SEO content writing: Should you write content for robots or humans?

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SEO content writing – should you write content for robots or humans

SEO content writing – should you write content for robots or humans

This is an age-old question, and it has been asked and answered umpteen times.

It is quite tempting to target search engine robots when writing content because after all we all want to improve search engine rankings. Not just improve, but possibly, get our legs at the first spot.

A FirstPageSage analysis has found that links that rank at the top on Google have an average CTR of 39.6%. Compared to this, the CTR of a link at the fifth position drops to 5.1%.

Therefore, it is tempting that writing for robots takes precedence over writing for humans. The problem is, it can be a pyrrhic victory if all the traffic that you generate does not lead to proportional business.

Whom to write for when you write content for SEO?

This Moz blog post tries to answer that. Although we all know that ultimately it’s the humans find your content on search engines, click the link, and come to your website or blog, to do whatever you want them to do, how to strike a balance?

Is there even a need to strike a balance? Shouldn’t good content automatically rank well on Google?

There are two worlds regarding this: an ideal world and an actual world.

In the ideal world, and even Google sometimes claims that this ideal world exists, you should simply focus on quality and your rankings are taken care of on their own.

It is like the concept of Dharma: you do your deed, and the outcome comes on its own.

But in the real-world things can be quite chaotic. Roughly 70 million new posts are published just on WordPress. Hundreds of billions of web pages are competing on Google to get at the top spot. Therefore, you cannot take the search engine robots for granted no matter how much you simply want to write for your human visitors. You need to strike a balance.

How do you do that?

SEO content writing: how to balance between robots and humans?

I’m writing about my own experience with search engines and humans. When I’m writing SEO content for my clients my first priority are the humans. I believe you write content so that it generates business for you. If it doesn’t generate business for you, no matter how much traffic you get, it is of no use.

On the flipside, no matter how good and relevant your content is if you don’t get targeted search engine traffic, all the effort of writing quality content goes waste.

Here are a few things I follow:

Use the primary search term in the title

This often proves effective. The primary search term must be an expression your visitors are most likely to use when looking for information regarding your topic.

For example, the focus of this blog post would be “Should I write SEO content for robots or humans?” or something like that.

Distribute the primary and secondary keywords throughout the text

But don’t force them. Keep them contextual. These are for search engines as well as human readers.

When you are making a list of primary and secondary keywords make sure your list contains all the words your target audience is likely to use. Be mindful that the way you talk about your business might be totally different from the way people talk about your business.

Use your keywords within the first 100 words.

The reason for this is that the Google crawlers may not crawl your entire web page or blog post. They may leave midway. This way, they will gather all the necessary keywords from the first or the second paragraph.

Use your keywords in headings and subheadings

Just as humans may skim your web page or blog post without reading the fine print, Google crawlers may do the same.

Both robots and humans skim your content by quickly going through headings and subheadings. If you use your target keywords in your headings and subheadings Google crawlers can make out what message you are trying to convey and they will also know what keywords you are using.

Write compelling titles and descriptions

These are meta tag descriptors, and they appear in search results when your link is ranked and displayed. The meta title appears with a hyperlink in the description appears below.

These are your marketing messages. Usually the main headline of your blog post or web page is the same as your meta title but they can also be different. Through your title you are targeting the search engine users.

Even if your link begins to appear in search results, if the title is not inspiring enough, people are not going to click. Use your copywriting skills.

Remember that if your CTR is low the rankings for the same link begin to deteriorate and if your CTR is good, the rankings improve.

Just as your title, your description is important too. Your description gives you further chance to convince search engine users to visit your link and read what you have written.

Use simple language

Writing is a beautiful, expressive medium. As a writer I wouldn’t advise you to curb your writing skills, but remember that people are reading your blog post or web page because they are looking for information and not for great literary work.

Use simple words and expressions. Express just a single idea in a single sentence. Don’t have paragraphs more than two sentences.

You can use a Flesch score analyzer in the beginning if you are not used to writing SEO friendly content. It scores your text between 0 to 100. The higher your score, the easier reading your content is. It can give you statistics such as ease of readability, average sentence length, and average number of syllables per word. According to various scores

  • A score between 90-100 is easier to read for a fifth grader.
  • A score between 60-70 can be easily understood by eighth and ninth graders.
  • Score between 0-30 is easily understood by college students.

Structure your content using the proper HTML tags

Appropriate HTML tags contribute a lot towards your higher search engine rankings.

<h1> is used for the main headline. It should be used just once on a web page or blog post. If you repeat it for every headline, it dilutes its effectiveness.

When you divide your text under various headlines the individual headline can be highlighted using the <h2> tag. They should preferably contain your keywords.

<h3> can be used for smaller subheadings that may come under the bigger headings of <h2> level.

In between you can also have bullet points as the Google algorithm thinks they usually contain useful information.

Be mindful of the length

Longer blog posts and web pages are known to perform better than the smaller ones but the rule is not written in stone.

Even a 300-word blog post can rank well depending on the reputation your domain enjoys and your brand presence on the web.

Nonetheless, write at least 1000 words. This is what I suggest to my clients. Even when I’m writing for my own blog I aim for 1000 words.

I have published more than a thousand posts and I have a decent presence on Google, so sometimes, I can also get away with small blog posts of 300-400 words.

My personal experience is, it is a mixture of frequency, relevancy, and eventually, the number of words you use, that decide your search engine visibility. The more high-quality content you publish (at least one post every day) the faster your content gets indexed by Google.

If you follow these guidelines, you pretty much automatically write for search engine robots as well as humans.

10 SEO copywriting tips to use whenever you publish a blog post

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10 SEO Copywriting Tips

10 SEO Copywriting Tips

A big reason why you publish blog posts every day is that you want to improve your search engine rankings. During the past 15 years since I have been providing professional content writing services, I have come across only 3-4 clients who wanted to publish blog posts for the purpose of broadcasting their messages. Otherwise, the primary purpose is always improving SEO. I’m not saying there is anything wrong in that.

SEO copywriting is an integral part of writing for the purpose of improving your search engine rankings. Copywriting doesn’t always mean writing for ads or promotional literature. You maintain a business blog because you want to increase your sales. You want to convince your ideas compellingly so that your readers believe you and then do business with you. Whenever your writing involves convincing people, it is more copywriting and less content writing.

SEO copywriting and SEO content writing are often interchanged but the sole difference is that when you use copywriting when writing, you also promote your business.

SEMRush published an infographic listing 10 SEO copywriting tips to follow whenever you write a blog post or web page. Here is the infographic:

SEMRush infographic on SEO copywriting

SEMRush infographic on SEO copywriting

As the name suggests, SEO copywriting is meant to improve your search engine rankings. Therefore, you need to take certain steps, you need to follow some procedures, to make sure that you are optimizing your copy for better search engine rankings. Here are a few things you can do

1. Find the right keywords

There are rumors that Google no longer needs keywords and you can use contextual language to convey to Google what keywords to optimize your content for. But the keywords still matter. You can use various online tools to find the keywords people are using to find your business. You can even use as simple a tool as Google. When you search for something on Google, Google also suggests other search terms. The search terms are being used by people.

2. Find out which questions people are

Questions and their answers are ranked better by Google. Questions are generally a treasure trove of keywords because they use exactly the language people use when they are searching for your business.

Therefore, there is a greater chance of ranking a web page with a question “How to find the best content writing services” higher than a web page having a simple title as “We provide the best content writing services”.

3. Keep search intent in mind

Figuring out search intent further helps you refine your keywords and reorient your language. What is the reason people are trying to find your particular web pages or blog posts? Are you satisfying that intent? Are they able to find what they’re looking for? The more emphatically yes the answer is, the better will be your search engine rankings.

4. What are your competitors writing?

If your competitors are enjoying better search engine rankings than you, they must be doing something right with their content. What type of content are they publishing? What keywords and search terms are they targeting? The infographic suggests research at least 10 competitors before you start writing content for your own website or blog.

5. Gather original data

Original data helps you write authoritative content. You draw your own conclusions. You make up your own mind. You display concrete results to your prospective customers and clients. You can conduct polls and surveys on your website for original content. You can also write case studies and white papers.

6. Optimize headlines and meta information

Headlines hook your audience. Your headline tells your readers what awaits them and why they should read your piece of content. In SEO copywriting writing headlines is one of the most important aspects of writing content. Meta tag information is the web page title and the description. This information appears in search results and have a great impact on your CTR.

7. When SEO copywriting, write easy-to-read text

Write smaller sentences. Write smaller paragraphs. Express a single idea in a single sentence. Don’t use complicated words. Remember that many people might be reading your web page or blog post on their mobile phone and on mobile screens it is difficult to read longer sentences.

8. Include relevant images

Images complement your copywriting. Images are not an integral part of copywriting because copywriting involves writing words, but when you are writing for the web you need to use images that keep your readers hooked. Images also present a welcome distraction.

9. Use appropriate CTA

Call-to-action is very important in SEO copywriting. You may not tell your readers directly to do this or do that, there must always be a hidden intention. What must your readers do after reading your web page or blog post? Should they subscribe to your newsletter? Should they download your e-book or white paper? People’s response to your call-to-action is an important KPI of your SEO copywriting.

10. Link to other blog posts and web pages from your current piece of writing

Interlinking solves multiple purposes. It makes it easier for search engine crawlers to crawl important parts of your website or blog. It also helps your readers find relevant information on your website or blog. It prevents you from writing duplicate content because if there are some concepts you have already written about, better link to them rather than writing about them repeatedly.

SEO copywriting is important at multiple levels. It allows you to write engaging content that prompts people to take an action while they are on your website or blog. It provides relevant information and at the same time encourages people to reach out to you for doing business. The SEO part is, writing your content in such a manner that it is interesting to read for humans and at the same time easier for search engine crawlers to crawl, index, make sense, and then rank for the appropriate keywords.

How to use subheadings to make your writing more effective

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When you are writing a blog post, a web page, a landing page, or even an email, you use a headline. Then you use headings. Then you use subheadings.

In terms of HTML, your main headline should be <H1>, headings should be <H2> and subheadings should be <H3>, or at least this is a format that I follow when I’m writing content for myself and my clients.

The headline grabs your reader’s attention and headings, and subheadings keep them reading. When they are getting distracted, your subheadings bring them back to your writing. The subheadings tell them why they should read further.

In this Copyblogger post Sonia Simone explains how to use subheadings to break a long piece of content into manageable pieces, separated by many headlines or subheadings. She compares subheadings to the steps in a staircase. Every step takes a person up or down the staircase of your blog post or your web page.

In the subheadings you can capture

  • Some irresistible facts you don’t want your readers to miss.
  • Phrases and expressions that spark interest
  • Underscoring what lies ahead so that the reader is prepared and excited.

Not just for readers, subheadings make even writing easier for you. In fact, as suggested by the author above, before writing the main body text, it is important to organize your thoughts under headings and subheadings and then you can expand them.

Search engine crawlers too find subheadings easier to read and process. If there is a hierarchy of processing the text then the title, the headings and subheadings are processed before the remaining text and hence, if you can capture the entire essence of your web pages and blog posts using subheadings, it also improves your search engine rankings.

The importance of web page descriptions and how to write a perfect web page description?

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How to write the perfect web page description

How to write the perfect web page description

Well, this is applicable to the description of any web page, including blog posts. How much attention do you give to your web page description? What exactly is web page description?

You don’t see web page description when you visit a website or blog: you need to see the source code. Description is a meta tag that is for search engines, content aggregators and social media websites.

A description is something like this

<meta name=”description” content=”Blogging can deliver you practically unlimited benefits but writing a regular blog is a tough nut to crack. It is better to working with a professional content writer.” />

Description is embedded within the source code. As I have just written above, it is not for the visitors but the search engine algorithms, content aggregators and social media platforms. It is automatically extracted – in most of the cases – when you post your link on Facebook or when your link appears in Google search results.

Of late Google has been randomly picking text sometimes instead of displaying the web page description, but in most of the cases, it is the description that shows up with your link and title.

Why is web page description important?

Google may randomly pick up text from your web page or blog post when displaying your link in search results, but it happens rarely. Most of the times, it is your description that appears with your title and your hyperlink.

Your description is your pitch. Through your description you convince people to visit your web page or the blog post. The title cannot capture the entire essence. The title is the main point, but you provide additional information on why people should read your web page, through your description.

Studies have proven that web pages and blog posts with a well-written meta description enjoy a higher CTR compared to those web pages who don’t have a meta description.

Every content management system (WordPress, for example) allows you to write the description of your web pages and blog posts separately.

How to write the perfect description for your web page?

Your web page description should be around 155-160 characters although many digital marketers have observed that Google may display a description that is more than 200 characters. The safer bet is around 170 characters. After that, Google truncates your description. Even if you want to have a longer description, describe whatever is the most important part of your description in the beginning. That way, even if Google truncates your description, your main point is put across.

Here are a few pointers to keep in mind when writing an effective description for your web pages and blog posts:

  • Answer the main question: What is the web page or the blog post about? Why should the visitor click the link and go to your web pages and blog posts to read what you have written or see what you have published?
  • The summary of your web page: Describe in a gist what your web page offers to the visitors.
  • Use your secondary keywords: I am assuming you have already used your primary keywords in your web page or blog post title. The description is the perfect place to use your secondary or non-primary keywords.
  • Use shorter, crisp sentences: You can use multiple sentences in the description. Capture one, small, idea in a single sentence. Longer sentences are difficult to read in a description.
  • Have a CTA: You can ask people to visit your link. Use a convincing call to action.

You write a description like a copywriter. It needs to be convincing. It needs to be persuasive. It should be to the point. It must convince visitors.

3 tips for hiring a good content writing company for your business

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These are not good visuals. Once they have been arrested what does it mean to be done like that

These are not good visuals. Once they have been arrested what does it mean to be done like that

Two things can make or break your content marketing strategy: The quality of your content and the consistency with which you publish it. You have got a good content writing company working for you if it can deliver both.

The problem is not finding the right content writing company. There are plenty. If you search on the Internet “content writing company” Google proudly displays millions of results and also tells you that it found the results in less than a second. Millions of results don’t matter. You will probably go through the top 4-5 results and send them a query.

In a couple of hours or in a couple of days you receive their responses. You set up a Google Meet with them to find out how they can deliver you the content that you need. Things begin to move.

They give you a “competitive” rate. They promise better search engine rankings. They commit to a consistent content supply. They also assure you that they are going to provide you high quality content. A dream come true.

Do such content writing companies exist? Yes, they do. You need to find them. Here are three important tips to find a good content writing company for your business.

Make sure they have a professional website

A professional website is a commitment. It ups your stakes. A professional website is costly. You often need to hire a web designer, or you need to spend time giving professional touches to the website yourself. The website shouldn’t look like a general WordPress template.

The website must have all the components of a business website such as (aside from the homepage) services page, about us page, contact us page, and even a blog section (more about it later). Every page on the website must solve the purpose. I know there are some pages that are essential for search engine optimization but still, every main page of the website must make sense and should be written to communicate the core philosophy and deliverability of the website.

The content writing company must understand your need

This begins when you initiate communication. Do they understand your business? Do they know your requirement, sometimes even beyond your understanding?

I have worked with many content writers and there is a big difference between content writers who run their own business as a company and those who simply provide work as freelancers by listing their names on the various freelancing websites and social media platforms. People who run a business understand your business. You can read that between the lines.

For example, a content writer who doesn’t work in a company will simply focus on the topic without instilling a sense of personality. But a content writer who runs his own business understands how to run a business and he or she brings the same experience to you when writing your content.

The content writing company has a consistent fee structure

Content writing fee is an important issue both for the content provider and the client. There must be a reason for the content writing company to charge what it charges. The fee shouldn’t be random.

When I tell my clients how much I charge they know why I’m charging that much. After that I don’t negotiate because I know that to be able to deliver quality and consistency there is a certain amount of money that I must make. There are many content writing companies who will negotiate to insane lengths and then compromise with quality, originality and deliverability.

Finding whether you are paying the right fee or not can be a tricky question if you don’t understand how important content is for your business. As the famous saying goes, “if you offer peanuts, you get monkeys”.

Hence, look for a content writing company that has a consistent and logically defined fee structure.

As I have written in the beginning, content is a crucial part of your content marketing effort. It is the backbone. You consistently need high quality content. If you are constantly changing your content writing company, it hinders your content writing efforts. Don’t be in a hurry when looking for the right content writing company. Take your time finding one.