The path leading to a great SEO writer isn’t arrow-like straight. But a maze that requires the writers to keep on retracing their steps.
Think of everything as a point system. In which case a beginning SEO writer has zero writing points whereas a great one has accumulated, say, 100 points. In some instances, and based on prior experiences, a beginning SEO writing may have a few starting points. But for the sake of making this point clear, let’s ignore this simple fact.
So a beginner SEO writer scours the net or tries to ask around for some solid tips on how to gain 100 points. Wrong approach – considering what they’ll should instead be working on gaining 1 point at a time.
Even without figuring out the right approach, pondering on the question still imitates the mind-set of a good writer.
More simply, attaining professional status in SEO writing is a learning curve. There’s a series of secrets that may come in handy along the way, but it certainly going to take you a long while before you fully master the concept and attain professional status.
It bears repeating that to succeed in SEO writing, then you need to put in some serious work. But that’s NOT to say becoming an SEO content development superstar is out of reach.
Where self-proclaimed SEO writing experts just throw in a bunch of words and expect visitors to come flocking, a pro SEO writer has tested and proven secrets up their sleeves that if implemented stands to give you a competitive edge over other SEO writers.
Top Secrets of Professional SEO article Writers in Singapore
Thorough Keyword Research
Before you get down to writing a piece of article, take some time off and improvise a detailed plan on how search engines will take notice of the article.
Starts with finding the keywords and phrases people use to search online. Enter the list of keywords you come up with into a spreadsheet and keep count of the number of times you use them in your content.
It’s also important that you try to find out where you rank for every single one of the keywords. Just make good use of tools such as SEMrush and you’ll be good to go.
The whole point is to beat all your competitors within the field you operate in by outranking them in as many keywords as possible.
Be Strategic on how you implement the Keywords
There was a time when keyword stuffing was all you were expected to do outrank all your competitors and secure a prime position in the SERPs.
But all that appears to have significantly changed. Forcing a list of keywords in a piece of article isn’t going to do your online effort any justice, if NOT hurt it.
What works as we speaks is taking a more strategic approach in the way you integrate the keywords into a piece of article.
Start by naturally integrating the main keyword into the title of the article. After that it’s also important that you make sure the keywords appear in the first 300 words of your article. And if possible, try working them into the H1 and H2 tags of your articles. Simple logic demands that you also consider using the different variations of the keywords in your content.
Fitting the keywords into a piece of content shouldn’t be that much of a struggle. If anything, everything must be happening naturally. And in the event that fitting the keywords into a piece of content makes your writing appear gibberish, then you’re better off flying without them.
Try reasoning like an online user. You came up with that particular phrase because you want to find out more about it. It could be because it’s directing you to a piece of content with more information on a product or service you’re trying to buy.
So in the event that a web owner doesn’t give you what you want, you’ll be quick to hit the exit button and leave the page disappointed. Which is to say, as a web owner, your priority should be on serving the user with quality, and which is likely to be robbed by keyword stuffing.
Come Up with Topics that you’re Sure People Care About
Every single one of the topics you come up with has to address a pain point. You’re simply NOT writing to ensure your website or blog receives a regular supply of content. But to make sure you’re able to tackle many of the problems online users seek out for solutions online.
The first thing you do should be to ask yourself what’s the reason for writing that piece of content. Keep in mind that you’re NOT writing for Google bots, but real humans with real human problems, and who want to read a piece of content and be contended with the information provided.
Readers are only interested in value. They want to find out what makes your piece of article standout from the overcrowded chamber that is the internet, where the bulk of what’s being supplied is pulled off from an already regurgitated garbage filling up the blogosphere.
Same applies to the kind of service you provide. What makes your service unique? What knowledge do you share that’s completely off the wall? And should the visitor forget the URL to your website or blog, why wouldn’t they be contended with looking for a similar post from a different website or blog within your niche?
You’re simply filling in a gap. Find out what gap it is and the kind of audience you attract and device a proper plan on how to strike out.
At this point, it’s also important to assume nobody knows your business and what it is that you do. And SEO is the only way you’re going to make the whole world know about you.
Another direction to take is to focus on delivering news that relates to your line of business. Go through the list of keywords you have and try to come up with a pain point that relates to every single one of them. That should be the topic you write about.
Where possible, consider interviewing the experts within the field you’re in. You’re allowed to quote or just run their expertise in the piece of article you’re writing.
Learn and Understand the Fundamental Principle of Technical SEO
SEO starts with optimizing your site. Meaning, nothing you do, until you get to optimize your site, is bound to yield any fruit.
This doesn’t imply that you should take some time off and learn about site migration, enabling HTTPs, or developing a deeper understanding of how web crawlers work and index sites. It’s also NOT necessarily a must that you learn about how to minify JavaScript.
But the more knowledgeable you’re about this simple concepts, the more you’ll be able to write better SEO articles.
The first thing you do is trying to understand how search engines crawl pages. All you need to do is search for some of this information from authority sites and read. The information you get by understanding the simple concept behind web crawlers could help you device a solid strategy on how to work out your content.
This is important as content writing isn’t about coming up with one blog post and calling it a day– but an ongoing process that requires you to regularly churn out a series of articles that best addresses your follower’s pain points.
Also worth learning and understanding is the general structure of your blog or website. This allows you to make your content more efficient, considering you’ll also be required to practice inbound marketing – where you’ll be back linking some of your posts for first-rated SEO results.
Once you learn and understand the basic SEO principles and the mechanisation behind them, that’s when you’ll begin to understand that SEO involves so much more than just optimising your site for a particular set of keywords.
Focus on Writing Lengthy Articles (150o Words and Above)
There’s a common saying that a 1oo word article is better than no content at all. But come to think of it, is the word count enough for you to communicate value?
Even if it were, does the word length appeal to search engines?
The amount of words you write wouldn’t have mattered a whit, but search engines made it clear that they have a preference for longer blog posts. And it’s all for a good reason.
As it stands, articles whose word count fly over 1500 word tend to rank much better compared to their shorter versions. Regardless of what you decide on, if your concern is with quality and SEO score, then it’s important that you focus on writing at least 600 words articles, and where possible, try aiming for 1500 words and above to be on the safe side of Google and other search engines.
A lot of research findings advocate for an upward of 2000 words. MediaOne isn’t an exception in this. If you’ve been keen on following the article we write at MediaOne, then you must have noticed that most of our blog posts are 2000 words and above. That should tell you something.
One thing with lengthy articles is that they give you a lot of room space to offer value. That goes at length to ensure your site registers a lower bounce rate and that the bulk of readers you attract make return visits for more of your content.
Keep an Eye on Analytics
With online writing, you just don’t fire and forget – you have to keep track of your content performance.
Starts with keeping an eye on Google analytics. Make regular visits on the platform and dig out for as much info as possible on the bounce rate, the time your visitors spend on your site, and the number of pages visitors open per session.
The information you get should help you make necessary adjustments to the kind of articles you write. For instance, if your site is registering a high bounce rate, then that’s a clear indication that the bulk of the people who land on your site don’t find it interesting or relevant enough to hang in for longer.
One possible explanation is that you could be optimizing the site for the wrong keywords. In which case, you’re both targeting and attracting the wrong kind of audience.
It’s to be however noted that high bounce rates can be caused by loads of other things that are not related to the kind of content you post.
Examples include aggressive pop ups, obnoxious ads or images, slow loading, and an ugly or unnavigable user interface. So while focusing on generating quality content, it’s also important that you also work on how your visitors view it. In other words, a bad site design is bound to scare a good chunk of the people you attract.
If you’re running your blog on WordPress, then consider taking advantage of the numerous PR tools or plugins floating about. Examples include Yoast and Shareholics. All you have to do is install the plugins and follow the simple guide provided to use them.
Edit Your Work
As a professional SEO writer, it’s important that you cultivate a keen eye for detail and OCD like reaction to bad grammar. This calls for great editing skills.
Don’t just write and rush online to publish. Instead, dedicate an ample amount of time to proofing and editing, polishing the first and second draft of the articles you write to near-perfection.
You can start by making good use of programs such as MS Office and Google Docs. Designed to help you iron out careless spelling mistake and observe basic grammar rules, editing your articles will save you from being viewed as unprofessional.
Remember to also watch out for the formatting. The articles you post must be aesthetically pleasing to the eye and less cumbersome. Meaning you have to find a way to make them less stilt and more friendly.
Steer clear of super-long paragraphs and overly stretched out sentences that are too mind-numbing to read.
If possible, have someone else help you edit the articles. Ask them to read them loud to you before you can finally decide to go ahead and publish them. The person you choose doesn’t have to be a SEO writer, but someone with a better grasp of the English language to help you clean out careless mistakes writers make all the time.
It’s a Wrap
SEO writing is NOT an easy task. It’s certainly going to take you a long while before you hit professional levels. So learn to give yourself time as you master the simple concept and understand the finer details of what makes a piece of SEO content great.
Mastering the skill isn’t going to happen in a fortnight as some people like to assume. But as long as you’re able to see progress, that’s enough to keep you going.
For more information on SEO or churning out great SEO articles for your website or blog, kindly check out with MediaOne today for a free SEO and content writing consultation.
