How To Write SEO Friendly Content [12 Powerful Tips]

Do you want to know how to write SEO-friendly content that helps you rank better on the search engine?

That’s great!

So, let’s get started.

Whenever you search for anything on Google, you can see there are millions of results for a particular topic.

But can we read them all??

Not Possible at all!

We always try to find the most relevant information on the first page, and there are rare chances to click on the second page. 

Am I right?

Thus, all of the ten results that rank on the first page get the most traffic.

According to Backlinko, the first-page result of Google captures 31.7% (on average) of the clicks of search traffic. And the second and third pages get only 0.78 % of clicks.

But now, the question is here, how do you rank your blog on the first page of the search engine to get more traffic?

The answer is quite simple; you need to focus on your basic blog structure and SEO (Search Engine Optimization). And if you understand how to optimize both, then the chances of ranking on search engines are better.

Recommended Reading: How to Start a Blog In 2023 Under 35 Minutes [Quick Guide]

How To Write SEO-Friendly Content For Your Blog Post?

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First of all, you must know the difference between content writing and SEO-friendly content writing.

Of course, you can write good content for your article, but if you want to write an SEO-friendly article, you must have to follow some guidelines.

In this guide, I’ll share with you the 12-step process for SEO-optimized articles that will help you achieve higher search engine rankings.

Step 1 – Start with Keyword Research

Before writing your content, you should always do keyword research around your niche and try to find out which word or phrase people are typing on search engines and make a list of all those keywords.

But always be sure to choose only those keywords, which have high search volume and low competition. But if you are a beginner, I personally recommend that you should focus only on long-tail keywords.

Long tail keywords hold 70% of all searches, and it’s a great opportunity for you to rank higher on the search engines for those keywords and to attract the target audience to your website.

I agree that these long-tail keywords have a low search volume compared to the seed keyword (primary keyword), but the chances of ranking on these keywords are incredibly high.

Further, it would be more beneficial if you regularly focus on your competitors to determine what keywords they are targeting. This process is one of the most effective ways that allow you to compete with them in the search engine results effectively.

You should also create a separate spreadsheet for all of the main keywords that you find during the competitor research process.

Quick Note – Do yourself a favour and get a tool like SEMrush first for you all SEO needs. There are many free tools available online, but I recommend using this tool because of the advanced functionality and accuracy of the results, and you won’t get these in any free tool.

Step 2 – Keyword Search Intent

Now you have the list of your main keywords; it’s time to analyze each keyword’s search intent.

First of all, you need to understand what actual search intent is and how to analyze it properly.

Search intent is simply a term used to understand the behavior of the searchers, like what type of information users are looking for on Google and why they search for the specific keyword.

For example, when someone searches for ‘formal black leather shoes for men,’ their intention is clear, but when they search for ‘shoes’, they are vague.

The best way to figure out the search intent of any keyword is to type the keywords in Google Search and examine the first page of the results.

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This research will help you understand what type of article Google thinks is best for such queries.

Now you need to check the search intent of each keyword you have on your list and eliminate any keywords whose user intent is irrelevant to the services you offer.

Finally sort out all those keywords that have low competition and high search volume. These are your target keywords.

Step 3 – Find the Idle Length of the Article

You have the list of your target keywords, but before you start writing, you have to decide on the length of your article.

For that, type your target keyword in the Google search box and determine the average length of the articles listed on the first page.

I know it is a time-consuming process, but if you want to compete with others, you have to go through it.

Otherwise, you can use the SEMRUSH tool to identify the idle word length for your article.

To use this,

    Login to SEMRush account.

    On the left side menu, you will see the option ”SEO Content Template’, Click on it.

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On the next screen, there is an option to enter your target keyword. For example, your target keyword is “Content writing”. just type it there.

Now select the country and device you want to target and click on the ‘Create SEO Template” button.

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And, on the next screen, you will get the result for your target keyword.

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As shown in the screenshot above, the first-page average word length for your target keyword is 1030 words.

Alright, you find out what should be the idle length of your article.

What’s next

Now you need to create an outline for your article; For this, you need to re-analyze the top 10 results for your target keyword.

Step 4 – Post Title and Meta Title

There are still many new bloggers who are confused about the terms post title, H1 tag, and meta title.

So before you proceed further, you need to understand the difference between Post title, H1 tag, and Meta title.

Post Title – The post title and H1 tag are the same. As the name suggests, it is the main title or heading of the post.

It is only shown to those who visit the website and let them know what your article or page is about.

Meta Title – On the opposite, the Meta title is shown in the SERPs (search engine results page) and is also known as the SEO title.

The meta title is a strong signal to the search engine on what the post content is all about.

I hope you now understand the fundamental difference between the page title and the meta title.

Let’s move on to the next step.

Quick Note – If you do not specify the meta title for your post in the SEO setting, then your post title will be treated as the meta title.

Step 5 – Optimize Post Title and Url

One of the most complicated tasks of search engines is to understand the content.

If you follow their SEO guidelines, it can make their job easier, and your website or post is likely to rank better in the search engine.

When you write a post title, keep in mind that it should be optimized for both the search engine and the user.

You should always use your target keyword in the post title, and try to make it more catchy.

Don’t make your post title too long. Always try to create a short but descriptive title, and the length should be less than 65 characters.

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As you can see in the image above, the post title is “12 Actionable Content Marketing Tips for More Traffic” and the optimized title length is 53 characters.

How to optimize the post URL:

Once you create the title of a post, you should also optimize the post URL.

An SEO friendly URL should be short, descriptive, and includes your target keyword.

For example, if your title is “12 Actionable Content Marketing Tips For More Traffic”, your URL can be “/content-marketing-tips.”

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Step 6 – Optimize Meta Title and Meta Description

One of the crucial steps in SEO is optimizing the meta title and meta description of the post.

As you know, both are shown in the SERPs (search engine results page), so it becomes necessary to optimize them according to SEO guidelines.

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If you optimize them correctly, it becomes easy for both the users and the search engine to understand what your content is all about.

Then there are good chances that your article will rank better in the SERPs, and as a result, you will get more traffic.

How to SEO optimize your meta title?

Here are the essential guidelines for writing an optimized meta title.

• Your post meta title should correctly describe the page content.
• It should be brief and informative (less than 60 characters).
• You should include your target keywords in the meta title but avoid keyword stuffing.
• Always try to include numbers and power words in your meta title.
• You can also add brackets at the end of your titles. It makes your title more unique and engaging.

How to SEO optimize your meta description?

Here are the essential guidelines for writing an optimized meta description.

• Your meta description should be longer than 55 characters and shorter than 220 characters.
• It should summarize your page or post accurately without any deception.
• You must avoid auto-generated descriptions.
• You must include your target keyword in your meta descriptions but again avoid keyword stuffing.
• The post meta description should be written for humans, not robots.
• Don’t include double quotation marks in your meta description.

Step 7 – Optimize the Content for SEO

In this step, you will learn how to optimize your content for both search engines and users.

When you start writing, remember that it is necessary to use your target keyword once or twice in the first two paragraphs.

By doing this, you give more clues to search engine spiders on what the rest of your content is all about.

Use long tail-related keywords for subheadings:

You should never use your target keyword over and over again in your content. The best way is you find out the long-tail keywords related to your target keyword and use them in your subheadings (H2, H3).

Use LSI keywords in your content:

LSI stands for Latent Semantic Index, and in simple terms, LSI keywords are words and phrases that have the same meaning as your target keyword. You can use the LSI keywords anywhere in your content.

Other essential guidelines to optimize your content for SEO:

• Always try to write long-form content.
• Always use the table of contents.
• You should add internal links to other related content on your website.
• You should also add external links to other relevant, high-quality websites.
• You should always prefer short paragraphs and use bold and italics style to highlight valuable content.
• Always prefer to use a responsive font style that is easy to read on all devices.

Step 8 – Use of Optimized Images and Infographics

If you use images or infographics in your content, your content becomes more exciting, and visitors are more likely to actually read your article.

According to marketer Jeff Bullas, content with relevant images gets 94% more views than content without.

If you use optimized images and infographics in your article, your visual content is more likely to rank higher in Google Image Search and drive more traffic to your website.

How to optimize your images and infographics for search engines:

Here are some essential guidelines to get you off to a great start to help you ensure you’re optimizing your images or infographics properly.

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• You should always optimize the image filename; for example, if you have an image of kids who are playing, you need to use an image file name like “kids-playing.” 
• For better website loading speed and user experience, you should always optimize the image file size.
• Don’t use copyrighted images or infographics.
• You should also optimize the image alt text, as it makes it easier for search engines to understand your images.
• Remember to optimize the image caption and title; it helps your website visitors to understand your images.

Step 9 – Use Proper Heading Tags

Heading tags are one of the most important aspects of SEO. When you are writing your article, always use proper heading tags.

If you are using an SEO-optimized theme, by default, the post title uses the H1 heading tag. For the next subheading, you should use the H2 tag, then the H3 tag, and so on.

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In fact, if you use appropriate title tags in your article or pages, it helps search engines to understand your content better.

Step 10 – Internal Linking and Anchor Text

Internal linking is also one of the crucial parts of SEO. It assists search engines in identifying essential pages from your website.

When you are writing a new post, you should consider adding internal links to other relevant old posts so that people will stick around your website for a long time.

Another main benefit of internal links is page rank distribution. If you link your new post to those relevant posts that are already ranking in the search engine, you will also get benefits to improve the ranking of your new post.

Internal Linking Best Practices:

• Add internal links only when it is necessary for the user experience.
• When you link to an article, you can add the article title with the main keyword in the anchor text without any problem.
• Make sure you don’t have any broken internal links on your website because it is terrible for SEO.
• Always consider linking to those pages that are necessary and relevant to your content.
• You should always use only text content for your internal links. Adding internal links to your images is not useful for search engines or users.
• Ensure that the total number of links per page (internal and external) is no more than 100.

Step 11 – Review and Publish Your Article

Now that you’ve finished writing your article, it’s time to review it.

In the review process, you should start looking from the top to ensure there are no issues with the content.

You should also share your content with known industry experts and ask for their opinion.

If you find everything is perfect in your content, you can now publish your content.

Step 12 – Update Your Content Regularly

You have published your article, but your job is not done yet.

Now you have to focus on your content more. There are so many articles on the same topic published every day. If you want to take advantage of SEO, update your content regularly.

FAQs – How To Write SEO Friendly Content

Final Thoughts: How To Write SEO Friendly Content

If you want to rank your article on search engines, it’s not sufficient to write only quality content; you need to sharpen on SEO-optimized content. For this, you must have to follow some specific SEO guidelines.

In this guide, I’ve shown 12 great tips for making your content SEO friendly.

If you follow all of the above steps in your content writing process, defiantly, there are better chances that your article will rank higher on the search engines.

If you have any doubts or questions, feel free to comment below, I will certainly help you to create your SEO-optimized content.