Are you integrating SEO writing into your online content?

You should be if you’re not!

SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s tactics you use to rank your content on search engines so that your stuff gets seen first.

Many content creators, bloggers, brands, and business owners make the mistake of not using SEO. The problem is that the internet is vast and highly competitive.

Everyone has competition by now, so you have to have a strategy in place even to be seen by your audience.

Your competition is likely SEO writing, and because of that, they’ll outrank you if you don’t use those tactics on your own.

But search engine optimizations sound hard just by the words. It seems too technical and too analytical. While there are many technical and analytical SEO tactics, there are plenty of strategies that anyone can use once they learn them.

You don’t have to be an ace at SEO writing, but you at least need to be doing the basics.

1 – Spend Time on Keyword Research for SEO Writing

Try to research keywords before you devote effort to SEO writing.

This should be done for every content project you take on, be it a blog post or a web page. Effective keyword research is going to benefit your search engine ranking position.

There are plenty of free and paid tools available for researching keywords. A few tools I love to use are SEM Rush, Uber Suggest, Keywords Everywhere, and of course, Google Search Console.

If you don’t quite understand what keyword research is, consider it this way: When you search for something and click on that first result, that content creator likely used tactics to research and implement the keyword you used to search for that content.

If you want to get good at one thing for SEO writing, get good at keyword research.

2 – Study Your Competition’s Content Frequently

Determine who your competition is through search results and study their content.

If there is a keyword that you want to rank for, search for it on Google. The first few organic (non-ads) results will be your search competition.

Open up their articles or links on Google and study them. Try to understand what makes their writing so nice. What questions do they answer?

What information do they lack? Find that out and write it down for your content creation.

You should be researching your keyword and search competition every time you want to write a new piece.

3 – Understand Keyword Placement and Density

One of the most common areas of SEO writing mistakes is keyword placement and density.

It’s important to understand where your keyword needs to be. In addition, knowing how often your keyword should be in an article or on a web page is also essential.

If your keyword is used too much, you can be penalized by Google. You don’t want that. That can harm your search engine ranking.

If you use WordPress as your blog or website system, I highly recommend installing Yoast SEO. It’s free and one of WordPress’s best SEO add-ons. This addon will help you identify where to put your keyword and how many times you should include it.

The biggest tip with keyword placement is that the keyword should naturally blend in with the content.

4 – Create Only the Best Content You Can Make

One of the number one rules of SEO writing is to create the best content you can make.

The best way to get to the number one spot on Google Search is to write the best content possible. This is content that is well-researched and well-written.

When you research your search and keyword competitors, you want to note how excellent their content is. They got to that number-one spot for a reason. You can get to it, too. You have to create the best content you can make.

Google will rank content higher when someone searches for a keyword, clicks on the content, and doesn’t hit the back button.

If someone hits the back button, that tells Google that your content didn’t answer the searcher’s query for the keyword you’re trying to rank for.

5 – Audit Every Sentence When SEO Writing

SEO writing is like writing a book. Every sentence counts.

Like a book, if the sentence isn’t exciting, people will quit reading it. So every sentence in a book needs to hook a reader in continuously, and they need to keep reading the content.

The same concept applies to articles, blog posts, and web pages.

You need to audit every sentence you write. Does the sentence provide value? Does the sentence encourage the reader to continue reading?

Don’t make the mistake of adding fluff or filler content because you want to make the piece look bigger. But, unfortunately, it won’t end well for you or your readers.

6 – Become a Grammar and Editing Expert

You need to make sure you edit all your content. People notice mistakes and will hold them against you.

Google and other search engines want you to use the best grammar possible. They want the sentence structures to look nice. They want to see that the author has used wise editing tactics.

Before publicizing any content online, you should re-read your piece and make edits where required.

One of the best tools in the world for this is free Grammarly. I use the premium edition because it offers more features. I write a lot, so it has already paid off for me.

Using Grammarly is help automate your editing is excellent but make sure you’re using your editing skill along with it because Grammarly doesn’t always edit perfectly.

7 – Create an Outline and Plan Content

The best way to conduct SEO writing is to create an outline and plan your content.

I like to start by creating a title after researching my keyword and deciding what I want to write about. However, some people wait to make a title until after they’re done writing. You can do either.

I then create headings throughout the outline. These are going to be sections of the article. They’re the sub-topics I want to cover in association with the main title.

I then add bullet points to each section/heading to note what I will write about in each section. This will help you remember things in case you forget.

After that, I fill in the blanks. Creating outlines makes creating content so much easier.

8 – Write for Mobile and Skim-Readers

Long-form content is acceptable, but you must write for mobile devices and skim readers more than anyone else.

Everyone is using mobile these days. Mobile is easier to use, and everyone can access your blog or website on their smartphones. Because of the popularity of using mobile, it’s best to write for a mobile audience first.

Ensure the content is easy to read and follow on a mobile device.

You also need to write for skim-readers. People like to skim or scan when they read an article with a mobile device. Creating short paragraphs and sticking more to one-line sentences will make it easier for people to skim-read and scan.

Read your content on your phone before you make it public. Then, if you have to stop scrolling from reading it all, you need to edit it and ensure the reader doesn’t have to stop scrolling for too long.

9 – Write as Often as You Can

The only way to get good at SEO writing is to write as often as possible.

Start a blog and post once a week. If you can do it, post two or three times a week. If you’re really into it, do what I do, post a blog post every day.

The more you write and write using SEO, the better you will get at it.

Writing every week or every day will help you learn much about yourself and writing in general.

You’ll improve not only at SEO writing but also improve overall at writing and editing by writing all the time.

10 – Niche Down and Solve the Biggest Problems with SEO Writing

If you want to rank number one on Google Search, you should niche down to make it easier.

A niche is a topic you blog about. My niche on this blog is content creation and digital marketing. I could niche down further by focusing on blogging. I could narrow it down further than that by focusing on WordPress-powered blogging.

You get the idea of what a niche and niching down means.

Choose a niche that you’re passionate about. You need to know what you’re talking about. If you don’t, it’ll show in your content.

After you find your niche and you niche down, focus on creating content that answers the most critical questions and problems of your industry. Do that, and you’ll be at the top in no time.

SEO writing isn’t as complex as you thought, after all. You can do it with a bit of practice and by following the expert tips above. Doing it more often will become a habit, and things will get a lot easier. That’s why it’s essential to write every day. If you enjoyed these tips and would like to learn more, please follow me on Twitter for more information.

About the Author

Shawn Gossman has created content, blogged, ran online communities, and shared a passion for digital marketing for over twenty years. Shawn believes the best way to help content creators, businesses, brands, and marketers is to give away more than you sell. The same advice is recommended for the readers who follow this blog. Shawn also offers various services for extra help in content creation and blogging.