If creating high-quality, SEO-optimized content were easy, it wouldn’t be such a key component of the modern digital marketing strategy. Businesses in all industries are investing more and more into their content strategy to build strong blog posts that outrank their competitors, allowing them to draw in new leads. To excel at writing content that helps drive traffic to your blog and allows you to reach potential new customers, there are certain strategies you need to employ and best practices you need to keep in mind.
Start with these do’s and don’ts to help you create SEO-optimized content that benefits your business and your readers.
Do’s
1. Do create content that provides real value.
One of the most prime things you can do when trying to create content that will help you get you or your clients to the top of the SERP is writing something that provides value to readers. Here are some things to keep in mind to provide the most value to your readers:
- Answer the question that users will be searching for
- Organize the information in a way that’s most easily understood by someone who is not familiar with the topic
- Focus on readability—in the U.S., the average reading level is 7th or 8th grade according to the Literacy Project Foundation
- Link to other resources (both internal and external) that are relevant to the topic
- Include other relevant information that will provide a better understanding of the topic and help the reader solve their problem/meet their needs
2. Do take the time to think of an attention-grabbing title.
While it might seem insignificant at first glance, the title of your article is important. This is because it’s your first impression to catch someone’s attention. If your blog post title stands out from the other search results, people are more likely to click on your post, increasing traffic to your blog. Here are a few qualities you want to consider when crafting your blog post titles:
- Includes the keyword
- Relevant to the query
- Solution-oriented phrasing
- Tells readers what to expect
- Attention-grabbing
- Concise and to the point
- Includes numbers or statistics when possible
Refer to the example below from Truliant Federal Credit Union’s blog to see a well-written blog title. As you can see, the title starts with the keyword—credit score and Fico score—makes it clear they’re going to answer the question, and creates interest by inferring that they’re going to provide some expert knowledge.
3. Do take the time to research the top SERP results.
The top few articles in the SERP results are the ones that the search engine has deemed most relevant and high quality. Since that’s where you want to be, it only makes sense that you’d look at these pages and see what makes them stand out. By taking a few minutes, you can look at what your competitors are doing well, and what you can do better to help improve your chances of ranking at the top or scoring an answer box.
When analyzing other pieces of content that rank high in the search results, keep in mind that you should also consider intent. Is the topic and purpose of the post similar to yours? If not, it’s likely not a good example to base decisions off.
4. Do break up content with lists, images, graphics, etc.
Big walls of text can cause reader fatigue and can contribute to high bounce rates. Nowadays, everyone is limited on time, so they’re looking for a quick, straightforward answer to their question. If they see a heavy mass of text when they get to your blog post, they’re likely to return back to the search engine to find something that’s easier to navigate instead.
Using images, graphics, and lists (both bulleted and numbers), help you to keep the reader’s interest throughout the blog post. Headings and subheadings can also be used to break up long sections of text. Fortunately, there are easy strategies you can implement to help break up your text and make your content more engaging for the reader. For example, Neil Patel recommends adding about one image approximately every 150 words. This isn’t a hard and fast rules, but it’s a good practice to follow whether you’re using graphics, lists, or other features to break up your content.
Here is a perfect example of ProFlower’s blog post, “42 Ways to Practice Gratitude”. It provides readers with organized lists and fitting images.
5. Do put the most prior information at the top of the blog post.
People have a few attention spans, they want the answers to their query as quickly as possible when they get to your page, so the last thing you want to do is bury the lead. Instead, provide the most important information upfront, while giving them a reason to stay.
What do I mean by that? Entice them with what’s to come in the blog post, which should be relevant and useful information. By giving them what they’re looking for upfront you build trust and appear to be a valuable resource, and by providing them with a teaser of what’s to come, you can persuade them to stay on your page.
Dont’s
1. Don’t keyword stuff your content.
While it might sound counterintuitive, you don’t want to overdo it when it comes to including keywords in your copy. Having too many of the same keywords in your copy is also referred to as keyword stuffing. Keyword stuffing can make your copy sound robotic and more difficult to read, which can impact your ranking and deter readers.
There is a dedicated balance when it comes to using keywords. According to Wordstream, a general rule to follow is to use one keyword for every 200 words of your blog post.
2. Don’t neglect quality for quantity.
It’s not uncommon for businesses to focus on growing their blog quickly by producing a mass of posts in a short period of time. However, the key to building a strong blog and posts that actually rank is focusing on the quality of each piece of content. If you provide quality and direct answers to readers, they’ll be more likely to come back to your blog, and back to your business when they’re ready to take the next step toward solving their problem.
When planning out your content writing calendar, consider your resources (writers, budget, hours you can allocate, etc.) to avoid over-committing. With smaller teams, too much content can be hard to manage and lead to burnout.
3. Don’t make the entire post one long sales pitch.
Of course, the end of goals of any initiative your business pursues are to generate leads and drive sales. However, when it comes to creating content, your focus should be on creating attention-grabbing content that’s relevant and well optimized. By making these two factors the priority, you will be in a better position for your content to rank well for several reasons, including that readers will be more likely to read the entire post.
That said, it doesn’t mean you can’t promote your products or services at all. Look for an angle that allows you to pitch your product or service as a solution to the reader’s problem (a.k.a. the reason they’re reading your blog in the first place). Just keep in mind that this should be done purposefully and with tact in order to avoid putting readers off.
Start Writing Better Content
One of the important things you can do to improve your business’s marketing strategy is to focus on content. Whether you have an established blog or are thinking about starting one, making sure that you’re creating quality, SEO-optimized content should be your top priority moving forward. While investing in content might seem like the quickest way to boost sales, it is an essential part of the long game for growing your company. With these do’s and don’ts in mind, go forward and create better content that is more likely to provide a return on your investment.