Three Ways to Create SEO Optimized Content

Without content where would be? How would learning be different? More specifically, how would we come to know about businesses around the world and what they have to offer? When you think about these sorts of questions, you appreciate the role content plays in our personal lives and businesses.

On the subject of business, content plays a primary role in successful marketing, specifically SEO marketing. Not optimizing your content for Google and other search engines makes it almost impossible to reach the entirety of your target audience. And that means leaving quality leads and potential customers out there for the taking by your competitors.

But how do you create SEO-optimized content and, in turn, take full advantage of the power of SEO marketing for your business? Here are three practical ways to create SEO-optimized content and better your visibility on the web.

Conduct Thorough Research on More Than Keywords

One of the first things you should do to optimize your content for search engines is conduct thorough research. When people think about the research associated with SEO, many go straight to keywords and phrases. Yes, you must know the top words and phrases people are typing in to learn more about your industry, products, or services. This helps you create content that caters to the current questions and interests they have.

But studying the right keywords and phrases to include in your content is only part of the research stage. To create SEO content, you should also be knowledgeable about:

• The ins and outs of your target audience
• The intent behind searcher’s queries
• The benefits of SEO
• What SEO content is 
• Crawlability
• Google’s ranking criteria

Ultimately, you want to have a thorough knowledge of keywords and phrases and your audience and SEO in its entirety. In addition, let’s say you realize early on that you aren’t equipped to take on SEO marketing on your own. Don’t be afraid to outsource SEO marketing and bring an expert in as early as the research stage.

Once you’ve conducted thorough research on more than keywords and phrases, you can move on to creating one of the best types of content for your SEO strategy.

Create Evergreen Content

Evergreen content is explained in terms of botany: “‘Evergreen’ refers to a plant that has foliage and that stays green throughout all seasons. The same principle applies to evergreen content; you are attempting to create content that remains green, relevant, and useful over time.”

In other words, evergreen content should be applicable and helpful for years to come. One of the best shots at keeping a top spot on search engine results pages is through evergreen content. So, to create evergreen content, do the following:

• Choose timeless topics — Write on topics less likely to lose relevancy over time. For example, “How to write a headline,” or “Why content marketing aids business success.” Of course, you’ll need to make some updates as new knowledge arises, but they should be minimal and ultimately helpful to your readers.
• Write in an effective style — Avoid phrasing that is time-sensitive or limiting.
• Update old content — Assess and revise your outdated content to be more comprehensive and remain competitive.
• Promote your content on multiple platforms — Social media platforms are a great option because they attract millions of daily users. Promoting your content on these platforms can increase viewership and drive traffic to your website.
• Make sure your evergreen content doesn’t get lost — It’s easy to deprioritize evergreen content because you’re constantly creating new content and taking on other projects to better your business. But it’s the foundation for consistent organic traffic and should be treated as such. Always leverage your evergreen content by linking internally, earning links on other authoritative sites, and so forth.
• Write about crucial information and tailor it to your audience — Take foundational topics like what pain points your products/services solve and turn them into evergreen content.
• Research constantly — New tips, tricks, trends, and other relevant information will arise as time goes on, and you’ll want to ensure you’re up-to-date on everything to provide the best to your readers.

Additionally, you want to ensure you include keywords and phrases in the right places in your evergreen and other content. Jamming keywords in every sentence won’t help your SEO efforts. Instead, ensure your keywords and phrases are worked into the piece naturally. Also, include them in your headers, meta descriptions, alt tags, and descriptions for visuals. 

How you structure your content and its layout on your site is also integral to creating SEO-optimized content. And that brings us to our last tip.

Structure Your Content With SEO in Mind

It’s easy to get caught up in cutesy layouts, bold colour schemes, and weird fonts. But these things don’t help your attempts to optimize your content for search engines. Google ranks content that’s accessible, relevant, and user-friendly higher than content that prioritizes the personal taste of the creator over visitors’ needs.

So, first and foremost, your content should be structured in an organized, logical way that’s easy to read. It should also be just as easy to grasp the main points and take the desired action you’ve asked your readers to take.

In addition to structuring your content well, its layout on the page should be visually pleasing and accessible to all visitors. For example, your navigation should be simple, your images should be sized correctly and placed appropriately next to the text, and all of your links should work and be recognizable. 

Conclusion

In conclusion, learning best practices on how to create SEO-optimized content will result in higher rankings on search results pages. And that, in turn, drives traffic to your website and gives you a better chance of converting visitors to loyal customers.

So, ensure you’re conducting thorough research, creating evergreen content with keywords and phrases in the right places, and being mindful of structure and layout to take full advantage of SEO-optimized content.