7 SEO Tips All Content Writers Should Keep in Mind

In this digital era, terms like SEO and content go hand-in-hand. One cannot just succeed by writing content that is stuffed with keywords anymore. In fact, gone are the days when SEO copywriting was all you needed to rank well –readers are more conscious and demanding today.

In the end, though, what’s important is to sell valuable content that’s visible on the web and to its audience. Luckily for website owners, there are SEO factors that can help boost your site’s ranking.

Here are 7 brilliant SEO tips that all content writers should keep in mind.

Work on your keyword research

As a content creator and a digital marketer, chances are you have a website of your own — a place to post blogs and articles for your consumers or your audiences to read. So why not put in some effort to ensure that the blog or article is visible to Google and your readers?

The first step is to find out what keywords or phrases people are looking for. These keywords must be from the industry or the market you are focusing on. Once you find the right keywords, make sure they make an appearance in the content of your site.

Then, find a tool that will help you understand how your blog ranks for the keywords it uses. These will help you plan your content for better targetting.

Make your keywords work for you

There used to be a time when writers were given a list of keywords that the blog needed to target — and they could include these keywords multiple times without any reference, just making sure the density was high. This practice often resulted in blogs that were hard to read and sometimes impossible to understand –as well as irritating for the reader to consume.

Back then, keyword density was all that mattered for good rankings. However, this is an obsolete practice now and it can actually hurt your rankings instead. What works now is strategic thinking and normal-sounding placement of keywords within the content. You will eventually learn how to balance the two perfectly.

Keywords should appear in the title, in the first couple of paragraphs, and in the subheadings. You can also use different variations of your keywords, not to sound monotonous. Always remember that your keywords should feel natural within the content.

Write about things that your audience cares about

There are tools available to help you figure out what topics your viewers are interested in. If you give your audience exactly what they want and when they want it, they are more likely to stick with you.

As a content writer, you need to remember that, at the end of the day, real humans are consuming your content and not just search engines. Check what value you are offering to your audience. See if this value proposition makes you stand out amongst your competitors.

Understand the basics of technical SEO

There is a reason technical SEO is such a buzzword in the digital world today. If your content isn’t indexed, you won’t be found, no matter how great your keywords might be.

To become more visible, study how Google crawls pages and hands out link authority. This understanding will help you create a long term strategy for building — and eventually linking– your content accordingly.

Always remember how long or short your content is

Gone are the days when one could blabber about the same things over and over to end up with an article that was 3000 words long but didn’t say much. Not only will you bore your readers with content of that length, but Google doesn’t like “fluff” and will penalize blogs without substance. Instead, aim for a word count of 800-1000 words with solid content and information.

To get the most of your posts, don’t overwhelm your readers with too much information but make sure you include valuable details.

Keep a check on your analytics

You can’t just write, post and then forget. You have to keep an eye on what works and what doesn’t when it comes to your posts. Make use of Google Analytics to check your content –Issues like bounce rate and time on site are crucial parameters to keep a check on.

Try to understand why your readers are bouncing off from your page or why some blogs have a higher bounce rate than others. Is it because your blog is not inclusive or doesn’t include relevant data that the reader is seeking or because of something else?

Don’t take editing and proofreading casually

This is what differentiates a technical SEO writer and a content writer –the eye for detailed editing. Have an eye for formatting and the little details. Check that your paragraphs aren’t too long and neither are your sentences. Keep your writing clear and concise.

Use words that deliver your message without confusing the reader. If possible, get your content proofread by someone else. A second set of eyes can catch mistakes that might have been missed by you.

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**About the Author: As a technology enthusiast, Bella Williams contributes to open-source projects. She is also a consultant for topmygrades and part-time academic tutor at expertassignmenthelp. When she’s not helping students, you can find her having chocolate in some city around the world or taking a stroll down the beach. You can also find her on LinkedIn.