Writing with SEO in mind can bring up images of junk articles being spun for cheap backlinks. Fifteen years ago, this was a powerful SEO tactic, but Google has moved well past the point of not figuring out spam backlinks and discounting them. So, when I talk about writing with SEO in mind, I mean writing high-quality content that Google races to push to the top of page one of the SERPs.
On-site SEO is more important than ever for getting, and staying, in the good graces of Google. These tips will help you write articles in a way that is enjoyable for readers and get the big thumbs up from Google and other search engines.
Use Google Auto Suggest for Section Ideas
Google’s auto-suggest uses a search term or keyword that has been typed. The same is true with search engines like DuckDuckGo. Why does this matter? Because if you know, people are searching for these related questions or topics, you can make the headlines in your article.
Not only does this guarantee that you are providing helpful information in your article, things that searchers are looking for online, but it also helps you build your outline. Put those terms in headlines, which will get that little extra SEO boost.
Writing with SEO in mind means smart Use of Headlines
Using H2 headings isn’t the only thing to do here, but intelligent use of H3 sub-headings matters, too! This brings organization to the article, allows more boosts to essential keywords or phrases without going overboard, and a plug-in like Easy Table of Contents creates an XML sitemap that helps Google bots crawl every page.
That also means spotting all the internal links on your site to further boost your search engine rankings.
Latent Semantic Indexing Aka Related Phrases & Terms
Keyword stuffing is a terrible idea and hasn’t been effective in over 15 years. Wise use of the keywords now includes having them in the title and at least once early in the article. Beyond that, use it naturally – and that includes thinking of synonyms, other terms used for that focused keyword, and closely related words and descriptions.
Some have referred to this as Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) and is just a fancy word for looking at the closely related terms that others might use instead of your exact keyword. Google likes to rank related keywords in groups – so you want to build your articles accordingly.
Stand Apart from the Competition
Create detailed charts and graphs with helpful information and infographics. Interview experts and quote them in the article.
You don’t want to be just another re-hashed version of what everyone else is doing. You want to stick out in a good way. When you stand out from the competition as more helpful, authoritative, or original information, Google will skyrocket you to the top.
Don’t blend in. Stand apart. Writing with SEO in mind.
Internal Linking
If you’re not interlinking related articles or blog posts on your website, you’re missing out on an effective tool that can help boost your rankings in Google. While internal links don’t have the same pull as a backlink from another site, multiple studies have shown that they help.
And these are links where you can keyword anchor them AND determine which posts you want the most link juice to go to!
Bonus Tip: Most Importantly, BE USEFUL!
Google is very good at seeing when content adds something new to a conversation and when it is just a poorly re-written and re-hashed version of what many websites already have information on. This is because Google wants to give the most helpful result to every search.
Make your article the most useful, and you will get a lot of positive rankings from Google.
Someone who follows these tips and writes organized articles that provide outstanding value will see serious success in Google with all their articles.
Need help with writing with SEO in mind or managed search engine optimization? Book a free consultation with a web strategist. They can help you develop the best reputation management strategy for your company.
