It’s 2022; what better way to usher in your business this year than to increase its visibility on Google’s search engine result pages.
Here are the top 10 SEO copywriting pointers to pointers to help your business get on Google’s first page results.
1. Keyword choice when writing
Keywords are like web landmarks. They help Google locate and rank pages, sites, and businesses related to specific search queries. So, before creating content for a topic, the first thing to do is perform keyword research.
The outcome of keyword research provides you with an analysis of the various keywords linked to your specified topic, the volume of search results they generate, and their difficulty. And even though you might be tempted to write content for the number one keyword for your topic, it’s usually not the best practice, especially when your site is relatively new and lacks the relevant authority and backlinks to back up the keyword.
The best thing to do is to research and write to rank for a keyword related to your topic but less competitive than the top keywords. This way, your business can start earning the clicks and visibility you desire early on.
2. Check out and review the top-ranking website
You’ve done your keyword research, and you’re feeling good about yourself and ready to conquer the market. However, there are additional factors to consider, such as existing websites and businesses.
Even though you selected a less competitive keyword, businesses still rank on the first page for those keywords. So, now it’s time to perform a little recon mission of your own.
First, search for your relevant keywords and see which sites rank for them. Then go through their content and structure to see what they are doing right. The goal here is not to create a replica of the content, but rather to find out how to make your content better than theirs so you can rank better in the SERPs.
3. Write intentionally to satisfy specific search queries
Because people use Google for various reasons, search intent is frequently classified into four categories: transactional, navigational, informational, and commercial. For example, some people search to gain knowledge and perform research, while others search to transact, purchase or sell items.
Google will likely promote service and business pages for transactional keywords. While for informational keywords, blogs, how-to articles, and research resources will be the first things on the search pages. Identify the category your keyword falls into and create content that satisfies that intent.
4. Quality is Key
Quality is essential in everything, including content creation. Google values its customers and always promotes quality content that meets their search needs. When evaluating web content, Google uses specific signals and identifiers to determine the quality of web material while reviewing it. Those signals include:
- Unique analysis and reporting
- Authoritative sources and authors
- Grammar and spelling checks
- Thorough content
These listed signals help Google identify which content to promote above the other to the specified search query.
5. Do justice to the topic
Write to provide value. When writing, one question to ask yourself is, “what would I be looking for in this content if I were the reader?” The answer to that question should help you include content that would do justice to the topic.
Moreover, you can also research questions related to your topic that people are asking and provide answers to them. Doing this will help make your content richer and more valuable to future readers.
Furthermore, Google recently started ranking content based on specific passages that answer search queries. So, when your topic and content provide value to readers, Google indexes specific parts of the passage relevant to the search queries and highlights them for the reader.
Above all, ensure your content is structured properly and broken down into segments that are easy to read and understand by both humans and search engines alike.
6. Use a content optimization tool to avoid guesswork
There are many things to consider when writing for SEO purposes. Important considerations include which sub-topics and focus keywords to include in the text and which synonyms will help my content rank higher.
Regardless, these choices and decisions can be somewhat confusing and pose a challenge to writers. A content optimization tool can help make your life easier by performing these analyses and giving you an actionable result to incorporate into your content.
7. Avoid typos, long paragraphs, and long sentences
Nothing deters readers like grammar errors and typos. Grammar and typos present an idea of unprofessionalism and carelessness. Their presence in your content can make people close your site and return to the SERPs to look for more professional sites without errors.
Even more critical than poor grammar is long paragraphs and sentences. Long sentences are sometimes uneasy to follow and end up confusing the readers. Instead, make your content accessible to everyone by using short sentences that are easy to understand.
Moreso, avoid using long paragraphs that are more than five lines long. Long paragraphs can easily deter your readers by making reading your content seem like an uphill task.
8. Use media to keep readers engaged
Good content is essential, no doubt, but having engaging content is vital to ensure your readers stay engaged without giving up halfway. And the best way to do that is by using rich media that is relevant to your content to break up your content into smaller segments. These media content will create a rich mix of colors in your content while giving your readers something to feast their eyes on.
9. Add important links and anchor text to your content
Just like how referrals are essential to a business owner, so are external and internal links to content. These links help extend the reach of your content by making them accessible across a wide range of websites and posts.
The anchor texts that hold the link are also as important as the links themselves. Texts like click here are generic and should be avoided in your content. When creating links in your content, ensure the anchor text is relevant and natural to the destination page.
10. Check your results occasionally
It’s one thing to create good content, but it’s important if it remains invisible to readers. If Google doesn’t understand your content, then there’s a good chance that your content will remain invisible to potential readers.
To avoid this, check your content regularly by logging into your Google search console to ensure that Google understands your content. It would also help to optimize your meta tags and descriptions to help Google understand and process your content better.
Finally, ensure you review and update your content using recent trends and new information to keep it fresh and current.
SEO is not a one-time trick. It’s an art that takes time and practice to master. However, by applying the above tips to your content creation process, you can increase the visibility of your post or business and start reaping the fruits of lead generation.