SEO content writing has always been an evolving discipline. In the earliest iterations of the internet, content was ranked and served to users based on repeating the same keywords as many times as possible. This was referred to as keyword density.
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Write for the end user, not a magic number of keywords.
However, in the last five years, Google’s algorithms have gotten smarter, and they know that keyword stuffing is spammy and not useful to readers. So, copywriters have had to shift their approach: Write for the end user, not a magic number of keywords.
What this means in practice is that each page should be built around a single keyword. Writers should cover every angle and aspect of that topic and its associated subtopics. Think ahead: What followup questions might a reader have after reading your piece? Include the answers to those questions in your writing right from the start.
The intent is to be the single best resource for a topic, providing maximum value to readers. Don’t worry about using keywords every other sentence. If you’re doing your job correctly, the keywords will naturally flow in the article.
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Optimize the fine print: Title tags, meta descriptions and alt text
SEO content writing is part prose, part process. There are defined steps writers should take to ensure they’re thinking about each piece of content holistically, both on and off the page. One of the most important elements of SEO copywriting is nailing metadata.
Metadata is a cue to search engines: It helps tell the story of what your content is about and how it should be presented in SERPs.
Optimizing title tags, meta descriptions and image alt text may take only 75 words in total, but those 75 words are vastly more important than the rest of the copy that appears on the page.
i. Optimize title tags
- Use only 1 header tag per page and try to include a targeted, primary keyword.
- Keep it to 70 characters or less.
- Each page should have a unique title tag – no duplicates.
ii. Optimize meta descriptions
- Keep it to ~160 characters so that it doesn’t get cut off by Google.
- Use clickworthy phrasing and don’t regurgitate copy already on the page.
iii. Optimize alt text
- Use descriptive language that closely matches the image.
- Include keywords where relevant.
- Keep it to 125 characters or less, with tags separated by commas.
Source: Internet
