What is SEO content writing?

In 2020, 55% of marketing executives said on-page content development was the most effective SEO tactic, while 93% of online experiences were reported to begin with a search engine.

With these statistics in mind, it’s no surprise that business owners want to be noticed on search engines. To do this, more and more of them are turning to the expertise of SEO content writers. Read on to find out what SEO content is and what writers need to do to ensure their copy achieves the desired results.

What is SEO content writing?

SEO is the process of optimising a website so it can be found on search engine results pages, while content writing refers to the creation of informative copy which appears on websites. So, when you put these two concepts together, the primary goal of SEO content writing is to generate organic traffic.

It seems straightforward, right? Wrong!

SEO is changing all of the time, so staying abreast of any significant updates is essential for writers. Also, while SEO content writers need to be able to understand search intent and implement keywords and links, the copy has to be compelling too. After all, great content can help to establish authority in a particular niche, drive awareness of a brand and encourage social shares.

SEO content serves a variety of purposes, including increasing a website’s keyword rankings and attracting high-authority backlinks. As well as directing users to other pages on a website, it can help to convert website visitors into subscribers, buyers and leads. Ultimately, all of this is important for climbing the search engine rankings.

Understanding the different types of SEO content

It’s important to remember that while the purpose of SEO content is to improve organic traffic, this shouldn’t be at the detriment of your visitors. Low-value content will only result in low conversion figures and high bounce rates, so make sure all of your content offers real value. The following types of SEO content are a good place to start:

Blog posts

One of the best ways to create regular SEO content is blogging. Often more engaging than product descriptions or landing pages, blogs are a great way to build up some authority for your site because they are more likely to attract links.

There is a lot of flexibility when it comes to blogging; for example, you might create listicles, how-to guides, infographics etc. However, you’ll need to carefully think about your long-tail keywords if they are to generate traffic through search engines.

Local SEO content for businesses

While claiming and verifying your Google My Business account is essential for any local SEO campaign, there are other content ideas you can take advantage of here.

For example, city or region-specific landing pages, local event write-ups and answering local questions such as ‘What shops are in Manchester City Centre?’ will all help to position your brand as a community leader.

Landing pages

Landing pages that are optimised for SEO will help search engines to better understand the purpose of your page, which could lead to better search result rankings. Visitors to your site will also be able to find the page they’re looking for easily, which could bring in more conversions.

Finally, landing pages that are optimised can increase your Page Quality Rating, which can bring other benefits such as cheaper AdWords campaigns.

Product pages

Essential for any eCommerce website, product pages can serve as both SEO content and PPC landing pages. However, in the last few years, they’ve become increasingly challenging to get right.

While you’ll want to cover the SEO basics (long-tail keywords and internal links), it’s also important that each description is unique and you use a consistent tone.

We should add that this list isn’t exhaustive: there are several other content ideas to consider as well, including articles, guest posts and PPC landing pages.

Producing your best SEO content

Now that you know the basics, let’s take a look at some strategies to consider when writing SEO content.

Define your audience

Analytics and surveys can help you identify the type of audience that needs or wants what you have to offer. Use this information to figure out their demographics, preferences and habits. You could even develop characters or personas that represent your ideal visitor to help you determine the types of content those people will be looking for.

Do keyword research before you start writing

If you fail to optimise your content with targeted keywords, it won’t reach the right people. When you do keyword research before you start writing, you’ll be able to find relevant keywords that relate to your niche and tailor your content based on what your audience wants to know and learn.

Make it readable

All good content has one thing in common: readability. You want every single element of your content to make visitors want to stay and read more because longer dwell times show Google they have found the information they are looking for. As such, your content needs to be organised, logical and simple to understand by all who come across it.

Create an editorial calendar

If you’re focusing on blogging, it’s important to create new content regularly, which is where editorial calendars can help.

As well as ensuring you stick to a schedule, you’ll be able to plan out all your ideas so you’re not struggling to come up with topics at the last minute. However, we would advise not planning more than one or two months in advance, as goals can change.

Be original

Google values original content, so include up-to-date information where you can. Citing studies, research and statistics where appropriate can help to create opportunities for other websites to link to your content, and it will help to build your reputation as an industry expert.

Don’t forget to analyse your results

Finally, make sure you analyse your SEO content and repeat the strategies that are working. Good measures of success include links, comments, page views, conversion rates and social media shares.

Also, don’t be afraid to go back into your content and re-optimise it for a new keyword if the first variation you used isn’t gaining a lot of traction. You won’t always get it right the first time, so don’t be afraid to experiment until you’re seeing the results you want.

Main image credit: Photo by Diggity Marketing on Unsplash

Internal image credits: Photo by Kaleidico on Unsplash, Photo by Daily Nouri on Unsplash, Photo by You X Ventures on Unsplash