SEO, or search engine optimization, is one of the most common terms I have heard talked about. Though there are only a few people who fully understand the concept of producing SEO content, there are still a lot of people who claim to be a SEO content writer.
In the real sense, many people need help understanding the concept of SEO or what SEO content does. I’ll try to break it down in this post. Put simply, SEO is how a website’s content is improved to gain relevance on search engines. The more optimized your website content is, the higher search engines, especially Google, rank them. The higher the ranking, the easier it will be for people to find them when searching a query on that particular subject.
Who is an SEO Content Writer?
An SEO content writer is a person who uses several SEO strategies to improve optimization in the creation of content for websites or blog articles.
It is essential that anyone who calls themselves a content writer possesses an innate understanding of what it takes to write content that ranks high on major search engines. Now, let’s find out what an SEO content writer does.
What an SEO Content Writer Does
Some people interchangeably use SEO copywriter and SEO content writer. The truth, though, is that the two do entirely different things. An SEO content writer creates written content that doesn’t just contain specific keywords but is also superbly written and easily understandable.
For example, blog content is to be written about critical oil drills. A good content writer’s job is first to deliver the message they are supposed to return to the target audience in a way that is easy to understand.
The second job is to insert the keywords seamlessly into the article or content so that the overall flow is clear. It should also keep the reader and intended target from the message they are supposed to decipher. Inserting keywords correctly is a delicate balance only that only the best SEO content writers can accomplish without problems.
How Content Writing Affects Your Business/Website
The principal aim of content writing for any business or website is to promote your business or website to the public. High-quality content increases traffic to the website and grows the visibility of your brand or business.
The public is naturally curious, always searching for information, products, or services. With quality content, your business can provide this information, products, and service to the interested public. The more quality content you produce, the higher the chance your website gets more visitors, or your business gets more clients.
The same thing goes for lousy content writing. Suppose the quality of the content written on your website is poor; visitors will not stay, leading to a low Average Time On Page. Most search engines use this as a ranking factor which will reduce the visibility of your site.
Good quality content writing leads to the growth of a business or website. Bad content writing leads to a decline in your website or business. Which would you pick?
How SEO Affects Your Website/Business
Search engine optimization helps your business or website by increasing your ranking regarding specific keyword search results. Basically, it means that content with great SEO will appear on the first pages of results for search engine queries related to your keywords.
Continuing with the oil drill example, let me assume a search engine user is looking for the mechanism of oil drills. When he types in the keyword oil drills, an article with a good SEO ranking will appear on the first page of the search results.
A higher ranking means the possibility of your content or article getting a click is higher than if it was on the second or third page. There are more things you can expect good SEO content to do for your business.
- SEO content gives Your Business More Online Clients and Sales.
- It gets your Website targeted Organic Traffic which comes at no cost.
- It provides your business website with an improved online presence.
- Optimized content gives Your Business or Website Better Lead Generation Numbers.
As I said earlier, improving your business’s SEO is not an overnight activity. It involves regular website optimization to improve your search engine ranking. Churning out one good SEO article occasionally may not help your business or brand. However, your website or business’s ranking improves with an optimization strategy and dedication to the regular production of great SEO content.
Google Ranking and Penalties
The saying there’s nothing new under the sun doesn’t ring more accurately than when it comes to the internet. For most search queries, numerous websites provide the answer. However, Google uses algorithm to sift through these websites and rank them based on how much they conform to some parameters.
I’ll touch more on the Google ranking factors later. Still, as a business owner or website owner, I want you to understand the importance of Google ranking. I would like you to consider a marathon or an exam. Only the best performers get the prizes. The same applies to Search Engine page ranking. Only the content with the highest Google ranking ends up on the first page.
Many have asked me what determines how well a website or business content is ranked. Here are some factors that Google AI considers when deciding to give ranking to content or a website.
Consistent Publication of Good SEO content
I’ll be honest with you. There is no greater factor that contributes to content ranking than always creating great content. The phrase “Content Is King” has its origin in this fact.
I have helped several business owners improve their Google rankings. The first thing I advise is regular content creation at least once or twice weekly. By posting regular content, you establish yourself as an authority over time. If you have plans to improve your Google ranking, start by creating regular content.
Incorporating Keywords in Meta Titles
The meta title is the title that shows at the top of all the websites when the search results arrive. Every webpage has a meta title that is an HTML code. The job of the meta title is to indicate the webpage’s title and add a description of what the webpage contains.
There is a greater chance of higher ranking when your webpage title contains one or more keywords from your article. Incorporating keywords in your meta title is easy and is achievable in minutes.
User Experience and Engagement
Another factor that Google algorithms consider when ranking websites and content is the level of user experience and the amount of feedback for users. In former times, UX and user engagement was important factor.
As Google AI improved, it evolved and included user feedback as a factor for ranking. For your website, the goal should not only be to create great content but encourage feedback on that content. That is one of the reasons blog posts with comments, and social shares rank higher.
Niche Expertise
A niche is your area of expertise. In order to qualify as an expert in a particular place, your website has to have more than ten web pages discussing various aspects of that niche. Your web pages must have keywords that relate to a niche in order for search engines to rank them.
So, strive to qualify your website as containing expert content on a niche, and watch your ranking grow. Getting the expert label also highlights how important it is to ensure that your website always has fresh content.
Internal Links
For website owners or business owners with websites, a great way to get a higher ranking on their website is to have internal links. For instance, I have a website where I sell drilling equipment. The first thing I have to do is write a lot of informative articles on drilling equipment.
After I have done that, I’ll link these web pages together. Or I could provide a link in several web pages that take the reader to another website page that elaborates on the types of drills I sell. Providing several contents with internal alerts the Google AI about the quality of the original webpage and improves the ranking of my website.
Also, linking to other resources improves User On-Site Time telling Google that the information is relevant to the reader.
What causes Google Penalties
Now, let me talk about Google ranking penalties. Google penalties are the opposite of rankings. When Google AI identifies some things in your websites or webpages, it reduces your ranking.
Here are some factors that contribute to Google’s penalties.
- Using hidden links, hidden pages, or using links from link farms all call for a penalty.
- Using a domain that contains a spamming link, or was previously used for shady activities.
- Plagiarism.
- Having a domain name with more than one hyphen.
- Infusing too many keywords in your webpages commonly called keyword stuffing.
Why Hire a Content Writer to Help You Rank
The primary reason you should consider hiring an expert SEO content writer is that they will, in the long run, help your website gain visibility. They do this by carrying out keyword research that helps them create content for you with the exact keywords that would increase your ranking chances.
Apart from researching on you’re the perfect keywords that boost traffic to your site, good SEO writers also research your competitors. Knowing what your competitors are doing right is a great way to improve yourself. Since they are experts, they will analyze factors helping your competitors rank better than you. Then they infuse them into your website to make you rank higher.
Also, a freelance SEO writer will present a fresh pair of eyes that will decipher what you are doing wrong. Aside from producing SEO content, an SEO content writer should also conduct an initial audit of your website or business. The purpose of the audit is to know what you are doing wrong so they can correct it.
Finally, an SEO content writer should be able to optimize the content on your website by creating the right content for the target audience regularly. Optimized web content pushes you closer to the top of the pile in the search results, meaning that your target audience see you.
How to Hire a Blogger?
Knowing what professional SEO content writing services can do for your business, a lot of care has to go into hiring one. As a business owner, you should have a clear-cut plan before hiring an SEO writer. Here are some things you must do before hiring one.
Design Audience Profile
Identifying your target audience is the first and most crucial step in creating the right content and identifying the perfect SEO writer for your business. For instance, if I start a cat blog, I know that majority of my target audience will be cat lovers.
Knowing who my target audience is the first step. The next step is to draw up a profile for that target audience, knowing what these people love, hate, or are non-committal about. Learning these things will help me develop a mental image of whom my blog caters to and the type of blog post to write. When you know who your platform is for, the next thing is to understand how to talk to them.
Brainstorm Your Content
Now that you have a profile for the target audience, you next must create topics that you know will appeal to them. There are several ways to think of your content. One way is to visit the popular rival websites and see the content with the most visitor engagement.
Since Google AI prioritizes originality, you must offer a new view on these topics. Trawling through the internet should give you at least twenty topics. From these twenty topics, hold a brainstorming session to cull these topics down to ten. These topics should be the ones you are sure will guarantee the highest traffic and engagement.
Hire The Right SEO Writer
The next step is selecting for the right SEO writer who understands your ideas. This person should be able to turn your concept into optimized content that both search engines and readers enjoy.
The right SEO writer for you has to understand what you are trying to achieve and have the necessary skills to achieve them. They also need to have a track record in executing similar projects with a reasonable success rate. So, you have to consider not only the quality of their content but how their content fits in with your plan.
Also, you can use the services of an SEO content writing agency. An SEO content writing agency is a team of content writers that helps their clients with content creation. Whatever type of blog post you need, whether it’s a product description, guest post, listicle, or others the content writing agency will write it.
Tips for Hiring Article Writers
Here are a few tips to help you know the SEO writer that fits into your plan to make your hiring process faster. A good SEO writer will have the following qualities.
1. Has a clear-cut plan on how to achieve the desired ranking. Especially when it comes to content marketing strategy and creation.
2. Consistently follows the best SEO practices in content production.
3. Has an SEO writing process that is easy to follow and has a track record of verifiable results.
4. They have a clear line of communication between the two of you.
5. Has relevant industry publications and carries out keyword research.
6. Knows how to use SEO tools.
Any SEO writer that exhibits these qualities will provide what you are looking for. Go through their previous work to verify their claims. If you are satisfied, hire them and make a success of your website.
Talk to an Experienced SEO Writer for Your Content Needs
Search engines remain the major traffic source for most websites today. If your website has a high Google ranking, you are sure of more traffic to your website. Optimizing your web pages is the key to achieving this.
My name is Benjamin Thomas, and for the past five years, I have helped various clients reach their target audience through content marketing. Send me a message today so we can find out how I can help you increase your conversion rate and meet your business goals.
