The Art of SEO Content Creation: Tips for Writing Content That Ranks

In a sea of competition, one great way to stand out is through SEO content creation. Businesses that publish great SEO content on their website can improve their Google ranking and establish themselves as industry thought leaders - but there is an art to this.

Writing great content is more than just stuffing your website or blogs with keywords; it certainly isn’t a copy and paste from ChatGPT. SEO content creation is a planned process that requires research, creativity, and originality.

In this blog, we’ll explain what SEO content is and how you can write one that ranks highly on Google’s coveted first page. 

SEO Content Creation: What Is It?

SEO content is content that‘s optimised to rank highly on search engines like Google. Unlike typical blog content, SEO content is written based on a more tactical approach by using specific keywords that consumers search for. Its primary goal is to get into Google's top spot through high-quality content.

Finding the right keyword for your content is an important preliminary step that should be undertaken before SEO content creation. We recommend making it your mission to read our blog on “Techniques for Identifying High-Value Keywords” before reading any further. 

SEO-optimised content should always be valuable and relevant to the reader. The more informative it is in answering readers' questions, the more favourable Google will see it - which makes it more discoverable.

Google has a Search Quality Evaluator Guideline that many content marketers use as a reference for writing good quality content. In it, Google recommends writing content through an E-E-A-T 
lens - Experience, Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust. 

Does your content pass the E-E-A-T test?  

To pass the E-E-A-T test, you’ll need a foolproof SEO content strategy that helps customers get the information they are after and keeps them on your website. Here’s how you can create content that ranks. 

Our Foolproof SEO Content Strategy: How to Create
Compelling Content 

Focus on originality and authenticity

We cannot stress the importance of this enough: originality attracts your audience to your website. Your customers can get a generic answer from anywhere on the web, so there’s a high likelihood they have specifically come to your website for an original thought.

Google ranking systems have since been updated to push more original content higher up the ranks. So, adding your own opinions to content pieces allows your readers to get filtered, trustworthy information. It also showcases your brand personality - because the last thing you want is to sound like other generic businesses. 

Write for your customers

Think of your content as a conversation. No one likes talking to a person who only talks about themselves. In general, your website content should follow the 70/30 rule - 70% of your content
should focus on the customer, and 30% should focus on your brand.

While it may be tempting to list your brand's many achievements or exceptional customer service, too much ‘we speak’ is not impactful on the web. Instead, try focusing on the benefits your customers can get out of your content or business.  

For example, here’s how we change brand-focused blog ideas into articles that are more valuable to our customers 

Blog ideas: Turning ‘we-speak’ into customer benefits 

Combine AI and human content writing
 
Using artificial intelligence to build your website content is highly effective when done correctly. Tools like ChatGPT are great starting points when creating ranking content, but they shouldn’t be used to write an entire article.

Did you know that 62% of customers claim that they are less likely to engage and support content that’s produced by an AI? While using ChatGPT for SEO content can speed up the writing process, it diminishes your article’s originality. 

Balance keywords and natural language

When you have a keyword that will help you rank on Google, the last thing you want to do is stuff your content with said keyword. Keyword density refers to how much your target keyword appears in your content, and it shouldn’t be much.

There’s no clear number on how many keywords are needed in an article, but many SEO experts suggest using your keyword once or twice for every 100 words.

You can also use synonyms for the keywords in your content. For example, if your keyword is ‘men's hairdresser in Melbourne,’ consider including ‘men's barber in Melbourne’ occasionally in your article.

Remember that your article should first and foremost aim to be readable to customers - so remove keywords if it doesn’t sound great in sentences.

Our assassin’s way is to use ChatGPT for content ideas and then build on those ideas with a professional copywriter. That way, you get the best of humans and AI. 

Readability Matters

When writing content, your goal should be to clearly communicate your points to your readers. Most readers skim through articles on the web and will not read every sentence, so your content should be easily understood and digestible.

Otherwise, they might lose interest and exit your site.

Here are some best practices on how to make your content easily readable. 

Don’t forget your on-page SEO

Sometimes, the best content might not rank due to technical factors on your website. On-page SEO are the elements in your website that can help your content rank better.

Check your webpage’s title tags, meta descriptions, and URLs to ensure it’s optimised for the keyword. You should also have the appropriate headers and subheaders that divide your content, as well as appropriate links to other parts of your website.

Cleaning up these small technical issues may help your website rank. 

Common SEO Content Mistakes to Avoid

In summary, here are some deadly mistakes you should avoid when writing your content and what to do instead. 

Are you making these SEO content mistakes? 

Key takeaway

Getting to the top page of Google is an art that requires experience and knowledge of SEO best practices. By combining originality and creativity with the tactical approach of SEO, you can begin to develop valuable content that ranks.

If you’re looking for a team specialising in SEO content creation, the team at Digital Assassin is here to help you with your mission.

Digital Assassin provides affordable web development plans for Australian businesses to build and manage their website with ongoing tactical content and SEO best practices. To learn more about how to build a great website, read our eBook, So You Need a Killer Website. Alternatively, speak to an assassin today.