Key Considerations When Writing Content

SEO Guide Step 5

• Expert content for users
• Know your audience
• Know the goal
• Make quality content
• FAQ: What are the key considerations for writing content that appeals to both users and search engines?

Expert Content for Users

What to Write About: Content convinces potential customers and the search engines that you are a subject matter expert. You need content that’s uniquely yours. It must provide some original, compelling benefit to users, whether that’s insight, research, tools, reviews, advice, or a tutorial like this one.

As you research keywords, analyze competitors and so on, you’ve probably discovered your website’s real issue — you have insufficient, weak, or out-of-date content.

How can you create webpages that work for users and search engine spiders alike? This SEO lesson gets you ready with the key considerations for writing quality content.

We’ll teach you some crucial questions to consider before picking up the proverbial pen.

SEO Tip: Refer your copywriting team to this page. It could help them produce higher-quality content.

Know Your Audience

Job No. 1 when writing content is to attract and serve customers — the people who would want what your website offers. Your content must meet their expectations, grab their interest, and lead them to whatever conversion goal the site has.

So, primarily write for people, not search engines.

You’d write differently for teenagers than you would for graduate students, family-focused homeowners, or retirees. Keep your target audience in mind. It will help you know how to write SEO content that addresses their needs in their words and reaches them effectively.

To identify your audience before you write, ask these questions:

• What kinds of people are interested in my product/service/information?
• What are they looking for?
• What needs/questions would they have on my site?
• What communication style would feel natural to them?
• How can my site make them feel welcome?
• What would appeal to them and make them respond?

Know the Goal

Before writing any webpage or blog post, have a clear goal in mind. Otherwise, you’re likely to write rambling text that isn’t relevant to anything.

The goal shouldn’t be “to rank high for keyword XYZ.”

Instead, always set a user-focused goal. For example, this page’s goal is to prepare web copywriters to write content that works for users and search engines.

Search engine optimisation often inspires content writing.

Your research for SEO may uncover a relevant keyword that your website hasn’t talked about yet. Looking at competitors may spark an idea for a great infographic that’ll attract new visitors.

Focus on the customer when you write.

When you sit down to create those new pages, focus on the customer. Make something useful.

Later, you can tweak and optimise your content for SEO. (You’ll learn how in this SEO Guide.)

For search relevance, keep your copywriting focused on the goal and the page’s keyword subject. For example, if you write a page about how to water ski, but half the text describes picnicking on the shore, your page’s relevance to water skiing gets diluted. The search engines (and possibly users) won’t know what your page is really about.

Make Quality Content

Quality is the name of the game in web marketing.

Search engines can detect what’s original and compelling versus spammy or duplicated content. In fact, Google even gives penalty warnings to sites that have “thin content with little or no added value.”

Expertise is also needed for your site to rank. Depth of content helps (that is, having a LOT of pages on your site about a topic). So does having an expert author. If you don’t have an in-house expert, consider interviewing one for your blog.

Searchers have advanced along with the search engines. People use longer text queries now — four to five words is the average. They also use conversational queries and voice search. People also have higher expectations of finding useful content.

So, as search engine algorithms get better at determining user intent, websites must deliver quality if they want to compete for customers and search engine rankings.

SEO GUIDE BONUS VIDEO

This short video explains why average or poor-quality content, no matter how many pages you have, can actually harm your rankings.

Here, marketer and reporter Murray Newlands from Search Engine Journal interviews Bruce Clay on the importance of quality content for SEO. They also discuss how to deal with ranking penalties resulting from low-quality content.

What Makes Quality Content?

To create quality content for your website, here’s a short checklist of dos and don’ts to keep in mind.

Do:

• Write original, unique text.
• Use keywords in a way that reads naturally. (Remember, write for users!)
• Write for the way people read online, with shorter sentences and paragraphs.
• Use bullets, numbered lists, and headings, which make a page easier for readers to scan.
• Include images, embedded videos, and other engagement objects.
• Follow our guidelines for how to add keywords to your content (covered in the next lesson in this SEO Guide).

Don’t:

• Overuse keywords (also known as “keyword stuffing”).
• Try to optimise for keywords that are unrelated to the website’s contents.
• Duplicate content pages.
• Hide text from users that show to search engines (such as putting text on a same-colour background).
• Try to deceive search engines in any way (known as “webspam”).

Summary of Key Considerations When Writing Content

• Write for your customers, not spiders.
• Have a goal for each page.
• Focus on your keyword subject.
• Make it interesting; make it useful.
• Go for quality.

OK! Now you’re ready to learn how to include keywords naturally for users — and effectively for SEO — when you’re writing content.

Next Lesson

Related blog posts and articles

• What Makes a Webpage Quality?
• 10 Steps to Improve Your Content Strategy (and Your Marriage, If You’re Into That)
• Avoiding Duplicate Content
• The SEO Copywriter’s Checklist
• Why Thin Content Still Ranks as a Top SEO Issue to Solve
• Guide to Leveraging Industry Expert Interviews to Write High-Quality Content

Want more help with content strategy and SEO? Bruce Clay teamed up with PR veteran Murray Newlands to write the book Content Marketing Strategies for Professionals.

Available on Amazon

FAQ: What are the key considerations for writing content that appeals to both users and search engines?

When running a business, crafting content that resonates with human readers and search engine algorithms is paramount. Achieving this balance requires a nuanced approach, considering various key considerations.

1. Audience-Centric Approach:

Start by understanding your target audience. Research their preferences, pain points, and interests. Tailor your content to address their needs, ensuring it’s engaging and valuable.

2. Keyword Research:

Keyword research remains foundational. Identify relevant keywords and phrases that reflect your content’s topic. These should be seamlessly integrated into your content while maintaining natural readability.

3. High-Quality Content:

Search engines favour high-quality content. Ensure your content is well-researched, informative, and free from errors. In-depth, comprehensive articles tend to perform better.

4. Engaging Headlines and Subheadings:

Create compelling headlines and subheadings that include keywords and entice readers to explore further. These also improve the readability of your content.

5. Mobile Optimisation:

With most internet traffic from mobile devices, ensure your content is mobile-friendly. Use responsive design and test how your content appears on various screen sizes.

6. User Experience (UX):

A smooth user experience is vital. Optimise page load times, ensure easy navigation, and minimize intrusive ads. Users are likelier to stay engaged with content that offers a seamless browsing experience.

7. Multimedia Integration:

Incorporate images, videos, and infographics where relevant. Visual elements enhance user engagement and can also be optimised for search engines.

8. Internal and External Linking:

Include internal links to related content on your site, aiding in user navigation. External links to authoritative sources boost your content’s credibility and SEO.

9. Social Sharing:

Facilitate social sharing by adding share buttons. Content shared on social media can generate valuable backlinks and increase visibility.

10. Regular Updates:

Keep your content up to date. Search engines favour fresh, relevant information. Regularly review and refresh your content to maintain its relevance.

Writing content that caters to users and search engines requires a thoughtful approach. Prioritising what your audience wants to know, combined with in-depth keyword analysis and a slick UX experience, will create content that ranks high in search results.

Step-by-Step Procedure: 

1. Understand your target audience.
2. Conduct keyword research.
3. Create high-quality, error-free content.
4. Craft engaging headlines and subheadings.
5. Optimise for mobile devices.
6. Prioritise user experience (UX).
7. Incorporate multimedia elements.
8. Use internal and external linking.
9. Encourage social sharing.
10. Regularly update your content to keep it fresh and relevant.