Ah, you’ve finally created a thorough list of targeted long-tail keywords for your business. Then it hits you. You have no idea how to add these into your content without sounding like those spam email marketers in your junk box. These keywords won’t help at all if you don’t know how to use them!
Don’t fear, friend. You can learn to create genuinely useful content based on these keywords that will strengthen your SEO. If you take the time to do it right, you won’t just rank well—you’ll pull in the targeted traffic it deserves (which we think is the real point here).
Today, you’ll learn how to write quality SEO content that doesn’t send your readers scuttling off in fear that you’ll infect their computer with the latest malware.
But first, what does it mean to write for SEO?
Simply put, SEO copywriting is writing a bunch of words designed to rank for something specific in search engines. Successful SEO copywriting means that it actually ranks for those words.
In old school SEO, this meant repeating your keyword within your post as many times as possible.
As you might imagine, this doesn’t make for content that people enjoy reading.
Due to this fact, search engines today have evolved to recognize ‘overly optimized’ content as spam, meaning you need to be more clever about your strategy.
You’ve probably got a list of keywords to target, you can make it easy by creating post content directly from these keywords. (Here’s a guide on how to create a keyword list, if you don’t have one already.)
Ideally, each post should have its own keyword. However, when that’s not the case, pick one or two central themes from your keyword list to help you as you write.
Here’s exactly how to plan great content around your keywords.
The first thing you need is a killer headline that addresses the issue that the user coming in from your keyword might have.
[Tweet “Write a killer headline that addresses the real issue behind a keyword.”]
For SEO purposes, sometimes that may fit your actual keyword quite well. An example might be: “What is the best interior paint?”
That particular works as a solid headline by itself. But, it’s not always so straightforward.
Here’s an example rewrite for that same keyword: “What Everyone Ought to Know About Selecting the Best Interior Paint”.
Once you’ve written a headline that entices readers (while considering its SEO benefits), you’ll need content that delivers on whatever promises are made by that headline.
Using our example, the reader will expect to leave feeling confident about how to choose the best interior paint.
It’s best practice to include your keyphrase in at least one of the headings if possible. Don’t force it, but with a little creativity you can usually make it work, or get really close with a similar variation.
Now that your post is planned out, all that’s left is to write it! For best SEO results, you’ll want to include your keyword in the first introductory paragraphs—again, when possible.
If your original keyword doesn’t sound natural in your content, try using a suitable variation. Which brings us to the topic of keyword variation.
Search engines have begun associating similar keywords on a page to determine what problem you’re trying to solve (Google even does it for AdWords), so to our point earlier: don’t cram the exact original keyword in there 50 times.
[Tweet “Search is semantic: That means, don’t write the same keyword 50 times.”]
Varying the original keyword is a lot easier if you’ve structured the content around solving whatever problem the reader has in the previous step.
As long as you stay on your chosen topic, search engines pick up on what you’re shooting for and appreciate that you didn’t succumb to spammy writing.
Here’s a few specific ways to ensure your post stays relevant, while still playing nice with search engines.
Search engines strive every day to become more and more like a human in their ability to judge the work of digital content.
[Tweet “Search engines are trying to read your content like a human would.”]
That means above all, writing your content for people will help your content continue to be white-hat and SEO proof for the future by:
Pro tip! Writing this way is called semantic search in the industry.
Not sure whether your content is suitable for human consumption? Read it out loud to make sure everything sounds non-robotic, and ask yourself if you are practically solving the issue or providing the solution inherent within the headline.
Alright, your newest blog post is ready to go and you’re feeling confident about your newfound SEO copywriting skills.
Here’s your publishing checklist before sending it out into the world:
It’s one thing to choose a list of keywords to focus on, but actually writing content that reads well for humans and incorporates those keywords effective for search engines is another skill entirely.
By planning your content around your keywords, including normal variations of your keyword, while writing your content for real humans to read, you’ll be able to boost your SEO and pull in the targeted traffic you were hoping for when you first built your keyword list.
What do you struggle with when it comes to including keywords in your content? Tell us about your concerns in the comments, so we can help you write content that ranks well in SEO.
Image credits: Lee Dyer, StockSnap
