Search engine optimization (SEO) is a lot more than just writing. However, you can’t have SEO without writing. It’s a crucial aspect that helps you show up in the search results of Google and other engines.
But what is SEO writing? How do you write for search engines while still writing for the people who use them? Is there a process anyone can follow to be a better SEO writer?
In this article, I’m going to answer all of these questions and give you a step-by-step approach to creating perfectly search-optimized content your readers (and Google) will love.
SEO writing is the process of writing content with the intent of ranking on the first page of a search engine, e.g., Google. To do so, you must focus on three things:
Beyond that, you also need to understand the basics of on-page SEO elements, such as meta tags, image alt text, internal links, etc. But I’ll get to those later.
For now, let’s explore this question: “Why should you even care?”
SEO writing is important because Google gets an estimated 3.5 billion searches per day. This means your customers are most certainly using Google to find information.
Additionally, once you rank on the first page of Google for your target keywords, you’re getting free, recurring, and highly relevant traffic to your website.
In other words, SEO = money in the bank.
As paid advertising costs rise and social media engagement becomes harder and harder to come by, organic traffic continues to dominate as one of the most important marketing channels any modern business can invest in.
So how do you get those coveted organic page #1 rankings?
Luckily for you, the process of writing an SEO-optimized article is not as hard as it may seem. You just need to follow these seven steps:
The first step of SEO writing is to find out what your target audience is searching for on Google. This is where keyword research comes in.
Keyword research is the process of discovering the words and phrases that people use to find information related to your topic. It helps you understand the demand, competition, and difficulty of ranking for each keyword.
There are many tools and methods you can use to conduct keyword research, such as:
The goal of keyword research is to find a primary keyword that has a high search volume, low competition, and high relevance to your topic. This will be the main focus of your article.
You should also find some secondary keywords that are related or synonymous to your primary keyword. These will help you cover different aspects of your topic and avoid keyword stuffing.
For example, if your primary keyword is “SEO writing”, some secondary keywords could be:
Once you have a list of keywords, you can move on to the next step.
The second step of SEO writing is to understand what your target audience wants when they search for your keyword. This is called search intent.
Search intent is the goal or purpose behind a search query. It tells you what kind of information or action the searcher is looking for.
There are four main types of search intent:
| Type | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Informational | The searcher wants to learn something or find an answer to a question. | What is SEO writing? |
| Navigational | The searcher wants to visit a specific website or page. | SEMrush login |
| Transactional | The searcher wants to buy something or perform an action. | Buy SEO writing course |
| Commercial | The searcher wants to compare different products or services before buying. | Best SEO writing tools |
To rank well on Google, you need to match your content with the search intent of your keyword. This means you need to provide the best possible answer or solution to the searcher’s query.
You can use tools like Google Search Console or Google Analytics to analyze the performance and behavior of your visitors. You can also use Google itself to see what kind of results are ranking for your keyword and what they have in common.
For example, if you search for “SEO writing”, you will see that most of the results are blog posts or guides that explain what SEO writing is and how to do it. This means that the search intent for this keyword is informational, and you should create a similar type of content if you want to rank for it.
The third step of SEO writing is to write a title that attracts clicks and reflects your main keyword. Your title is one of the most important factors that influence your click-through rate (CTR), which is the percentage of people who click on your result after searching for your keyword. A higher CTR means more traffic and more potential conversions. To write a catchy and descriptive title, you should follow these tips: - Include your main keyword in your title, preferably at the beginning or close to it. This will help Google and your readers understand what your content is about. - Use modifiers, such as numbers, adjectives, or questions, to make your title more appealing and specific. For example, “SEO Writing: How to Write an SEO-Optimized Article in 7 Steps” is better than “SEO Writing”. - Keep your title within 60 characters or less. This will ensure that it doesn’t get cut off by Google or other platforms. You can use tools like SERP Simulator or CoSchedule Headline Analyzer to check your title length and score. - Avoid clickbait or misleading titles. This will only hurt your reputation and bounce rate, which is the percentage of people who leave your website after viewing only one page. You want to deliver on your promise and meet the expectations of your readers. Here are some examples of good and bad titles for the keyword “SEO writing”: | Good | Bad | | --- | --- | | SEO Writing: How to Write an SEO-Optimized Article in 7 Steps | SEO Writing: You Won’t Believe How Easy It Is | | SEO Writing 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Search-Friendly Content | SEO Writing: Everything You Need to Know | | 10 SEO Writing Tips to Boost Your Rankings and Traffic | SEO Writing: The Ultimate Secret to Success | | How to Write SEO Content That Drives More Leads and Sales | SEO Writing: How to Rank #1 on Google in 24 Hours |
The fourth step of SEO writing is to optimize your meta tags and URL. These are the elements that appear on the search engine results page (SERP) and tell Google and your readers what your content is about.
The main meta tags you need to optimize are:
The URL is the web address of your page. It should be short, descriptive, and include your main keyword. It should also use hyphens (-) to separate words, not underscores (_).
Here are some examples of how to optimize your meta tags and URL for the keyword “SEO writing”:
| Title | Meta Description | Image Alt Text | URL |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEO Writing: How to Write an SEO-Optimized Article in 7 Steps | Learn how to write an SEO-optimized article that ranks on the first page of Google and drives more traffic to your website. Follow these 7 easy steps to become an SEO writing pro. | A laptop with a document titled “SEO Writing” on the screen. | https://example.com/seo-writing |
| SEO Writing 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Creating Search-Friendly Content | If you want to reach more readers and rank higher on Google, you need to master SEO writing. In this beginner’s guide, you’ll discover what SEO writing is and how to do it effectively. | A person typing on a keyboard with a notebook that says “SEO Writing 101”. | https://example.com/seo-writing-101 |
| 10 SEO Writing Tips to Boost Your Rankings and Traffic | Want to improve your SEO writing skills and get more organic visitors? Check out these 10 practical tips that will help you write better content for search engines and humans. | A list of 10 bullet points with icons and numbers. | https://example.com/seo-writing-tips |
| How to Write SEO Content That Drives More Leads and Sales | SEO writing is not just about ranking on Google. It’s also about converting your readers into customers. In this article, you’ll learn how to write SEO content that drives more leads and sales for your business. | A graph showing the relationship between SEO content and leads and sales. | https://example.com/seo-content-leads-sales |
The fifth step of SEO writing is to use headings and subheadings to structure your content and make it easier to read and scan. Headings are the titles of each section or subsection of your article. They help you organize your ideas and guide your readers through your content.
Headings also help Google understand the hierarchy and relevance of your content. They are usually marked with HTML tags, such as <h1>, <h2>, <h3>, etc. The higher the number, the lower the importance.
To use headings and subheadings effectively, you should follow these tips:
<h1> tag per page, and make it the same as your title. This will tell Google what your page is about and help it rank better.<h2> tags for the main sections of your article, and <h3>, <h4>, etc. for the subsections. This will create a clear structure and hierarchy for your content.Here are some examples of how to use headings and subheadings for the keyword “SEO writing”:
Congratulations! You’ve just learned how to write an SEO-optimized article in 7 steps. By following these steps, you can create content that ranks well on Google and satisfies your readers’ needs.
To recap, here are the steps you need to take:
If you want to learn more about SEO writing, you can check out these resources:
I hope you found this article helpful and informative. If you have any questions or feedback, feel free to leave a comment below. I’d love to hear from you.
Happy SEO writing!
Here are some of the most common questions people ask about SEO writing:
SEO writing is a type of copywriting that focuses on creating content that ranks well on search engines. Copywriting is a broader term that refers to any type of writing that persuades or influences the reader. SEO writing is a subset of copywriting, but not all copywriting is SEO writing.
There is no definitive answer to this question, as the optimal length of an SEO article depends on various factors, such as the topic, the keyword, the competition, the audience, etc. However, a general rule of thumb is that longer articles tend to rank better than shorter ones, as they provide more information and value for the reader. A study by Backlinko found that the average word count of a Google first page result is 1,447 words. However, this doesn’t mean you should write long articles for the sake of it. You should always focus on quality over quantity and write as much as necessary to cover your topic thoroughly.
The answer is: it depends. There is no exact formula or percentage for keyword density (the number of times you use a keyword in relation to the total number of words in your article). However, you should avoid keyword stuffing, which is the practice of using keywords excessively or unnaturally in your content. This can harm your SEO and user experience, as Google can penalize your site for spammy or low-quality content. Instead, you should use keywords naturally and strategically in your content, especially in your title, headings, subheadings, introduction, conclusion, and meta tags. You should also use synonyms, variations, and related terms to avoid repetition and increase relevance.
The best way to measure the effectiveness of your SEO writing is to track and analyze the performance of your content using tools like Google Search Console or Google Analytics. These tools can help you monitor metrics such as:
By tracking these metrics, you can see how well your SEO writing is performing and identify areas for improvement.
The best way to improve your SEO writing skills is to practice and learn from the experts. You can do this by:
The more you write and optimize your content for search engines and humans, the better you will become at SEO writing.
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