The concept of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has transformed the digital marketing industry over the past decade. SEO strategies are leveraged to provide greater search engine visibility to websites, and nowhere are these strategies more important than in the written content a given website provides to its readers. Writing articles and posting them to the site is a proven tactic to make a website more visible in search results, boosting organic website traffic and achieving higher rankings in search.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to writing SEO-friendly articles for a website; it requires more than simply posting an article and hoping for great results. In this guide, we will share some of the best practices professional content writers like the experts at The Content Writers use to produce measurable results.
Components of an SEO-Friendly Website Article
There are several critical components that go into writing an article, both to improve its search visibility and to engage its readers. These components include:
An appealing headline – right from the start, a good headline captures the reader’s attention. It also helps search engines index what the given article is all about.
Keywords – keywords and their use form the core of the SEO puzzle. Once appropriate targeted keywords (and their variations, including long-tail key phrases), it is important that writers use keywords in the body of the article. It is a good practice to include the keyword into the page title, the article title, and article subheadings if possible. SEO professionals try to include keywords at a ratio of 4% to 5% to improve search visibility; any more than that and the site may be penalized by search engines for “keyword stuffing”.
Subheadings – subheadings break the article down into easily-digestible sections for the reader’s benefit. These subheadings are a great place to add keywords, and help guide both the reader and the search engine, helping to maximize understanding of the article’s content.
Resource boxes – many content writing professionals include a resource area at the end of an article, which points the reader to more information. Here, writers can include URLs pointing back to a given website or webpage as well as links to related articles and sources. The use of resource boxes also comes with an SEO benefit, allowing search engines to contextualize the content. Links pointing to other online resources also improve search engine rankings.
Article directories – once an article is written, it is a great idea to submit the article to directories. This both improves visibility in search and attracts new readers. Online directories are a valuable resource for many SEO strategies.
Content is King
Adding SEO features to an article can improve search visibility, but it is critical to understand that the article itself must have value. When writing an article for a website, it is a good practice to identify a given piece of information potential readers need, and to share it with them through the article’s content. Many people struggle to create engaging, authoritative, and informative articles, which is why writing experts like the team at The Content Writers is ready to help. With the assistance of a professional writer, your website can engage site visitors with timely, useful information. It can also help improve search engine rankings, driving more traffic to your site than ever before.