Sunday 27 March 2016

Top 10 Tips for Great SEO Writing


Isn't it amazing how technology has advanced? Information at our fingertips. Simply type in a few choice words or phrases and a wealth of information is right in front of you!

Unlike the passive procrastinating on Facebook and Twitter (we're all guilty!), people who are searching the internet are motivated and focused on finding a solution. From looking for the greatest birthday gift to quantum physics, searchers are highly motivated people hitting websites. Keep this in mind when producing content for your website.

Given that search engines have become indispensible to today's society, modern marketers need to understand how search engines work. Combining this knowledge with effective SEO writing will give your business website the leverage to become successful in the world of search.

Professional web copywriter, Leigh Cooke Southampton says "SEO writing is a modern art form, where businesses need to carefully incorporate SEO techniques in to all areas of their online communications - website copy, blogs, articles, You Tube videos, QR codes, social media... "

Why SEO writing is important

SEO writing is a combination of search engine optimisation (SEO) and good writing. SEO writing is vital to increasing the number of visitors to your website. Use of SEO writing techniques makes your website accessible to search engines - Google, Yahoo and Bing. Getting to the top of the search engine rankings is important for your website hit rates.

Where is SEO writing important?

SEO writing is used in many digital communications. From website copy, article writing, blog writing, advertisements and editorials - SEO writing is found in content online, everywhere. High quality SEO writing is the difference between being at the top of the search engine chain or being buried at the bottom.

How search engines work

First off, let's take a whistle stop tour of how search engines work. Search engine robots or spiders (algorithms) are constantly trawling the internet for key words, ranking them as important and relevant.

Important rankings are based on popularity and frequency of the key word(s) searched. Relevancy rankings are based on organic SEO techniques - original, useful and easy to read content.

Organic SEO writing ensures search engines locate your website via keywords and phrases, listing your website higher in the search results.

Top 10 Tips for SEO writing

Professional copywriters use proven SEO techniques to boost SEO rankings for websites. There are numerous SEO hints and tips to help get your website to the top. Whether you're a professional freelance copywriter, content writer, blog writer, article writer or writer of all trades... here are 10 top tips for SEO writing to get you started!

1. Creative writing

Search engines love useful and well written content - whether it's in your tri-weekly blog, press releases, website copy or article writing. When creating new copy or updating existing copy, the first step is to write for your audience. Great SEO writing talks to the audience in terms they understand and can relate to. Engaged and motivated readers want to share useful information with links and 'likes'. This increases the page's ranking and in turn, increase website visitors.

2. 100% original copy

Copy and pasting any written form will send you straight to Search Engine Jail. Do not pass go. Do not collect great SEO rankings! Any writing which has been duplicated (even from your own website) will destroy any credibility and SEO rankings your site will have achieved. The plagiarism police are protecting useful and high quality SEO writing, from pesky copy-thieves! Unique website copy is the way forward for great SEO rankings.

3. Key word research

As a content writer, researching key words relevant to your audience is critical in gaining online respect. People have to like your content first, before search engines do. Gathering intelligence of the key words and phrases people use to find information is essential for quality SEO writing.

Speaking the language of your audience increases your credibility among your audience. A great place to start building your keyword base is Google AdWords. This key word tool is great for freelance writers, copywriters, content writers, blog writers and marketers - anyone who is involved in SEO writing.

4. SEO writing with key words

As we've established, search engines are pretty darn clever. They will identify repeated key words, and deem the website shallow and not very useful. Leigh Cooke Southampton suggests using as many different words relevant to the topic as possible. A wide range of vocabulary and synonyms relevant to the topic will be seen as useful and authoritative. Grab your thesaurus and get creative with words!

5. Bold, italics and underlining

SEO writing with keywords in bold, italics and underlining helps optimises your copy for search engines. It is important that it is only keywords using these tags. Overkill will confuse the search engine, weaken the effect and decrease your SEO rankings.

6. Titles for SEO

Page titles are incredibly an important aspect for SEO writing. The title should be an accurate description of the content to increase the SEO rankings.

Search engines display just 70 characters of your page title - so ensure the title is concise and choose your words carefully

Placing keywords near to the front of the title increases web page visibility and SEO rankings

Raise brand awareness by using the brand name in the title

Search engines respect keywords in the h1 (heading 1) tag, allowing a greater focus on selected keywords

Subheads using h2 and h3 tags will also score points with Google

7. Numbered lists

People love lists. They provide structure, identify an amount and appear as useful topics. Using lists in your SEO writing present useful and easy-to-read content which people will link back to your web page, blog or article.

8. Link building strategies

Great SEO writing is built on high quality and compelling content. Engaging the reader is the first step to boosting SEO rankings and conversions. Customer actions, recommendations and links are the second step for great SEO rankings.

Guest writing - submitting comments and feedback as experts on other sites, with links back to your website enhance your credibility and company presence

Social networks - content distribution and sharing creates a dynamic network, allowing new people to see your work

Articles - article writing is a great way to increase your company's exposure and authority in industry. Original and useful content which drives direct traffic back to your site

Link out - engage in issues relevant to your industry. Linking out will increase your visibility and allow for others to link back to you

9. Meta tags

Not sure what to enter in this field of your blog platform? Well, it's a pretty important aspect of your SEO writing. The Meta description is the part which appears under the link of the search results. Clear, concise and articulate writing is important as it influences the click through rate. Lead with a key word or phrase, and succinctly summarise the content for the reader. You want to tell them that the information they are looking for is contained within your webpage.

10. Professional SEO writing

So you have 101 things to crack on with, and your website content takes a backseat to all the tasks of running a business. But, you still want regular and fresh content for your website. Hiring a professional content writer to create unique SEO writing, allow you to focus on running your business, while still having the advantage of new and compelling articles written by a professional copywriter.

A freelance writer brings original, creative and compelling, content for your website. New and fresh online copy increases your website's search engine ranking, enhances credibility and most importantly, gains new and repeat customers. Content writer, Leigh Cooke Southampton, says work by professional freelance writers are 100% unique, optimised for key words and phrases and written specifically for your audience.

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