What is SEO and how to do SEO Content Writing? Guide for Beginners.

 

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) is crucial for every entrepreneur if he wants to expand his online business and reach. Every online business wanted a SEO optimized content or website to reach potential clients. Every blogger and content writer should know the basics of SEO if he wants to be a successful entrepreneur. So, this article aims to tell about SEO, and what methods it includes to rank your content on Google. 

So, let's start with it! 

What is SEO? 

You can't understand a procedure if you don't know the definition of it. So, we are going to start this article with the definition of SEO. 

SEO basically involves that method through which you can rank your content on the first page of Google. Let's have an example. Assume that you have written an article on "Flipped Learning Module". Now if anyone searches for this keyword on Google and your article comes up on the first page, it means that you have written an SEO optimized article that Google loves. Now party hard at this victory! 

This is SEO:  simple but a bit tricky too. 

You can excel in it if you keep some points in your mind while writing any type of content. 

Before delving into the method of writing SEO optimized articles, let me state some facts. 

• If anyone searches your content by your name on Google, and it comes up on the first page, it is not SEO. If anyone searches for an unbranded keyword, and your content comes up, only then your content will fall into the SEO optimized articles category. 

• It will take four to five months at least for Google to acknowledge your article. If you have uploaded an article yesterday on your website, and today you are searching it on Google and finding it nowhere, don't panic! Google will take its time. In these four to five months, Google will acknowledge your article, its position will keep on fluctuating, and then, its position will be sustained on its deserving page or spot. So, keep on doing your work without any negative thoughts. 

I was unaware of these facts when I was a beginner. So, I easily got disheartened at the start of my journey. But, you don't commit these mistake. Keep these facts in mind and believe in yourself.

Now, let's have a look at the procedure of writing SEO optimized content. 

How to write SEO Optimized Content?:

There are some prewriting steps and writing steps which you can easily follow to write SEO optimized content. 

Pre-writing steps:

• Search what people want to read, or what information they want. If you have a medical niche, then search on Google for what queries or what information people want. To find out the relevant keywords of your desired topic, search it on "Google Trends" and "Answer the Public". You have to write for your audience, so find out their issues. 

• List the relevant keywords on the keep notes app or wherever you keep your rough notes. While planning your content, you will need those notes. 

• Now outline your content. While outlining, try to explain that topic in depth. Do think about what information or questions your reader can have while reading your content, and try to answer them. You can find out those questions through Google, and through keyword planner apps. Let's suppose, you have to write an article on "Peter Pan Syndrome". You will search it on Google, and something like this will come on your screen. 

This will tell you what type of information people are searching on Google. To narrow down your topic, you can put it on keyword planner apps, and they will tell you the volume of each point. Take those points which have less competition. It will easily rank your article. 

• Remain stuck to your main topic. You have to explain your main topic throughout your content. For example, if you are writing on Flipped Learning Module, remain on the topic throughout your content. Don't start discussing another module of teaching. Or if you have discussed another one, keep it relevant to your main topic. 

• Search about your content from reliable sites. Wrong information can affect your Google ranking and credibility. For this, ResearchGate and Google Scholars are reliable sites. You can also read or watch the blogs and YouTube tutorials of your seniors on the relevant topic. 

These basic five steps are crucial as a pre-writing practice. Now, let's have a look at the points which are necessary during writing. 

Writing steps:

• Your main keyword should be a part of your main heading. Optimizing the main heading is the first and crucial step of SEO content writing. For example, if you are writing about "Peter Pan Syndrome", your headline should have this main keyword. To check out the score of your heading, you can check it on the "Coschedule Headline Analyzer". 

• Your content should have main, sub or minor headings. They are known as H1, H2 and H3. They should be there to increase the readability ratio of your content. Also, these headings should have main or relevant keywords of your article. When you search about your keyword on Google, you will find one major and some sub keywords related to your topic. For example, in the Peter Pan Syndrome case, your main keyword is Peter Pan Syndrome, and your sub headings are "Peter Pan Syndrome warning signs", "Peter Pan Syndrome in females" or "Peter Pan Syndrome depression". You can find out more keywords through Google Trends and Answer the Public. Including major or sub keywords in your H1,H2 and H3 will increase your SEO score. 

• Keep your language simple and don't use jargon words. Do remember, your audience will insert unbranded keywords (or simple language words) in Google search bar. And Google will only acknowledge those articles which will have those unbranded keywords. For example, in this SEO topic, there are few specific words which are used by SEO experts. Such as, "SERP'' term is being used to explain the Google ranking concept. But, as I'm writing for beginners, I can't use this term. If the title of this article is like "What is SEO and how to do SERP" , most of you will be going to ignore it. Because you want to learn about SEO content writing, not about any weird term "SERP". So, don't use such words in your main heading. And in the body of your content, do explain such terms. 

• Keep your paragraphs short. 

• Use keywords throughout your content. But, don't stuff it! Google can detect stuffy keywords and acknowledge that content as a scam, so don't do this. Use the keywords in an organic way where they are needed.

• Give in depth or full information to your consumers. They are reading your content because they want answers to their certain questions or want unique information. Let's consider a situation to understand this point. Assume that you have visited a restaurant in summers. Your table is near a window from where you can have a great view, the air conditioner is near your table, light music is going on in the background and the quality of food is awesome. You are at ease, enjoying yourself, and have everything you desire. This will make you visit this restaurant every now and then, and you will also recommend the restaurant to others. This! You have to do the same thing with your consumers too. Give them a full package in your content and make them comfortable. 

• Detailed information will obviously increase your word count. There are a lot of people who will tell you that blogs or articles should be short and to the point. No! This is not true. You can check the articles or blogs which are ranking on the first page of Google. All of them have quality content and detailed information. Long articles and blogs are helpful in increasing your Google ranking. 

• Use relevant images. That will attract the attention of your audience. Use copyright free images or you can make your own too from Canva. Give a proper subtitle, and alt text to your images. It will optimize your images and will increase your ranking. Use relevant keywords in it and keep it to 125 or less characters. 

These are the basic and crucial steps which you should follow if you want an SEO Optimized article. 

Now, we are going to discuss how to optimize your blog or website. Obviously, you are going to publish these articles somewhere, and that place should also be SEO Optimized so that Google can notice it. So, I'm going to share some steps which you should take to Optimize your blog or website.

How to Optimize your Website/Blog?

Keep these simple points in mind while setting your website or blog. 

• Use SEO friendly templates. You will find them on Google, download them and apply them. 

• Your blog/ website should have full information. It should contain a proper heading and description of your blog. Your blog should contain whole information so that relevant audiences can find their desired information, and find your blog interesting and informative. 

• Optimize the tags and meta description. Blog/website also have meta description option, and every article also has the option of meta description. So, your meta description should have relevant keywords and should be limited to 150 characters. The meta description are those lines which appear on Google when your article comes up. See the image below. 

Two lines under the title are its meta descriptions. If it is also SEO Optimized, you will get more clicks and more ranking. 

• Keep on updating your blog and article. After every two to three months, read your previously published articles, and update it by adding more information, or making its language more simple. In whatever way you think you can make your article more informative and more interesting, do it. This updating of articles or blogs will improve your ranking on Google. It will tell Google that this article contains fresh and recent information, so it will rank it. 

• Your article and website should be mobile friendly. Many of your consumers are using mobile, so make them comfortable by using mobile friendly templates. Your image size should be mobile friendly and your structure of articles should be easily readable on mobile. For it, leave spaces in between your paragraphs and points. 

• Decrease your website speed. It matters a lot. For it, your image size on your header will help you.

• Backlinks are also important. It will drive more traffic on your website and will make your site worthy and authoritative. 

• Keep an eye on your competitors. What are they doing and how can you distinguish yourself from them? 

These are some basic points which can help you in doing SEO and ranking your article. 

Do remember, no one can ever be a SEO expert. Because trends of SEO keep on changing with time. Google keeps on revising its policies, things keep on changing so everyone has to keep on updating their knowledge. So, despite waiting to become an SEO expert, start your work from today. Whatever you have learnt, implement it on your content. If in future, you will find more information, then you can update your content according to that information. 

Keep on doing practice, and eventually you will learn SEO. If your article doesn't rank in your first attempt, you can always update it to improve its ranking. So don't worry or don't get disheartened, just keep on practicing.