5 Content Writing Tips to Improve SEO

SEO (or search engine optimisation) and content writing are a match made in digital heaven.

We’ve previously talked about why content writing is important for SEO, so we now want to get into the really great stuff. Tips you can implement into your content writing to improve your SEO and drive even more traffic and conversions to your website.

And because SEO takes time and quite a bit of effort to get right, these tips are vital for getting your website seen and ranked highly. So sit back, relax, and take notes! Here’s how you can create amazing and effective SEO content writing.

5 top tips for SEO-friendly content writing 

Ever since the 2011 Panda algorithm update, Google has prioritised content as its number one ranking factor. And we’re talking about well-written, well-researched, high-quality content.

Content writing, such as blog posts, is one of the best ways to improve your SEO. But, it doesn’t happen overnight. To really nail your SEO you need to plan it and be consistent, and by following these tips, you’ll soon start to see a difference.

1. Make your content writing audience-focused

One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO is that you need to write for search engines. In reality, Google values writing for your customer first. Your content should always appeal to the interests and needs of your ideal customer. It should focus on answering the questions they are asking. By doing this, not only are you creating valuable, quality content, but Google will start seeing you as an expert and authority figure in your industry.

Keywords and keyword research are super important here (more on this later) and by researching your customers you’ll be able to target the right keywords to make your content all the more customer-focused. Google values expert/authority authorship more than ever, so now is the best time to show yourself as an expert while creating content that serves your audience. 

2. Nail your keyword research

Keyword research is vital for creating useful content, and therefore essential for SEO. Keyword research helps you identify search volumes for different topics, understand the competition for topics (so you can see how easy or hard it will be to rank for that topic), determine what topics your ideal customers are talking about, and what they’re searching for – so you can provide them with the answers in your content writing.

When you plan out your content, brainstorm the topics they care about. Next, work some keyword research magic so you can identify the best ranking opportunities. You can use keyword research tools, Google Trends, or just spend some time Googling. Try to target multiple keywords and phrases (include a primary keyword and some secondary keywords) that you can incorporate into your content, but never keyword stuff and always include them naturally.

Ensure you conduct keyword research periodically so you’re always focusing on the right and relevant keywords. You don’t want to miss out on any potential opportunities.

3. Create enticing and unique headlines

An effective headline is one of the toughest parts of content writing. You only have a small amount of text to entice your audience to click, while promising them value and a unique read. Your headline should include your primary keyword but should never look spammy or be seen as clickbait – that horrendous trend when a headline piques your curiosity so much that you simply HAVE to click on it, but then the content falls short of the headline promise.

Hello high bounce rate!

Headlines should be used to your and your customer’s benefit, both at the top of your page and throughout your content. They should be clear, interesting, helpful and inform visitors and Google’s web crawlers understand what your content is about. This leads us to our next tip.

4. Structure is everything

If your content is written in one big wordy chunk, your audience might not read it, and Google won’t deem it worthy of ranking highly. 

As much as we hate to admit it, people are somewhat lazy when it comes to reading. We’re naturally skim readers. We want to find the information we’re looking for quickly and then be on our way. This is why creating well-structured content is vital for SEO.

Readability has a direct impact on user engagement metrics. Break your content up into small paragraphs and shorten your sentences. Use headlines and titles to make your content easier to read and easier to skim and use bold and italics to highlight areas of your content.

This will keep people engaged and will stop them from getting bored and bouncing off. Use proper tag hierarchy in your titles (such as H1 for titles, H2 for subtitles, H3 for subtitles within your subtitles, etc.) And make sure you strategically place your chosen keywords (where appropriate) in your titles, as well as your meta description and your URL. 

5. Out with the old

Well…what we really mean here is update the old. If you’re sitting on old content that hasn’t done much to improve your rankings, then it’s time to give it a refresh. Updating old content with more helpful and authoritative information can boost your rankings and traffic dramatically.

Google loves fresh content and prioritises it over the older stuff. This means making your older content timely and relevant. And the best part is, you already have the content written, it’s just a case of touching it up. Here’s how.

• Look through your old blog posts and see which have the potential to rank higher for keywords that have a significant search volume
• Either update or rewrite the post to improve structure, grammar, accuracy, etc
• Can you include any new internal and external links? Web crawlers look at non-content factors, such as links, to determine how to index your content. Adding external links to high-authority sites will help Google understand where you sit in the industry, while internal links will keep readers on your site for longer
• Add additional on-page SEO factors such as H tags, images, CTAs, and refresh any outdated meta
• Republish the article and change the publish date

Now, go through the rest of your old content and see how you can optimise it for SEO.

Create SEO content and watch your business soar

Knowing how to create audience-focused, valuable, and well-researched content is an amazing skill and one that will boose your SEO efforts. And now you know exactly how to write content that is SEO-friendly, you have everything you need to help your content rise steadily up the search engine results.

But, if you feel like you could use a little extra help when it comes to crafting effective SEO content writing (or if you don’t have the time) then let’s have a chat about our content packages. And we can come up with a plan to make your content crush your competition.