Search Engine Optimization. It’s usually the last thing you want to think about when it comes to your writing. It can be a pain, but it’s a necessary evil if you want people to find your websites and blog posts. If you want to build a copywriting career or rank in Google searches, you need to know some SEO tips.
This post is based on a presentation given by Sandra Graushopf in The Workshop, my online mentoring community for writers. Sandra poured over a decade of experience as an SEO specialist and content creator into this presentation.
Here are ten SEO tips followed by a list of resources to help you implement SEO in writing.
1. Write for people not for computers.
Google’s rules to rank in searches change over time. For example, a decade ago people shoved as many keywords as possible into articles in order to rank higher. Now, this practice is called keyword stuffing and is more likely to have your page marked as spam.
Rather than worrying what the Google algorithm wants, write for a human audience using language they can understand. Avoid spammy words unless, of course, they’re a natural choice for your sentence. And don’t trick your readers with clickbait titles, either.
Instead, write content to answer people’s questions so they want to return to your website for more.
2. Format your writing to be easy to read.
Your readers want information and they want it as quickly and easily as possible.
- Use keyword rich headers to make the text easily scannable.
- Keep sentences and paragraphs short.
- Use bulleted or numbered lists where applicable to help your readers follow easily.
White space helps readers move through your writing with ease. They’re less likely to get lost in long paragraphs or complicated page layouts.
3. Plan keywords based on what your readers will ask.
When you choose a keyword for a page, think about what your readers will search for in order to find it. Who will read the article? What are their goals? How will your article help them reach their goals?
Think about what people will ask in order to find an answer to their question.
For example: A parent who wants their baby to go to sleep at night might search “how to get my baby to sleep at night.” What other ways might they ask the same question?
“Get my baby to settle”
“Sleep through the night”
“Sleep training methods”
These questions will lead you to understand the various terms a person might search in order to find your page. You can not only include a term as your keyword but you can also sprinkle the various related terms throughout your article to create connections between the terms. You can even rank for more than one keyword on a page.
This video from Neil Patel walks you through the process of finding additional keywords and how to rank for more than one.
4. Write content that outshines all other posts on the topic.
When you post on your website or blog, you want your content to stand out. You don’t want to write the same content people can find in countless other places on the internet. You want your content to be unique.
You do this by searching the topic you’re writing about and reading the top articles already ranked on Google. Then, write content that goes more in-depth and fills in the gaps other articles leave out. Include more information, more resources, and provide such amazing value that there would be no other reason for anyone to ever visit any other article on your topic.
Examine what else is out there. What works? What doesn’t? Have they missed anything? What keywords are they using and who links to them?
Search Google for the keywords and terms you think your audience will search. As part of your search results, you’ll see a list of other terms and words people are searching for on the topic.
Run the keywords for your article through a search engine and see what websites rank at the top of the list. This content will help you shape your keywords and content.
This will help you find other terms to include in your article.
5. Make your primary keyword clear.
While you may include a few different versions of your main idea in your article, make sure your primary keyword is obvious to your reader. That means you should include it in the title and the first paragraph of your article.
You can also sprinkle it in the rest of the post, but don’t overdo. Instead, use variations of the keyword naturally throughout the text.
The metadata you include on your posts and pages help search engines know what your page is about. It’s also the information Google displays on their search pages. Your title, article description, and images appear as a mini-ad to attract readers.
One trick to implement right now:
If you use a WordPress website, install the Yoast plugin to help you manage your keywords and other metadata. There’s a free and premium version to choose from.
6. Promote your work.
Most writers I know hate promoting their work. We tend to share a couple of times on social media and then hope it goes viral on its own. This is not what I mean by promotion.
If you want more people to read your content, you want to create as many backlinks to your site from well respected and visited websites.
You can get backlinks by sharing your content with people mentioned in the post. Or find registries and resource lists that include similar content and ask them to include your link as an additional resource.
It can feel weird and self-serving to ask people to share your content. To make this easier, think of it this way: When you write truly excellent content, you’re actually doing people a favor by offering them information they won’t find elsewhere. Find people who truly benefit from your content and ask them to share with their audiences.
Backlinks from well known, high ranking websites build your authority quickly because when a popular website trusts you enough to link to you, it tells Google you’re trustworthy and you’re more likely to rank higher in searches.
Check out Brian Dean’s Skyscraper Technique for building links and authority.
7. Use tools to help you refine your searches and learn more.
There’s a seemingly endless list of online tools to help you plan your keywords and research competitors. You can even get many of them for free, like SemRush, Ahrefs, and Ubersuggest. You plug in words and URLs and the various tools spit out pages of data. It can be a little overwhelming not knowing what to do with all that information. Continue using them anyway.
While you may not understand every detail at the beginning, over time, you’ll begin to find patterns and tricks that help you build your SEO authority quickly.
One trick to implement right now:
Use Moz.com’s Link Explorer and use the backlink feature to find out who links to your competitors. Then approach those linking to competitors and ask if they’d be interested in linking to your site.
Neil Patel walks you through this strategy in more detail.
You can do the same with keywords. See who is linking to the topics you feature on your website and articles and ask them to feature you as well.
More resources to help you plan, research, and implement these SEO Tips.
Websites to research keywords:
Google search: Just do a regular Google search to see what others are searching in real time.
Google Keyword Planner: It’s free and allows you to see how often people are searching for a topic and how much competition there is for that topic.
SEMRush: Similar to Google’s Keyword Planner but also includes trending information.
Competitor Research:
Moz’s Link Explorer: Let’s you see what others have written about the subject and find ways to do it better.
Writing for the Web:
How to Write Addictive Articles from Hubspot
The Cosmo Headline Technique for Content Inspiration from Copyblogger
Writing for the Web by Usability.org
The Hemingway app: To help avoid passive voice and write like a human, not a machine.
Learn More About SEO:
The Beginner’s Guide to SEO by Moz.com
SEO Made Simple: A Step-by-Step Guide by Neil Patel
Black Hat vs White Hat SEO by Inbound Marketing
News and SEO updates from SearchEngineLand.
