Content Writing Strategies to Improve SEO
Ever wondered what it takes to write a text that will not only boost organic traffic on your website but also result in an excellent conversion? It is much simpler than you thought it would be. Well… once you master all the content writing strategies we have gathered here for you. So, here it comes!
Plan the article like your life depends on it
Okay, we might have exaggerated here a little, but if copywriting is your bread and butter, your livelihood does depend on it a lot. Therefore, planning is crucial. It will not only help you draft an article, but it is a real time-saver as well. And we all know that time is money, don’t we?
Start with a structure
Whether you are writing an article, a review, or a product description, you should know that the majority of texts start with an introduction, and end with a conclusion. Pretty basic, true, but it needs to be said.
The middle part of your content is crucial. This is where readers find all the information they were looking for. Try to incorporate these:
- Use headlines
- Make paragraphs short
- Do not use difficult language
- Put the most important information in bold
The 5 W’s and H rule
Every professional journalist knows the 5 W’s and H rule. It is a list of questions that need to be answered in order to create an excellent copy. Here it is:
- Why? - the objectives of your text
- What? - the message you want to send
- Who? - the audience you are targeting
- Where? - the location, context, device where your text will be read
- How? - the structure of your text
- When? - the time when your text will be created and published
Tone and style do matter
To put it in a nutshell, tone and style are the ingredients that will make your text outstanding. You need to know your audience and you should align your writing to it. This simply means imagining a situation in which your words are being said. Knowing how to speak to your readers creates a sense of attachment that will pay off in a good conversion rate.
The title, lead, and close
All writers know that an eye-catching title is crucial. It has to produce an emotional response in order to keep your readers on the page. But a remarkable headline is not the only thing that matters.
Introduction and conclusion are of similar importance. Journalists call them “the lead” and “the close”. You have about 3 seconds to make an impression, which is a pretty tough job. Creating an interesting introduction that outlines the subject of your text should keep the readers on the page. Ending it with a question engages them to take part in a further discussion.
Visible attractiveness
A study conducted at the University of Maryland has found that people respond best to visuals. We are creatures with 70% of all sensory receptors located in our eyes. What does it mean for you?
Enhance your text with high-quality and relevant visuals. You can use pictures, infographics, videos, gifs… literally, anything that you will find attractive. Do not forget to adjust the names of your visuals to improve SEO. The best strategy is to use your primary keyword and a short description in an alt text field. Change the title too using the same keyword.
Include links
For strictly SEO purposes, you should always include links in your text. There are two types of links you may want to focus on: outbound and inbound.
Outbound links are external links that direct you to other websites, outside yours. Do they really matter? Yes! But only if those pages contain high-quality content. In other words, you use external links to support a statement in your article. The more respected and visited website you are directing your readers to, the more noticeable difference you will see in terms of your reputation, value, and relevance.
Inbound links, on the other hand, are internal links that direct to other pages within your website. Why should you use them? There are two main reasons. First of all, they are likely to help your page rank higher in the search engine. Secondly, internal links can increase referral traffic. Make good use of both of them!
Keyword your text
Keywords can improve SEO significantly, period. But do you really know how to use them?
A good strategy is to not overdo it. You do not want to get a penalty from Google for stuffing your text with keywords. Instead, focus on making it sound natural. When writing an article you always avoid repetitions, don’t you? The same rule applies to keywords.
You may want to have one primary keyword and a couple of LSI ones. These are different variations of your key phrase. Remember to include them not only in your content but also in the title, subheadings, meta title, and meta description.
Last but not least - review and edit
Reviewing your text is as important as writing it in the first place. A draft usually becomes final after two or three edits. Even the most experienced writers do not skip this part. There is always something that can be improved. Do not forget that!
Creating content that converts is not easy. It is a process. Traffic will bring more visitors. More visitors means better engagement, which translates to high-value actions. As a result, your website will have a bigger conversion rate, therefore there will be more purchases, installs or sign-ups.
There is a lot of factors that need to be taken into consideration. Uniqueness is the key, but SEO improves with a well-planned strategy, and all writers have to bear that in mind.