear up and look out for the new changes in this field. This is one of the simplest and most effective methods that they fail to understand and should be brought to light.
10. Proofread and Check for Plagiarism
The last step for writing an SEO friendly content is to proofread your web page/article/blogpost for any grammatical or spelling errors. If you publish your web page/article/blog post without doing so, chances are you can lose your credibility among your readers as it will give a bad impression of you and your company/organization.
Along with this, you must avoid plagiarism i.e. copy and paste others content on your web page/article/blog post. Google’s Panda algorithm also detects duplicate content so you must never indulge in plagiarism.
Conclusion
writing an SEO friendly content that ranks on google can be possible if you follow the above-mentioned tips. Remember google algorithms are very particular about the content that you present on it. Hence, you can become a pro and rank your content successfully by adopting these tips.
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