Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Regardless of the industry your business is in or the kind of content you provide, you’ll need to optimize your website for SEO.
Writing blog posts is an effective way to improve the quality of your site. Well-optimized blog posts that make strategic and thoughtful use of keywords will help you attract more targeted traffic. They are also an excellent way to provide new content on a regular basis, which search engines value highly.
It sounds simple, but Google’s algorithm is very complex and it can sometimes be difficult to understand which criteria the robots are referring to when they rank one blog post higher than another.
In this article, the experts at our Montreal SEO agency share their top tips for writing blog posts that are perfectly optimized.
Table of content
1. What is an SEO article?
An SEO article is editorial content designed to improve the rank of a web page in search engines. SEO (Search Engine Optimization) involves the strategic integration of relevant keywords and a well-designed structure (use of H1, H2 tags, etc.) within informative, high-quality content. The goal is to make the page more visible in search results, attract qualified traffic and encourage engagement or increase your conversion rate. A successful SEO article responds to the needs and questions of your audience while respecting SEO best practices to improve the visibility and credibility of your entire website.
A web copywriter who specializes in writing SEO content plays a key role in achieving top search engine results. Writing a good SEO article requires a thorough understanding of how to use SEO techniques and how to create authentic and engaging content. With this combined approach, web copywriting becomes a powerful tool for improving a web page's ranking.
2. Writing relevant content
It seems obvious that your content has to be relevant: you need to meet your audience's expectations by offering them quality articles on appropriate topics. A practical content strategy should make visitors want to click, which is why it is so important to choose the right topics for every one of your articles.
If you're short of inspiration, consider appealing directly to your subscribers or customers. When your find that a particular question comes up regularly at customer meetings or in online comments, turn it into an article. This way you’ll know you are addressing a topic that readers are already interested in. You can also ask your audience what they want to know more about via your social networks (using a poll, for example).
In addition to meeting your audience's expectations with quality articles, consider analyzing what your competitors are doing. This could involve taking a close look at their most popular articles to understand which topics resonate with audiences. Competitive analysis permits you to identify content gaps or unique angles you could explore.
You should also consider analyzing the performance of previous articles to figure out which types of topics your visitors liked best, as this provides a clue as to what to publish in the future.
3. Choosing keywords
One of the most important criteria for writing effective SEO articles is the choice of keywords. You need to precisely define a set of terms you want to rank for, and make sure they're relevant. To do this, choose one main keyword and then find several other terms that are also related to the subject of your article. These other terms are known as long-tail keywords, and they are sets of more specific words that are related to your main keyword. There are a number of tools you can use to do keyword research, including Google Ads, and it’s a good idea to refer to them for help.
Don't be afraid to choose very precise terms, as broader keywords are generally much more competitive and therefore harder to rank for. Broad search terms logically appeal to a much larger audience. Users tend to ask specific questions on search engines to save time and access the right information more quickly. By selecting a group of related terms, you'll be able to meet your target audience’s expectations more accurately.
4. How to structure an article for SEO
The structure of an article is crucial to SEO success. A well-structured article must follow numerous rules that make it as easy to understand as possible, not only for your visitors, but also for Google.
4.1 To send a clear message, use hN tags
Hn tags are a great tool to use in your copywriting, to communicate clearly what each article is about. In simple terms, hN tags are the titles of sections and paragraphs. There are six types, and the most important is the H1. This tag is analyzed the most often by search engines, so you need to pay special attention when you write one, and always include an important keyword that you want to rank for.
By using hN tags, you make it easier for visitors to find the right answer to a specific question. In fact, hN tags can lead readers directly to the section of an article that interests them, without being tempted to leave your page. Search engines also appreciate these tags, because they don’t have to waste time analyzing how you’ve organized information. Instead, they can easily and quickly present your web content.
4.2 Write meticulous meta-title and meta-description tags
Next, remember to write an appropriate title tag and meta-description. These two elements are what users will see displayed in search engine results, and it is your job to make sure they make users want to click.
The title tag must absolutely contain the main keyword of your article, and should not be identical to your H1 tag. Yes, the two should be similar so that Google can easily index your page, but never simply cut and paste the same phrase. We also recommend that you keep your title tag under 70 characters, including spaces.
As for the meta description, while it is not technically one of Google's SEO criteria, it remains a vital element for your readers. Search engine algorithms consider click-through rate when they decide where to position your article, which means it is important that you can attract attention directly from the search results. A good meta-description will definitely bring you new visitors directly from organic search results and help you increase traffic to your website.
5. Optimizing text content
Optimized text content is a pillar of SEO. This process involves expanding the semantic scope of each article by incorporating relevant terms and phrases related to your target search intent. This will enhance relevance and improve visibility on search engines.
Writing must remain focused on the reader, and keywords should be integrated in a natural, fluid way. When you optimize an SEO article, you enhance the reading experience while complying with search criteria.
Also, content writing should involve using a rich and diverse vocabulary. Today, Google is able to detect the level of language used in an article and can identify whether you're using the same terms over and over again. Repeating exactly the same keywords and expressions is a poor choice, both for your SEO and for your readers. Remember to vary your vocabulary and use synonyms when writing optimized content.
6. Optimizing visual content
If you want to integrate images into your content (which is highly recommended), you'll need to optimize them as well. First, consider the size of your pictures: the heavier they are, the more of an impact they will have on your site's loading speed, which will in turn affect your SEO. Google tends to favor fast websites, and a slow loading time could drastically increase your bounce rate.
Go ahead and compress your images as much as possible without reducing their quality. Also, mobile searches are becoming increasingly popular, so your image format should suit all platforms via responsive web design. You don't want your readers to be put off by an image that doesn't display properly.
Another point to consider when doing copywriting for the web is the importance of adding alt tags to your images. An alt tag is an alternative text used to describe a visual when it is not displayed on screen. To add an alt tag you'll need to rename your images and include relevant keywords. This allows users to understand your content even if it does not display, and helps web crawlers understand your images and index them. You can also embed a keyword into your image, and Google will be able to link it to your article to further help your SEO.
7. Internal linking and backlinks
Finally, internal linking is a great practise for improving your SEO performance. In simple terms, internal linking permits you to link your pages to one another via internal links and organize your articles accordingly. There are several benefits to this type of strategy: your readers can be redirected to other related or more specific articles, and your website will be even better optimized for search engines. Internal links permit smooth internal navigation and decreased bounce rates as users will tend to spend more time on your site. It is also a good way of attracting your visitors to less popular pages on your site, by integrating links to those pages into your articles.
In addition to internal links, there are also inbound links, or backlinks. Backlinks are a mainstay of SEO because they act as votes of confidence from other websites. A quality backlink from a reputable and relevant site tells search engines that your content is credible and useful, which can significantly improve your ranking in search results. Backlinks help to increase your site's visibility and authority, contributing to greater recognition and reach on the Internet.
Our SEO writers are here to help
Creating SEO-optimized blog posts is a demanding task that brings many rewards. It's very important to pay attention to how you write your articles, since small changes can make a big difference to your ranking.
SEO involves following many rules and it can be complicated to respect all of them down to the letter. Are you overwhelmed by the complexity of effective SEO writing? At My Little Big Web, our experts can write SEO-optimized articles for your blog. If you have questions or need help developing your online visibility, feel free to contact us via our form!
FAQ Writing SEO articles
1. How can I become an SEO writer?
Becoming an SEO copywriter involves acquiring specific skills in both web copywriting and search engine optimization. An SEO writer’s expertise combines the ability to write engaging and informative content with the strategic use of keywords, correct article structure, and a thorough understanding of users’ search intent.
An effective SEO copywriter knows how to write content that is both appealing to readers and SEO-friendly, to improve web pages’ visibility and search engine ranking.
2. How do you write an effective meta description?
An effective meta description is concise, engaging and informative. It should clearly summarize the content of your page in 155 to 160 characters at most. Incorporating the main keyword and a call to action can encourage clicks. Each meta description should catch the reader’s interest from the very first words and clearly communicate the contents of the page. The meta description for every page of your website should be unique.
3. How can you measure the effectiveness of your SEO content?
To confirm that your SEO content is effective, you need to track key indicators such as organic traffic, keyword ranking, click-through rate (CTR) from search engine results pages (SERPs), time spent on page and bounce rate. Using SEO analytics tools and Google Analytics can help you understand how users interact with your content and identify areas for improvement. Regular analysis of these metrics will offer valuable insights for optimizing your SEO content strategy.
4. Can artificial intelligence be used for web copywriting?
It has become a common practise to use artificial intelligence to write SEO articles. AI can help generate content ideas, article structure, and even write SEO drafts. However, AI should be seen as a tool that supports human writers rather than a total replacement for copywriting, especially if your goal is to maintain content quality and authenticity. Integrating AI into web copywriting can speed up the process and optimize content for SEO, but finalization and editing often require a human brain.
5. What are the best practices for writing SEO-optimized articles?
Best practices for SEO article writing include choosing relevant keywords, crafting a catchy title, clearly structuring content with H1, H2 tags, etc., and creating quality content that meets the needs of your target audience.
A good SEO strategy should include appealing meta descriptions, optimized images with alt tags, and easy-to-read, engaging text. The use of relevant internal links and backlinks, as well as regular content updates, are also key elements to improve the visibility of an SEO on the web.
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