Anyone who has ever published a website is automatically familiar with the term “Content is King”. Lots of time, money, and effort goes into reaching top ranking on well known search engines such as Google, MSN, Bing and Yahoo!. But many of the people that invest in an attempt to get high page ranking on search engines give little thought to the chief elements needed in creating the foundation: content that is reader-friendly.
New Year’s Mantra: Content Is for People, Not for Search Engines
It is very important to understand that the content you write should be first and foremost for people, and not for search engines. Once readers value your blog or website content, they will definitely keep coming back for more and even share your content with others. If you follow the content generation tips below, you will not have a problem writing reader-friendly content. The cherry on the pie is when search engines begin to rank your website or blog high because your content is well-written and reader-friendly.
If you invest the time to read a lot of articles on the internet about content creation, you will notice that it is nearly impossible to find an article that really hammers on the importance of writing for readers and not search engines. With the popularity of this trend, one will be compelled to ask “Are bloggers and web content writers totally ignoring readers and focusing all their attention on search engine spiders?”
Hmm… it would be untrue to say that most bloggers and semi-professional website writers genuinely create content with the sole aim of educating their target readers. Most writers simply create content that will rank high in search engine results, period. Professional copywriters focus on 3 things before writing ridiculously effective content pieces. Professional writers have mastered the art of writing articles that will please both readers and search engine bots.
Must-follow Tips for Better Webpages in 2014
1. Generate Content on What You Specialize In. There is no doubt that this is the most important thing for any writer to take into consideration. When you have in-depth knowledge on a subject, it provides you with the tools and inspiration to write compelling articles that will keep readers coming back to your web page for more. Specialization also gives you great confidence and helps you provide details about the topic you are covering. You are most likely to include facts and insights when writing a very familiar topic that may have not been covered by other writers who have written on the same subject. There is nothing more wonderful than seeing writers connect with your thoughts and nodding their head in agreement while reading what you have written. Have you ever read an article where you felt like the writer is actually in your home and understands what you are going through? Yes, that is the power of a compelling content – it connects with the reader.
When you write on topics that you are most familiar with, it really sets you apart from the crowd. Visitors to your website will, in time, love your content and will definitely keep coming back for more. There is no Google algorithm change that will EVER affect this particular content generation tip – and you can take that to the bank!
Search Engine Optimization Hint: Highly informative and well-detailed content are known to rank high on Google search results.
2. Group Major Parts of Content into Sub-headings. One of the content writing tactics to avoid includes using poor formatting. When you categorize your content into subheadings, this will help you structure your content better, and make it reader-friendly. People like to read articles that are structured and flow well. You should consider which headings need to be placed higher and which headings should follow. Even if an article is five thousand words long, if it is well structured, readers will keep reading from the top to the bottom.
Search Engine Optimization Hint: When your article is well-structured, it will be a lot easier for you to create crisp, compelling title tags and headings for better SEO ranking.
3. Stay Focused on the Chosen Subject – Don’t Stray! There are times when you want to write about a subject matter, but you find yourself going on and on about another topic that is closely related to the main topic you are writing about. It is important to stay focused on the key topic of the article. You need to understand that the attention span of an average web user is short, and they do not have the time to waste on reading irrelevant content. Readers want to read well-written content on their enquiries. Concise and crisp articles are inviting to readers. Web pages and articles that lack focus seldom get repeat visitors and often NEVER get shared, tagged or pinned. Creating content that sticks to the subject matter is a great writing practice that every writer should stick to.
Search Engine Optimization Hint: Having content that gets repeat visitors will help boost your search engine ranking with search engines, especially almighty Google.
4. Create Opinionated and Detailed Content. It is very easy to use your personal experience when you write on a subject matter that you specialize in. Providing your honest opinion wherever possible will come easily to you. People love to read an expert’s personal experiences and also want to know their honest opinions. Once they know that they can count on getting your personal contribution on the topic of their liking, there is a high possibility that they will bookmark your blog or website, share your content with others and keep coming back for more.
Search Engine Optimization Hint: Having more visitors to your blog or website means having higher search engine ranking.
5. Include an Introductory and Conclusion Paragraph… Always. It is important that you follow a simple, yet important and expected writing style. Include an introductory and concluding paragraph wherever possible within your blog posts or articles. Yes, it is a standard practice, and yes, readers expect it. When you include introduction and conclusion paragraphs in your blog posts or articles, it provides readers with a much better web experience.
Search Engine Optimization Hint: Well-written, structured blogs and web pages get higher rankings in search engines.
6. Do Not Forget to Give Vivid and Suitable Examples Wherever Possible. When you give examples, it helps readers visualize things better. Mental pictures help create a connection between readers and the content – this is why we all love fiction writers like George RR Martin or Stephen King. Fiction writers have a way of helping us escape into the world of the characters they created. They make us love, hate, adore, sympathize, criticize and understand their characters by simply using the power of words. In order to keep the interest levels of your readers high, include examples where possible.
Search Engine Optimization Hint: Though examples may not be important to search engines currently, with the ever changing algorithm, top search engines will evaluate blogs and websites for examples…in the future.
7. Give Professional Hints and Tips. If you are creating content on technical subjects, then it is important to offer helpful hints and tips wherever possible. When you are writing walk-through guides, tutorials or how-to articles, it is important to provide valuable hints and tips. Heidi Cohen is one professional who knows how to give valuable professional tips in her write-ups.
8. Make Use of Your Own Voice or Style – Do Not Be a Copycat. There is absolutely nothing wrong with reading web pages or blog posts written by other writers in your niche, but it is vital that you create your own unique style and content. Create content using your own words. It is super easy to find copied content on the internet. The copyright laws for both online and offline writers are still the same – you should NEVER violate any copyright laws! Besides, your readers will begin to expect your unique writing style over time when they visit your blog page or website. Creating and presenting content in your own unique style is of utmost importance. No guide to creating content is complete without a heavy emphasis of “be original”.
Search Engine Optimization Hint: You will never have to worry about getting marked down for having duplicate content. Google hates duplicate content and would not hesitate to slam the hammer down hard on bloggers or website owners who think it is cute to steal other people’s content and pass it off as their own.
9. Give the Credit Back to Original Sources. Do you plan to use images or texts from another website or blog? Then you will need to provide credit back to the original source, or simply provide a link back to the source. When it comes to building a trusted brand on the internet, it is important that you do not get accused of stealing another person’s intellectual property. When you give credit to the original source, you are simply showing your ethics and intentions to others. Your readers will appreciate you for declaring the origin of an image or texts that is not yours, instead of passing them off as yours. If you choose to the look the other direction and claim someone else’s intellectual property as yours, when the truth comes out, it may ruin your reputation beyond repair.
Search Engine Optimization Hint:Search engines value credit backs and will grade you higher.
10. Use Images. Images play a vital role in creating better website content. Most people perceive online based content to be more graphical than regular books. Many online users want to see interesting images on your blog or website. If given a choice, most people would prefer to read blogs or web pages with images. You can take advantage of this by adding images on your blog or web page. Make sure you add the right titles and image alt tags for every image you use for your content – doing this will help in accessing your site, helping readers with special needs and search engines.
Search Engine Optimizing Hint: Providing the right image size, description and title will assist you in driving more traffic to your site through image searches as well.
Creating Content for the Web
By simply following the aforementioned content creation and search engine optimization hints, you can help improve the experience of visitors to your blog or website and also help you get high ranks in search engine results. In addition to this, following the aforementioned web writing tips will ensure the general improvement of the web. There is an art and science to creating quality content, every writer has their own way of creating compelling content. This post has explained the scientific aspect of creating quality content.
Let’s face it, not everyone is born with the gift of stringing words together in a way that will excite, convince, implore and motivate readers to take action. This is where professional writers come in. Professional writers know how to get into the psyche of readers and get them to take action. Professional writers know how to create content that will arrest the attention of target audiences and will rank high in search results.
An SEO copywriter does more than get a few keywords, sit in front of his or her computer and start typing away. They do some research, and know how to craft words that will strike a chord in readers. There is no point churning out articles that will not motivate readers to take action. The job of a professional writer is to use the right words that will motivate readers and make them feel a connection to your brand.
How you ever wondered why some words in books you read a long time ago still linger in your memory? You still remember some of the lines said by major and minor characters. You remember these books because you connected with words and the characters in the story.
A professional writer works hard to create content that does the same thing – connects with readers.
Today’s business world has changed. You don’t have to have an office or even a physical location. In most cases you can sign the necessary paperwork, obtain the right licenses and work from home. Because it’s so easy to start a business, a lot of people assume that they can handle very aspect of their company themselves from home.
Content Writing: To Maximize Your Best Investment
While there are plenty of things you can handle, content writing might not be one of them. With the Internet market booming, competition is fierce and search engines are tightening the ropes on what they’ll recommend and what they’ll ignore. It’s entirely up to you which path you choose — do-it-yourself content or hiring out — but before you make the decision, familiarize yourself with the process.
Great Writers Equals Great Content
If you need to boost your organic search engine results, you need excellent writing. The days of quickly throwing out a blog post or just slapping 300 words on a website aren’t going to work anymore. Your content writing must be informational, unique and without errors. Also, your writing needs to be compelling. People should want to continue reading and come back to read more.
To do this, you need to step away from your personal attachment to your blog or website and assess your writing skills. Are you capable of writing error-proof, well-researched and engaging content? Does writing come naturally to you? If you struggle to write, it might be best to leave your content to content writing services. While you might have to pay a little extra, content writing services can write the content you need for your blog or website in less time, without errors and ultimately save you resources in the long run.
Time is Money
You already know how much you have on your plate. You’re running a business, perhaps a blog and you of course have a personal life too. There is a lot of day-to-day tasks you must complete to keep your operation in check and staying up-to-date on content requirements and producing fresh content on a regular basis might not be something you can squeeze in. Hiring someone for your content writing, including blogs, press releases, web content, etc. allows you to focus on your business while still getting quality content for your site.
Research, Research, Research
SEO and search engine algorithms are changing constantly. What works today doesn’t always work next year or even next week. Finding the right techniques for your content writing can be hit or miss, especially if you’re not up to date on the latest research. Not only does a content writing service provide you with keyword-rich content, but they know how to craft pieces that meet the expectations of search engines. It is their job to constantly research what search engine algorithms want and they have the time to stay up to date on the latest algorithm changes. While you can certainly do the research yourself, it is time consuming and might require you to spend more time researching for not only what to write about, but how to write it so you’re in the good graces of Google.
You Get What You Pay For
Sure, writing your own content or having a family member write the content saves you big. But, you get what you pay for. Will that content be able to sell your products? Will it be relatable to the people likely to visit your site? If you just need people to get directions to your store, then mediocre content writing is fine. But, if you need to sell, a professional content writing service might be the answer.
Things to Consider When You Do Hire a Content Writing Service
If you’ve decided DIY is not the way to go with your content strategy, the next step is hiring a content writing service. There are certainly plenty to choose from, but not all are created equally. Before you just hire anyone to represent your brand with words, look for providers who can:
Offer a turnkey content strategy solution — from planning to scheduling and writing all of your content.
Repurpose and reuse content.
Offer you high-quality content from United States or English-speaking writers.
Offer you talented writers that write engaging, memorable content for your site.
You quit the 9-to-5 job and have gone out on a limb to create your own career from your home office as a Freelance Writer. Sure, that means the suit and tie and 7 a.m. alarm can be tossed out the window. It means you can sit at the computer with your Avengers coffee mug and your college t-shirt and lounge pants to start writing. However, there are certain things professional content writers understand they need to continue practicing in order to be respected. Most of these are true in any field. However, the world of the freelancer is a bit different, simply because of the way work is done and contacts are made.
I’m a Freelance Writer, Now What?
This particular blog will look at certain areas of freelancing that require care and professionalism in order to enhance your career. Those areas are social media, client interaction and combating stereotypes. Without some focus on professionalism in these areas, other efforts will be undervalued or completely ignored. Therefore, remember professionalism in the following ways, and have confidence that your career will move forward at the rate and in the manner you hope to achieve.
Social Media Techniques as a Freelancer
The first thing to remember is your profile picture on Facebook. If you are utilizing Facebook as one of your self-marketing tools, it is best to appear professional in that profile photo. While you may love to kick back at a party on the weekend and do a keg stand, or you are proud of the black eye and broken nose you received last time you engaged in a bar brawl, these moments are best kept away from your professional persona.
Likewise, the status updates that chronicle those weekend free-for-alls or even your intense political views should be avoided, unless those aspects of your life contribute positively to your writing in some way. If you can’t refrain from those status updates, make sure your professional contacts are on one list and the friends you share those crazy moments with are the list you select to view that particular group of posts.
One final aspect of your Facebook persona that you should keep in mind is the option to separate the personal page from the professional one. In this manner, the photos and status updates meant for college buddies or your weekend crew can be posted freely, while your clients are seeing the image you want to present to enhance your career.
Facebook has made it simple to link a professional page to your personal one, so you can be an admin on the professional page and toggle between the two with a simple click or two. This provides the ease of access some feel would be lacking with separate professional and personal Facebook pages.
Things to Remember When Interacting with Clients
Interactions with clients, whether in the swank office of a Fortune 500 company or in your home office, should have some basic tenets that remain the same. For instance, do not have a television blaring or the radio overshadowing the client during a conference, even if that conference is taking place over Skype.
As a mother, I recognize that noise levels are not completely controllable with children living out their lives in the living room nearby. However, having spent years in a newsroom at a small morning paper, sometimes it is easier to get the television turned down at home and the kids to take it down a notch than it was to have co-workers reined in on a particularly stressful or exciting news day.
Also, for those video conferences, it is best to look semi-presentable. A three-piece suit is not in order, but combed hair and a work casual shirt would be a great way to let the client know you take their project – and them – seriously enough to prepare for those conferences instead of simply rolling out of bed and clicking the Skype button on the computer.
Combating Stereotypes As a Professional Freelancer
Being the creative element for a company where you may have no other contact can give them the entirely wrong impression. In general, freelancers are seen as unable to keep a “regular” schedule, unwilling to work full-time and even seen as filling time until they find a “real job.” This is the mindset that is held, rather than to see freelancers as an asset to be utilized when necessary that would otherwise be tied up at another company and out of the reach of that narrow-minded client.
Since that client is still the one handing out the paychecks, it is best to combat stereotypes in a manner that does not result in a confrontation or battle. Instead of fighting over these concepts, show them your value in other ways.
Be prompt or even early on a deadline, if that is feasible.
Be available for communication throughout the project. Let them know you aren’t sleeping or aren’t out on field trips. Instead, you are working hard in your work area, regardless of where that might be.
Be firm with your expectations and reasonable in what changes are allowed. As a freelance writer, you still have the right to put your foot down when things have been adjusted a few too many times and your time is being wasted.
Finally, be prepared to turn down the clients that don’t see your value and continue to attempt to get quality work at subpar rates. You are making a living and are as professional as the client regardless of work space. If that can’t be understood and valued by one client, it will be by the next one.
As professional content writers, sometimes we forget to present ourselves in the right light in a more public arena. If this area of your career is neglected, however, it can sorely affect the overall success. That isn’t to say you can never lounge in your pajamas at the computer, finishing up that project or putting ideas that suddenly hit you into fruition. However, remembering to be professional at the times it counts means those moments in your pajamas can be even sweeter.
Any blog content writing expert will tell you that sometimes, it can feel as though every piece that you write is your first.
What’s most baffling about this is that any writer can experience this phenomenon, whether they’ve written the same type of content 10 or 1,000 times.
And while we can’t explain why this happens, we can tell you that blog content writing doesn’t have to begin from that unknown place, or make you feel like an amateur. But simplifying this process may mean trying more than a few things before you find one that works for you.
How to Simplify Your Content Writing Techniques
1. Calls to Action Aren’t Just for Sales Letters
Believe it or not, that seemingly short and tiny blog post has more parts to it than you may think. In addition to the title, which it goes without saying, should do enough to inspire the reader to keep reading, a blog post also needs a call to action, which usually appears at the bottom of the post.
What’s interesting about the call to action on a blog post is that you have far fewer chances to get the reader to perform the desired action than you would with the call to action in a sales letter. A long-form sales letter may have 5, 6, or even 7 calls to action, each more insistent in their urgency than the last. But with a blog post, you may only be able to reiterate a call to action twice.
A common type of call to action used on blog posts is to ask a question that’s relevant to the content the blog post discusses. So for example, if your blog posts talks about the benefits of Internet access for businesses, you might end your blog post with something like:
“How has internet access benefited your business? Are there any advantages you’d like to add besides the ones listed above? I’d love to hear your thoughts, so please post your comment below!”
Your call to action can also take a different form, such as with a banner or sidebar.
2. A Photo Speaks a Thousand Words
If you want to make sure that as many people as possible not only see, but also read and retain your blog content, consider including an image in your post.
Images can cause a number of things to occur in the mind of your reader. Not only can they help clarify the points you make in your post, but they are also a convenient way to visually sum up of the ‘mood’ of your post.
3. Headings Matter
Just when you thought that headings were only for sales letters comes the news that they are just as important in your blog content writing. This is due to the fact that headings add to page structure, which is vital for successful search engine optimization. Headings serve to illustrate your content’s most important parts, as well as illustrating how one part connects to another. Not only that, but there are rules to follow as far as headings in blog posts go.
First, there is only room for one H1 heading on any page. But which part of your post should contain this heading? The part that carries the most importance, say the experts. Second, any subheading should be an H2, a subheading under that an H3, and so forth.
In addition to being the proper size and indicative of the importance of your content, headings should also include those keywords that you consider to be valuable. By not including keywords in your headings, you are wasting many SEO opportunities. Finally, keep in mind that headings also offer convenience to your readers, as they can use your headings to skim through your blog post to find the information they want.
4. Use More SEO
As well as entering keywords into your headings, it’s important that search engine optimization tactics be incorporated into the your blog content writing. Google is the biggie here, and getting found by the heavy search engine hitter requires knowing a few things about how it works.
Those who can be considered experts can score big with Google. Ensure you have at least a few guest post articles published so they can link your name with your post. Formatting is another thing that Google looks upon favorably — so headings and structure are king.
And although a photo is a good thing, try not to overdo it with the images. The freshness of your content is also important, so keeping it as current and relevant as possible will only help you.
Accessibility is another way to please Google. This means doing all the things that make your site understandable by those with seeing, hearing or developmental challenges. Telling Google where you are located is a great way to get noticed. Where possible, also include outbound hyperlinks, as well as links on your blog page to the other pages on your site.
5. Add Design Elements
The beautiful blog is one with design that not only pleases the eye, but serves both the reader and the search engines. And there are certain design elements that will help your blog to realize success. Among them, buttons to allow reader to instantly share your posts on social media, the encouragement of comments on your posts and “flat site architecture.” The latter means to reduce the number of clicks it takes for readers to get to your blog content.
Other elements that can greatly influence your blog’s page views, bounce rate and conversions include ensuring that the best content is located ‘above the fold’, or at a point on your page before the reader has to begin scrolling.
6. Get in the Zone
Finally, it’s important that you are in the right mindset for blog post content writing. Whether inspiration hits you while you’re driving, walking or even sleeping, ensure that you have the tools you need to get your ideas down before you forget them. Even if it takes you days to write your post, writing ideas down when they hit will save you a lot of work in the future.
As with every job, career path or even calling, there are some things it is always better to avoid as content writers. As Google improves its search technology, there are many previous habits that are no longer going to be useful.
4 Content Writing Avoidable’s
The Internet is a constantly adjusting entity. It is hard to choose a word to accurately describe the technology that continues to amaze generation after generation. The older generations, like the Baby Boomers, are still wrapping their minds around the instant access to so much information. The younger generations (is that you?) still find a moment when they stop and think, “Wow, I didn’t know I could do THAT.” We all have a lot to keep learning from the world around us. The Internet is now a huge part of that world. It continues to change and create new things for the next generations to learn.
For now though, we’ll come back from the cosmos that is the potential of the Internet. We’ll focus on the changes in SEO writing now and the previous successful tactics that no one liked, but they knew were useful to make money. These can (thankfully) be left behind now.
1) Don’t Write Low Quality
This is good news. Any low quality writing, low quality guest posting sites and article submissions of basically fluff pieces, won’t be of any use in the future. So the writing that is done for pennies won’t even be worth that anymore. Better quality writing for better quality sites will again be the order of the day, while cheap and useless will be relegated to the past.
Writers take pride in their work, much like an architect or a NASA scientist after a successful shuttle launch. That pride has been taking a huge hit because people don’t understand the effort that goes into creating good quality writing. Writers have been on a level with fast food workers or under appreciated workers in foreign countries – particularly since those workers in other countries can work for less than writers in the U.S.A. and feel like they are making a remarkable wage. Now, English as a second language – writing is not going to cut it for high-ranking results from Google. It’s back to paying for quality to get what a business needs, so avoid doing low quality work and prepare to reap the benefits of your time well spent.
2) Avoid the Ones Building Reputation the Wrong Way
Building links quickly to compete with long-standing brand names or companies with impressive histories will also be something you won’t see anymore. Those who are willing to take the time and build the right image through the right processes will see the success they aim for in business. As a writer, recognize that the shortcuts previously implemented won’t be making you the money anymore.
Google techies are getting smarter. Their programming is written to make sure those shortcuts and poor quality efforts to draw in customers will disappear into the dregs of the search engine results, buried in thousands of pages of more attention-worthy content. Get yourself, as a writer, back onto those pages with your writing efforts.
Links will need to viewed for the quality of information they provide. Your writing, with adequate research, will be the forefront of the success of new and improved link building. Sound good? It should sound fantastic. This is the way information in print was shared previously, with care and attention to veracity and use.
3) Avoid Fluff Writing
I’ve been seeing this warning more and more from companies searching for a writer to blog for them or handle their outsourced projects. Previously, as long as the SEO keyword was repeated enough, the rest didn’t matter. Next, it looked like a well-put together piece, but actual research on the topic was a waste of time. Companies wanted to give the impression of effort without paying for actual quality. Now, the quality is once again the important aspect.
According to a humorously titled piece, “Friends Don’t Let Friends Write SEO,” the truth comes out. Great writing is not about the words incorporated into the set-length piece. Instead, the important part is the ideas shared and retained after the piece has been read. The great writers know this. The benefit now is that others are once again recognizing that. So writing for the Internet can go back to the level of quality it should present.
4) Never, Ever Forget the Audience
From this infographic for SEO writing tips for 2013, an important Don’t is gleaned. When you write to fit in a set number of keywords during a set number of words overall, you have forgotten the main point of any piece of writing. What does your audience care if you say the company name six times? The bots may care, but they AREN’T the ones you should be thinking of as you write each piece.
Remember those classes? It doesn’t matter if they were in high school or college. Even in elementary school, your English teacher talked about the audience. Remember to answer the questions the audience might ask. Give detail and share new ideas it hasn’t already seen multiple times. Well, the repetition of that keyword is not meeting the goals the audience sets for you, the writer. Remember those goals instead.
As a website content writer, you know the essentials to creating a memorable piece. The classic novels, all the way to a news article or a magazine piece that will be discussed and used in future classrooms, all meet the same expectations. They improve the reader in some way once that piece, novel or article has been read in full. So don’t let your writing be dragged to the lowest level with the least respect. Take heart in the knowledge that things are turning around again, and writers will be expected to write quality work once again. Now, the battle turns to being paid what that piece is really worth. Turn the page to watch how that fight plays out.
