Discover SEO Content Writing Tips & Techniques

Are you a content writer? Improve your content writing for SEO with these 10 tips from Titan Growth.

It’s no secret that SEO and content go hand-in-hand.

After all, without SEO your content may be lost somewhere on page 50 of the search results; and we all know traffic on those pages is less than satisfactory. Likewise, your first-page ranking can only do so much if your content post-click is crummy. That’s why a good relationship between SEO and great content is essential! Here are 10 tips on how to write SEO content to make your content go further and enhance your SEO efforts at the same time.

SEO Writing Tips & Guidelines to Make Your Content Go Further

1. Write for your audience first

This SEO content writing tip is number one for a reason. It seems easy enough, yet so many companies make content for all the wrong reasons. Write content that appeals to the interests of your target market or answers their questions. Not all posts need to be about your product or service, but they all should be industry related. Assert yourself and your company as an effective expert in your industry by writing SEO-friendly content that is interesting and informative, and do it better than your competition.

2. Keep it all under the same roof

Get the credit and traffic your website deserves by keeping your original content under your own domain name. That means if you have a blog opt out of hosting with WordPress or Blogger and host the blog in a subfolder on your own domain (ie: www.example.com/blog ). Any time you have an opportunity to showcase other forms of original content like videos, infographics or whitepapers, make sure to also embed them onto your website as well and share from there.

3. Make headlines that pack a punch

You have a very short amount of text to make a very big impression. So don’t underestimate the power of an effective headline on SEO! Write headlines that are clear, interesting and make use of rich keywords. In addition to a great headline, also make sure your meta descriptions are interesting and further elaborate on the topic of your article. Keep in mind that your title and meta description are what show up in the search results, so make them count!

4. Use keyword-rich phrases

Use relevant, keyword rich phrases in your headlines as well as throughout your content to let both your readers and the search engines know what your post is about. But beware, too many keywords will not only turn off your readers but can result in search engine penalties for keyword stuffing. Use keywords thoughtfully and sparingly, sticking to a more natural feel. In addition to using keywords throughout the body of your post, take advantage blog tags by tagging a few relevant keywords for each post; most general blogs have tagging capabilities already built in.

5. Structure your posts

The contents of your post may be great but can be easily lost in an unorganized, inefficient format. Breaking your content up into smaller paragraphs with headlines makes for an easy read that will keep your readers engaged. For the search engines, back-end organization is key too. Using proper tag hierarchy when tagging headlines (H1 for titles, H2 for subtitles) is important to maintain a well-structured article.

6. Incorporate imagery

Make your posts pop with images! People are visual. Adding an image along with your blog post can make a big impression. Have a Pinterest account? In addition to promoting your blogs across your other social media channels, posts with images can also be pinned, adding another avenue for traffic to your website.

7. Propel content with social media

Social media is a powerful tool that can help increase the reach of your content and promote sharing. Post each new article on social media sites and in forums, using engaging descriptions and a call-to-action. Since the power of social media lies in sharing, it’s also important to have share buttons on each of your blog posts. If you want more control of how your links appear when they’re shared, implementing Twitter Cards for Twitter or Open Graph for Facebook (technical) can give your shared links a boost, and may help your click-through rates.

8. Implement Google Authorship

Google Authorship is a quick and easy way to tie content to a certain author, all you need is a Google+ account. As a result, your articles come up as rich snippets in the search results featuring the author’s photo along with the article title. Google Authorship is great for personal promotion, but can also increase the click through rate to your articles.  If you’re an author, learn how to set up Authorship for your website.

9. Promote natural link building

Link building has come a long way since the days of link buying and link farms, but links are still an important ranking factor for SEO. Linking to your own articles or website in your post ensures a link back to your website if your article is picked up by another site. If you get creative with other types of content like infographics and videos, adding an embed code on your site helps to promote content sharing and also adds a link back to the original source. Creating great SEO content helps increase the shareability and the likelihood that other websites will link to it, so aim for quality!

10. Monitor your activity

Stay on top of your SEO friendly content by monitoring your efforts. Google Analytics is an easy and free way to track your page views and the average time spent on a page. Check things like your bounce rate and time on site to get an idea of how users interact with your website after landing on your content. If you see a high drop off in addition to a low average time spent on the page, that’s an indication that your content wasn’t relevant to what they were looking for, or worse, wasn’t interesting. Also, take a look at the number of social interactions (shares, likes, etc ) to get an idea of the virality of your post. Just looking at these simple metrics can give you a good idea of which content pieces are well-received and liked so that you can replicate that type of content down the road.

Both SEO and content writing are important pieces to the puzzle, so it’s important to use quality techniques for both to ensure higher traffic and engagement on your website. If you have any questions about SEO, content or how they work together, feel free to contact us to learn about our SEO content writing services!

Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan Growth

Who doesn’t want recognition for their work? Most everyone does, right? Surprisingly, there are a number of bloggers who are still toiling away and have not implemented this simple tool that can have a big impact. So what is this tool, you ask? Well, if you’ve ever looked through the search engine results and noticed the writer’s images next to their article, then you already know what we’re talking about. It’s called Google’s ‘Authorship Markup’ and all it takes is a Google+ profile and a snippet of code. If you are a contributor and want to implement Google Authorship Markup, here’s how. for a blog or website, Authorship is a must! Not only can it help your visibility as an author, but can increase traffic to the website(s) you contribute to.

3 Reasons You Need to Implement Rel=Author Today

Ranking Visibility

There’s no doubt that establishing your authority and influence online is important and Authorship Markup allows you to do so. However, lately, there’s been speculation as to how important it really is in terms of Author Rank. After excerpts from “The New Digital Age”, an upcoming book by Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt, had been released there has been contention about Authorship Markup’s role in the algorithm.

“Within search results, information tied to verified online profiles will be ranked higher than content without such verification, which will result in most users naturally clicking on the top (verified) results. The true cost of remaining anonymous, then, might be the irrelevance.”

Despite the speculation (and perhaps slight overreaction), there isn’t any evidence that Google is currently or will ever use Author Rank to this extreme. Regardless – establishing your Authorship is nonetheless important. And that’s not to say there aren’t ranking perks, since Authorship Markup may contribute to your articles appearing higher in the search results for people who are logged into Google or have a Google+ profile. Plus, it’s much easier for searchers to identify you, and find your other work through Google+ when you have Authorship enabled.

Brand Recognition

If you’re a writer, naturally you want recognition for your work. With Google Authorship, you are able to associate your published content with your Google+ profile, allowing your name and image to show up in search results for your content pieces. Another perk is the “More” link, which features a link to more of your work, so searchers can easily find more of you. Since the Authorship tag is linked to your Google+ profile, it’s also a great way to continually build your community and following, which also has its own ranking benefit. Keep in mind that the more content you write, the more chances you have to show your face across the search engine results – and while you’re soaking up the limelight, the website you contribute to may be enjoying the increased click-through rate on your articles.

Click Through Rate

Since images are almost always more interesting than plain text, the Google Author rich snippets get a much higher click-through rate than regular articles without Google Author. Some companies have even reported click-through increases up to 150%! Look at the results below, and decide which one you would feel more compelled to click.

You’re more drawn to the result with the image, right? People are naturally inclined to choose the more visually appealing option. That’s also why it’s extremely important to have a good, clear headshot for your Google+ profile since that is what will be showing up in the search results. Just choosing the right picture can have a distinct effect, so choose wisely!

How To Establish Your Authorship on Google

If you are a contributor and want to implement Google Authorship Markup, here’s how. First, you’ll need a Google+ profile if you don’t already have one. Once you have a Google+ profile, you’ll need to link your Google+ profile to the content site by listing that you are a contributor for that site on your profile.

1. Linking Google+ to Your Content Website:

In the About section of your Google+ profile, find the links section and add the URL for the website(s) you contribute to.

2. Linking Your Content back to Google+:

Here’s where the rel=author tag comes into play. If you don’t have a signature or “about author” section for your blogs, now is the time to make one. Include this link near your Byline on each of your blog posts. The link text is Google+, so a good example would be ‘Connect with Erica on Google+’

Add this code snippet to each of your content pages.
<a href=”https://plus.google.com/111111111111111111111?rel=author”>Google+</a>

Make sure to replace the 1’s with your personal Google+ profile ID, which you can find in the URL when you are on your own profile page. That’s it! Now, to ensure that your rel=author tags are working properly, you test them with Google’s Rich Snippet validator tool. 

It could take some time to begin showing up in the search results, but be patient and eventually, you’ll begin to see your image when you search for your content pages. Keep in mind that while implementing Authorship Markup can help increase your visibility and click-through rates, the most important factor is creating awesome content that your audience will love. In the end, that’s what will really help you stand out.
Have questions about Google’s Authorship Markup or how to implement it? Contact Titan Growth, your local SEO agency and we’d be happy to help.

Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan Growth

Earning Links is the Way to Go!

Webmasters and SEOs have had a rocky year trying to navigate Google’s frequent changes, especially in regard to link building. While link building remains an important SEO factor and is still weighted heavily in the algorithm, the process for obtaining links has changed dramatically. Today, it’s all about natural links, and natural links must be earned, well, naturally. That’s right, no more shortcuts! We’re here today to show you how to earn natural links to your website, while also engaging your audience. How you ask? By creating original content.

The Power of Original Content

Content is king. Yes, the phrase is highly cliché, but it carries a lot of truth. It serves as a reminder not to underestimate the power of original content, especially when it comes to building natural link building. Interesting, timely or informative content can go a long way, and there are several types of content that you should consider incorporating into your earning links strategy.

Website Content

This is one of the most obvious places that you can showcase original content, yet many websites still struggle to do it well. Think of your website as an avenue to assert your business as an industry leader and provide industry-relative content that other websites might want to link to. Write content that offers something to readers, and they will feel compelled to link to it.

SEO Quick Tip: Create a natural internal link structure on your website, using links that lead users to the areas of your site that they might be interested in linking to.

Blogs

Blogs have been, and still remain a great way to get people engaged with your content, generate awareness around a topic and create organic links back to your website. The average company blogs about one to two times per week, but the more you blog, the more reach your content will have. However, if your blogs aren’t worthwhile or interesting, it doesn’t matter how many times you blog, because people won’t link to them. For best practice when writing blogs, think both consistency AND quality.

SEO Quick Tip: Always create a blog under your own domain, so that link credit will be applied to your URL.

Memes

Memes play off people’s natural inclination to share funny and topical information. A good meme can go viral, but it requires a company who is not only quick on their feet, but also witty, to deliver a meme that will really pack a punch. If you see an opportunity to play on a trend or event, without compromising your brand’s image, go for it! (Look to  Oreo for a job well done)

SEO Quick Tip: Host a meme on one of your WebPages, or on your blog to earn more link credit. Also, Pinterest is another great place to post your memes for sharability and link credit back to your website.

Tools

Percent calculators, BMI calculators, analytics tools and calorie counters are all great examples of free tools that websites have built to generate more links and traffic to their website. Sure, they may require a little more investment and development, but they can result in a tremendous amount of backlinks if people find your tool useful.

SEO Quick Tip: Incorporate keyword rich (NOT keyword stuffed) content onto the tool page, so your tool will be associated with your overall keyword theme

Ensure Your Content’s Success

Think Like a Consumer

Upon reviewing your content, ask yourself, would you share this? Really, there is no point in creating content that you yourself wouldn’t consider sharing. Ask yourself what is interesting, different or informative about it. What value does it brings to your audience? Don’t just distribute content for the sake of appearing active, create content with the motive that you want it to be shared, not simply passed over. Remember, the idea behind creating this original content is to obtain natural links from people who found your content compelling enough to link to.

Use Social Media to Propel Your Content

Social media is a powerful distribution tool so use it to your advantage. Share the links to your blogs, articles or tools across your social channels. Make sure to give the content you post some thought as well, to prompt people to click your links and go to your site to read the full blog. You’ll want to write something catchy that gives a brief overview of what the viewer will see once they click the link. Ask your employees, co-workers or friends (nicely, of course) to share your links as well as to help generate more reach for your content.

While link building strategies come and go, natural links will likely never go out of style. Use these tips to create content with your audience in mind, content that you yourself would go out of your way to share, and you can’t go wrong. Natural link building is the worry-free way to boost your rankings, in a way that both the search engines and your audience will thank you. If you have any questions regarding link penalties, how to build links organically, or how to create the type of content that results in earning valuable links, contact your SEO Agency or reach out to Titan Growth for a complimentary evaluation.

Submitted by Erica Machin, Titan Growth