Although keywords still matter for SEO, the emphasis has shifted to quality of the content. This means that successful content writing comes only as the result of intentional effort and skills. By learning the following 9 SEO tips, you can get your content to rank at the top of relevant organic search results.

1. Use Secondary Keywords

For a long time, SEO marketing tips encouraged copywriters to optimize each web page for a particular keyword. Now that search engine algorithms have evolved, you can safely expect your content to rank for multiple keywords and phrases.

Get more SEO benefits from your content by adding secondary keywords. These are long-tailed keywords that are related to your primary keyword. Use Google Keyword Planner and the auto-complete feature of Google Search to get ideas for your secondary keywords.

2. How To Find The Perfect Keyword For Free

There are many tools for you to use when selecting the perfect keyword for your SEO based content writing. We suggest that you go directly to the search engines when finding out what those strings of letters are. Here’s how you do it for free:

  • Type in any keywords that your brand or content needs to rank for.
  • See what appears, and then make a note of the titles, topics, agencies, and products that exist for that keyword search.
  • Now play around with the same words, and make slight changes based on the different outcomes you want.
  • Make these changes in an attempt to lower the competition you find. Keep adjusting until the search results you get show competitive grounds that you believe your business can fairly compete for.
  • Now consider using those phrases to start your keyword campaign with.

3. Check Latent Semantic Indexing

Search engines like Google use latent semantic indexing (LSI) to find search phrases that are relevant to an initial query. Generally speaking, Google places LSI results at the bottom of search engine results pages (SERPs).

Spend time checking for LSI search terms and include them in a natural way in your content. This tactic can dramatically increase the frequency with which your pages appear in search results.

4. Make it Readable

Good SEO and content writing practices should always keep readability in mind. Not only is this a factor when determining pagerank, but it also affects the experiences of your readers. For starters, make your web pages scannable, so people can quickly find the information they need.

Other tips for readability include keeping sentences and paragraphs short, formatting subheadings and bulleted lists, writing with the active voice, and using transition words. To help you with readability, you can use either a plugin for your CMS or one of the many available online readability tests.

5. Remember Position Zero

Google has introduced featured snippets and answer boxes that appear above top organic search results. The content featured this way generally comes from the top results for particular searches and can change from one search to another.

Although you might not predict which top search result is featured in “position zero,” getting placed there can drive tremendous amounts of traffic to your site. So, as part of your SEO based content writing, study the current factors that influence getting featured above search results. If successful, you’ll rise above the coveted “#1” spot in the SERPs.

6. Create Surprises

Millions of new blog posts appear every day. Most of them are created with the hope of connecting brands with audiences in profitable ways. To get the attention you crave, you need to create content that contains unexpected information.

Hooks that can increase reader engagement can consist of personal accounts, home-brew case studies, surveys, quizzes, and digests from other publications. Creating surprises can contribute to the value of your content and brand.

7. Know Your Purpose

Before you write your first word, make sure that you know what you want to accomplish with the content that you write. Do you want to generate leads? Should your content encourage sales? Are you trying to build relationships?

Stay laser-focused on your mission to maximize the value of your content. Use one or more tactics to accomplish your goals:

  • Solve real-world problems.
  • Provide inspiration to act.
  • Inform and educate.

You could consider focused content writing as the best way to increase SEO, so avoid diluting your content with off-topic material.

8. Use Statistics

People love statistics and how they affect their lives. Take advantage of this by linking to and referencing third-party material that supports your message. In addition to entertaining and engaging your audience, referencing authoritative sources is one of the most-proven SEO strategies.

In addition to impressing search engine bots and customers, referencing external content gives you a chance to build relationships with other website owners and marketers. In other words, you can use your links as a means to introduce yourself to industry influencers who can build promote your brand and establish its authority in the industry.

In summary, the above tips will help you understand what to look for in good SEO. So, remember to incorporate what you’ve learned to create high-performance content. As you work, you will probably uncover even more techniques that can make SEO more profitable for you and your business.

9. Format Your Content With Question-Based Inquires

Finding out which keywords are most likely optimize your content is a great strategy to start with. It’s even better when you speak in a language that your readers will be using while making their search inquiries. The Google revolution of 2013 brought in the Hummingbird algorithm that now looks at all data from a question-perspective.

This is why long-tailed keywords have gained so much popularity. The reality is that people use search engines by typing questions directly into them. This happens in a similar manner as this: “How many people use smartphones today?” This is a leading reason for why you want to format your headlines and titles as questions. You are more likely to match up with a reader’s search this way.

This is the language they’re using, and the match you make gives a search engine the clear picture that what you have not only answers the question but that your content is something the reader is looking for. You can apply this method by considering your sub-heads and writing in question-based titles like, “Is A Complete SEO Campaign Right For Me?”

Riya-Sander_avatar_1535731116-70x70 9 Best SEO Content Writing Tips You Need to Know design tips

About the author – Riya is an inspired writer writing in several areas of expertise. With spending her years working marketing communication, Riya is delighted to work with aspiring small business owners. She is also part of the content marketing team behind VPS HiSpeed, a virtual server company hosted in Thailand. Apart from her marketing expertise, Riya always enjoys reading pocketbook, cooking, and traveling. Connect with her on Twitter, @sanderriya.

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