Writing content for the web is difficult. There are so many things to consider that I don’t even know where to start. Even if you think you know what you want to say, how can you make sure people find it? Luckily, there are some easy ways to write articles for the web that not only convey your message but also drive traffic. Here are some tips on how to write an SEO-optimized article.
1. Keyword choice is key
When you’re writing content, your keywords are one of the most important parts. People need to click on the article in order to find out more about what it says. In order to write SEO-friendly content, you should focus on keywords.
Your target audience is what drives keyword choice. If you know who your target demographic is and where they’re located, it’s easy to decide on a few keywords that will drive traffic towards your site and make people want to read more of what you have to say.
If you’re targeting a certain niche, don’t be afraid to run A/B testing with your keywords. This way, there’s more chance that someone will find the page from longer-tail searches, which is perfect for those looking for something specific.
Read more: How to Find the Best Keywords For Your Business?
5 strategies to apply when looking for keywords:
- Use long-tail keywords: long-tail keywords have low keyword difficulty and you can potentially rank higher. When your keyword is a bit more specific, it doesn’t drive as much traffic but will rank higher in more detailed searches.
- Do not overuse keywords: Google is smart. Don’t try to outsmart it. While it was a very successful black hat strategy in the past, keyword stuffing is hurting your reputation. After all, nobody wants to read a text they cannot understand, right?
- Use keyword software: One good thing of Internet is that it offers everything. There are tons of applications out there. While using such software isn’t cheaper for starters (prepare around $100/month), there are some tools which are still helpful and come for free, like Ahrefs’ keyword tool. It’s still more than decent! Still, if you’d use a paid option, I’d suggest going for Semrush.
- Insert each keyword naturally: People should consume your text normally, as if they are reading a magazine article. Stumbling across hard-to-digest words that are thrown randomly doesn’t help.
- Try to find balance: In order to rank well, you shoul try and find balance between niche and industry keywords. Also, don’t try to rank for common ones. Remember: trends change, and if you’re ranked well initially, your search traffic might explode!
2. Optimize your images
Images play a major role in the success of any article. You should keep your images optimized so that they are eye-catching and get your point across. A study by HubSpot found that over 70 percent of visitors never scroll past the first page of Google.
The biggest reason many websites fail to rank at page one is that they simply don’t know how to optimize their images.
5 Strategies to work well with article images:
- Decrease their size: There are two ways to make images lighter. The first one is to shrink the resolution. While it is generally a good idea to show images fitting the screen, the better idea is to usage an image compressing software. The biggest benefit of file compression is faster page load speed and better ranking as a result.
- Use your company branding: Whenever possible, try to use company branding – colors, fonts, anything that people could associate with your brand.
- Grab users’ attention with GIFs: GIFs are not just funny memes. Actually, they can boost your read ratio! Of course, these images are much like salt – in moderate amounts, they make your article “tasty”. In excessive amounts, however, they can hurt your brand reputation.
- Use a featured image: When I started this blog, I intentionally decided to start with articles that were pretty basic. And I achieved my goal. They generated good traffic, as I was writing pretty good content. However, during my tests I noticed you cannot create an SEO-optimized article without featured images.
- Include videos: Videos are very well sold, as they provide more content in less time. Of course, try not to overload your audience with videos.
3. Title and meta tags are crucial
Your title and meta tags are crucial. Your title is like the subtitle of your article, and your meta tags are keywords that help you rank in search engines.
The easiest way to write a meta title and meta tag is by using Google’s Keyword Planner tool. This tool will give you ideas about what keywords people might be searching for in relation to your topic. You can also use this tool to see how other articles have done with their titles and meta tags already established.
For your title, make sure it accurately describes what your article is about; it should be clear from the beginning that you’re writing a blog post. For your meta tags, make sure they contain relevant keywords that match what you want to say in the article itself. If possible, use those same keywords throughout the body of the article as well!
5 Strategies on how to use titles and meta tags:
- Include in the keyword in the title: It is an absolute must for any SEO-optimized article to have a keyword in the title.
- The title should show the article idea: Titles are about 50% of the article. If you have a title “What is photography”, people would like to get accustomed to photography. On the other hand, if your title is “How to shoot videos”, you readers will expect to see a guide. “The best 10 cameras on the market” will be seen as product reviews, etc. You set the tone right from the start.
- Meta titles have to be short: They are indexed and should include the whole title in 2-3 words. Try to keep meta titles short.
- Meta descriptions are very important: Meta descriptions are two sentences which summarize the whole text. Try to take the key takes from the whole text and apply it in a few words.
- Check your competitors: You don’t have to be the smartest kid in the room. Just check what your competitors are doing and copy that (well, not entirely!)
4. Write long-form articles for better visibility
One of the best ways to drive traffic from a post is by writing a long-form article. Long-form articles are great for search engine optimization because they have more keywords, which drives higher visibility in Google’s search results.
A long-form article is great for driving traffic from social media platforms too! You can easily share these posts on your Facebook or Twitter account.
To write a long-form article, you’ll need to start with your main idea and develop it into multiple points that will make up your entire article. For example, if one of your points is that there are many benefits of social media, then you can mention how it helps businesses and increases brand awareness.
As you write each point, think about what types of words people would use when searching Google for those topics like “social media advantages” or “best uses for social media marketing” etc.
5. Insert links to internal blog posts
One of the easiest ways to write a blog post is to link back to relevant content on your blog.
This will ensure that people who click through from your content have a better understanding of what you are trying to say and can follow your topic more easily.
If you are linking back to an existing article, make sure it includes relevant keywords and phrases as well as is designed with SEO in mind. For example, “How to find the best fishing rod on the market” might be a good title for an article providing tips and tricks on buying fishing rods.
6. Add reputable outbound links
If you want to get the most out of your article, make sure it includes a list of reputable sources. This will include links to articles on your website, social media pages, and other websites that are related to your topic.
An easy way to ensure these links are reputable is by using Google’s analytics tools. If a website has a high number of backlinks from other reputable websites, then you know they’re trustworthy.
Another great way to get links is by writing guest blog posts for other websites that cover similar topics. So if you have expertise in a particular area, ask around and see who would be interested in having you write for them!
7. Provide statistics
For content to have the best chance of ranking in search engines, it needs to be relevant to a specific keyword. If you’re writing an article about how to make apple pie, you might want to include statistics on the number of people who request recipes from their local library every year.
Statistics and research help your article rank well in search engines because they give it credibility and show that you’ve done your homework. Although these numbers will likely be provided through sources outside of your own website, they can still give your article a boost by giving it more authority than other articles with less useful information.
Another way statistics can help your articles rank is by giving them keywords that are related to your message. For example, if you were writing an article about what are some ways a company’s email marketing strategy can improve its ROI, you could look at different keywords related to the topic, like “email marketing ROI”, “best marketing strategies ROI”, etc.
8. Ask friends for reviews
One of the best ways to write great SEO blogs is to ask friends for a review. They can tell you if your articles look good and where they fall short, which will allow you to make changes in order for them not to be overlooked by search engines like Google.
Friends are often able to give valuable feedback on what works well with their readership and how they might improve upon it so that people find more value in reading your blog posts than just being entertained or informed about certain topics.
Conclusion
Writing SEO content is not an easy task. However, once you master the art of crafting great pieces of writing, you will realize how much better your content might become. Writing good quality and engaging articles can be a difficult process that requires time and effort on your part but it’s worth it in the end! With practice comes mastery so keep at it because eventually, this skill will come naturally to you.
However, it’s not always easy to write articles, especially if you don’t have enough time for them. In some cases, it might be better to look for copywriters who have the skills and experience to deliver exceptional quality.
If you would like to get in touch, contact us and we’ll provide you with more info on how we could help you in creating your perfect SEO-optimized article.
