How to Write Content That Ranks: Killer Guide For Beginners


Published: | By Anant Belekar

Nearly 90% of marketers continue their investment in content marketing plans. In addition, 57% of B2C marketers said that on-page SEO content development helped their businesses to stand out on Google. No doubt, content has the power to break sales records. But to achieve the benefits, your content should rank. 

There are millions of articles, blogs, and web pages uploaded on the web every day. But not all of them have the potential to grab the top ten rank in the SERPs. Hence, it’s indispensable to write SEO-friendly content by keeping Google algorithm updates in mind. 

Here, in this guide you will find some valuable content that ranks and helps your business generate more revenue. 

Stay tuned and keep reading to know what makes your content special and loved by search engines.

Pick the Right Keyword

keyword researchImage source: Canstockphoto

Before you pen down and write content, foremost, you've to search for the right keywords. Remember that your content is for ranking purposes, and the keyword is the prime goal of On-site SEO. The keyword is the backbone of content marketing. Hence, while choosing a keyword, ensure that the content must have three to five targeted keywords. 

Also, ensure that keyword is based on the customer search and targeting their question. If you are unsure about keyword research, take the help of the keyword finder tools. If you're a beginner, then go with free keyword tools like; 

But there are tools like ahrefs and semrush which offers free trail for 7 days and stands a top seo tools in the industry, makes your job easy in finding high volume and low competitive keywords. This way, you can hit the right keywords for your content. 

Analyze Search Intent Before Picking The Keyword

search

The next step in writing Google-friendly content is analyzing the search intent before selecting the actual keyword. It's vital because if the content you've written doesn't match user search intent, the content doesn't rank on SERP (Search Engine Result Page). 

Recently in 2013, Google officially released an update (Hummingbird Algorithm). This is helpful for the search engine to find out the user's true intention behind searches. The update is also known as semantic search. The algorithm update helps to match the website content in Google's index with the same language users choose to make a query on Google. 

Therefore, the best way to write content for search engine optimization is to do quick research on Google with respective keywords. This helps analyze content ranking at the top of the search engine page. Moreover, you'll find some of the common content patterns on the search engine result page, which are as follows: 

  • Transactional pages such as registration forms, product listings, and payment gateway.
  • Informational pages include buying guides, listicle articles, and how to type. 
  • Navigational pages such as contact pages, company home pages, and others. 

When you find out the pattern of the content ranking on Google, you'll be able to write the best SEO content. 

Write a Unique & SEO-optimized Title

seo vector imageImage source: Adobe

Needless to say, you've to write a unique and SEO-optimized title. Additionally, the page title must be SEO-optimized. The page title is often known as the Meta title. This is the critical HTML element as it tells Google about your topic and to whom you want to target. 

Also, the page title is displayed on the search engine result page for a particular URL listing. Hence, writing an eye-catching, keyword-based title is crucial to catching the audience's attention. Some of the valuable tips for writing the best SEO-optimized title are as follows: 

  • With an enticing page title for all your website pages. Do not copy the title of published articles or pages 
  • Describe the content of the page appropriately. 
  • Insert the targeted keyword at the beginning of the title of the website pages. 
  • Insert secondary keyword organically without repeating the same word
  • The title of the page should not exceed more than 60 characters. 

Use Heading Tags to Emphasize Important Content

There is a Better Way searchImage source: POWR

Remember that the ultimate goal of writing content is to rank your website on Google. Therefore, pay attention to the headings tags to emphasize important content. Headings and subheadings provide the framework for the content. The hierarchical structure helps navigate pages easily. 

Thus, here are some impactful tips that help to write proper headings. 

  • Use the H1 tag only one time as the heading of the page.
  • Repeat the meta page title in your H1 tag. This is helpful to reduce the Google rewriting chances of your page title. 
  • Break the main body of content with H2 tags
  • Include targeted and secondary keywords in your H2 Tags
  • Use H3 tags to divide your subheading into multiple sections. 
  • Avoid using too many headings on the same page, as it may puzzle users to search for the topic. 

Use Keyword Variation Instead Of Same Keyword

keyword variationImage source: MOZ

While writing SEO content to rank on Google, use different keyword variations of the same keyword instead of repeating the keyword. Ideally, many ways are available to insert your keywords in different variations. The Google keyword research tool helps collect the keyword variations of the same keyword. 

You can insert these keywords in your content organically. The thing about keyword variations is that you can maintain the keyword density without repetitions. 

Let us take an example of the keyword to make it clear. Suppose the keyword is "On-page vs. Off-page Seo-which is the best?. 

You can focus on single words like on-page vs. Off-page seo to create variations. For examples, 

  • On-page and off-page Seo- differences 
  • On-page Seo Vs. Off-page Seo
  • Difference between the On-page seo and off-page seo. 

Likewise, you can use different variations to insert keywords. The research intention is on-page vs. off-page. So you'll be able to target the user's search intentions, and your content will rank.

Write In-Depth Content That Helps Readers

Writing content for the website is to deliver information to the users and provide solutions to their queries with your content. Thus, be sure to write in-depth content that helps the readers to build trust. Moreover, a website that looks trustworthy and offers in-depth content is likely to rank on Google faster than others. 

Here are some essential tips that help you write the best content. 

  • Always target the problem and offer a solution in your content 
  • Write in-depth and informative content for the about us page
  • Provide complete information in your content about the publisher and other things. 
  • Ensure to include CTA and contact us page in your content with your email address, address, name, and phone number
  • Always include final thoughts or key takeaways in your content.
  • Write catchy intros 
  • If you have an eCommerce store or shopping cart, ensure all the information is clear to the users. 
  • Ensure that website has a secure connection, including HTTPS. 

Stick to the Topic

When you are writing content, ensure that all the headings and subheadings are adhered to each other and interlinked with each other. Avoid writing content that is irrelevant and distracting from the main topics. Focus on the primary topic and keyword. Target the entire content by linking one heading to the other. This way, you will be able to create interest and keep readers engaged in your content to the end. 

Proofread Your Content

proofread spelling grammar accuracyImage source: Adobe

Once you have finished the writing part, the next step is proofreading. Never update or publish content without proofreading. This is essential because no matter how professional you are and how crisp content you write. Some typos remain embedded in the content. Therefore, when you proofread content, it will help to filter out the errors and improve the content. 

If you don't know to proofread and find it difficult to remove errors, use tools such as: 

  • Grammarly- It helps to remove spelling mistakes, correct sentence structure, and improve grammar. Moreover, it is helpful to improve the syntax and make content readable. Grammarly helps to check plagiarism in the content. If you are a student who just started your blogging career, Grammarly also provides student discount which helps you get it at cheaper price. 
  • ProWritingAid- The tool is similar to Grammarly. It helps filter out grammar errors, sentence punctuation, and other errors. 
  • Prepostseo-  This online toolkit provides a free grammar checker that helps in making the content error-free. The tool scans the content, highlights the grammatical errors in it, and gives accurate suggestions to correct them. Similarly to Grammarly, it helps in checking the originality of the content with its online plagiarism-checking tool.
  • Quillbot- Quillbot is an AI-powered tool that can rephrase and paraphrase sentences while also providing a grammar check to correct grammar and spelling errors. It can also help improve sentence structure and make content more readable. Additionally, Quillbot can check for plagiarism in the content and provide suggestions for paraphrasing or rewording to avoid duplication.

Add Internal & External Links

backlink strategyImage source: Shutterstock

Internal and external linking is a great way to improve rank on Google. Moreover, it helps get more visitors to the site and drives better results. However, while internal linking and external linking, be sure to choose only credible websites. 

The best way of internal linking is to add links to other websites as sources and references. By linking your website, you indicate the information that you've covered in the content is accurate and from trusted sources. 

Optimize Images

Lastly, do not forget to optimize the images in your content. Here are some tips to optimize your images in the content.

  • Resize the images and prefer to use Microsoft paint or image optimizer tools for resizing. Ensure to maintain the standard image size, which is 640 x 350. 
  • Use alt tags in your images. 
  • Optimize the title of the image with relevant keyword 
  • Add the image structure data 
  • Use unique and HD images 
  • Write a caption for the image. 

Conclusion

So, we hope you've enjoyed reading the complete guide. Now, as you discover some of the valuable tips that help to write Google-friendly content, ensure to apply these rules while writing your content and see the difference in the ranking. Lastly, do not forget to write a conclusion at the end. In conclusion, you can summarize the entire content and add a valuable tip to keep your reader engaged.

ANANT (2)Anant Belekar virtual-friendly SEO Analyst with multiple solutions for your business-related Digital marketing, Awesome content writing, white-collar International transactions with in-depth knowledge resulting in ranking the brands and businesses. Your buddy is always active on various genuine social media marketing across the globe. Reach him through alkemitech9@gmail.com and linkedin.com/in/anant-belekar.

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