As you might already know, we recently launched our Twitter chat, #ContentWritingChat. We had our second ever chat on Tuesday, January 26th at 10 AM CST, and our topic was Best SEO Practices for Online Writers. We had such a great turn out that we went “viral” on Twitter, trending at #50 in the USA on Twitter–again!
Second #ContentWritingChat in the books, trending again at #50 hottest in the US on Twitter!! See you all next week! pic.twitter.com/tJov7cPxUM
— Express Writers (@ExpWriters) January 26, 2016
#ContentWritingChat January 26, 2016: Best SEO Practices With SEMRush Strategist Elena
For this week’s chat, our lovely guest host was was Elena Terentyeva, strategist at SEMrush, the leading SEO software online. Elena joined us to chat all about SEO. We’re thrilled that so many of you have been joining us for the chat, but we’ve compiled some of the best tweets just in case you missed it. This week’s chat had so many amazing content creators and SEO experts ready to share their best advice!
Let’s dive into the recap.
Q1: Describe “SEO” in your own words. #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/R9axhepz1I
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A1 “Search engine optimization” = process of optimizing a site & writing great content so Google ranks (& readers love). #ContentWritingChat
— Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) January 26, 2016
A1 SEO is not an extra activity. It’s not like topping for the ice cream – it’s a flavor #contentwritingchat
— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) January 26, 2016
Our CEO, Julia, couldn’t have described SEO any better! It’s all about creating quality content and optimizing it so search engines can rank you higher. As Elena (our guest host) pointed out, SEO is not an extra activity. It’s essential to your online presence and something you should always do!
We love Netvantage Marketing’s example of PB & Jelly (SEO + the writer), and Ryan put it point-blank!
Q2: Just how important is SEO to the online writer? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/0HB4s1Z9m0
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A2: Extremely. Why create content if it isn’t well optimized? SEO & online writers go together like PB & jelly! #contentwritingchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) January 26, 2016
A2: Extremely. If you’re a writer and you’re not optimizing your copy, then what’s the point? #ContentWritingChat
— Ryan Clutter (@Ryan1SEO) January 26, 2016
A quick note to all the content creators out there: SEO is a must! Good words from Julia and Ecreativeworks.
Q3: What are the key factors of good “SEO content”? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/oNPslSUfIi
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A3 Above all, strive for quality. Dig deep, think like a writer – produce what readers will LOVE #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/x9y7t1Z4ua
— Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) January 26, 2016
A3. First and foremost: well written text. Followed by: quality H1 and H2 headers. Images with alt text also. #contentwritingchat
— Ecreativeworks (@ECWseo) January 26, 2016
High-quality content is essential! Focus on writing something great and then add in those keywords, headers, ALT tags, and more. Remember: no keyword stuffing! Use keywords in a way that’s natural. Grenae brings up being good at editing your content, a great point.
Q4: What are some essential SEO skills for an online writer? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/Bdm5BSloOu
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A4 Keyword research – would undoubtedly be the next step. Find out why, how and where a writer can find keywords #contentwritingchat
— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) January 26, 2016
A4: The most essential #SEO skills is to know that SEO never stays the same. Stay on top of the changes. #contentwritingchat
— Netvantage Marketing (@netvantage) January 26, 2016
A4 Able to write good headlines & copy, Skilled at editing, use keywords naturally, use images #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/08rCjFYHpI
— Grenae Thompson (@DGGT) January 26, 2016
What skills do you need to have? First and foremost, you need to focus on strengthening those writing skills. Then, make sure you know how to effectively do keyword research to find the right keywords for your content. Don’t forget that SEO is always changing, so you have to stay updated!
Alejandro says it well: know your objectives. And Elena’s example of Backlinko was superb!
Q5: What are the best practices for doing SEO keyword research? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/29Tds1h8K9
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A5: Knowing your objectives, this will help you determine if a certain keyword will bring you the readers you want #ContentWritingChat
— Alejandro M. (@AlejandroSMO) January 26, 2016
A5. Think about the keywords people actually use, not necessarily the terms or industry jargon you use. #contentwritingchat
— Ecreativeworks (@ECWseo) January 26, 2016
A5 Love @backlinko’s idea about getting niche keywords from Reddit https://t.co/4MIeOHXe3a #contentwritingchat
— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) January 26, 2016
Make sure you’re using the right keywords to attract the audience you want!
Q6: How often should you do SEO keyword research for your content? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/3x3o1PRh9V
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A6 IMO keyword research can’t be done often enough. I use @semrush to check positions & new opportunities every few days #ContentWritingChat
— Julia McCoy (@JuliaEMcCoy) January 26, 2016
A6: With every new piece should come keyword research & refresh for older popular pieces. #ContentWritingChat https://t.co/HzGTzKZ5xC
— Maureen Jann (@MaureenOnPoint) January 26, 2016
Do SEO keyword research every single time you create new content. You need to make time to optimize your content if you want it to get noticed!
Q7: What are some of the best SEO tools to use? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/pl8WZnBNoY
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A7 Use https://t.co/0kewYqvkqW for keyword research and exploring what topics people are looking for to the topic #contentwritingchat
— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) January 26, 2016
A7 Use https://t.co/0kewYqvkqW for keyword research and exploring what topics people are looking for to the topic #contentwritingchat
— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) January 26, 2016
A7 Some of the best tools out there @semrush @wordtracker @BuzzSumo. We use them consistently & with great results #contentwritingchat
— Alecs Ianko (@Alecs_Ianko) January 26, 2016
A7: Google Analytics & Search Console, Screaming Frog for 404s, Moz, Raven, Majestic, SEMRush. #ContentWritingChat
— Ryan Clutter (@Ryan1SEO) January 26, 2016
How many of these SEO tools are you using? Our participants gave some great suggestions!
Q8: In what ways can @semrush help the online writer? #ContentWritingChat pic.twitter.com/bXolueAjgy
— ContentWritingChat (@writingchat) January 26, 2016
A8 As I’ve mentioned, writers can use the Domain vs. Domain tool for revealing all competitors’ keywords #contentwritingchat
— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) January 26, 2016
A8 We also use Organic Phrase Match and Related KW reports for deeper KW research #contentwritingchat
— Elena Terentyeva (@LenaTerentyeva) January 26, 2016
We look forward to seeing you at the next #ContentWritingChat. Be sure to join us (@ExpWriters) on Tuesday, February 2nd at 10 AM CST!