4 Critical SEO Tips I Learned on the Job
SEO.
As of November 2021, this search in Google returns three billion results. Yes, billion with a 'B'!
I like to fancy myself as a quick reader, but even the fastest readers among us are barely going to scratch the surface. The good news is that you don't have to. A lot of the information in these articles is either out of date, irrelevant to your needs, or of low quality.
Once you have started to research SEO in more detail, it can begin to feel highly complicated and complex, which may lead to you giving up on your research.
I put off learning about SEO content for a long time until I realised that many potential clients required it.
So, I finally bit the bullet, managed to land myself an SEO client that required basic SEO as part of the writing package, and I got to work learning everything I possibly could! I quickly realised that there are so many easy wins out there when it comes to SEO optimisation!
With that in mind, I have pulled together four of the top things I learned on this recent project so that you can emulate them in your writing and land more high-paying SEO clients in the process.
Research & Use Relevant Keywords
Keywords are essential for successful SEO. When a lead heads to a search engine, what do they type? If you are running a small business, they will likely search for the service they are looking for and its location. You can use that information to set your keywords.
But what other tools and strategies can you use to ensure that the keywords you choose are the right ones?
Brainstorm Possible Keywords
I found this exercise beneficial. Open a word document or grab a piece of paper and write down all of the services you provide and where you provide them. Once complete, you can combine these keywords to create a list of keywords to stick to.
Use a Keywords Research Tool
There are several tools out there that you can use to figure out your keywords. Firstly, Google has their own tool that is part of its Ads PPC Service, but there are also tools such as Keywordtool.io or uber suggest. They have excellent free versions and even better paid versions.
Search for Your Potential Keywords
When you look for your chosen keywords online, you will tend to see suggestions begin to populate in the search bar. At the bottom of the page, there will also be several suggested keywords. From there, you can take any other variations you see fit. This tactic was an excellent time-saver for me!
This process is designed to leave you with groups of keywords with the same instant and meaning behind them. For example, for this article, the group I would come up with would be:
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The purpose of these keywords is that they are very similar and can therefore be grouped. These keyword phrases will rank the article for the most extensive range of possible terms while also using the correct language for my audience.
Optimise Page Titles & Meta Descriptions
Now that you have a keyword list, you need to move on to optimising your page title. This is done in the HTML element of your article, not what is visual on the page. If you go to your website's control panel, you should be able to edit it here.
The goal here is to place your keywords into the title in the most natural way possible. It would be best to remember that this title appears in search engines, so it needs to clearly show potential readers what the article is about while also enticing them to click through.
Make sure not to cram your page title with keywords, though, as this is deemed 'keyword stuffing' and search engines will mark you down.
Once happy with your title, move on to your meta description. This should also be editable within the website's CMS. The title aims to grab the potential readers attention, and the meta description should entice them to click through.
Optimise Page Content
Now that you have optimised your page title and meta description, it's time to optimise the page content. We have a list of keywords and phrases already, so we need to weave them into the copy while maintaining a natural tone.
Keywords should be included in one H1 title, one H2 title, and ideally an H3 title if possible and in the general copy.
This keyword input will make your page more visible to more potential readers and score higher for many searches when done correctly.
Build Relevant Links
Finally, we have link building. This is an essential element that makes your article more visible. Link building has quite a bad reputation. If they are misused, they can hinder your search engine visibility rather than help it.
This one took me a lot longer to learn and get a grasp on it. If you are starting as an SEO writer, I suggest keeping your external links minimal and straightforward. I would recommend two every 500 words as a maximum.
If you are writing for a blog, you should also try and include an internal link. This is designed to keep readers on your site for longer and across more than one page. Google and other search engines also track how long people spend on your site and how many links they click to determine whether your content is usable and entertaining.
If it is, they are much more likely to rank you higher on their search engine, as they want to provide their users with great content.
Summary
There you have it! Use these simple SEO tips, and you will notice a significant improvement in your traffic and rankings. You will be able to bid for more jobs and request a higher pay rate for your services! Not only that but being able to write SEO content will significantly improve your client potential.
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