In this complete guide to SEO content writing, you will find out:
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Content is king?” The reason content is king is because without it, the internet wouldn’t exist. After all, there would be no reason for people to go online. For small businesses trying to raise awareness or bring in new customers, the fact remains that you need content.
But that content must also reach potential customers. That’s where having a strong SEO strategy for your content comes in. A talented content writer can create this strategy to optimize your blogs and webpages to draw in new readers.
Writing for the web takes time, patience, and skill. It is not a research paper or a book report. Instead, digital writing is its own thing. There needs to be a strategy and a way to execute it.
Let’s take a look at everything that goes into SEO content writing for small business success!
Content marketing is the practice of using content to improve customer relations with your small business.
When you think of “content,” you might think of just blogs and social media posts. But it’s more than that. Here are a few other examples of content:
Content marketing can do many things for your business. It can raise awareness of your brand, build customer trust, and convert leads.
Content writing is the process of composing content for digital and physical platforms. Professionally written content reflects the values of business and maintains a consistent tone of voice.
Indeed, consistency is crucial in content writing. Customers will be more likely to stay loyal to a brand if they regularly produce high quality messaging. In this way, content writing can captivate, engage, and persuade potential customers.
SEO, or search engine optimization, helps a small business reach more people. The goal of SEO is to reach Google’s Top 10 results page. When a page does, more people see it when they search.
Here are some of the best practices we use at Frontier Marketing for optimizing for search when writing content:
People are the ones reading your website and blog posts. Although Google uses an algorithm to determine what makes the Top 10, readability also plays a big role. Therefore, it’s important to write for the user experience. A better user experience means more people will return to your site for more content.
A better user experience also means that people can easily jump in on any page and read. At Frontier Marketing, we write pages to be accessible to any person. That includes reducing the amount of technical jargon to make the text more understandable.
Keywords are words or phrases people type into search bars. Google uses keywords to figure out what exactly the user is searching.
At Frontier, we optimize pages for keywords all the time. A best practice for this is to avoid putting the same keyword in a page too many times. This practice is called “keyword stuffing” and you can be penalized by Google for that.
People don’t read web pages the same way they read a book. When you open a book, you go from start to finish, right? Reading on the Internet is different. In this type of reading, people often skim articles and scroll to find the information they need.
To optimize for this, we use headings and subheadings to make it easier for readers to find what they’re looking for. We also keep a logical flow to the article or blog post. That way, if you read it start to finish, or jump around, you’re not lost!
Links are a great way to add authority to your web pages and blogs without making your text too long.
Although space on a webpage might be unlimited, a reader’s attention span is not. So, it’s better to keep your pages short and link to another source when necessary. That source can either be within your own site, or a reputable outside source.
Links also build up your SEO because Google views them as giving you authority. If you link to an authoritative site, or someone links to you from their site, that’s a good thing. In this way, proper link building can position your company as an industry leader.
Developing a content strategy involves mapping out what content you will create, when it will be published, and what goals it will achieve.
Here is what you need to include in your content strategy:
There’s a reason you’re publishing content online. What is it? Determining your goals from the start keeps you focused on what you want to achieve. Common goals are:
These goals will guide your content strategy. Everything you publish will be in pursuit of those goals.
Who are you writing for? Basically, who is the ideal person you want reading your content? You can narrow down who you’re writing for by looking at both the demographics of your customer base as well as their interests.
A good way to figure out their interests is by looking at their social media pages. Who follows you on Facebook and Twitter? What else have they posted about or do they like? Once you have that information, you can start to develop content that works for them.
Unless you’re starting from scratch, you probably have published something on your website or social media page.
If you have Google Analytics set up for your website, you can see how many people are visiting each of your pages. You can also find out how long they stay on your page. Are there a lot of users clicking on certain pages and then immediately leaving?
You can retool those pages to keep users more interested by including additional information or rewriting it from a new angle.
Likewise, your social media posts have a wealth of information. How much engagement do you get on a post? What we mean is, how many people like, share, or comment on posts? Is there a particular type of post that gets higher engagement?
Knowing these pieces of information will give you an idea as to what kind of content your customers want to see more of. It will also tell you which areas to avoid as well.
You’re going to want to be organized with your content. Well-planned and well-thought out content resonates with followers more. Plus, Google loves high-quality content that provides valuable information.
A good way to schedule out your content is with an editorial calendar. An editorial calendar will help you decide what days you will post content. Some days it could be regular social media posts. Others it can be blogs or articles. If you work about a month ahead, then you should have time to complete each task.
Frontier Marketing sets up its own editorial calendar to make sure we are hitting each goal on time. It is essential for us to function well as a team when producing our content.
After you’ve been posting for a few months, it’s time to look at how you’ve been doing.
SEO takes time to build up, so don’t expect immediate results. The results come through after months of publishing high-quality content consistently. You can make this easy by using one of the tracking programs out there.
Look for things such as:
Once you have this data, you can start to adjust your content strategy as you go. It’s going to be an ever-evolving process based on what users want. But with enough time and planning, you can have a content strategy that works.
Recent studies have shown that companies with blogs get 67% more leads than those who don’t. So clearly, content marketing works. But why?
The answer is Google. These days people can use the search engine to find answers to almost any query. So, naturally, when customers look for new businesses or answers to their questions, they turn to Google.
Google recently reported that 46% of its searches are local searches. In other words, people are using Google to find services in their area. So, if your business’ web content is optimized for SEO, then your company could be the one they find!
Here are some more examples of why optimized content works:
You have a lot of opportunities to promote your small business online. Social media, websites, blogs, and other channels are great ways to get your name out there. If you’re posting high-quality content consistently, it draws in more potential customers.
Digital platforms allow you to connect with customers like never before. For example, posts on social media can generate customer feedback, questions, and user-generated content. In this way, content allows the customer to feel involved with your company. That feeling can strengthen the customer loyalty that small businesses need.
When it comes to buying decisions, people want all the information possible. Blog posts give a company the space it needs to provide that info to their customers. A recent study showed that 61% of people made a purchase decision after reading a blog post.
Customers want to read about the brands they like, not just their products and services. They want to know the ins-and-outs of a business. Millennials, in particular, want to know more about a company and its values before making a purchasing decision.
In fact, that’s what most people want. 68% of customers are more likely to read a blog about a brand they like. People want to read about your company. They want to know the business they choose have the same values as they do.
How you engage with your customers could inspire brand loyalty over your competitors. And content marketing gives a brand a unique and memorable voice. A talented content writer can reach an audience and show how you’re different. Your small business has a set of values and goals that make it special. It should be marketed that way.
Once you’ve begun posting content, you want to see how well it’s doing. However, it can take a few months before you see clear results from content marketing. Once you do, you should know how to measure those results.
Here are a few important analytics that you should be tracking:
If you optimize your blogs and website with SEO best practices, it elevates your chances of appearing on Google’s search results page. But it doesn’t happen with one post. Google likes to see consistency. If you’re regularly posting valuable and informational content, Google picks up on that and rewards you.
You can measure your SEO rankings using the following metrics:
Using different channels to promote your business allows more people to see it. An increase in your brand awareness means new customers will get to experience your small business. Posting content across all the different channels helps reach new markets as well.
If you don’t post regularly, it lowers your chances of existing customers not returning to your website. Giving customers new content regularly keeps them engaged and wanting more. If the content you’re publishing resonates with them, they’ll also be more likely to recommend it to others.
Does your website have a high bounce rate? That’s when users go into your website and leave without taking action. The action can be reading a blog, signing up for a newsletter, or making a purchase. Customers want a reason to stay on your site. High-quality content can be a great reason to keep customers on your site. The longer they stay on your site, the more likely it is they will take action.
Good content writing gives your small business room to shine. But it also takes time and can be hard to manage while also running your business. The solution? Frontier Marketing!
Our talented wordsmiths have a love of marketing and a passion for small businesses. You want everyone to know what your company stands for, and we can create the content to spread your message.