The days of publishing vast quantities of thin, low-quality content and hoping for the search engine ranking to improve. Nowadays, SEO is as much an art form as it is a science. It requires content writers and digital marketers (now the same) to comprehend the elements that determine search engine ranking, prioritize searchers’ intent, and create high-quality, valuable content that appeals to both users and Google’s algorithms.
I will provide nine SEO-friendly content writing strategies to increase rankings in this blog. Before we get deep into the subject, I’d like to make a PSA for all web admins and content writers: When determining strategies to increase visitors to your site, be aware that SEO and content writing go hand-in-hand. SEO isn’t a magical technique that only technical experts can master. In essence, SEO is about writing content that is superior to the other sites–and sure, using the on-page and technical SEO methods throughout the process.
Without further delay, Here are nine strategies you can employ to get ahead of your rivals on search results.
- Understand Search Engine Ranking Factors
To outrank your competitors, it is important to know the essential signals search engines consider when making decisions about content ranking. The most significant ranking elements are content, links, site structure, and HTML tags.
Content
Since the 2011 Panda algorithm update, Google has prioritized content as the top ranking factor. When you create any piece of content – whether it’s a blog, a webpage, or a pillar site, it must be able to clearly explain a particular topic in-depth, be well-written, and, most importantly, give added value to the user.
Based on SEO Land’s Periodic Table of SEO Factors, the top seven highly weighted ranking factors for content are:
- Quality: well-written and informative.
- Research: Demonstrates authority
- Keywords: Incorporates search phrases correctly
- Relevant: Does it meet the needs of today’s society? Relevant?
- Multimedia: Contained video, images, or audio files to improve the experience of users
- Answers: Directly respond to the query.
- Depth: Covers a subject completely
Knowing each of these aspects and how to use these factors can be the first step to writing competitive content.
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Links, Site Structure, and HTML Tags
Apart from content, the other third and the 4th most weighted ranking elements are the site’s architecture, links (how your website is constructed), HTML tags, and site architecture.
When a machine crawls, indexes, and scans your website, it also examines non-content aspects like outbound and inbound hyperlinks, URL structure, page loading speed, the time spent on the page, and the use of keywords in tags to determine the purpose of your site and how it ranks your pages.
The algorithms of search engines are created to provide users with the most relevant content from the most popular websites. Implementing linking and structure of your site and HTML best practices into your website’s content can make the process easier for crawlers to index and discover your site’s content. The faster and more precisely the search engine crawls and indexes your website content more quickly you can improve your rankings and increase traffic.
- Use the Right Keywords
While there’s been a debate within the marketing and digital world about whether the keyword research process is dying, keyword research is still crucial to SEO.
Keyword research is helpful in the following:
- Find out what people are discussing.
- Find search volumes for subjects.
- Be aware of how difficult it can be to determine the best rank for the issue.
Every item of content you crawl that you develop should be accompanied by a unique primary keyword and use the Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords (natural variations of the main keywords) throughout.
Before writing, you should brainstorm topics your target audience is interested in. Perform search engine optimization to find the most relevant ranking opportunities. The type of keywords you choose to target will be determined by the kind of content you’re writing.
Blog posts should focus on moderate-to-low-volume, competitive, long-tail keyword phrases. In contrast, extensive resources such as pillar pages can target smaller-tail keywords with large volumes and high competition. When writing blog posts, be aware that long-tail, less competitive keywords are more likely to have a more significant percentage of converts and are simpler to rank for.
- Identify and Capture Search Intent
If you’ve identified a suitable primary keyword, verify and decide how to write about it by investigating the searchers’ intent. Find out what the user is searching for when they type their inquiry into a Google search box and then write about the subject in a way that aligns with their requirements.
As per Google’s search quality guidelines, There are four types of intent by the searcher:
- What to Know: The user wants to gather information about the subject to answer the question.
- Do: The person searching for information would like to know how to perform a particular step.
- Website: The user wants to locate a specific resource.
- Meet in person: A person is looking for a place to visit.
Before you begin writing, you must determine the category your main keyword targets fall within. You can then confirm the classification by looking at the content currently ranked for the specific keyword. Are your competitors aiming at the same query you’ve identified for the question? Check out the way they’ve organized their content to meet searcher requirements. Create your content in a similar method.
Pro Tip: Use SERP Features to Satisfy Searcher Intent Better Than Your Competition
How can you satisfy the searcher’s intent better than your rivals? Find the elements of the searcher’s intent that top-ranking articles fail to meet.
Are there any significant details your audience signed to include about that competitors are not skipping? You can determine the gaps by taking a look at your “People also ask” and “Related searches” sections of the results of a search engine (SERP). Include relevant answers to questions in your text.