Confused about writing search engine-friendly content for your website?
Don’t be. The way to approach it is to remember a clear and simple fact. You’re writing for humans, not search engines.
Yes, keywords are important. Yes, you must include them in the content of your page. But don’t get carried away. Don’t lose the meaning and impact of what you have to say for the sake of stuffing your content with keywords.
In any case, keywords are only half the battle in driving traffic to your site. Increasingly, links from other reputable sources are what tell Google you’re worth pushing up the rankings. And how do you attract good links? In the main, by creating interesting content – content which is valuable to your target audience.
Here are our five top tips on creating content for both your visitors and search engines.
Do your homework
Understand your target audience. Write about how you solve their most pressing problems and draw out the features and benefits of your product or service. People need to like your content before Google will.
Think about language
Write in terms your customers and prospects understand. Think about the words they might use when searching the internet for your product or service. Choose your title tags, or headlines, carefully and use your keywords at the earliest possible point. Remember that you want people to link back to your content, so use words that help people see that your content is relevant. Consider undertaking some keyword research to verify your assumptions.
Keep it short (and interesting!)
People tend to scan rather than read web pages, they’re looking for words and phrases which tell them whether the content is relevant. Keep your text focused on the subject matter of the desired keyword and break it up with sub-headings. Make it visually appealing. Link to other relevant content, including other pages within your site. Look at blogs or websites you like and which keep you returning time and again. What do they do so well and what can you learn from them?
Give it time
Search engines like relevant, frequently updated content so set aside time to keep your site and/or blog up-to-date. Invest effort in learning how to use your content management system and plan ahead so you know what you’re going to write about, and when.
Promote your content
Of course, great content will do nothing for your business until someone has read it, and acted upon it. Where and how you promote your content will depend upon who you’re targeting but consider your options – do you have a company e-newsletter? Do you use Facebook or Twitter? Think about who you want to read your material and how you’re going to get it in front of them.
