In the previous article, we shared 6 great tips with you on why your keywords, titles, and headlines are important and how to create valuable content that attracts new audiences. In today’s article, we will walk you through the remaining 7 SEO content writing tips to develop content that is better optimized from an SEO perspective and more engaging for the users. 

Let’s learn how you can better optimize your content to win your readers over!

#7 Optimize your title tags

It’s worth being creative with the headings, — Google indicates this as the title tags unless you change it manually — since it will no longer appear in the results list if it exceeds 60-70 characters. Watch your title length, the mobile version shows even fewer characters. It’s not a very pleasant feeling when you write a promising title for your perfectly polished article, which describes the text precisely, but then Google chooses a different title instead. It’s not worth taking a chance on or counting on it appearing on the big screen. Don’t just be creative, be concise. Get to the point!

The title tag is essential, but this is not the only meta tag that requires SEO optimization. The work invested in the meta description (the text that appears directly below the URL) also pays off. Although this is not officially a ranking factor, the user will decide based on this text whether or not to click on the displayed result. So it’s still important.

It is worth remaining between 120-160 characters so the relevant information we want to appear does not continue with “…”. This is usually the first two lines of the description.

However, sometimes our given meta description is not relevant enough for Google, either because it considers it misleading, or simply because our description was associated with a keyword that is present in the content but is not relevant in our meta description. In this case, Google displays the details where the given keyword can be found.

#8 Use additional keywords

In SEO copywriting, an article can be ranked for several keywords. In fact, high-quality content usually appears among the first results for several keywords in Google searches. Moreover, it’s possible that you’ll appear for keywords that aren’t even in your post. As we already mentioned, Google is very elaborate; It knows synonyms and combines phrases. If you pay attention to it, you can also incorporate the words and phrases into the text, simultaneously increasing the number of visitors who may come to the page.

SEO content writing tips include using tools such as Google Search Console, formerly known as Google Webmaster Tools. It is not worth optimizing a website without using Google’s free SEO and analytics tools, Search Console, and Google Analytics.

These tools provide valuable information for free. In the Google Search Console, for instance, you can find the short and long keywords in addition to those for which the given article ranks, even though it did not optimize the text. If you consider these keywords useful for the purpose of SEO content writing, you can boost them a bit more so that they can rank higher in the search engines.

The previously mentioned “related terms” section in Google search results can also be of good help in searching for long-tail keywords that consist of three or more words.

It is also worth including newly discovered words into the content since if you target several keywords with a single text, you can reach a larger (yet relevant) audience. Therefore, it’s worth researching it and writing a slightly longer, better text that also includes additional keywords.

#9 Optimize your images as well

Lots of articles focus strictly on writing and they don’t incorporate image optimization in SEO content writing tips. Breaking down your text is essential because when reading on the web, as a result of fast scrolling, the words easily flow together in front of the readers’ eyes and they get tired sooner.

You can divide the text into parts not only with highlights and subtitles but also with images, where the eyes can rest and the content can become more exciting, interesting, and informative. There are several things worth noting about this.

First of all, it matters what kind of image you use since the belief that what’s on the internet is free is no longer valid. These images, and texts as well, were created by someone, so they are protected by copyright protection. 

You may suddenly receive a legal notice from the affected person, but it may also happen that Google sends a letter or simply removes the affected page from the index. So it’s not worth the risk. Not to mention, no one would like to find your intellectual property on another website or website without your approval.

You can find plenty of free images on the internet, officially. For example:

• Pixabay
• Unsplash
• Freepik (in the case of Freepik, if you use the images for free, you have to place a small label next to them, or for €10 a month you can legally download a lot of images for commercial use)

From an SEO optimization point of view, you should take into consideration the image size you use, since a larger image can significantly slow down the loading time. Our recommendation is to only use as much as you really need, and you can even reduce its size with a little compression.

Having done that, we need to bear in mind to let Google know what the image is about and to display the content among the image results. Since Google is not yet able to identify the content of images by “looking at them” (although serious tests are underway, which increasingly disprove the hypothesis), they must be marked with Alt and Title tags.

#10 Make your readers act  

In accordance with the goal defined in point 1 of the previous article, you should include your audience since – in addition to the fact that your most important goal when using SEO copywriting is to achieve a good ranking – the text was originally written with a purpose, right? Regardless of the type of keywords you used, ask or direct them to interact with you.

Such interactions may include:

• Share it
• Share button
• Buy it!
• Take a look!
• Contact us
• Read more, etc.

It is worth using these elements, as several studies have shown that visitors are much more likely to follow the instructions given by the call to action, than if we were to be convinced that the content suggested by the text was enough to achieve our goal. 

Thus, the importance of using call-to-action elements is perhaps more understandable. Be sure to place a couple of (CTA) call-to-action buttons here and there in the right places while writing your content. Of course, this should not be exaggerated either, since if a CTA appears at the end of every fifth line, it can be very confusing. As a result, it may also happen that you’ll leave rather negative impressions on the reader.

#11 Don’t forget about voice-based search

With the development of technology, we should keep in mind the content optimized for voice-based searches. In 99% of cases, it is typical for mobile use. We would not encourage anyone to immediately start optimizing text for voice-based searches, especially if the basic SEO settings on their website are not suitable either, but it is worth paying attention to when writing content. 

In fact, people search by typing in a different way than they do in voice-based search. Let’s say we would like to eat a slice of delicious cake in a city we are visiting for the first time. If we were to use our fingers to type in Google, we would probably write something like this: “bakeries near me”. If we preferred to use our voices for searching, the question would probably be broader and more traditional, for example: “How do I get to the nearest pastry shop?”, “Which is the best (closest, best rated, largest selection, etc.) pastry shop near me?”

Why do people enjoy using voice search?

• They can do other things during that time (driving, drinking, eating, cycling, etc.). 
• It’s faster than typing.
• They get instant answers.

Local providers are likely to be the biggest winners for voice searches. So what tactics can you use when writing SEO texts? Here are some examples:

• Find out what words and word combinations people use in everyday life and apply them. Alsoasked.com or Answerthepublic can be beneficial.
• Use Google Business Profile.
• Use structured data.
• Make your website as fast as possible.

#12 Familiarize yourself with structured data

According to a survey conducted last year, half of Google searches ended without a click. So, 50% of people left Google’s search results page without visiting a website or interacting with the page.

Obviously, there could be several reasons for this, but what definitely plays a role in it is the introduction of featured snippets in the results list, which immediately answer the questions the user asks below the ads but above the organic list.

This is not very good news for website owners and copywriters. Many people just read what they are interested in and then leave. You may also feel that writing your text was a waste of time, and thus search engine optimization is meaningless. Of course, there are those who click on the featured article to continue reading or scroll further in search of another result, but many are satisfied with this.

What does this mean from an SEO content writing point of view?

The opportunities provided by structured data must be used, and if there is a question in the content to which a few lines of concise, to-the-point answers have been given, it gives us a chance to appear in the highlighted extracts as well. Of course, the following question arises:

Is it good for me if the content and text are displayed but no one clicks through to the website?

Everyone has to decide this for themselves, or test what is the most suitable solution. From a branding point of view, it can result in a positive outcome, and the content can be so promising that the readers still click on it. Try which solution is more appropriate for you. However, it doesn’t hurt to use a link when writing the FAQ text. 

The point is actually to make it clearer for the algorithm what the given page is about, who it belongs to, where it is located, and what services and products you sell; the possibilities are actually endless.

For rich results, it is possible to display the above-mentioned FAQ option, but you can also use it to get the small stars (review schema, aggregate rating) or you can appear as a small card.

You may not understand at first glance this is included in SEO content writing tips, but around 2022–2023 it should already be a basic accessory for SEO.

#13 Speed ​​matters

It may sound strange, but the health of the entire website is at stake, so the speed is also an influencing factor when writing SEO text. Apparently, not many people will wait,— no matter how promising a couple of titles and meta descriptions might be — if the visitor can’t wait to reach the content provided by the text. Of course, Google also sees this. Why would Google show the result to the readers if people immediately leave without even looking at the content or even reading a few lines of it? Clearly, this is an extreme case. The site must be very slow for this to happen, but let’s not forget about impatient mobile users.

On the GTMetrix website, you will find important and accurate information that you can use to improve your website, even during search engine optimization. After all, you should not only optimize the content and focus exclusively on writing the best possible SEO text but the health status of the page as a whole must also be taken into account. You will be notified about the location of misplaced links that cannot load some resources, elements that block the speed of the page, and much more, so that you can carry out the optimization processes as professionally as possible in order to get to the important first places. 

Final thoughts

Now that we’ve given you 13 SEO content writing tips to improve your ranking and bring more value to your audience, whether it’s writing new content from scratch or updating an existing one, it’s time for you to tackle your to-do list. Let’s review them quickly!

1. Set your objectives
2. Find out what are your readers after keyword research
3. Get to the point
4. Forget keyword stacking
5. Find out your target audience’s interests
6. Titles and headlines also matter
7. Optimize your title tags
8. Use additional keywords
9. Optimize your images as well
10. Make your readers act
11. Don’t forget about voice-based search
12. Familiarize yourself with structured data
13. Speed ​​matters

Hopefully, you found this general insight into the secrets of SEO content writing useful, thanks to which you may find yourself on the front page in no time. We believe you will rank better with all that you’ve learned today and succeed in creating content worth clicking on.