According to Google Ranking Factors, SEO content is one of the top three parameters of ranking. This means that any website, which wants to have a high level of performance needs to concentrate on SEO content writing.
Content on digital channels has to satisfy, not only user intent but also search engine intent. This means that in order for search engines to identify and analyse content, it has to be properly optimized.
In this article, we will look at some important questions on SEO content like-
- How to write SEO content in 2024?
- Are SEO content writing services a viable and credible option for brands?
- Should brands request agencies for SEO content writing samples before proceeding to hire them?
- What are some of the ways in which brands can generate high-quality content ideas?
Let us begin with all these questions in order to understand SEO content writing better in 2024.
How to write SEO Content in 2024?
There is a saying in the digital industry that is famous. The saying goes that while everyone can more or less write, not everyone can write SEO friendly content. Creating SEO content is a technical art, which comes with experience, inputs, insights and the use of SEO tools.
The key to creating high-quality SEO content means content, which is-
- Original, informative, useful and adds value to the readers.
- Done after conducting thorough keyword research.
- Content, which is keyword injected, researched and optimized according to tools like SEO Yoast.
- Is ideally long format- (1500+ to 2000+ words)
- Has a Call-To-Action to engage audiences and direct them towards the next step.
SEO content writing is not something, which is easy and convenient. It has to integrate itself with many different departments and SEO tools. For example, your SEO content writer should be familiar with tools like MOZ, AHREFS, Keyword Explorer and so on. He should also know about terms like Focus Keywords, Long Tail Keywords, LSI Keywords, H1, H2, H3, etc.
In many ways, SEO content is the foundation of a high-performance website. This means that website content, blog content and social media content (if any) need to follow the same alignment and strategy.
Are SEO Content Writing services a viable and credible option for Brands?
Most brands do not have the bandwidth to set up their own SEO content writing team. In such instances, they leave it to their Digital Marketing Agency to help them with content. One of the most important fallacies that brands exhibit is not paying too much attention to SEO content.
They fail to realise that for search engines, SEO content writing is of paramount importance. To further highlight my point, digital marketing experts consider content to be as important as link building when it comes to improving rankings, attracting website traffic and generating more sales and leads.
While some SEO content writing services offer great expertise, most of them are unprofessional, lack expertise and cannot deliver the intended results. This is because most of the smaller agencies cannot afford to use SEO tools like MOZ, Ahrefs, and so on. These are paid tools, which have high monthly subscriptions.
Their writers have never used such tools. Without using these tools, it is very difficult to do proper keyword research and create SEO) friendly content. It is very important that brands do their research before appointing someone to take care of their SEO content writing.
Should Brands request Agencies for SEO Content Writing samples?
SEO is as much an art as it is a science. This means that SEO content writing is highly technical in nature. IN such an instance, brands should always ask their agencies for SEO content writing samples. If an agency sends you a sample, you need to evaluate it according to several parameters.
For the benefit of people and audiences who are unfamiliar with the exercise, I am listing some of the important ones below-
- Ask for both long format content-writing samples (2000+ words) and shot format samples (500-600 words).
- Check the samples using Copyscape Plagiarism Checker. Do not accept a link. Give them a topic and ask them to create a fresh writing sample.
- See the Keyword density and organic keyword placements. For a 2000+ word article, the keyword density can be 1%-1.5% (20-25 times).
- Make sure that supported and related keywords are also used (the best SEO writers will give you a list of three to four related keywords). The density of these keywords can be 4-5 each.
- Check to see whether the keywords are being used in-
- The Title of the Article
- Meta Description
- First Line of the article
- Sub-Headings of the Article
- In-content
If the article is SEO friendly, you will see after analysis that it ticks of all the above checklists. If it does not talk to the agency about it and see what they have to say.
What are some of the ways in which Brands can generate high-quality Content Ideas?
As I have already mentioned, Google ranks quality content as one of its top three ranking factors. This means that every brand needs to work on their content with expertise, creativity and professionalism.
The best brands have a yearlong Content Marketing Strategy and plan. This helps them align their website content, blog content, social media content and promotional content along the same lines. Content ideas are critical to creating content, which is engaging, informative and adds value to the readers.
- Brand should see some of the industry authority websites to ascertain the kind of content that those websites are promoting.
- Content Strategy Tools helps brands to see search volumes of some topics in industry categories that people are searching for. This is the part of doing great Topic Research and Keyword Research.
- It is also important that brands follow Topical Trends and create content, which is in vogue. You will see many brands doing topical posts on Social Media Pages.
- Try to create content, which helps solve problems and issues of people. You might have noticed how brands, which manufacture kitchen equipment, always, talk about recipes in a big way. This helps them attract neutral audiences who like cooking in general.
- Have a strong Inbound Marketing Strategy linked to your SEO content strategy.
Conclusion
Given the number of websites and blogs on the web, it is important that brands follow the best practices of creating content at all times. Creating the right kind of SEO friendly content can have tremendous positive repercussions on your brand and its performance.
Do let us know what you thought about the article in the comments section below. You can also add value to the article by telling us about some of the Content Writing Tools that you use to create content for your brand website or blog.