Search engine optimization or SEO is a crucial part of any digital marketing campaign. In fact, it should be your number one priority if you want your content to succeed. Obviously, one of the most important places where you should use SEO is your writing. No matter if it is a social media post or an article – you need to optimize it for search engines. Hence, here are some writing tips that can improve your SEO.

 

#1 Focus on Your Audience and Keywords

First of all, you need to keep your focus on your audience and the keywords you use. If you don’t understand who you are writing for, you won’t be able to find a good sense of direction for your articles and other texts. Anything from your UX writing to social media posts will be addressing a certain audience – and you need to know who these people are to properly write this content. Consequently, do some research on your audience before sitting down to write.

Another major issue for writers is the type and number of keywords they should use. Depending on which format, niche, tone, etc. you are dealing with, you will need to be using different keywords. Just like with understanding your audience, finding the right keywords is also a result of prior research and preparation. Look at what you’ve used before and what your competitors are using. You can also use different online tools for keyword research.

 

#2 Create Killer Headlines That Grab Attention

Before your audience even gets to the articles or posts themselves, they will need to be hooked in some way. In other words, you need to create killer headlines that grab attention and encourage your potential readers to click on the link. Subject lines in emails, titles in articles, snippets in ads – all of these require short but spontaneous headlines that will spark the curiosity of your audience.

Though there are no strict rules on writing headlines, there are still some things to remember:

  • Don’t use clickbait. There’s enough of it on the Internet and it doesn’t actually work as well as you’d expect it to.
  • Don’t make the headlines too long. Be brief and include the most important information in them.
  • Experiment with phrasing. Use questions, calls to action, outrageous statements – whatever sounds interesting to you.

#3 Structure Your Content and Format It

Once the potential reader clicks on your link and sees the content in question, you want to keep them reading. Most people will simply scan or skim the text, but there are some ways you can make them focus on it more. Structuring your content and formatting it can help you organize it better visually and bring attention to the most important parts.

As Alexander Strong from the writing service reviews site Best Writers Online says, “Blocks of text never work. Never. But paragraphs that only have one sentence won’t do either. You need to find that perfect balance. In addition to that, bold, italics, and underlines phrases can help you stress certain details while subheadings can help with structuring even more.”

 

#4 Do Extensive Research to Prepare

The only way you can maintain a good reputation while providing value to your audience is by knowing what you are writing about. Hence, you need to do extensive research to prepare before actually writing anything. Here are some tips on how to find the best information on your topic and use it in your content:

  • If you know enough about the topic, you probably don’t need to do a lot of research. However, getting some statistics and quotes will help make your content sound more persuasive.
  • Start with a larger topic and narrow it down researching bit by bit. Try to get information from reputable sources like books and well-known media outlets.
  • While doing the research, take notes, and organize them. You will then be able to create a proper outline.
  • Remember that quality matters more than quantity. By creating high-quality content, you will ensure longer reading time and more social shares which will benefit your content in terms of SEO.

#5 Use Link-Building to Build Your Link Profile

Link-building is a natural part of search engine optimization. The better your link profile, the easier it is to navigate your website, and the higher it will rank in search results. As Michelle Coleman from the custom writing reviews site Online Writers Rating puts it, “Both internal and external links matter. The former help your site visitors better navigate your site while the latter help your rankings and get you more exposure.”

 

#6 Include Striking Visuals to Support Your Texts

Though your text may be perfect, you still need to include striking visuals to support it. Whether it’s an email or an ad or an article or a social media post – without visuals, it won’t get as much attention as it could. Here are different types of visual content and how you can use it in your texts:

  • Images/Photography: Used in any situation to make the text more appealing or to illustrate a certain point discussed in the text.
  • Illustrations/Drawings: Perfect for ads but can be used with any type of content for the same purposes as images and photography.
  • Videos/Animations: Great for explaining concepts and presenting information in a more dynamic way. Can accompany articles but can also be used on their own.
  • Infographics/Presentations: Also good for explaining complicated concepts. Can be used to present statistics.

#7 Track the Performance of Your Content

Last but not least, you need to track the performance of your content to see what works and what doesn’t. Adjusting your campaigns and altering your style, format, structure, etc. isn’t a bad thing. Quite the opposite – it can help you get even better results than before. So don’t be afraid to change your plans a little and experiment.

 

Final Thoughts

All in all, improving your SEO by working on your writing can be a great way to increase the effectiveness of your digital marketing campaigns and maximize their results. Just remember that it takes time to see major changes, but until then, keep using the tips from this article.

 

 

Lucy Hatcher is a prospective young writer in the company Writing Judge. She has an analytical mindset
which helps her to be competitive in this business. Lucy is an experienced writer with an excellent
portfolio. Her work is always admitted by employers as best and efficient. Lucy highly prices professional
ethics and got a very serious attitude to her job.