The absurdly long, keyword-stuffed, and highly optimised articles clearly written for Google’s algorithm rather than the reader are everywhere!
This SEO fault is comically prevalent in recipe articles. Recipe bloggers will bore you with a very loosely related, long, and zigzagging story about the first date with their spouse when all you actually want is that lasagne recipe. The whole purpose is to increase the time users spend on the page and try to play into the algorithms.
Then there are the jarring “cut/paste” articles that attempt to answer every related query regarding a search intent. They look like a jumbled FAQ page with no uniting threads, flow, depth, or storytelling.
Thankfully, Google is attempting to eliminate these spammy SEO tactics with their newest updates, and content writers are no longer obligated to write solely for search engines. Instead, there are far approaches to optimise on-page SEO in 2022. These seven SEO tips will help you ensure you’re providing material for actual people while also satisfying the algorithm to get you started on the right path.
While your material must be optimised to be discovered on search engines, the person reading your article must find value and amusement, resulting in a steady increase in brand trust. It’s a win-win situation.
Business Benefits of Blogging
Before we dive into the tips, here are some brief points to consider if you’re unfamiliar with the benefits of business blogging and how it might assist your company:
- Blog postings will increase traffic to your company’s website, which will lead to more leads.
- Blogging helps you create backlinks, which leads to higher search engine rankings.
- Blog content can be repurposed for your Google My Business profile and social media accounts.
- Long-term benefits for website traffic can be found in blog postings.
- The most successful type of information is blog posts (above email, ebooks, and white papers).
If you own a small or medium-sized business, you can’t afford to miss out on this easy way to increase website traffic and generate qualified leads!
1. Define User Search Intent and Tell a Compelling Story to Match
Choosing your keyword strategy or topic clusters is an art form in and of itself. However, before you decide keyword, you will want to focus on a specific user search intent before you begin writing.
The goal of an internet search is referred to as search intent or user intent. Simply expressed, it’s what a user is seeking when they use Google for a search query. There are four main types of search intents:
- Informational search when a user has a question and is looking for an answer or more information.
- Navigational intent when someone is seeking a specific website. When a user searches for ‘LinkedIn,’ for example, they expect to be directed to the LinkedIn website and able to check in to their account.
- Transactional intent refers to someone who shops online intending to buy.
- Commercial investigation is when someone prepares to buy an item and conducts internet research before purchasing. This form of search is the same as transactional intent in that the user plans to buy something, but the difference is the user doesn’t plan to purchase right away. Instead, users will evaluate quality, delivery times, and pricing across numerous websites before investing their money, which is usual for significant or expensive transactions.
Over time, Google’s algorithms have improved, allowing it to understand user intent better and offer more relevant search results. As a result, writing and optimising your website content for user purposes is critical if you want to rank for relevant terms and enhance online visibility.
But depending on what search intent your target audience has will dictate the type of content you produce, so here are some ideas:
- For informational searches, it’s a good idea to use common search questions to optimise your headlines. This could include article topics like “how to”, “what is”, “the ultimate guide to”, “top tips for”, “step-by-step instructions” etc. It’s important to remember that it’s ideal for giving direct answers to inquiries (particularly to get the rich snippet) and avoiding long backstories for informational purposes.
- Users are usually looking for brand phrases or names of specific items or services that they are already familiar with for navigational purposes. For example, article topics could include reviews, directions, testimonials, or case studies centred around a specific brand, service, or product name.
- Transactional and commercial investigation intent expresses the user’s desire to execute a transaction. So transactional queries are more likely to yield a return on investment in search, both organically and through paid channels. Therefore, your material should be tailored to this final step of the sales funnel and include clear calls to action such as “buy”, “where to buy”, “how to get a discount”, “schedule an appointment”, “order now” etc.
2. Feature Your Primary Keyword in a Few Critical Locations, Naturally
Keywords are the basis of SEO services and content writing, yet it’s where a lot of content makers get stuck. For example, “Keyword stuffing”, an article to get the algorithm to recognise the content, tend to overcomplicate the storytelling and makes your material a chore for the reader. Instead, as a writer, you should strive to include your primary keyword in the following places naturally:
- Title Tag or Meta Title
The title tag is an HTML text that makes up the SERP’s clickable URL.
- Headline
The title of your piece is your headline. Most of the time, your title tag and headline will be the same, but certain brands distinguish title tags differently, or you may find yourself using a reduced form of your headline as your title tag for better presentation.
- Meta Description
On the SERP, your meta description is the small box of content that appears beneath your title tag. The purpose of a meta description is to attract your user to click, as a result increasing your site’s click rates. Google explicitly notes that it has no direct effect on the algorithm.
- Body Content
The actual copy within your piece is referred to as body copy. When you write in-depth on a topic, you’ll automatically discuss your primary keyword frequently enough that you won’t need to “keyword things”. But aiming to use each keyword in the content 3-5 times is a good goal.
3. Optimise Your Photos
Relevant multimedia, like images, videos, and audio samples, visually or musically provides more exciting content to your reader and help them better understand what you’re trying to convey in prose. Overall, increasing user engagement and time spent on the page.
Every content writer should aim to sprinkle such multimedia into their content when needed. But make sure you don’t go overboard or use a stock image just for its sake, as every piece of media should be purposeful and contribute to your audience’s understanding of the topic.
But as mentioned previously, content marketing is a balancing act between writing exciting content for the readers and writing for Google to get a higher ranking on SERPs. One of the best ways to enhance the SEO reach of your blogs covertly is to optimise your images since the reader will not be able to see the enhancements as easy.
So, whenever you utilise multimedia, make sure you include keywords in the file name and fill out the alternate text field with a concise, keyword-rich description whenever you upload a file to your article.
4. Use Hyperlinks
While linking to external domains may seem counterintuitive, it is incredibly beneficial to your audience and one of the most essential sources of ranking power. Content writers shouldn’t be afraid to externally link to authoritative sources when you mention another blogger or article in your blog post to deliver real value.
Reference linking is not just excellent blogging etiquette to link to other people’s work, but you might get lucky and get a link back as well. After all, high-quality backlinks are required for every website that wishes to rank higher in search engine results pages.
Keep in mind that the primary purpose of your material is to educate and benefit your reader. Examine your own site for useful cross-links to other articles/content that expand on the points you’re making to help educate your reader while also keeping them on your site.
Just make sure the sites you’re linking to are trustworthy and authoritative. External links to highly reputable domains such as Moz, Search Engine Journal, and Hubspot for professional perspective.
5. Incentivise Your Readers to Subscribe to the Blog
Include prominent RSS or Feed Subscription Buttons to allow visitors to subscribe to your posts by email if possible. This lets your blog visitors get quick notifications of new posts without frequently checking your site for new content.
6. Repost Your Blog Content on Social Media
Use social media to increase the number of people who see your blog content. For example, you may be using Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or other social media platforms to engage with new and current consumers as a small business. So why not use these sites to promote your blog content and gain even more web exposure? Free apps like Hootsuite make it simple to share links to your most recent blog article across your social media accounts with just a few clicks. You may even plan ahead and schedule your postings!
7.Use Formatting to Turn Clumsy Paragraphs into Easily Scannable Content
In today’s society, we’re accustomed to obtaining exactly what we want, when we want it, on the Internet — and if an article appears to be one giant wall of text, consumers may become overwhelmed and seek alternative information.
Traditional, long-form storytelling has a place in today’s world, significantly depending on your brand’s personality. However, you’ll probably want to use formatting elements like these to split up your material into easily scannable chunks:
- Lists with bullets and numbers (like this one!)
- Sub-paragraphs for subsections, with bold, italic, and underline to direct the reader’s attention to the topic of that tiny section.
- To accentuate very engaging quotes or vital information, use pull quotes.
Ready to Enhance the Reach of Your Blogs? Get in Touch with a Reputable SEO Agency!
Following these essential seven SEO tips can encourage greater SERPS results, increase online traffic, and higher client conversion rates. Many writers rush to publish after optimising their work, but it’s always worth it to go over it again afterwards to make sure the essence of your tale is still alive and well, asking yourself the following questions:
- Is my distinct brand voice still audible?
- Does my content give readers sufficient value?
- Is the content still entertaining?
- Does my material speak to my reader on a personal level?
- Don’t forget to check your plagiarism score to ensure your content is not accidentally copied!
Are you too preoccupied with your blog’s SEO to keep up with it? A reputable SEO agency has got your back to assist you in gaining a more prominent position on search engine results pages.
