Writing effective content can be difficult, but it may not matter if your content does not see many readers. It is important to not only write strong content, but also craft it effectively using search engine optimization (SEO) techniques so that it can be found by search engines.
Writing effective blog posts and articles for search engine marketing may seem like a difficult task, but it is actually rather simple. As long as the writer follows the proper search engine optimization guidelines, then content writing can be very simple. These 5 steps should always be kept in mind when writing content for SEO.
- Write Effective Headlines- The headline is possibly the most important part of the entire article. If a reader’s attention is not caught within a matter of seconds, most likely they will not read the rest of the content. Similarly, search engines highly value this component of your content. You should not only seek to write a provoking, relevant headline for potential readers, but also include appropriate keywords in the headline for effective search engine marketing. Doing so is an essential element and effective first step in optimizing your blog or article.
- Ensure the Article is a Proper Length- Do not write only a paragraph or two for a blog post or an article. Search engine optimization guidelines dictate that the length of the content should ideally be no less than 300 words. If your content is not long enough, search engines will not assign significant value to the post or page.
- Utilize Keywords in the Body- Your content should not only have a clear topic, but also a close selection of highly relevant keywords. Once you have inspiration, be sure to identify proper keywords that, more often than not, will naturally flow as part of the main body of content. Every blog post or article should have a few keywords that tie in to the essence of the piece. Effective search engine marketing content looks natural and seamless, not forced. Much like critical readers, search engines can identify optimization techniques when they are overused. In which case, neither will value your content.
- Make Use of Meta Data- Make sure that all of your blogs and articles maximize meta title tags and descriptions. When your blog or article title is written in accordance with search engine optimization guidelines, including the 70 character limit and incorporating essential keywords, your title tag is essentially done. The descriptions do not play much of a role in how the page will rank, but it plays a significant role in how the page appears to readers and whether or not it generates clicks. Rather than counting on search engines to select snippets of your content, you can write brief, 1-2 sentence summaries that incorporate your keywords. This helps ensure the message you want to convey, and the keywords essential to your search engine marketing, take center stage.
Using SEO-friendly content management systems, such as WordPress, Act-On, or Joomla to name a few, can make publishing and optimizing your content a breeze.
