Tips for Creating SEO-friendly Content

Good, high-quality content is an important part of Digital Marketing.  When writing online, it is important to make your content SEO-friendly. Content that is optimized boosts your search engine rankings and attracts visitors to your website, which is the ultimate goal of your content efforts.

Here are some tips to create SEO-friendly content that search engines will love.

Write original content

Write high-quality and original content on topics that you know about or have knowledge of. Since it is not possible to have expert knowledge of every topic, you can seek inspiration and ideas from other sources.  Your content will stand out and be a valuable source of information when you present your ideas and views on the topic in your own unique way. Copying content, i.e. plagiarism is not viewed favorably by search engines and can lead to penalization and black-listing.

Use Keywords in the Title and Content

The title of your post is very important because it tells search engines what the content is about. A vague title can be misleading for both search engines and users. Using keywords in the title can boost your rankings, as is using keywords in the body of the post.  

However, it is important not to overdo keyword usage. Keyword stuffing refers to indiscriminate use of keywords in content to rank high. Search engines penalize such websites. Keywords should be used naturally in the content, and in context.

Pay Attention to Content Structure and Length

You may have written a scholarly, 2000-word article but if it is poorly structured, your rankings will get a hit. Along with good content, good structure is also important. An article or write-up should have well-defined headers (H1 to H6), concise paragraphs and a good readable font. 

You should also be consistent with the styles you apply. If you are using a H2 header tag for subheadings, ensure the same tag is used throughout. If you use H2 for some, and H3 for the rest, it can confuse search engines and make for a poor reading experience. 

Search engines crawl header tags to understand the gist of your content. A well-structured article helps with SEO and user experience.

Use Simple Language

It goes without saying that users are drawn to content that is easy to understand. Using complex words can put off users and make them lose interest in your content. Writing content in the language your audience speaks and understands will keep them engaged and entertained.

Optimize Your Images

Image optimization is very important from a search engine perspective. Search engines can crawl text, but not images. Images can be optimized by having a relevant file name instead of something vague (Ex: sunflower.jpg instead of 123.jpg), using images that are good quality but not too large (affects page loading) and adding a title or alt text (to display to the user when the image fails to load). 

The purpose of image optimization is to rank in the image search results of search engines, which is good for SEO.

Write for the User

The content you create should always be written with the user in mind. The purpose of writing content is to engage, inform and help your audience. Hence, it is important to know what your audience expects from you and what content they would like to read. 

Optimizing content with keywords and content that your audience seeks helps with SEO as well as user experience. Search engines reward sites with content offerings that enhance user experience.

Write Fresh Content Regularly

Writing content on a consistent basis keeps your audience engaged and helps with better ranking. Search engines are always scouting for fresh content and reward sites that post such content. 

The more regularly you post content, the more your website or blog gets crawled & indexed which can help with your SEO goals. A content calendar will help you plan and stay organized with your content publishing tasks. 

To cap it all,