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Writing reader-friendly content automatically improves SEO

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Reader friendly content writing is good for SEO

Want to improve your SEO? The first thing that you need to do is write reader-friendly content because this is the sort of content that is ranked higher by search engines whether it is Google or any other. Through your content if you solely concentrate on SEO, you neither improve your search engine rankings (in some cases you do, but it hardly pays) nor your conversion rate. Coming to the point, here is how you make your content reader-friendly:

  1. Create a meaningful title for the webpage or the blog post: Many content marketing experts and established copywriters believe that the title of your webpage or the blog post is as important as the body text because on the Internet grabbing someone’s attention is very important. If people don’t come to your page, if your title does not draw them in, there is no chance of them ever reading your webpage or blog post. This can be achieved by writing a compelling and to-the-point title. Writing a great title tells people what your blog post or webpage represents and has to offer. The search engines make out what your webpage or blog post intends to communicate by analysing your title. Spend ample amount of time writing your title.
  2. Make sure the body text has high-quality and relevant content: Unless people really like your content it is never going to enjoy better SEO, so make sure that your written content solves the purpose for which it was written. If your title says that your webpage or blog post solves a particular problem then actually solve that problem rather than simply beating around the bush and leaving the reader hanging. Provide the solution. Help people. Deliver what you have promised.
  3. Be mindful of the language that you use: Preferably you should write in the language people use but sometimes some writers go overboard and end up using really crude language that doesn’t look good on a business webpage or blog post. When I say use the language that people use what I mean is, use the sort of language people use to find your product or service on the search engine. For example, I need to decide whether I should write more content about “content writer”, “content writing services”, “web content writing” or “need business writer” and such. They don’t necessarily have to be the same words because these days even related and contextual words can get you higher rankings even when you have not used the main keywords. The gist is, neither dumbify your writing nor make it too hard to read.
  4. Use shorter sentences and shorter paragraphs: Remember that when you are writing commercial content you’re not showcasing your literary skills and all the prestidigitation that you can do with words and phrases. The sole purpose of your writing is improving sales and leads. So use concise sentences that are stick to the meaning. This will also help those who are reading your content from their mobile devices.
  5. Make your content scannable by using headlines and bulleted points: Organize your main thoughts using headlines and bullets. Take for example these bullets that I have just now used. Even if you don’t read the paragraphs you can just read the highlighted bullet points and you can make out what I’m trying to say. Your headlines and bullet points are the regions where the search engines quickly go through to find relevant information and then evaluate your content accordingly. It also makes it easier for people who don’t want to read the whole thing and just want to scan your material.
  6. Link to existing content without compromising the wholesomeness of your current page or blog post: Since many people might be reading your content using their phones and tablets avoid using lots of links to other pieces of content at the cost of the meaning of your current webpage or blog post. Use the hyperlinks only when the topic is totally different and it would help your readers learn more but if they don’t want to click or tap the hyperlink they shouldn’t miss anything.

Why reader-friendly content improves your SEO?

Why do you want to use a search engine like Google? It is because in most of the cases you are able to find what you’re looking for and you also like the quality of the content that comes up on the results page. You wouldn’t be happy with the search engine if you rarely find high-quality content. So Google has to constantly think more about its users and less about people trying to promote their services using the search engine because you cannot force people to use your search engine but if many people use your search engine you can always force businesses to adhere to your guidelines. Most of the major search engines make it a point – through their algorithms and ranking patterns – that you make your content as reader-friendly as possible and if you keep on creating high-quality reader-friendly content they rank your content well, automatically improving your SEO.

Many clients hire me to create SEO content. They give me SEO titles and a list of keywords and they want me to write content around those titles and keywords. For a while I have also promoted my SEO content writing services but in reality, when I’m writing SEO content I’m simply writing high-quality reader-friendly content. The rankings of my clients improve and so does their conversion rate.

How better content improves your search engine rankings

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Better content improves your search engine rankings

I have many clients who need content to improve their search engine rankings and this is why they hire me. They know that I can write them optimized content without having to resort to keyword stuffing and creating nonsensical content just to fill up blog posts and webpages. But how does it actually happen? How does better content improve your search engine rankings?

Better content and search engine rankings are interconnected

Search engines survive on the strength of the content they can index and rank for the users. Why would you use Google if you don’t find what you’re looking for? When you use a search engine you’re looking for some information that you can trust and rely on. Suppose the search engine is unable to provide you that information? What do you do? Perhaps due to the preconceived reputation you go on using it for some time but eventually you give up and then you try to find another search engine that can give you better results. When you shift your focus to another search engines, the search engine you have abandoned (Google, for instance) loses business because in order to earn money, they need more users.

This is the reason why the quality of your content matters to the search engines. Is this foolproof? No way. Lots of shoddy content shows up, undeservedly, on the first page, even at the first spot at the first page, but with every successive update (Penguin, Panda, etc.) they are weeding out such aberrations.

You will be surprised to know that the search engine algorithms these days also take into factor your bounce rate. If people aren’t spending much time on your blog or website, it means you’re not providing value. If people are going through various links within your website and spending a couple of minutes going through your important pages, the search engines can make out that your content is worth reading, and hence, good. If you don’t have well-written content, if your content doesn’t provide the information people are looking for, they leave your website within a few seconds. How do you keep people on your website longer?

  • Create compelling headlines.
  • Deliver on the promise you have made in the headline and in the title
  • Use shorter sentences because many people access your content via smaller screens, for example mobile phones and tablets
  • Don’t create very big paragraphs
  • Don’t clutter your webpage with unnecessary animations, images and links (every distraction can cost you a customer)
  • Make your content shareable

Social validation these days is as important as creating quality content (but don’t just focus on social validation at the cost of creating quality content). How many people find your content worth sharing? In this Moz Whiteboard Friday presentation Josh Bachynski explains how it matters that authoritative people in your niche talk about your content and share it on their own timelines and blogs. The more such people promote your content, the greater search engine improvements you experience.

Social validation depends a lot on how better you can make your content. It is voluntary action. People will promote your content only if it adds value or at least delivers something they are looking for.

So focus on the quality rather than quantity. Hire a content writer not to produce bulk content for you, but high-quality content.

Relation between content writing and SEO

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Relation between content writing and SEO

Although content marketing has gone pretty much mainstream, people still want content writing to improve their search engine rankings. They’re still looking for an “SEO content writer”. There is nothing wrong in trying to improve your search engine rankings with targeted, high quality content writing, but this should not only be the purpose of it. The main purpose should be providing useful information to your visitors. The main purpose should be to engage them and help them remember your product or service in a positive manner. The purpose of content writing is to generate enough relevant content to take care of all the questions and apprehensions people may have about your product or service.

So you shouldn’t hire a content writing service for SEO?

I’m not saying that. Many clients hire me because they want to improve their search engine rankings through well-written content. But when I’m writing content for them that is not my sole purpose. I focus on the quality of the content, its relevancy and the justice it does to the subject matter at hand and then the SEO side is taken care of automatically. Yes, you need to strategically use the keywords (because if they don’t appear on a particular web page or blog post the search engines aren’t yet evolved enough to interpret the relevance) but those keywords must be a part of the overall message rather than forcibly trying to convey that the content is optimised for them. When you cannot draw the line between optimisation and keyword-spamming you are in for some trouble.

You don’t necessarily get penalised. Even keyword-stuffing works sometimes and people are able to get good search engine rankings with keyword-spamming. But what’s the use of getting traffic (unless you can generate an insane amount of traffic to make up for lesser conversion) if that traffic doesn’t convert? Remember that 20 people buying from you out of 200 that visit you is far better than 5 people buying from you out of 1000 that visit you.

Some clients can understand this some don’t. When they want my content writing services to improve their SEO I have gained enough experience not to try to educate them against solely getting content written for SEO. They get wary of my intentions and go find another content writer. Then neither get enlightened nor do they do business with me. Instead, I tell them that through my content writing I’m going to improve their search engine rankings and then I try to create high-quality content for them so that their search engine rankings improve automatically?

Does high-quality content writing necessarily mean better SEO?

No, it’s not. It depends on your competition. Some keywords are highly competitive and it’s very difficult to get better rankings for them unless you have written hundreds of pages on them and high-quality blogs and websites are linking back to you.

If you face tough competition for your primary keywords then start with your keywords that are less competitive. If you’re selling wristbands and if you face lots of competition ranking for this keyword, maybe you can try something like “wristbands with green beads” or “wristbands with rough green beads” or something like that. Target broader terms and create high-quality content around them. This sort of intelligent content writing definitely improves your SEO.

Why you should create evergreen content and how to create it

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Evergreen content

Evergreen content is just like an evergreen movie or an evergreen song – something that you can experience and enjoy irrespective of when you watch it or listen to it. Evergreen content never goes stale. It’s like the immortal wisdom of great philosophers; it is timeless, it is fundamental, it can be applied in any age. No one says about evergreen content that it is out of date or irrelevant.

Why should you create evergreen content when it is always recommended you create topical and contemporary content? Both have its value but the benefit of creating evergreen content is that it is always useful. A blog post that you write in 2014 will provide the same value to a person who reads it in 2018. Maybe the examples that you use won’t be relevant, but the inherent message will still be.

A good example of evergreen content would be, writing a blog post on the importance of headlines. Catchy and compelling headlines will never go out of fashion. They were used to grab attention back in the 1700s and they’re still being used to grab attention these days. Their fundamentals never change.

Similarly, writing something about nutrition can be evergreen (they are just examples, you may have your own example coming from your own industry, realm or subject). Can eating nutritious food be ever irrelevant (unless there is no need to have food and we can simply swallow a capsule or tablet or even use a one-time shot to do away with the need for food, forever)?

Why publish evergreen content on your website or blog?

  • To keep your content relevant for a very long time
  • To make your content appropriate for long-term content curation
  • To encourage people to link to your content without worrying about it becoming irrelevant after a while
  • To enable your content to generate revenue for a long time rather than for a short time
  • To encourage people to share your content with each other without worrying about irrelevancy and outdatedness
  • To focus on quality rather than quantity and timeliness – when you prepare evergreen content you are in a more relaxed frame of mind and you are able to focus on the quality rather than worrying about missing the deadline
  • To create a portal of knowledge – with more and more evergreen content on your website or blog comes to be known as a portal of knowledge for your particular niche
  • To improve your long-term SEO – evergreen content not just enjoys good search engine rankings, but lasting rankings. This is because as people share your evergreen content more and more the relevancy of your content for the search engines keeps on increasing

How to create and publish evergreen content?

  • Mind your niche: First of all your content needs to be niche-specific. There is no sense creating evergreen content for a dating website that talks about how to survive in the Sahara (unless of course there is a connection). So make a list of topics that you think will draw people to your website in relation to your business rather than as a random occurrence simply because at that particular time they happen to be looking for how to survive in the Sahara.
  • Pack as much information as possible: Long form content fares better in search engines compared to shorter articles and blog posts. People tend to curate comprehensive, detailed content because it contains the information they need, in detail. Don’t be so detailed that one piece of content goes on and on. Use your own judgment. Try to think from the perspective of your reader. Don’t assume he or she knows what you know.
  • Lists are better compared to unformatted paragraphs: Take for instance “15 things that make your content go viral”; it is better than “How your content goes viral” or “How to make your content go viral”, followed by long streams of text. People want to know exactly how much they are going to learn.
  • Write about occasions and seasons: You may feel that writing about Christmas, Diwali, Ramadan or the Valentine’s Day are once-in-a-year of occurrences and hence might not be evergreen. But they definitely attract yearly traffic if you have written something like, “20 ways to avoid post-Christmas depression” because people need such articles every season. Similarly you can write “50 items to stock in order to survive a long power cut during winter”. Or something like “5 things you should immediately do during an earthquake”.
  • Create a “Regularly Updated” section: This is a section that, as the title suggests, you update regularly and since you update it regularly it is constantly having fresh content and hence you can call it evergreen. In order to seek fresh, useful content, people are going to visit that section on an ongoing basis. Your business blog can be one example.
  • Create an FAQs section: When people use your product or service they constantly need to know about it. Sometimes they have technical questions, sometimes they have existential dilemmas, whatever, whenever they have a doubt, they head to your FAQs section.
  • Create an online forum: Having an online forum is a great way of creating evergreen content because people are constantly posting questions and answers. If you notice, even posts and answers created in 2004 may appear in search results sometimes.

This is no way a comprehensive list because every business need is unique but this list gives you a basic idea of how to create evergreen content for your business that generates ongoing traffic for a long time.

So how much effort and money do you invest in guest blogging?

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Guest blogging, as Matt Cutts says in this blog post, isn’t as good an idea as it used to be a few years ago.

Guest blogging is done; it’s just gotten too spammy. In general I wouldn’t recommend accepting a guest blog post unless you are willing to vouch for someone personally or know them well. Likewise, I wouldn’t recommend relying on guest posting, guest blogging sites, or guest blogging SEO as a linkbuilding strategy.

Being lazy, being possessive about what I write and being highly distracted (and of course there was also this fear of rejection faced by every author) I was never much into guest blogging although it always hung over me like a heavy weight. People were doing wonders with guest blogging. People made entire careers out of first guest blogging and then blogging.

Let’s be frank. There are very few bloggers and webmasters who guest blog simply to add value to the blog or online magazine where their content is published. In most of the cases guest blogging is done to get quality back links because when you publish your writing on another blog or website, they also publish your profile with a link back to your website or blog. Fair enough.

In a recent blog post titled After content marketing, definitely focus on networking I stressed upon the point that it is not wise to solely depend on Google and other search engines for qualified traffic. You should develop your own traffic sources. If and when I indulge in guest blogging, it will be more for expanding my presence rather than getting back links.

Guest blogging gives you recognition. It helps you build audience for your own blog or business website. It gives you the much needed initial thrust. In fact, it would be wrong to say that I barely invested in guest blogging. In the early days of business I submitted scores of articles (those days I used to develop websites so my articles were on this topic) to many websites and most of my traffic came from their and this gave me a big boost and I’m still benefiting from that effort.