4 minute read
The quality of your content is just as important for search engines as it is for your audience. In order to extend your reach to more targeted viewers, you will need to know how to incorporate these SEO friendly content writing tips into your next marketing strategy. Here are some key ways to do that below.
Start Off By Focusing only On the User
Search engines like Google are quickly evolving every day to determine whether you are providing satisfying or unsatisfying web content for your users. With the increasing amount of SEO scammers on the internet, bots are becoming more intricate in their algorithm measurements for our content. You could solely focus on SEO content writing and still struggle to get a decent page rank, since user experience will be low and bounce rate will be high. Yes, user engagement is a huge SEO ranking factor!
Focus on WHAT the user is searching for, the intent of their search, and try to answer their questions as best as you can rather than the keywords that you’re trying to force in somewhere. Google and Bing are becoming more aware of SEO tactics and keyword phrasing within content. Its main focus is to ensure that users are getting exactly what they are searching for. Content relevance and quality are major SEO ranking factors.
Google Algorithms Target & Penalize Low-Quality Content
Trying to stick keywords in every nook and cranny in a low-quality webpage is not going to trick big search giants such as Google & Bing anymore. If you’re going to be optimizing your content, make sure that you are adding value to it as well. Their algorithm program, Google Panda, provides enhanced features that will target and penalize low-quality pages while rewarding unique and original content.
Topic oriented, in-depth, SEO friendly content writing will help boost your ranking efforts; however, you should follow these steps:
- Keep content updated, Google Caffeine favors new content.
- Make information concise, re-work run on sentences, and get rid of fluff text that is solely for the purpose of lengthening your article.
- Provide proper authority on the topic, teach instead of promote.
- Make sure that the information meets the reader’s purpose and stay on topic.
- Grammar and spelling is important, so check it.
- Check for duplicate content and plagiarism. There’s a lot of content out there, be sure yours is unique.
- Explain or link to an explanation for technical terms. The more they understand the better.
- Everyone loves lists so use ordered or unordered lists.
How Much Text Do I Need To Write For Search?
There is no exact amount of text or content needed per webpage or blog article to create quality content and optimize your rankings. Instead of thinking about the amount of words that you type up for users, think about the overall quality of the content. If you are going to add more text into your article, make sure that it is still unique and relevant to your topic. For those looking for an exact answer, 350+ words works pretty well as long as you still keep quality over quantity in mind.
How Often Should Important Keywords Appear On My Page or Post?
Key terms and related terms are all that is needed for webpage or blog content, so long as they are being used with the correct intent, you will be fine. A general guideline for those looking for exact answers is 5 times, but no more than 2.5% of your total content as long as you keep quality over quantity in mind again. If you attempt keyword stuffing, then you will risk be targeted by search engines and lose your chances of building a decent ranking. Writing naturally, while focusing on your keywords, is the best way to grab positive attention from both bots and users. You don’t have to use exact match keywords anymore so…
- Space long-tail and short-tail keywords out through your headers, lists and paragraphs.
- Use plurals and singular words to follow proper grammar.
- Mix up word combinations so the same phrase isn’t used over and over again.
Improving Web Content
To avoid non-friendly SEO content mistakes, focus on these writing tips:
- Fix any grammar or spelling mistakes
- Reduce keyword stuffing
- Avoid duplicating large amounts of text
- Update broken links that no longer work
- Add helpful links that explain things in more depth
- Takeout or update old content that is no longer relevant
- Consistently add in fresh content
- Stay on topic
The web is constantly changing, but that doesn’t have to be a bad thing for you. Take advantage of the new strategies that you’re learning and get ahead of your competition! For more tips on SEO friendly content, check out our eBook below about writing compelling content for your website or blog!
