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Content writing for SEO: 5 things you are ignoring in 2018

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Content writing for SEO: 5 things you are ignoring in 2018

Are you an online content writer, blogger or SEO specialist? Then, you can’t afford to ignore these 5 things in 2018.

It is very important that your content should impress Google and at the same time appeal to your audience. If it doesn’t, your content will remain hidden with no traffic. Your blog/website ranking on Google SERPs will also suffer. So, how can you improve your content writing and what are the SEO trends you must know for a remarkable content writing plan. I hope to answer these questions and much more.

Search engine optimization has undergone a massive change and your writing needs to be in sync with the latest Google algorithm updates. I highly recommend to look beyond keywords and backlinks. These are the 5 ways in which your content can impress Google and also your target audience in 2018. Read this post to find out what they are:-

1) Defining target audience matters a lot

I believe the first step to creating valuable content is to define the target audience. Because they are the one who is ultimately going to read the content.  At Adengage, we start by creating personas, gather information on the audience through analytics. We then perform a thorough competitor analysis and research online. These persona profiles and user research helps us to understand audience on a deeper level.

This example will help you understand it better:-

Suppose, if I have to build a content strategy for an education brand, my target audience for a Real Estate company will be between the ages of 30-55. I need to understand their attitudes, interests & personality. This information enables me to create various blog ideas & content writing strategies that can target the audience effectively. Based on personas, we aim to create relevant blogs.

To start with, you can use MakeMyPersona by Hubspot to create audience profiles. You can also use free Google Analytics tool to gather data on users visiting your blog & define the target audience.

2) Satisfying searcher query & intent should be your goal

I have noticed recently how much Google is emphasizing on content that actually benefits the user and satisfies their queries.  It tells me people are important and we should know what they want on the web.

So, how do we at Adengage deal with the challenging content creation process for Search Engine Optimization? I and my team have devised strategies focused on searcher query as well as the intent.  Now, why intent is important? This is where I should mention about the advanced Google algorithm called RankBrain. It is an artificial intelligence system that can understand the context of the queries and solve searcher intent.

Going back to our example of education brand, I found that someone interested in an MBA course will find career opportunities after MBA equally beneficial. Therefore, blog creation should not be limited to the searcher query keywords but add relevant and useful information desired by the user.

What are the key takeaways here? Spend quality time in understanding:-

  • Search terms
  • The actual intent of the user or context
  • Informative content with rich keywords

Here the golden rule is to create content that the user wants to read. If you satisfy your user, believe me, half job is done.

SEO tip: Have you seen the ‘People also ask’ section in Google SERP’s? That’s where you can find what users are searching for. Tools like Rank Tracker also helps to find most popular questions people often ask in search engines.

3) New & relevant content is crucial for success

There is a lot of stuff out there on the web. So, how do I keep the content fresh, relevant and at the same time useful to the end user? We, at Adengage, always prioritize content writing in sync with content marketing which helps us to offer new perspectives and fresh angles to an existing topic. Wait, but how content marketing is different from content writing? Well, content marketing means providing free content with the purpose of converting audience to customers. This approach helps to find new and relevant content ideas that please the user.

Another major factor which helps content writing for SEO is the latest trends in the online world. I would suggest you to always keep an eye on the viral and popular topics. It’s all about grabbing the right opportunity and putting across content that user is interested to read. I mention this not because it sounds good but because it actually works.

Various websites help you find out what is trending on the web. Since Google looks to provide the best content to the user, write content that user can find helpful.

SEO tip: You can easily find trending topics using:-

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Quora
  • Buzzsumo

Google Trends is also a useful tool.

4) Engaging content is the winner

The success of SEO content lies in the engagement. Without engagement, there is no traffic and this, in turn, prevents SEO keywords/ website from ranking. Therefore, we provide high-quality content which focuses on basically 3 things:-

  • Clickable headlines
  • Fresh content
  • Content the user exactly wants

I have created a blog post on 3 reasons why clickable headlines are most important in content writing which you might find useful.  Fresh and relevant content provides a good user experience which is something RankBrain also considers for ranking purpose.  That’s why writing content which can easily connect with the user is very important. Leverage content marketing strategies to provide value to the target audience and they will surely come back to you for more.

5) Revisiting the content writing strategy & proofreading is equally important

Revisit the content plan. Define the target audience and search for what actually interests or satisfies them. Do a regular analysis of content to find out how people are responding. Update or improvise on the existing content strategy for Search Engine Optimization.  Also, proofreading process has to be laid down correctly to minimize the grammatical errors.

For proofreading, some of the useful tools are Grammarly and Ginger software.

I have shared about defining the audience, engaging content & proofreading which are common but very important. And you can’t afford to miss the importance of search query, intent & fresh content ideas. Keep these pointers while you devise your content writing plan and it will surely impress search engine Google & the audience.

Hope you enjoyed reading this post.  I will be sharing more on the latest trends in content writing, SEO and more, till then goodbye. What do you think can impress Google & target audience alike? Don’t forget to leave your comments!

Author: Jobin

An avid reader and writing enthusiast, Jobin crafts all types of content for digital platforms and others. When not writing, you will find him enjoying food, travelling or trying new things.

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