Google still maintains its position that the best way to rank is to write pieces that would be useful and engaging for readers. Professional copywriters may be the best in their arena, but their expertly written output isn’t done without any challenges.
Even so, the fact remains that every company in every industry would benefit from setting up a blog and creating excellent content. But in order to gain a good spot in the search engine results pages (SERPs), there’s one thing that companies should keep in mind: be consistent in blogging.
Consistently feeding readers (and web crawlers) with authoritative, high-quality articles can help build your website’s rank and, ultimately, your brand.
To help you achieve that, here are four tips on how you can write a compelling copy that keeps people reading while making it in the top of the SERPs:
1. Learn the Anatomy of the Top Posts in the SERPs
Blog posts are not created equal, and this is proven by the ensuing competition to get to the top of the SERPs. To drive referral visitors from the SERPs, you have to plan your blog post carefully and systematically.
While targeting LSI or long-tail keywords can help, the actual key to having a successfully strategic blogging plan is to fully understand the anatomy of a top 10-worthy post, according to SEO guru Neil Patel. To do so, you must know the main parts of an effective post and how it should be written.
The Headline
Since it is the first thing readers would see, the headline should be interesting enough to catch people’s attention and make them want to read it. This means you should avoid boring, generic titles and focus on showing how they would benefit from opening the post.
It is also a good idea to write headlines that “speak” directly to the audience. You can do this by specifying to whom you’re writing for.
Adding numbers and statistics in the headline would also help as a study revealed that 36 percent of the general audience preferred headlines with numbers over any other type. This is because numbers indicate that they will get concrete takeaways from the post, and not just blocks of text.
Introduction
After catching people’s attention from writing an excellent headline, the next step you must take is to make them want more with a gripping introduction. In this part of the post, your readers should be able to discern why they should continue reading.
When writing an intro, be sure to make it punchy. Avoid overwriting this part of the post. Otherwise, you’ll risk losing your readers’ attention.
Body or Main Points
When writing the body of your article, you have to make sure it is broken down into bullet points or headers. This will make it a lot easier to digest for the majority of your readers. It also helps you prevent them from bouncing off your page because of boredom from huge blocks of texts.
Conclusion
Adding a closing statement composed of one or two sentences is also essential for a blog post. This will ensure that your readers aren’t left hanging. Plus, it is a chance to reiterate your point in the shortest way possible.
2. Use Targeted Keywords for a Specific Audience
Reaching the right people is the key to a successful blog. This means you have to make sure that you fully understand your target audience’s demographics, preferences, and other factors that may affect their decision whether to click on your blog post or not.
To do it right, there are three things you need to research about first: the audience, your keyword, and the topic.
Audience Research
When you perform audience research, you should identify the specific type of readers who would want or need your product or services.
Once you determine which group to target, you should look for their “community” – a place where they congregate online – and do surveys and interviews. From there, figure out what their preferences, personal habits, and demographics.
Keyword Research
When doing keyword research, you are seeking words or phrases that are relevant to your products or services, expertise, and your audience’s search queries.
Topic Research
After coming up with targeted keywords, the next step is to look for topics where you can use them. This should be in line with what your audience wants to know.
3. Offer Value to the Readers
Value is a vital element in any successfully ranking blog post. To achieve this, you have to make sure that the pieces are practical, relevant, and easy to understand. It should also be able to nudge your target audience into taking action.
To do this, you must make sure that you ask the right questions. After all, you cannot begin to offer the right answer if you’re query is about all the wrong things.
You should also offer proven results. This can be statistics or scientific studies that support your post’s claim.
Next, explain the situation clearly. You should never underestimate the value of a simple and highly understandable text.
A great example of this is “how-to” headlines that provide information while piquing the audience’s interest.
4. Make Your Post Readable
Readability is a must for excellent SEO content. When readers decide to click on your link, you have to make sure that they remain on the page and actually read it. This makes your website look great for search engines.
When readers stay and read, it’s like saying, “Look! This page is relevant to a search query. The reader found the information that he was looking for.”
To make a blog post readable, it should be clear, organized, logical, and simple. It should explain things in a way that more readers would understand. Keep in mind that the more people who read, the better your page’s SERP rank will be.
Writing for Both People & Search Engines
Engaging readers and ranking high in the search engine results are two things that are crucial to a blog’s success in coming up with convertible leads. To make sure you do it right, you have to know how to write for both the readers and the search engine. These tips should be able to guide you in doing so.