I’m sure when you got up this morning, you thought, “hmm, I really want to read another top 10 list of SEO tips.” Said no one ever! Still, doesn’t mean that I’m not going to write one for you anyway. Don’t worry, I don’t like shitty lists as much as you do. My goal is to make this list punchy and to the point, no BS.
OK, without further ado, let’s look at some SEO content writing tips, starting… now.!
#10 – The most important thing with a new domain is consistency. The best time to start writing is yesterday. I know that content writing can be balls sometimes. But us SEOs job is to create content that 1 – engages with people and 2 – engages with search engines, ad infinitum.
#9 – Keywords are important, but not that important. Shock horror! Did he really just say that? Yes, I did. Look, yes, keywords will rank your content at the end of the day but remember: Google and its buddies are prioritizing content that PEOPLE want to read. People don’t want articles stuffed full of dumb sounding keywords. Write to solve problems, entertain and make people FEEL things.
#8 – Are you creating linkworthy content? Like actually ask yourself this. I can honestly tell you, not all my content is linkworthy. It does take a lot of time. But guess what: that’s the difference between page 1 and page 10.
#7 – Technical stuff is meant to be infrequent – some SEOs like to provide smokescreens to distract unwary clients from the truth: they don’t know jack about ranking. They focus on the technical stuff, which is important, but not the be all or end all. Focus on the content first and technical stuff later.
#6 – Build relationships before you need them – this is one that I’m definitely guilty of. You don’t want to be that snivelly SEO who comes cap in hand to the journalist or webmaster begging for a link. Research your industry, build connections over months, maybe even years then when it comes time for a link, it’s just like, “wow, why didn’t you just say so?”
#5 – nail that long tail – yes, long tails ftw! I used to be that dumb newbie SEO who didn’t know jack about keywords. I thought, “man, the day I can rank number one for ‘weight loss’, I’m gonna be rich.” Guess what? Never happened. Long tail keywords are the proverbial low hanging fruit, get fat off it.
#4 – action intent > browsing intent – quite tightly tied to #5, you want to find people who are ready to take action, ideally ready with wallet open. Target these keywords and rank the shit out of them. There’s usually less volume, but they tend to convert waaay better.
#3 – mix up your content – SEO content doesn’t mean just writing. Slip in videos, slip in images, slip in GIFS. Keep it fresh because you’re writing for people, remember? The Goog won’t necessarily reward it, but it won’t penalize you for it either. It’s for your own mental health too, you’ll get bored of writing listicles, am I right?
#2 – don’t get distracted – yes there are algorithm changes and new and shiny tools popping up left, right and center. But the only reason that Google works so well is because it’s foundation is rock solid. What it does won’t change for a very long time. Be as solid as Google, if you want to rank on them.
#1 – let time do its thing – last of all, SEO is rad because it’s the digital marketing version of compound interest. We all know how good it is for our dosh, right? Well, treat it the same with with our content. Regular deposits, don’t sweat the ups and downs, head down, keep working. Time will make sure you win.
These are my top 10 tips. What do you think? Don’t like them? Like some but not others? Let me know!