Content Writing for SEO: How to Create Content that Ranks in Google
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Content Writing for SEO: How to Create Content that Ranks in Google
Content is simply information, and no matter what you want to write about, chances are you wonât be the first. The demand for content is overgrowing. And with information literally at your fingertips, thereâs an oversupply, making it harder to get noticed and produce profitable results.
So, to achieve that, you need a system that leads to predictable results so your content can stand out from the rest.
So if youâre a blogger, a freelance writer, or do any kind of Content Writing, keep watching as Iâll walk you step-by-step through a framework that will appeal to your audience, satisfy the search engines, and also a result, drive consistent traffic and hopefully sales.
So letâs get things straight first. Whether you are composing for your own website or for a client, you should have two goals for your content.
1. the content should bring traffic to the site.
2. the content should engage those people.
So that they become customers or are pushed further down the sales funnel. With these goals in mind, letâs go through a simple 4-step process to achieve these two goals.
Step 1: To write about topics people are actually searching for
Many people like to write about topics that excite them. And while thatâs all well and also good, these posts often have a brief shelf life. A couple of months back, we published a blog about how to promote your blog on social media.
After publication, we forwarded the post to our social media followers and email list and spent a few hundred dollars on advertisements to amplify the content.
As a result, we had a massive increase in traffic with thousands of visits in the first few days. But soon after that, the traffic quickly dropped off. And today, it gets virtually no traffic compared to our other posts.
And even though this post wasnât created with search traffic in mind, we knew it would generate a textbook âglimmer of hopeâ and a âzero line.â And thatâs what happens when you create content that no one is searching for.
But when you create content on topics people are searching for, you get the opposite effect: free, passive, and consistent traffic that usually grows over time.
To find topics worth creating content for, you need a keyword research tool to
a) identify the search demand, and
b) understand the traffic potential of the topic,
i.e., the total amount of monthly search traffic you could get if you ranked highly for that search query.
So letâs say we have a website about home improvement tutorials. To find keywords to target, I go to Ahrefs Keyword Explorer and search for some keywords that are broadly related to the topic, like âhome improvement,â âkitchen,â and âliving room.â Next, I go to the âQuestionsâ report. Â And also, as you can see, there is quite a search demand for these topics, as you can see from the search volume.
And this topic, âHow to paint kitchen cabinets,â seems to be a promising one for our DIY website. As you can see, the page with the highest-ranking receives over 37,000 visits from Google every month. So this theme meets both criteria.
Itâs essential to keep in mind that Iâve skipped a few steps here in the topic selection process, the most important being the ranking difficulty assessment.
But this blog is about Content Writing, so it doesnât expand on that topic. Alright, so at this point, we have a topic to deal with, but just because you have a topic doesnât mean you should write whatever you want.
Remember, our objective is to rank at the top of Google so you get consistent traffic.
Step 2: To assess the âtypeâ of content Google wants you to create.
Googleâs job is to offer the most relevant results for any given search query. And they do that pretty well.
So, if you want to rank for your target topic, you obviously need to know what kind of content Google will rank for that search query. This is called search intent, which tells us what searchers are looking for when they type in a search query.
The most accessible means to do this is to simply search for the query you intend to rank for and look at the top-ranking outcomes.
And the three things youâre looking for are:
The content type can be blog posts, product pages, category pages, or landing pages.
The content format can be how-to guides, step-by-step tutorials, list posts, opinion editorials, reviews, or comparisons.
The content angle is basically the unique selling point of the top-ranking pages.
So, if you look at the top 10 results for our query âpaint kitchen cabinets,â youâll see that all the pages are blog posts, so that would also be the content type you should use. As for the format, the first two pages are âhow-tos,â which are step-by-step instructions. And as for the content, thereâs not really a clear point of view.
In our experience, the type and format of matching content are critical to ranking at the top of Google. Still, the angle is usually not as necessary unless there is a clear theme among the pages that rank at the top.
Step 3: To create a data-driven outline
Content is like a puzzle. There are many different pieces, and it is difficult to put them together without a framework.
Outlines are like the edge pieces of the puzzle.
They help form the base, and all you have to do is fill in the missing pieces. They also help ensure that you include all the critical points that are worth communicating. And from an SEO perspective, it can help you keep the algorithm and audience happy.
The way Google determines a pageâs placement in search results is algorithmic. That means you canât pay to be at the top of Google, and your friend who works there canât get your page to the top.
Their technology is capable of understanding words and the context in which they are placed. And the more context you provide to the search engines, the better your chances of ranking well. The easiest way to find critical topics of conversation is to look at some of the top-ranked pages and see if there are similar subtopics.
In the case of our âPainting Kitchen Cabinetsâ topic, the first two pages talk about choosing the right paint, preparation, priming the cabinets, painting the cabinets, and so on. Â So add these commonalities as subheadings in your outline.
You can also use Ahrefsâ Content Gap tool to find standard keyword rankings between top-ranking pages. This can help you find additional subtopics and jargon that may be relevant to the context of your post.
Just type in the top 2 or 3 relevant ranking results at the top and run the search. As you can see, people are looking for the best color for cabinets. They want to know how to refinish them; some are specifically looking for white cabinets, and so on.
Donât worry about stuffing these keywords into your post, but if you see something that could serve as a subheading, it might be worth adding it to your outline.
Just focus on writing something concise and actionable. This will humanize the post and allow you to focus on what matters most: helping readers.
Step 4: To create a click-worthy headline
A headline is crucial because it is what stands between you and a visitor.
Its primary task is to encourage people to really click on your outcome. Then, itâs your contentâs task to keep them reading.
Take a screenshot before I start filling out the spaces for our home decor site. If you struggle with writing good headlines, here are a couple of simple formulas you can use. âHow to Professionally Paint Kitchen Cabinets in Under an Hour,â â7 Proven Ways to Decorate Your Home on a Tiny Budgetâ â10 Easy Ways to Renovate Your Home on a Small Budgetâ â10 Reasons Youâre Unhappy with Your Home Decorâ.
Itâs important to note that clickbait headlines may generate more clicks, but if your content canât deliver on the headlineâs promise, it will do more harm than good.
Step 5: To write a killer intro using the AIDA formula
The introduction is probably the most essential part of your content. Your job is to hook the reader, tell them theyâre in the right place, and convince them to keep reading.
Fortunately, thereâs a tried-and-true formula you can use: AIDA, which stands for attention, interest, desire, and action. Letâs write a sample intro for our article on painting kitchen cabinets.
1. Grab your audienceâs attention.
So something like, âYou donât have to be a professional to paint beautiful kitchen cabinets.â This breaks with a common opinion the reader might have and so grabs their attention.
You can do this with stories, interesting facts, or anything else that might help make a personal connection with your audience.
So letâs add to our intro.
âBut the surprising thing is that 99% of homeowners still choose contractors, which can be up to 20 times more expensive than a DIY solution.â This line adds an interesting fact that also communicates that a) they will be unique if they do it themselves, and b) they will save a lot of money.
This is to show the reader how your content can solve their problem. And one of the best ways to do that is to show them proof. So we add.
âIn fact, we only spent $100 on materials, and now we have our dream kitchen.â
This can be in the form of a âHere we goâ line, or you can enhance the userâs experience with something like a table of contents.
So if I were to add to our intro, I could say, âLetâs walk through the simple 5-step process to make your kitchen look like a million bucks.
Step 6: To make your content actionable and easy to digest.
Your outline should serve as an excellent skeleton for your post. And to add meat to that bone, you need to do two things.
1. you want to make it as helpful as possible. That is, if someone searches for âhow to paint kitchen cabinets,â they should be able to do so successfully with the help of your content. It all depends on your knowledge and expertise on the subject.
2.You want to make it easy to digest and read. And that comes down to your communication and writing skills.
The best tip for making your content digestible is to keep your thoughts as short as possible. For example, if youâre writing a step on choosing the right color for your cabinets, you might say something like⌠âThe color you choose is up to you. However, there are 5 things you need to consider depending on the type of cabinets you have.â Then add a list of 5 bullet points.
Compare that to something like. âColor is a powerful thing.
It can influence your emotions, so choosing the right color is a crucial step. According to a 2018 study, red is a very vibrant color. Think fire and blood. IntenseâŚâ This doesnât really help the user solve their problem.
It just sounds like youâre trying to convince him to paint his cabinets red.
As for readability, you can do things like⌠Use headings and subheadings, avoid walls of text by writing in short sentences and short paragraphs, add images when it helps clarify or visualize a point, and use transitional phrases like âas you know,â âhowever,â and âalsoâ that can improve flow.
After youâve written your content, I recommend asking someone to give you unfiltered feedback. This is something we do at Ahrefs for every single piece of content we publish, whether itâs a blog post, landing page, or video.
It helps us always do our best to deliver content that we hope will help our readers and viewers. Now, the content aspect is a very important part when it comes to SEO.
Meaning, if you canât get your content right, then you probably arenât going to rank high for any meaningful keywords. Also, there are times when youâll nail your content, but you still canât rank. This often comes down to the level of competition, which usually boils down to quality backlinks.
Read More: The Most Important Process to Increase High-Quality Traffic to Your Website
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