The basics of content writing and SEO
What is SEO?
Search Engine Optimisation is how Google ranks websites.
What does Google want?
To match search queries to satisfactory outcomes.
What’s a ‘satisfactory outcome’ as far as Google is concerned?
There are two possible satisfactory outcomes
1. The site visitor doesn’t return to the search bar which Google infers as the visitor having found what they were looking for on the site or a journey onwards from the site to a successful outcome
2. The site visitor spends time on the site, which Googles also infers as a successful outcome.
How do I get Google to favourably rank me
Satisfactory outcomes indicate to Google that a site has worth. Google rewards a ‘worthy’ site with favourable ranking.
Why would a visitor want to stay on your site (thus proving your ‘worth’)?
Your website provides a solution to a problem they have
Your written content is interesting, informed, engaging and well written, and there’s not too much of it
Your site is easy to navigate, they’re not wading through bloated text and chaotic pages
You use attractive images and graphics to break up dense text and allow visual space to breath.
You demonstrate design harmony which creates a pleasant and relaxed browsing experience
How do SEO and content writing connect up
Create your content with an awareness of words and phrases that the customers who would benefit from your particular services would put into their search bar. Spread them out judiciously and organically (the writing should be natural rather than forced) throughout your content.
Usefulness will be interpreted as ‘worthy’. How can you make your site useful?
Your website should evidence how you help people. Here’s a mixture of things that achieve this.
Helpful blogs
FAQs aimed at giving the information your potential visitors are most likely to be looking for in an easy and accessible form
Testimonials
Updated content which provides a reliable source of up-to-date information and entertainment
A presentation of the problems your customers have had, and how you’ve solved them
Caring for your customer's comfort through simple navigation, alt text on images for visitors who are partially sighted or blind. Readable, sparse text.
Bonus tip
If you find it difficult to write about yourself, set your phone to ‘record’ and describe your business as if you were chatting to someone at a party.
When you’ve finished, hit the ‘transcribe’ button and edit the words, get rid of repetition and reshape any clumsiness of expression.
It is so much easier to edit text than it is to generate it. Most people don’t self-censor their speech, the vast majority of us tend to be a little judgemental of our own writing.
Tips on how to improve your website's SEO, yourself
