If you are performing a home renovation and run into an issue, what’s typically your first response? It’s probably to grab your phone and type in a search. If you’re experienced in repairs, you might search “How to put in dry wall,” or you might search “Dry wall repairman near me.”
Both those searches will pull up a unique list of relevant content businesses create to either educate you or help connect you to someone who can help.
As a business, you can play a role in where your online content appears and who sees it. It’s not just up to chance. Through careful content optimization, you can improve your ranking. One of the most crucial parts of the optimization process is choosing the right keywords for your audience that will appear in search results.
Learn how to choose keywords for SEO using just five simple rules.
What’s the Big Deal with Keywords?
Search engine optimization are strategies you perform to prepare your content for Google search, hoping you will rank high in search results. Since over half of web traffic comes from organic searches, optimizing your website for search should be a priority. However, you don’t want to appear in just any search results. You want to rank high in searches your ideal audience performs, ideally landing on the first page. The first page of Google search results receives the highest number of clicks.
Google’s algorithm uses over 200 factors when ranking websites in search results. While each factor plays a role, one crucial factor is your keywords.
Keywords for search engine optimization will help Google identify your content’s topic to ensure you appear in front of your target audience. You can use them on web pages or create blog posts to target keyword opportunities and increase traffic from those searches.
A common misconception with SEO keywords is that they are terms you can input in your page’s code, telling Google, “Hey, this is the content’s topic!”
Keywords are far more subtle than that. They blend right in with your content. There is no signal telling Google which terms are your keywords. However, by strategically placing them in your title, intro, and key areas in your content, Google’s algorithm will take note of the phrase.
However, ranking for the keyword relies on you also performing other SEO strategies to build your authority, create quality content, and build trust with your audience. If you have those other strategies in place, selecting the most relevant and quality keyword fits the last puzzle piece in place for Google to rank you well in relevant searches.
5 Tips for Choosing Quality Keywords
Here are a few of our top tips to help you appear in the RIGHT searches at the RIGHT spot in front of the RIGHT audience.
Use these to learn how to choose SEO keywords that will rank in Google.
Tip 1: Understand What Your Audience Is Searching
While you can create your own keywords that match your topic, those keywords may not connect with your audience. Always start your keyword research by using a tool like SEMrush or Ahrefs to discover search queries your audience is performing rather than guessing at what terms to focus on.
Every time you type a search into Google, it records it. Those are called search queries. Analyzing records of those queries will help you decide what phrases to use in your content. When you use the exact words your audience is searching for, you are more likely to appear as a search result than if you use random phrases throughout your content.
Selecting just one strong keyword in your content is a fantastic start, but you still have more you can do to help Google identify your content’s topic and rank that content in the most relevant searches.
In addition to a primary keyword, you will also use keyword variations throughout your content. These are synonyms of your SEO keywords and phrases that commonly appear alongside them.
For example, if you target the keyword “best phone,” you might also use the phrases “best smartphone” and “best iPhone.” Using synonyms avoids repeating the exact phrase throughout the article, which Google often sees as spam. It can also help you rank for more searches related to your primary topic.
You can find synonyms and related keywords in your keyword research tool or by looking in the People Also Ask section of Google.
Image from SEMrush
Tip 3: Focus on High Traffic SEO Keywords
Not all phrases are of equal value when you choose keywords for SEO. Some keywords bring in more traffic than others.
Take a look at these two keywords. “Email marketing software” has 4,400 people searching the phrase monthly, while “Online marketing software” has 170 monthly searches. Targeting high-traffic keywords will bring more traffic to your site if you can rank in those searches.
Image from SEMrush
Tip 4: Go for Low Competition SEO Keywords
Keyword traffic isn’t the only data that comes into play when strategically choosing a keyword. You also want to consider their keyword difficulty score. This score is a percentage of 100 that will tell you how many other sites wrote content on the same topic and whether those sites already have a solid online presence. A site with a strong brand is more likely to rank higher in search results than a new site or one with little authority. If you want to rank for a search, you want to avoid competing against businesses with significantly higher brand authority.
For example, what happens when you search for “laptop repair?” You will see big names like Best Buy and HP repair services pop up on the first page. A small laptop repair business would struggle to gain a high-ranking spot for that keyword. However, a term like “laptop screen repair near me” has far less competition, mainly because you are only competing against other local shops with a digital presence who might also create content on that topic.
If you have a strong brand, you can try to rank for high-competition keywords. However, if you’re a single blogger or a new business, you will want medium or low-difficulty keywords.
Image from SEMrush
Tip 5: Consider the User’s Intent
User intent is the purpose behind their search. A user asking Google what’s in a chicken parmesan has a very different intent than one asking Google where to find chicken parmesan. One user is looking for information, most likely trying to find a recipe. The second user is looking for a restaurant, so they are ready and willing to pay for chicken parmesan.
When searching SEO keywords, look at what intent your tool notes the keyword as. The four search intents are:
Navigational: Looking for a specific website or page.
Informational: Looking for information or education.
Commercial: Users are interested in buying and are researching their options.
Transactional: Users are ready to buy and know what they want.
If you don’t have an SEO tool, you can also use logic to determine why someone might search for a phrase. Performing the exact search can show you what type of content appears, again helping you understand what users are looking for.
By providing content that matches your users’ intent, Google is more likely to display it first as it will see it as more relevant.
For instance, if your users have commercial or transactional intent, your article should be product heavy. Informational intent content, the article should focus on educating the user, not promoting products and services.
Image from SEMrush
Choose Keywords for SEO That Your Audience Is Searching
Are you ready to optimize your content for Google?
Begin by performing keyword research before diving into content creation. Keyword research helps you identify those high-traffic, low-competition search queries that will keep you ranking high in search results.
If you need help finding the most relevant and highest-quality keywords, add our SEO research package to your next order, and our content strategist will help you.
SEO content is one of the most consistently effective ways to attract web traffic. In today’s increasingly competitive environment, however, writing SEO content that ranks in Google is hard to do.
In fact, about 7.5 million new blogs are posted every single day, which means standing out from the crowd is harder than ever.
How do you contend with extreme competition? It all comes down to your content.
Good SEO content writing drives traffic, but it also takes work. In this blog, we’ll break down the top factors behind Google SERP and give you 7 simple steps to achieving your content dreams.
Google’s Top Factors for Ranking Content
Google’s search result algorithm is incredibly complex with hundreds upon hundreds of factors that distinguish good content from mediocre or subpar webpages.
This complexity helps prevent exploitation—for instance, if SEO keyword density was the only factor, any blog could instantly rise to the number 1 listing by simply spamming the keyword more times than anybody else. The unfortunate side effect of this complexity is that it can be difficult to know what Google will choose to promote and why they choose to promote it.
SinceGoogle’s algorithm (and, just as importantly, its massive collection of data) is one of the world’s most valuable trade secrets, marketers don’t have direct access to how it works. However, the factors that Google seems to favor can be broken down into eight categories of factors. Here are some of the most important factors in 2024:
High-Quality Content. Google wants you to continue using their search engine, especially as Microsoft makes a renewed push for their AI-enabled search engine, Bing. They want to deliver high-quality, human-written, informative content that answers their users’ questions. Since your audience also wants to read useful, helpful information, one of the simplest ways to drive SEO traffic to your website is simply to write useful, helpful content.
Backlinks. Links to other websites gives your blog credibility—not just in the eyes of your readers, but in the eyes of the algorithm as well.
SEO Keyword Usage. While keyword density isn’t the only factor that drives placement, SEO keyword usage is one of the primary ways Google looks for relationships between queries and results.
Engagement. If audiences share your content on social media sites, engage in comment sections, and interact positively with your website, this can serve as a vote of confidence for the SERP algorithm. While this depends on audience action, it isn’t totally out of your hands, either—your SEO content can encourage engagement, thereby boosting your SERP.
Other factors that aren’t related to the quality of your content itself, such as the technical performance of your website or your UX design, can also play into Google’s results placement algorithm.
The 7-Step SEO Content Writing Checklist
Armed with some knowledge of Google’s algorithm, here are some practical steps to writing good SEO content for your website:
1.Study Other SEO Content Examples
One of the best and simplest ways to improve SERP is to simply do a Google search for the keywords you want to be ranked for and read the top results. See what other content does right, and incorporate those strategies into your own content.
It’s important to understand, however, that this doesn’t mean simply copying their words. Derivative, repetitive content doesn’t perform well on Google, and outright plagiarism can be unethical and even illegal. However, studying the results can net you valuable insights.
This deceptively simple process is one of the easiest ways to boost your SEO content’s performance.
2.Conduct Industry-Specific Keyword Research
As you consider the type of audience you wish to attract, you should familiarize yourself with the language they use. What are the concerns of the industry you’re targeting? What types of questions are they hoping to answer? What industry-specific language do they use?
If your SEO content uses the same language as your target audience, it’s more likely to return as a top result from their searches.
3.Analyze Your Competition
Andy Warhol once said a version of the phrase, “Good artists copy, great artists steal.” Before him, Pablo Picasso said the same thing. Before him, Oscar Wilde.
While you should never steal another website’s words (not only because it’s unethical but also because it would rank poorly), you should steal inspiration. What do you like about your competitors’ websites? Do they incorporate humor in an engaging way? Do they provide targeted answers to their audience’s questions? What topics do they write about?
By analyzing your competition, you can hone your own ideas of what type of SEO content you want to write.
4.Consider Outsourcing with SEO Content Writing Services
If Google’s algorithm was simple, writing great SEO content would be simple too.
In reality, writing high-quality, helpful, informative content takes time. Outsourcing your content to SEO content writing services likeExpress Writers can give you back time in the day while increasing your organic web traffic. We make dreams come to life by turning our clients’ visions into realities.
Outsourcing your SEO content writing can save you time and money, increase your results placement, and—maybe most importantly—help you avoid the headache of writing and researching SEO blogs yourself.
5.Pay Attention to Formatting While Writing
Formatting is important because it’s part of the way web crawlers parse information on the screen. That’s why SEO keyword placement (e.g. where keywords appear within your copy) is so important—keywords in titles and headings have greater weight for SERP than keywords in the body of your article.
However, that’s not the only reason formatting should matter to you—formatting is also important for your audience. The average reader only spends53 seconds on a website. That means you’re in a race against time to capture your audience’s attention and imagination. Good headings help to orient your audience and contextualize what they’re reading.
6.Take Time to Edit and Polish Your Work Before Publishing
Part of quality writing means writing that’s free of grammatical and spelling errors. It’s always worth a few extra minutes to edit and polish SEO content before you publish it.
Modern tools like Grammarly can quickly spot errors and suggest solutions. Paid versions of their tools can even detect the way your writing might be coming off to audiences, helping you adjust your tone on the fly.
Proofreading is an important step in the content writing process—your audience will thank you.
7.Dive Into Your Analytics to Track Results
In this guide, we’ve recommended researching keywords by searching for them and reading the top results, and researching your competitors by reading their content to see what you like about their approach. Now, it’s time to analyze your own results.
By analyzing traffic to different pages on your website, you can identify what types of content perform well and which are failing to capture an audience. Look for commonalities like the type of content, formatting, specific keywords, general topics, etc. If you’re writing for a highly seasonal industry, consider which types of content perform best at different times.
Analyzing your results provides invaluable insight into what works and what doesn’t, how you can adjust in the future, and how you can expect your content to perform.
Want to Rank at the Top of Google?
The top organic result on Google getsover a quarter of the clicks. By contrast, over 96% of all content doesn’t get any traffic from Google. In other words, SERP is functionally a winner-take-all system where the top results capture a huge fraction of all traffic and the vast majority of pages receive no traffic at all.
The stakes are high—that’s why you shouldn’t leave it up to chance.
In our free ebook, we share six factors you need to know before you begin writing. In addition, we provide real-world examples of how high-quality, valuable content produces results.
Good writing starts with a good SEO blog outline, but in the age of search engine optimization, “good” can mean a lot of different things.
Should your outline be optimized for top search engine results placement? For maximum reader engagement? For clarity and economy of language?
In the attention ecosystem, a good SEO blog outline requires all of the above. Your outline should be tailored to the search terms you want to be ranked for, but it also has to support your specific goals and speak to your specific audience. All of this can feel like a juggling act, but don’t worry—in this guide, we make writing a high-performing SEO blog outline achievable in just 3 easy steps.
Step 1: Select High-Quality Keywords
Before you can start writing your perfect SEO blog outline, you have to first identify what you’re writing about.
There are two kinds of keywords you should be aware of: focus keywords and secondary keywords.
Focus Keywords
Focus keywords are the primary words or phrases you target for search engine results placement (SERP). High-quality focus keywords should be specific enough to accurately describe your content, but broad enough that related web searches still return your page.
For example, “SEO” is too broad to be a helpful focus keyword for this blog post. A web search for “SEO” will return too many results on too many overlapping topics. However, a keyword like “SEO blog outline” is more specific to the content of this blog—that means users who search for “SEO blog outline” are more likely to be looking for articles like this one.
A best practice for focus keywords is to include them in the title and at least one major heading within your blog.
Secondary Keywords
As the name suggests, secondary keywords are less central to your SEO blog outline. They may describe the broad ideas and subjects of your blog or highlight niche topics within your content.
While you don’t necessarily have to include secondary keywords in your blog outline itself, they should be present in the content of your blog. Secondary keywords don’t have to be as targeted as your focus keyword—think of them as additional context for your focus keywords. For example, “writing” is too broad for a focus keyword, but in tandem with the focus keyword “SEO blog outline,” “writing” can add additional context that improves SERP for your blog.
Step 2: Know Yourself and Know Your Audience
Think about the way teachers communicate with their students: it’s different from the way they communicate with parents, isn’t it?
It’s likely that the way you communicate with loved ones is different than the way you communicate with colleagues or bosses. The way you might talk to a potential client is different from the way you might talk to a competitor.
Communication is always in service of a goal—whether that be to order your morning coffee, run an efficient meeting, or convert a new lead.
When it comes to SEO blog writing, understanding your goal is pivotal. However, motivation isn’t the only component—you must also consider your audience. Just like you might adjust your communication style based on the situation, you might also adjust your style based on the person you’re talking to.
Blogs are typically audience-oriented. Blogs change minds, break down barriers, and encourage change, but blog posts themselves are not just productive monologues, they’re a kind of secret dialogue between a writer and their audience.
Knowing your own goals and identifying the audience you wish to speak to is the vital first step in writing an SEO blog outline. As easy as that is to say, “knowing” and “identifying” are ambiguous concepts in practice. Here’s what this looks like in action:
Tone
As you write the body of your blog, you’ll quickly realize that there are a thousand and one different creative decisions you can make. Should you take a conversational style? Should you incorporate jokes? What about emojis? It’s helpful to think about tone in several dimensions:
Formal vs Conversational. Factors may include your target audience’s age and the context they’ll be reading your blog in. In a corporate finance blog, a formal tone could convey expertise and certainty. However, a blog geared towards personal finance for beginners might benefit from a more conversational tone that feels engaging and personable—even if the factual content of the blog is exactly the same.
Humorous vs Informational. Humorous writing is engaging and can be enjoyable for readers, but not every topic or audience lends itself to humor. In the wrong context, humor can make a writer appear unserious, especially if the joke obfuscates something more important in your writing. An informational approach can feel more “dry” to readers, which can work against you if you’re trying to create a memorable connection with a reader, but can be a benefit when your goal is purely to convey information.
Enthusiastic vs Factual. Finally, enthusiastic writing can increase the readers’ motivation to take action, while a more reserved presentation of facts has greater educational value. Enthusiasm is contagious and can inspire confidence in your readers, but it takes a balance between enthusiastic presentation and factual grounding to find the right tone for any blog.
Authority
As you think about your target audience, what level of experience do they have with the topic? Are you writing to seasoned experts who already understand the foundational concepts of your writing? Or are you writing to newcomers who need a thorough explanation of the background of your topic?
In practice, the distinction is never that black and white—your audience will most likely be somewhere in between the two extremes. For this blog, for example, I’m assuming most readers are familiar with the concept of search engine optimization.
Your target audience’s level of authority on the topic should guide the way you structure your article, what topics deserve their own headings, and which ones can safely rest on the cutting room floor.
Motivation
Finally, consider the action you’re hoping your readers will take after reading your blog. Some blogs simply want to create a positive experience for readers—perhaps to increase brand loyalty or awareness. Others seek to add value to their readers’ lives through conveying important information. Still others are hoping to convert readers to make a purchase.
Your motivation plays a large role in how you structure your SEO blog outline.
The Problem, Solution, Proof formula works well to efficiently break down barriers and change readers’ minds, while informational blogs like this one benefit from sequential organization.
Vincent Van Gogh frequently painted over his existing paintings, iterating on them to create great works of art. Similarly, Da Vinci painted the Mona Lisa over an existing sketch. The greatest works of art weren’t executed in a single stroke of genius—they’re the result of revision and iteration.
In your SEO blog outline, iteration is pivotal. You should plan to iterate on not only the wording of your headings, but also on the content and structure of the blog itself.
Some practical ways you can iterate on your outline are to experiment with adding and removing subheadings, reordering sections of your piece, or simply trying out different wordings. The secret to creative iteration is experimentation, and it’s in the outlining stage of your blog that you have the most agility and freedom to experiment without consequence.
Once you’ve written the body of your blog, major restructuring has an exponentially higher time-cost. This is why revision and iteration are a part of the outlining phase of SEO blog development, because it’s your best opportunity to let your creative juices fly.
Work With the Best
Writing a SEO blog outline is doable, but it isn’t easy. It takes time, experience, and skill. Express Writers writes high-performing blogs for every industry, taking the guesswork and legwork out of your content strategy.
Did you know the top result of a Google search gets approximately 32% of all clicks?
So, it’s no wonder content creators fight to climb to the number one position in the SERPs. Secure that spot, and you’re sure to generate tons of organic traffic for your website.
The only problem is that not everyone is well-versed in the world of SEO best practices. When that happens, you have a couple of options – either learn how to do it yourself or hire SEO content writers to tackle the job for you.
We’ve compiled some reasons why it’s beneficial to outsource your SEO content writing to folks with a deep understanding of best practices and optimization. There are also a few things you’ll want to make sure your writer knows.
What’s the Difference Between SEO Copywriting and SEO Content Writing?
Now that you’re moving to hire content writers for your business, you might wonder if you should hire SEO copywriters or SEO content writers since there are some differences between the two.
As you likely already know, search engine optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your website and its content to boost visibility in search results. Because search engines like Google search for the most helpful and valuable content to share with users, it’s important to publish quality content your target audience is actually searching for.
First up, SEO copywriting focuses largely on converting that traffic into leads and sales for your business. These copywriters handle the creation of things like email campaigns, sales pages, product descriptions, and website copy. Overall, SEO copywriters focus their skills on persuasion and inspiring someone to act.
Meanwhile, the goal behind quality SEO content writing is creating people-first content optimized for search engines through keyword optimization. Writing this way allows you to focus on providing value through content and use optimization as an additional asset to generate more organic traffic for your website. SEO content writers typically craft blog posts, guest posts for other industry sites, service pages, and landing pages.
6 Reasons to Hire SEO Content Writers Trained in SEO Best Practices
You’ve decided to start with updating your blog strategy, so SEO content writers are the best choice for your business needs. Is it going to be worth the investment to pay for SEO content writing services? Or would it be better to tackle everything on your own? The size of your team will determine whether you should outsource or hire for your internal team. Meaning, it’s important to understand some reasons why you should bring on a writer with SEO content experience:
1. They Can Create High-Quality, Well-Written Content
Poor writing can make your business look unprofessional. If someone stumbles upon your website for the first time and discovers content riddled with bad grammar and spelling mistakes, they’re less likely to trust that you know what you’re talking about. Hiring content writers who have a high-level understanding of the language you write in is essential to successful content.
A professional writer will craft high-quality, well-written content that appeals to your readers and adds value. This will help you get sustainable results with your content. These SEO writers use content to make connections with your audience and should have industry experience that positions you to be successful in your niche. That means that they can convince people to take action because they’ve offered them a solution to a problem.
SEO content that provides value and is well-written is the smartest thing you can do for your content marketing strategy, and it starts with a professional content writer.
2. They’re Knowledgeable on SEO Best Practices
It’s safe to say the world of SEO is pretty competitive. After all, other creators in your industry target the same keywords you’re after. And much like you, they want to secure that coveted spot at the top of Google’s SERPs. For that reason, you want to hire content writers who are well versed in SEO and can keep up with this ever-evolving industry.
Your ideal writer will take time to understand your target audience and branding. This will allow them the space to utilize keywords while still putting people first. Whether they do keyword research for you or you have a content strategist, these writers understand how to implement your keywords throughout your content so it’s well-optimized but never forced.
Since Google regularly updates its algorithms, ensure that the writer you hire is committed to staying on top of all the changes and adapting their writing style. This step is essential to using data and metrics successfully in your content. If your writer doesn’t understand why they should be using a certain keyword or how to do that on multiple levels, you could risk a drop in your rankings.
A content writer trained in SEO has the knowledge to optimize your content because they know the best on-page strategies. Because, while creating engaging meta descriptions, complex header sequences, and even keyword distribution might seem easy, a master understands how to blend these tactics the best. And this seamless mix of SEO and expert writing chops will get you closer to the perfectly crafted content you need.
3. You’ll Generate More Traffic and Conversions
Because your content writer understands how Google and other search engines crawl and catalog content, you’ll be able to see the results of this investment more quickly. Your monthly page views can skyrocket because of the uptick in organic traffic. And all of it is because you have a writer who understands search intent from your target audience through SEO.
As your traffic increases, you’ll likely start seeing more engagement throughout your website. People will visit multiple pages, stay on pages longer, and start leaving comments. Even better? Amazing copywriting can boost your conversion rate.
People will start filling out your contact form or joining your subscriber list because they trust you know what you’re doing. This usually converts visitors and subscribers into paying customers that you can retain with ease. That makes the investment in hiring a writer worthwhile.
4. It’ll Save You the Time and Hassle of Doing it Alone
If writing isn’t your strong suit or you don’t know the first thing about SEO, trying to master both can feel overwhelming. Luckily, you don’t need to invest the time and energy into bettering your writing skills or studying SEO unless you want to. Instead, you can hire SEO content writers who are skilled professionals to handle the job for you.
These writers are better suited to creating content so you free up your time. You’ll improve efficiency in the content creation process because they can complete these tasks quicker and easier. It will also allow you to be more consistent with posting since you’ll have a steady stream of optimized content coming in.
And, with your time reclaimed, you can focus on the other tasks that need to be completed to grow your business. You can build out new or improved processes for your employees, develop stronger relationships with clients for retention, and even make product and service development a priority if you’ve had to put it off.
5. It’ll Help You Build the Know, Like, and Trust Factor
To create success in business, it’s important that you build the Know, Like, and Trust Factor. This is because people want to buy from businesses they like and trust. If they don’t trust you, they could take their business to your competitors.
So, what’s the secret to building trust? Well, One of the best ways to establish such a strong connection with your target audience is through your content.
You want to publish content to your site that addresses their pain points and interests. Then, you can provide a solution to their problems and add value to their lives or business. Without these points of connection, you can’t build a relationship with your readers.
When you hire content writers passionate about creating online content, they’ll craft content that speaks directly to your target readers to form a strong partnership. From there, it’s your job to continue nurturing that relationship by engaging with them.
6. Your Readers (and Google) Will Appreciate Your Content
Hiring SEO content writers is a surefire way to ensure you publish content your readers will love. Through keyword optimization and other SEO strategies, you can better address the interests and needs of your audience to consistently provide valuable content while building your readership. And your target audience will view you as a trusted resource to continue to come back to.
You can’t ignore the search engines while creating content. And hiring a trained SEO writer will help you keep Google happy. With the Google Helpful Content Update, it’s more important than ever to focus primarily on creating people-first content.
A great writer can balance the expectations of helpful content with SEO to create a powerful strategy. Plus, you’ll feel confident knowing that your readers and Google will love what you publish.
What to Look for When Hiring SEO Content Writers
Now we’ve covered the value of hiring SEO content writers to assist with your content creation, your next task is to hire someone that fits the bill. You know you can’t just bring on anyone to create your blogs, landers, and other educational or informational content. It’s time to find someone who has writing skills and knows SEO best practices so they can effectively optimize your content.
So, how do you know if someone is the right fit for the job? Consider how important it is for your business to work with someone who understands your industry and target audience. You ensure they have some level of background knowledge on the topics they cover.
There are a few other things you can look for when hiring SEO content writers. Here are a few:
A Stellar SEO Content Portfolio: You want to hire content writers who have SEO and writing experience so you can trust they know what they’re doing. This means they should have a portfolio featuring previous writing samples to give you a taste of their work. These samples allow you to assess their overall skills, writing style, and ability to match your company’s unique voice.
Proof of Their Ability to Get Results: Again, since you want an experienced writer, they should have no problem providing proof of the results from their previous work experience. If you’re hiring internally, ask potential writers to provide examples of articles they’ve written that perform well in the SERPs. Ideally, you want to see these articles ranking in the first two pages of Google. If you’re thinking about outsourcing, ask for testimonials or case studies showing proof of how a content writing agency has helped a client.
Solid SEO Writing Technique: It’s also important to evaluate the SEO writing techniques of the writer you’re looking to hire. To do this, ask questions about their SEO writing procedures. Do they know how to conduct keyword research? Do they understand the importance of keyword density? Is formatting blog posts properly in their wheelhouse? Are they aware of how to write meta descriptions and use H2s and H3s? Ensuring that they understand the basics is essential to avoid wasting time.
A Promise to Consistently Create Quality Content: Consistency is crucial in the world of content creation and SEO. You want to make sure you hire content writers who can promise to create well-written and optimized content consistently, so you know they’ll be a dependable and trustworthy part of your team.
Finding SEO content writers who understand best practices, get your business, and are trainable might feel like a shot in the dark, but if you keep all of these things in mind, you’re well on your way to a content team that you can be proud of.
Try Our SEO Content Writing Services
Tired of spending all your time vetting content writers who just don’t work out? The team at Express Writers are professional SEO content writers. They understand how to craft content that works for you and dazzles your audience.
Our industry writers have a variety of backgrounds and degrees, in addition to their years of writing experience. We train our writers in best practices while focusing on people-first content. You can trust that your content will be optimized for search engines without sacrificing readability and expertise.
Contact us today to see how we help you craft unmatched content that grows your business.
Searches drive 34.8% of all online traffic, so it shouldn’t surprise you that, on average, 27% of marketing budgets go into content. After all, if readers can’t find yours, your website might as well not exist.
Here’s the problem, though – most content has a limited shelf life.
We’re not kidding when we say limited, either. Some studies say, by the time a blog post turns one-month-old, it’s already past its peak.
That’s about the same as the lifespan of a common housefly.
Nowadays, the flow of information never stops. Every day, WordPress users alone publish a staggering 2.75 million new articles, and those guys make up about only about 60% of the internet.
To put it simply, if you want your website to stay relevant, you need content that can stand the test of time.
You need evergreen, onsite content.
Are you ready to increase your post’s longevity? Of course you are, so let’s get to it!
Why Evergreen Site Content Is Essential for Your Website’s SEO
Evergreen content on your site is the little black dress of the marketing world – it always works for you, and it never goes out of style.
We already talked about the short shelf life of most online content. That happens because as time passes, the things people search for change.
Let’s say, for example, you’re in the market for a new computer, and you’re looking for a buying guide. The search results you see in 2019 aren’t going to be the same ones as the ones from 2018.
New products come out so fast, the results you see during Q1 and Q4 within the same year will probably look very different.
[bctt tweet=”Clueless on what to publish? Go for something that lasts — start writing evergreen site content! @JuliaEMcCoy tells why they win over content with limited shelf life and some tips on creating one. ?” username=”ExpWriters”]
Now, what happens if instead of looking for a buying guide, you search for “what do I need to know when buying a computer?”. Here are some of the results you’d see:
While the products themselves might change, the basics of what you need to know before you buy a computer likely won’t for a long time.
Here’s why that’s good news for you:
Evergreen content will keep bringing in traffic long after other posts on your blog start collecting dust.
Evergreen content is more likely to attract backlinks, particularly the more in-depth you go.
If you choose your topics well, evergreen content will always be of interest to your audience.
2 Simple Tips to Create Evergreen Site Content for Your Blog
We know evergreen content is the bee’s knees, but how exactly do you go about creating it?
That’s the kind of topic we could write a book about. For now, though, let’s talk a minute about the two key pieces to getting evergreen content right every time:
1. Pick Evergreen Topics
The bad news is, not all topic ideas lend themselves well to evergreen content.
When we create content, one of the things we ask ourselves is who are we writing for? You always need to have an audience in mind, and your content needs to answer a specific question.
If you think people aren’t going to be asking that question in a month or a year, then that’s not an evergreen topic.
Some examples of imaginary articles that are not evergreen content would be:
Best Running Shoes to Buy in 2019
Your Guide to The Emmys (And Who Won What)
What if we were to flip those ideas around and look for an evergreen content angle? Here’s what that might look like:
What You Need to Know Before You Buy Running Shoes (X Important Tips)
The Emmys Throughout History: X Key Defining Moments
Evergreen content doesn’t need to come in list form, but hey, who doesn’t love a good list? Search engines most certainly do!
The takeaway here is, in most cases, there’s an evergreen angle you might not be considering. With a little brainstorming, it should come to you.
2. In-Depth Research Makes Truly Evergreen Content
Content that stands the test of time does so because it’s thorough.
To put it another way, there are articles and there are articles. The latter category includes the type of content that’s evergreen because it covers a topic from every angle you can imagine.
It’s the same logic behind Skyscraper pieces. Someone might have already tackled an idea before you do, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do it better.
But to get there, you need to do tons of research.
If you don’t know a topic in and out, you can’t write about it with authority. Without authority, your content will wilt, and other websites will knock you out of the top spots in the search engine result pages (SERPs).
We know what happens once you lose those coveted spots, you want to hold onto them as tightly as possible.
Writing evergreen content requires a massive investment of time, which is why, in some cases, the smart move is to bring in expert help.
[bctt tweet=”Two key pieces to remember when creating evergreen site content: 1) pick the right evergreen topics — have your audience in mind and your content should answer their questions. 2) research — and tons of it!” username=”ExpWriters”]
Get the Most Out of Your Content Marketing Budget with Evergreen Site Content
If you want truly evergreen content, your best bet is to hire expert writers that know the subject in and out. They can help you pick the right topics, do the research for you, and then you can sit back and let your website reap the rewards.
Evergreen content is a surefire way to enhance your content strategy. Check out our content shop to see how our expert writers can help you.
