7 Excellent SEO Tips to Ensure Your Writing Pops on the Page

Search engine optimization can get pretty technical and complicated for most people. However, this doesn't mean that you aren't able to help your digital marketing efforts with simpler ways that are less intricate and economical.

No matter what it is that your business does, SEO is and will always be one of the most important things for its overall success. In order for SEO to work in the long haul, it is vital that your business shows up on the first page of search engine results for the most relevant keyword. Ideally, your website needs to appear among the first few search results in the search engine when individuals search for relevant keywords related to your business. Even if you aren't capable of being #1, you need to be on the first page. After all, research shows that up to 75 percent of web users will never go past that first page to find what they're looking for.

So, here are seven tips that will help you create content that not only maximizes SEO value, but that makes people want to read what you have to offer once they're on your page and keep coming back for more:

Tip #1: Keep Your Paragraphs Short.

When writing content, one of the best things that you can do is keep your paragraphs as short as possible -- around two to five sentences. No one wants to read big blocks of text. They don't look attractive and they're hard to read.

Tip #2: Use Subheadings.

Break up your text by using subheadings (like H2 or H3 headings). This will also help to catch the attention of your readers. Since subheadings aren't often used in writing, such as research papers, letters, etc., it may take a little bit of getting used to, and that's okay. The important thing to remember is that subheadings are an excellent visual aid for individuals who like to skim through websites to see if they want to actually read the text, find a particular area of content, and to skip over content that they're already familiar with.

Tip #3: Add Bullet Points and Lists.

On the World Wide Web, lists are extremely popular. In fact, they even have their own word: "listicles". Similar to the way that subheadings work, bullet points and lists can help to break the article up and catch your reader's attention. They help your reader find what they are looking for. Plus, it gives readers a certain level of satisfaction mentally that they're getting a number of things that are specifically relevant to them.

Tip #4: Don't Forget Keywords.

While you never want to overuse keywords, you definitely want to put them in your content. (HINT: typically you want to keep keyword density to less than 5% - don't overuse keywords, as it can actually have a negative impact on your rankings). The important thing is that they are used naturally throughout your article so that you are not annoying your customers by throwing the keywords in their face every other word or sentence. Make sure that you spend time researching keywords that are relevant to your brand and have potential to provide benefit to your customers.

Tip #5: Add Links in Your Text.

If you want to be found by the search engines, then make sure to sprinkle in a link here and there in your content. However, these links to need to be quality links that work. Make sure that you only link to reputable sites that feature quality and recent material. Also, double-check to make sure that the link works. And certainly remember internal linking, linking to similar pages within your own site too - just like we did there ;)

Tip #6: Insert Images, Too.

Since it is always about keeping the attention of your reader, why not embed some images within your writing? Just make sure that when you do this that the images that you use are relevant to the text that you are writing. If you're writing about coffee, you don't want to use an image of a dog. UNLESS you have a dog drinking coffee :)

Tip #7: Always Check for Mistakes.

The most important SEO tip that can be given to you in regards to content creation is to ensure that you always check, and even double- and triple-check, for spelling and grammatical mistakes in your writing. If you have mistakes in your content, your readers are going to be turned off and will go to your competitors in a heartbeat. Don't let this happen when you can take just a few minutes to check for mistakes. Also, don't force the flow of your content with too much sentence variety and complex words -- allow a natural flow with your writing and use your own voice.

For more advice on how SEO can work to the success of your business, contact us today at WebDetail.