Articles are attractive specimens for the presentation of information. In our age of information, the internet is rife with these nifty critters. Surprisingly, few fully understand it, but I will address that here.
Writing SEO Articles
While the method of writing SEO articles is solely up to the author, there are some guidelines to understand. These pointers should improve searchability and make the lives of both reader and writer convenient.
SEO Articles—What Are They?
The Definition of SEO
SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It is a convenient and lucrative way for a brand to advertise itself. Usually, through search engines like Google, Yahoo, Bing, or Duckduckgo, an article with good SEO will appear higher on the listings.
This feature encourages viewers to visit the article’s page. As a result, the page gets higher views and ratings. With increased scores, search engines rank the page higher, leading to more visits.
In other words, the SEO is like the pitch given to the search engine. Better pitches get better hits. Here is an idea:
Types of SEO Pages
There are many types of web pages you can produce while writing SEO articles. Here are some to consider:
- Product review pages: designed for the retail of goods and services
- Blog posts (like this one): a flexible—and popular—way to engage an audience
- News articles: essentially a digital newspaper or magazine
- Guides and pointers: instructions on ‘how to’ something
- Vlogs: pages that—unlike blogs—focus more on video and visual presentation; text transcripts work in this scenario
- Glossaries: lists or dictionaries that viewers can reference
How to Write SEO Articles
Preparation for SEO Writing
Before writing SEO articles, you must plan out what you intend to publish to the world. Ask yourself the following:
- What idea is worth pitching?
- What is the objective of this article? What are the keywords?
- How does one present said idea efficiently?
- What type of audience should the article target?
- How long should the article be?
Define Your Goals
Keep it simple, but detailed enough that it satisfies what readers need. For example, on a product review page, the prose should be alluring and informative. Use supplementary blogs and pages to add to your testimony.
Google, in particular, ranks articles higher if other blogs and pages link to it. This suggests trust. If you link to one person’s blog, they—or someone else—may return the favor. Forming a web of digital blogging networks is an excellent start.
Keywords and Key Phrases
Identify what your article is about with a few core words. Let this be the crux of writing the SEO article—what drives it. Include it in the title, intro paragraph, and ending paragraph. Distribute the keywords throughout the section in an informative way.
Do not go overboard. This may seem sloppy and unappealing (the keywords should be around .5% to 1.5% of the words, for most articles). This will boost the quality of your SEO and attract more readers.
Develop a spreadsheet first, detailing the data about keywords and potential competition. A simple Excel or Google spreadsheet works well enough. You can also use AdWord to help with the analytics of it all.
Remember, research, double check, and research again. The level of research you pour into an article will illustrate itself through length, clarity, uniqueness, and readability. Perfection is an impossibility, of course, but it is a solid ambition.
Audience
It is essential to know your viewer base before article construction. Different age and ethnic groups react differently to content. Research can help you identify the right audience group.
Depending on your reader base, the prose and complexity of the article should scale appropriately. For example, younger viewers prefer faster, more visual content. Older readers may prefer a more traditional or slower presentation.
If you’re writing for a very generalized audience and are unsure, use the average reading level for the country (around 8th grade). Here is an excellent program you can ‘copypasta’ your work into for analysis. It is also suitable for word counting and frequency— a fantastic SEO writing tool.
Headers
On that note of selecting an audience, there are ways to improve readability. For starters, master the usage of headers. Headers come with tags H1 through H6. H1 is the largest and most important. Use the header tags as you would a filing cabinet.
Here is an example:
H1 Header {the title}
->H2 Header {main section of the article}
—>H3 Header {minor section}
—>H3 Header {minor section}
->H2 Header {main section of the article}
—>H3 Header {minor section}
—>H3 Header {minor section}
Notice how the headers nest within each other in an organized manner. The H1 header contains the H2 and H3 sections—the H2 only the H3. An organized routine like this can greatly improve readability in an article.
Headers are also an opportunity to insert keywords into your article, for the sake of SEO. Search engines rank keywords in headers higher than in paragraphs. Headers summarize and offer hints to what a paragraph contains.
The words in a header for writing SEO articles should be unique and tailored towards the article’s objectives (which you hopefully outlined enough, before writing). If not, do not worry, it will come with practice and dedication.
Scale, Intro, and Outro Paragraphs
Most articles drift between 500 and 3000 words. Items longer than this some people won’t have the time to read. Instead, they will examine the first and last few paragraphs to get a general synopsis of the article.
Search engines tend to favor SEO articles around the 1500 to 2000 word count. This implies abundance and value. Determine what word density is best for your blogging or company needs. Some writers do better on less.
Limit your paragraphs to three lines or less, if possible. The average attention span is low for readers in our busy modern society. Most readers prefer to get to the juicy tidbits of the article, rather than slog through paragraphs.
Highlight Important Points
It helps to highlight vital pieces in an article. Highlighting with headers, italics, or bold can help skimmers detect the juicy information in your article. Keywords also help, as some readers may use a find tool to locate a specific vocabulary.
This practice provides the reader with more flexibility, as those who are pressed for time can extract crucial parts readily, while others can choose to read the whole document at their leisure.
Catchy title
This should be a no-brainer for most writers. The title should be unique, snagging the reader’s interest, while not long enough to sound daunting. The title should match the information you present, giving the reader a snapshot of what to expect.
Make it a point to remember this point, as people absorb scientific articles differently than subjective ones. A simple blog update versus a lengthy report is like comparing apples and oranges. They will each attract their own unique viewer base.
Lists and bullet points
Readers love organized records, and bullet points should improve SEO. Lists are easier to comprehend and take less time to digest. Make sure your listings are informative and straightforward. Your readers will appreciate it.
When you construct a list, capitalize only the first letter in a list item. Forgo periods at the end of the sentence, unless the listing is lengthy. Keep it short and sweet. If you find another method that works better, great, keep at it.
Coffee
Last, but not least, be sure to have that cup of coffee ready. I’m joking, of course (well maybe), but you should make whichever adjustments you feel necessary for a working environment.
Some people function better in an organized office, for example. Others find that classical music helps focus—whatever gets you going.
Conclusion
SEO articles are a curious breed of digital beasts. While difficult to understand at first, they can significantly improve the hits an article receives—this is no guarantee, of course. Persistence is important.
Becoming adept at SEO content takes time. Be patient with yourself. Take breaks from writing if you need to (I’ve done all-nighters before so I can relate). SEO articles are still a relatively new phenomenon in our digital age.
Regardless, learning the basics of SEO is essential to any digital writer. I hope this humble blog post has shown the significance of SEO—how to get started. For more information, visit the hyperlinks below.
And don’t forget the coffee. You’ll need it. 😉
Thank you for reading and good luck.
Love and gratitude to my viewers—click that follow button if you want updates. Thanks. 🙂
Additional SEO Writing Sources
SEO Copywriting and Search Engine Optimization
Secrets to Professional SEO Writing
Additional SEO Software Tools:
BuzzSumo—quick searches on a keyword for relevant social media threads
Moz—another keyword research tool
SEMrush—keyword rankings; fast and easy to use
WordCounter—keyword density, word counting, and more
Grammarly—grammar, readability, and overall sentence structure
Ethereal Seals 