9 Tips for Creating SEO-Friendly Content

“If you’re going to post content on your website, take the time to make sure Google takes notice of your effort.”

Marketing for your brand or business means that you need to make your online presence felt.

With Google’s search algorithm becoming increasingly smart and advanced, you also need to keep up by providing your audience the content they want.

In order to achieve targeted search rankings, you need to understand search intent, write SEO-friendly content, and present it in a structured manner.

In this blog post, we’ve compiled 9 tips and tricks that’ll help you land on the top of SERPs.

So, let’s get started!

How Do I Create SEO-Friendly Content For My Website?

Here are 9 rock-solid tips you can begin with:

1. Start With Keyword Research

Research relevant keywords to understand your target audience and buyer persona. Don’t stuff keywords. Instead, find out what your audience is looking for, or what questions they are asking.

In order to incorporate targeted keywords into your URLs, meta-description, alt image tags, and headings, you need to:

a. Understand search intent
b. Find out search volume for a specific keyword during a given time period
c. Focus on long-tail keywords with low search volume and keyword difficulty
d. Use the Google Keyword Planner Tool

2. Determine Search Intent and Identify the Right Format

Search intent is the purpose with which a user makes an online search. There are four types of search intent:

a. Informational Intent: Search made to gain knowledge about a particular subject
b. Navigational Intent: Search made in order to visit a specific website
c. Commercial Intent: Search made with the intent of making a purchase
d. Transactional Intent: Website visit with the intention of buying and completing a transaction

Provide your audience with content that is presented in the right format. Use SERP features to recognize search intent.

3. Create a Well-Optimized Meta Title

Meta title tags are essential HTML elements that you can create by using highly-targeted keywords. Use unique meta titles to rank high on SERPs and also improve your website’s click-through rates.

Title tags are among the most important on-page SEO elements, and include high-ranking keywords. Modern CMS platforms have code-based templates enabling you to create a highly-optimized meta title for your website.

A well-optimized meta title:

a. Is correlated to search intent
b. Is upto 60 characters in length
c. Includes target keywords
d. Encourages users to visit your website

4. Optimize the Meta Description

Adding meta tags to describe web page content improves your website SEO. The meta description acts as an ‘organic ad’ that has the potential to raise your website CTR.

What Are the Benefits of Using SEO-Friendly Meta Descriptions?

a. Meta descriptions appearing on SERPs present an ‘organic ad’ of what your webpage entails.
b. Defining the meta description enables your website to rank for inclusion of relevant content.
c. Showcasing content relevant to the keyword you’re targeting helps you increase the CTR for your website.

How Do I Optimize Meta Descriptions?

Here are four best practices for optimizing your meta descriptions:

a. Create Unique Meta Descriptions: Create a different meta description for every web page.

b. Follow the Ideal Length: The optimal length of a meta description ranges from 135 to 160 characters.

c. Use Targeted Keywords: Make use of keywords that you’re targeting in your meta descriptions.

d. Add Value to Your Description: Incorporate a value proposition in your meta description and show readers the value they are getting from your content piece.

5. Create a Catchy H1

“A 10-13 word headline is found to drive 2x traffic, and the most engaging ones are in the form of lists, backlinks, and guides.”

H1 tags can substantially improve your website ranking. They enable search engines to understand what your webpage is about. Add a captivating H1 to be spotted by search engines.

All heading and subheading tags that you use can improve the SEO and accessibility of your web page. Serving as introductory content to your audience, H1 headings should be in a conversational tone or include numbers. An example is ‘9 Tips for Creating SEO-Friendly Content’.

6. Structure Your Content and Make It Readable

Research shows that 56% of articles with H2, H3, and H4 tags perform well in terms of traffic and engagement.

Organize content in the form of headings, subheadings, bullet points, and lists.

Make use of a hierarchical format where the H1 is your main heading and the rest of the headings follow (H2, H3, and so on).

This will increase the readability of your content and give users, as well as search engines, clarity on the subject you’re writing about.

7. Add Visual Content and Optimize It

Did you know that blog posts integrating video content attract 300% more inbound links?

This makes visual storytelling a powerful tool to get the message across to your audience.

Include visual content in the form of checklists, infographics, and videos to add value to your website and improve SERP rankings.

Top 3 Benefits of Using Visual Content

a. Keeps visitors on the web page
b. Serves as a quick guide to readers
c. Enables you to rank high on SERPs

8. Make Your URL Readable

Using a descriptive, and easy-to-read URL that contains target keywords is an SEO best practice.

URLs can contain specific folders or subfolders on your website, enabling visitors to jump straight to a specific section.

Why Do URLs Matter?

Well-written URLs enable you to:

a. Improve user experience
b. Increase website visibility
c. Give a better idea of context

9. Adjust Interlinking

With Googlebot, Google crawls websites using internal and external links.

Connect your web page with related resource items available on your website. Interlink your homepage to the most important web pages. This will help Google discover the relationship between different pages and the content available on them. It will also enable you to promote other web pages on your website.

Before adding new links to an existing page, consider which topics it covers and what the related pages are. Formulate a strategy to list hub pages and create relevant anchor text, or add a link at the end of the page, redirecting to other pages.

Key Takeaway

Make the most of these tips and incorporate them into your SEO strategy.

Make sure to review performance after you’ve implemented SEO on your website.

Need Help Creating SEO-Friendly Content? Contact Us.

Originally Published on MarketingProfs