Last Updated on December 12, 2024 by Richard Martin Linga
Writing SEO-friendly content isn’t an easy job. There are several factors you need to consider such as information richness, keyword density, readability, flow, and structure. The goal is to make sure the content is both discoverable and informative.
Keeping this in mind, we have gathered some handy tips that you can implement to refine your SEO writing. By the end of this article, you will have a clear picture of what you can do to take your SEO writing to the next level.
Adjust Keywords Naturally
That’s important when it comes to SEO writing. You need to include keywords naturally without looking weird or promotional. Your writing shouldn’t give the impression that the text has been written primarily for search engines, not for the readers.
Avoid keyword stuffing, as it will make your content look unhelpful and vague, contributing to a higher bounce rate. (Bounce rate is an internet marketing term showing the percentage of visitors leaving a webpage without taking any action.) The higher the bounce rate, the lower the visitors’ interest in your page.
Search engines, especially Google, keep a keen eye on the bounce rate of a website or web page. The higher the bounce rate, lower the search rank. So, keep the keyword ratio to around 1%, meaning you can use the keyword 10 times in a 1000-word article. It will make content natural and may impact the bounce rate positively.
It’s not as if we are saying to abandon incorporating SEO terms and phrases into your writing; instead, you should do it carefully. For instance, if you are writing a blog post talking about ‘’how to train a puppy,’’ you should find relevant keywords to include in your content naturally. Keywords like ‘’train a puppy’’, ‘’train a puppy at home’’ and ‘’train a puppy for toilet’’ can easily be incorporated.
The following text is an example of how you can do it naturally:
‘’Wondering how to train a puppy at home? Well, it’s easy if you follow these tips. In this article, we’ll also let you know how to train a puppy for toilet.’’
As you can observe in the above example, the keyword placements look natural.
Optimize Your Headings
Headings are probably one of the first things that get noticed the most. So, they need to be attractive and informative to turn the maximum number of heads. Also, you have to make sure they include the primary keyword. A good rule of thumb is to include your primary keyword at the beginning of the heading in under 60 characters if possible.
Keep it short and clear, and make readers want to click through by answering their question or problem. Employing a question format or numbering can also help to make them catchy and SEO-friendly.
Use Internal Linking Strategies
This is one of the most important things you should keep in mind while writing content. It has been observed that most people do it in the wrong way. Using generic keywords for internal linking isn’t going to work now. You will have to find the relevant wording to link to other pages of your site. This helps search engines understand what your site is about and pass link equity to other pages to boost their rankings.
Aim to include 2-3 internal links within articles to related blog posts or product/category pages. Insert these links where they logically fit into the content flow. Make sure all linked content is strong and well-optimized.
Make Your Content Clear and Engaging
No one likes dull and boring content. Your content should be easy to read and convey the information in simple wording. There’s no point in adding jargon and complicated wording. It does more harm than good. Try to write in simple and easy wording that doesn’t require a dictionary lookup.
So, if your content has any complex wording, paraphrase it using easy vocabulary. You can also get assistance from the paraphraser. It will automatically remove weird words and replace them with easy ones while keeping the core meaning intact. Be sure to manually review any auto-paraphrased text to check for grammar, flow, and intent before publishing. Using a paraphrasing tool in moderation can greatly speed up content optimization.
Structure Your Content Well
Readers online have short attention spans so it’s important to structure articles in a clean, swimmable format. Break up dense blocks of text with relevant subheadings 2-3 times to segment information into bite-sized chunks. Use bold, italic, and underlined text sparingly to emphasize important points.
Plus, be sure to include proper subheadings such as H1, H2, H3, …. etc. Adding such headings will make it easy for readers to go through your content. Search engines also favor content utilizing a proper content layout.
Also include bulleted or numbered lists where possible to break down steps, pros/cons, etc. Proper structuring helps search engines understand topics at a glance and keeps readers engaged with the easy-to-digest layout.
Optimize Images & Include Alt Text
Images are a visual storytelling element that can boost user experience. Beyond aesthetic purposes, optimizing images is also important from an SEO standpoint. All images included in articles require alternate text descriptions or “alt text” to be accessible.
Include focused keywords in alt text up to 125 characters to further optimize images for search. Save images at optimum size/quality to reduce loading time. You can also add relevant internal image captions or consider using interactive images like slideshows. For example, you can leverage text to image AI to create unique and relevant images that align with your topics. This not only improves the aesthetics of your page but also enhances its overall SEO value.
Moreover, be sure to fully describe any multimedia with transcripts or captions to keep it accessible. Further optimize by including popular keywords in the filenames, descriptions, and captions. Well-placed multimedia optimizes the content to a great extent.
Continuously Test & Refine
As we all know search engine algorithms are always changing. You need to keep adopting the latest writing trends and guidelines. Continuously tracking key metrics like organic traffic and rankings allows you to identify what is working and what isn’t working. Be ready to refine strategies based on what performs best.
Run on-page SEO audits to find any technical errors. Ask for feedback from readers and industry peers. Testing different angles, multimedia or rewrites helps keep content fresh. When you perform regular testing, you will get into the habit of producing high-quality content that both search engines and readers love.
Final Words
Implementing these tips will surely help you refine your SEO writing. It’s not as if you will start producing SEO-optimized content overnight. You will have to practice these tips consistently. Keep readers in mind while writing. Things will ultimately go in your favor, giving your web pages a significant boost in search engine result pages. With consistent effort over time, you can build a strong organic traffic presence and authority in your industry through on-page optimization alone.