How to Write Content For People and Optimize For Google

There is a very evident dilemma for content producers who are looking to build up a greater following for their blog. Most of the time, writers have to walk the fine line between producing content that’s appealing to readers and content that is appealing to Google’s algorithms. The most ideal situation would be for one to create content that falls somewhere in between – but can that really be achieved? Or is it just an urban myth?

The truth is, not everybody is equipped to fully grasp how Google’s algorithms function. However, we can begin to understand them better by looking at some examples of businesses who have succeeded in carrying out their SEO efforts. In general, your content should be tailored to appeal to your readers. Only then should you begin to further adapt your content so that it comes off as efficient to search engines.

Now that we’ve gotten a sense of how one should go about producing content that is attractive on both fronts, it’s time to get a more in-depth look at the issue. How does one create content that is high-quality in every way? There are some neat tricks to be covered in this article, and we’ll discuss them all to help you become a better copywriter.

What is SEO anyway?

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization, a method used to help increase a brand’s visibility on search engine result pages. While a successful website will typically appear around the top of the first page, other less-optimised pages will normally drop to the bottom.

Something that’s important to note is that SEO is not a one-off method that helps to solve all problems. It almost always takes a continuous effort on your part to ensure that your brand’s rankings are pushed to greater heights. The process of SEO can generally be described in six simple steps:

  • Research – This is normally done through competitor analysis and market surveillance. Doing so will help you to determine what kind of keywords to utilise in order to produce an optimal conversion rate for your business.
  • Structure – Before you create content, you need to think about the structure of it. How long should it be? How do you incorporate all of your chosen keywords? This will help guide you when you’re actually producing the content.
  • On-site SEO – This step includes analyzing existing pages and adding keywords to them in order to change things up. This will help to boost your ranking even further.
  • Link-building – After you’re done publishing the keyword-infused content, be sure to create links to your homepage and main pages. However, remember that having too many specific links can damage your rankings.
  • Patience – Believe it or not, search engines don’t recognize your changes immediately. They take time – usually a few days – to acknowledge the changes you made to your links and keywords. So, be patient. If you’ve been successful in executing the previous steps, then the results will most definitely show.
  • Analytics, analytics, and even more analytics – Regardless of how well your site is doing, one should always look at Google Analytics. Only by surveying metrics such as traffic and ranking movement will you be able to know what to change and what to keep.

SEO Copywriting Itself – the Fine Art of Sales

It’s both an art and a science. Some people might also deem it a sport. But it’s one thing for sure – a perpetual challenge. Copywriting is basically the art of promoting something to your readers in order to incite action. The message can be about anything: about buying a product, signing up for a free trial, or about subscribing to a mailing list. Regardless, the goal is always to get your message across to wider audiences.

Copywriters have to understand people. In particular, they need to know their audiences well and be able to communicate an idea to anyone. Accomplishing this, however, requires significant investment and necessitates one to learn from the experts. It’s an understandably daunting task. So, let’s begin first by taking a looking at what kind of basic content elements a copywriter should take note of when composing an SEO-ready page.

Making Both Readers and Google Happy

It goes without saying that other factors such as site speed, design, the presence of dead links or insufficient tagging are factors that you should worry about. We’re going to leave that to the more technical articles. But for now, we’re going to turn our attention to the fine art of turning words into gold. Here are the main things you should pay attention to:

Headlines – Studies have shown that five times as many people read the headline as they read the body itself. It’s the main representative of your brand and idea, so make sure it’s short, concise and captivating whilst still including all the necessary keywords.

Keyword frequency and insertion – The ideal way to write content is to think about how much you want to emphasize your keywords. However, this doesn’t mean that your entire text should be centred around them. The basic aim should be creating a readable composition with organically inserted keywords. Less is more.

Meta description – Whether you have a cryptic headline or not, you need a good meta description. It further clarifies the goal that you’re aiming to achieve.

Page links – There is nothing search engine algorithms love more than links to verified and respected pages. Having these connections on your pages will surely catch the attention of the search engine, boosting your SEO ratings.

Frequency – There is a thin line between spamming and posting frequent content. There is another line that separates quality over quantity and a lack of inspiration. Find the middle ground.