SEO Writing: 11 SEO content writing best practices

SEO writing is an essential yet difficult skill to master. Try these SEO content writing best practices to rank higher.

What is SEO writing & importance?

Search engine optimization (SEO) writing is a critical part of the whole process of creating content. But it’s also a difficult skill to master. 

The goal of SEO writing is to create content both humans & machines can read. Machines are search engines that use algorithms to determine how pages rank in search engine results. 

We’ve put together a list of SEO content writing best practices that will help to write better for search engines.

SEO writing best practices are a good starting point for anyone who wants to improve their content. While there are countless ways to write, these guidelines can help you create well-written content optimised for search engines & human readers.

SEO Writing Best Practices:

1.Stay focused on the topic.

Staying focused on the topic is a basic principle in SEO content writing. Internet users want accurate results that get them what they need quickly as possible. 

So how do you stay focused on the topic? First, you should avoid using irrelevant words and phrases.

For example, if your site sells baby shoes, don’t write about how much fun it is to run or how great it is to take kids for walks in the park. Those are examples of irrelevant words and phrases. 

Instead, stick with keywords related to your niche like “shoes for babies” or “infant footwear,” so that search engines know what they’re looking at when they crawl through your content.

2.Write your content for people first.

It is important to remember that your priority should be pleasing people, not search engine algorithms.

When you write for people first without thinking about search engines or keywords, you can focus on your readers’ interests instead of your own. 

This best practice can help you write better content because you are no longer solely concerned with getting traffic from Google. Instead, you are focused on creating great pieces of writing that will resonate with readers across all platforms.

Of course, you may be wondering how this will help you with SEO. Well, the more people that read your content and share it on social media platforms ,the more likely it is that Google picks those. 

There are some interesting studies suggesting that Google can return results based on social media activity—whether or not its algorithm has been updated recently. So if your goal is to rank well in search engines, then writing for people first definitely makes sense!

3.Focus on quality over quantity.

When it comes to writing, there is no one-size-fits-all formula. The best approach is to focus on quality over quantity. Quality content is valuable, and if you can provide it consistently, you will earn the respect of your readers. 

On the other hand, if you focus on quantity, there is a risk of producing low-quality content that does not serve anyone well. 

If you want to provide a high-quality user experience for your readers, focus on offering value. 

4.Use short paragraphs and sentences.

To make your content easy to read, avoid long sentences by breaking them up into shorter ones (you can also make the paragraphs shorter). This will make your content easier to read and understand.

You can also use bullet points, bold text, and other formatting features to break up long blocks of text. If you’re struggling with grammar or sentence structure, consider getting help from a professional editor or proofreader before publishing your article.

Use headings and subheadings to break up text. This can make it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for in your content, especially if you’ve got a long article with lots of information. 

5.Vary your language.

Using the same words over and over is a sure sign of an unprofessional content writer. It also makes your article boring to read. Make sure that you use a variety of terms for things like countries or cities, people or organisations (e.g., instead of always saying “United States,” try “America” or “US”).

In order to keep your content fresh and help Google understand it better, you should use a variety of synonyms. For example, instead of writing “website” repeatedly throughout your article, try using the word “web page” once or twice.

Use active voice in your content. This makes your content more engaging and easier to read, as well as helping Google understand it better. 

6.Include outbound links to high-authority sites.

It’s important to include outbound links in your content, but make sure they are to authority sites. This will help Google understand that your site is a valuable resource for their users, which will lead to better rankings.

The more authority a site has, the better chance it has of ranking well with Google. 

Link to sites that are relevant to your content, not just general sites related to your industry or business. Linking out to general sites that have nothing to do with what you’re writing about will hurt your rankings.

7.Always link to internal pages on your site when appropriate.

Linking to internal pages is a great way to increase your search rankings. When you link to an internal page, it helps Google understand what your site is about. It’s also a good way to build your internal link structure. 

You can link to a page on your site that has more information about the topic you’re writing about. This helps reinforce your site’s authority and builds trust with your readers.

• Always link to internal pages on your site when appropriate.
• Link to internal pages when you’re writing about related topics. 
• Internal links are more important than external links. It’s better to link to an internal page on your site than an external one. 
• Don’t link to your homepage. It’s better to link to a more specific page on your site. 

8.Use targeted keywords in the first paragraph, body, and conclusion of your content.

This method is a part of on -page seo.This is another way to show Google that your page is worth reading. By using the keyword phrase in your first paragraph, you’re telling Google that this article pertains to the topic. 

It’s important to use the keyword phrase in the body of your content & title tag as well. This way, Google knows that you’re an expert on this topic.

Use long-tail keywords in your content. This is a great way to use keywords and rank well on Google. Long-tail keywords are phrases that are two or more words in length. They can be very specific to the topic at hand, which means they will help you rank better than just using one word.

9.Include a meta description that’s less than 160 characters.

The meta description is the short summary of your article. It’s usually shown below a search result, and it should be between 150 and 160 characters. The meta description is an important factor in SEO. 

The best practice is to include targeted keywords, but they should also be interesting and relevant to your target audience. 

The keyword you want to rank for should also be included in this field. If a visitor clicks on your link, they’ll see this first before reading the full article – so make it count! 

10.Include alt tags that include keywords in images and visual media with your content.

Alt tags are a great way to include keywords in visual media. If you have an image, it’s best to include the keyword that you want your post to rank for in this field. 

Image alt tags are important for SEO because they help search engines understand the content of images, which will help them rank them in image searches. 

Alt tag best practices include:

• Descriptive but not too long (no more than 100 characters).
• Include keywords and phrases relevant to your content.
• Avoid using generic terms like “image” or “photo”.

11.Write your content naturally.

While SEO writing is still important, the best way to optimise your content for search engines is to write naturally. This means writing in a way that’s easy for people to read, but also contains enough keywords and phrases to help search engines understand what your content is about. 

This can be tricky, but there are a few things you can do to make it easier:

• Use keywords in the title and meta description of your page. Use keywords in your URL, but don’t go overboard or it can look unnatural. 
• Use a variety of keywords, don’t just repeat the same one over and over again. 
• Don’t use keywords that aren’t relevant to your content. Avoid keyword stuffing, which means don’t add too many keywords just for the sake of doing so. 
• Don’t use keywords that are too long and hard-to-read.

Conclusion

The best way to approach writing for SEO is to create content that’s valuable and relevant to your audience. This means that you should focus on providing useful information in a format that’s easy for readers.

You should also do your best to make sure that the content you write for SEO is readable and engaging. If people enjoy reading your content, they’ll share it with others—which is a great way to build up organic search traffic.

In addition, don’t forget about accessibility when it comes down to simply making sure everything is easy on the eyes! With these tips in mind, we hope they help guide you through some of the more complex aspects of good SEO writing practices. 

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