Writing optimized content is beneficial to your business in many ways. It can provide quality backlinks to your site and thus bringing you more targeted traffic. It can help build your reputation which in turn will build trust and respect among your potential customers. Content marketing can also substantially elevate your search engine rankings.
Below are ten ideas you should utilize in your content writing to help increase the chances of higher search engine rankings.
1. Relevant Content – Be sure to actually write rele vant and beneficial content. The more valuable your information, the more results you will see. Search engines can see through transparent attempts to mask a keyword dense sales pitch with false content. Read your article and honestly judge whether the information is actually helpful to others. Is the content information that you would find useful? Does your article explain things effectively? Does the information pertain to the subject at hand?
2. Yes Keywords, but Watch the Density – Have you ever read an article that was so loaded with keywords that it sounded ridiculously redundant? Keywords are important but just sprinkle them in so they sound natural. The first paragraph or two is the best place to disperse your keywords. After that, you want to use other less repetitive words so as not to overstuff your content.
3. Quality Not Quantity – You, of course, want to get your content read by as many people as possible but submitting to every article directory you can find is not the effective way. Find a few quality article directories and blogs to which you can submit your content. By mass submitting you can even run the risk of getting penalized for too many links too quickly. Choose a smaller amount of relevant power sites to submit to and your content and links will be given more importance which will, in turn, increase the chances of higher rankings.
4. Answer Questions – When writing content, keep in mind questions people have asked you about your business. Provide the information needed to answer these questions. They could be used as search terms. So by including them in your content, it could result in your content showing up in those searches.
5. What Keywords to Use – Don’t just make a guess on what keywords to use for your article. There are many free services to help you find the right keywords to use. Among them are WordPot, Wordstream and Keyword Discovery. Keywords are important so use them to your best advantage.
6. The Title is Important – Your content title should be a short summary of what the content is about. Search engines use the title to match the searches to your content. They look for certain things in the tile. The title should be relatively short. It should be an accurate summary of the actual content and it should be relevant to the query.
7. Headings and Sub-Headings – Headings and sub-headings should be use to highlight the relevancy of your content and to create a flow to which the search engines can match up your content to the searches. Using headings will effectively present your content in a more organized and readable way as opposed to just being a bunch of words. When the search engines scan yo ur post you want them to see what the most relevant content is and the keywords to match it with the queries. It also makes it easier for people to scan and read your content.
8. Make a List – Lists are used for basically the same reasons as headings and sub-headings. Lists help organize the content so it is more readable by both the search engines and people. It can also draw more interest to your content.
9. Spelling and Grammar – Spelling and grammar are always important and as most of us know Spellcheck is not the most accurate tool so always proofread. Sometimes waiting awhile after you have completed the content is best. Give your eyes time to rest so you are proofreading with fresh eyes. You can also have a family member or friend read over the content to let you know if you missed anything.
10. Be Human – Although you need to do what you can to optimize your content for the search engines, always remember you are writing for people. Even the search engines are learning to appreciate real natural content over artificial writing just to get higher rankings.
a) Use easy to understand words.
b) Be straightforward and honest.
c) Do not hype up your content.
d) Write as if you were explaining things to a friend.
e) Be sincere and helpful.
f) Let your personality come through your writing.
Search engines have the same goal as you do. They want to provide helpful relevant information and content so people will use them as their guide through the internet. By providing this, the search engines will be more likely to recognize your writing as valuable and put you at the top of the list.
