Building A Site Google Loves: Writing Great Content (Part Two)

ORLANDO, FLORIDA — Hopefully part one of Writing Great Content gave you a clear understanding of the main purpose of SEO Copywriting and how to choose relevant, interesting and helpful topics for blog posts, articles and press releases.

Part two will talk about how to include keywords naturally, why paying attention to detail matters, and reveal one of the must-haves needed for your website to do well in Google’s search algorithm. I will also advise you on two mistakes to avoid, which include the most common and deadly of missteps when it comes to ranking well with Google.

Including Keywords Without Sounding Spammy

Good content also includes keywords, but the keywords should flow naturally within the article or press release and be relevant to the piece. If the non-SEO savvy reader can scan an article or press release and pick out the keywords, then the content is not written well enough. Keywords help a search engine decide what pages are most relevant to a search, but readers do not need to be spoon-fed as to what a page is about, according to Ali Husayni.

“Ultimately, humans are more important than the search engine because they are the ones who buy, the ones who will share the content, and the ones who will get you the backlinks to the content, so always strive for a natural tone and relevant topics,” Husayni said.

Husayni uses a team of advanced SEO marketing researchers, the latest analytics reports and specialized formulas to find and prioritize clients’ keyword selection and link building. Businesses can find out their best keywords by doing their own research, or hiring an SEO consultant to analyze current SEO work or an SEO coach to train and hire in-house employees with the techniques they need to be successful.

Give Customers A Glimpse Of The Company’s Character

A company that pays attention to details within their website content is telling readers that they are thorough. People shopping around for services or goods like to know that their needs will be handled by a person or company that is thorough and attentive.

Misspelling and poor grammar are the most common mistakes that companies make in their SEO writing. Lanette Strong, an SEO copywriter, says overlooking details can give the impression that the writer is ignorant or does not care about his or her work. Blatantly false statements made because of lack of research or proofreading make a company look less reputable.

“Research, grammar and spelling are of the utmost importance for blogs,” she says. “You need to have all the facts first, and then re-read the post for grammar and spelling errors.”

Husayni stresses the importance of hiring a professional copywriter who is a native English-speaker.

“You are creating content to show your expertise in your particular field, and you don’t want to hinder your efforts because you don’t write well in English,” Husayni said.

Master Google’s Editor-in-Chief Lorrie Walker says this is an obstacle that is easily overcome with the help of an English-speaking writer. A professional copywriter helps companies and businesspeople accurately portray their knowledge and professional image.

The Freshness Component: Don’t Leave Your Blog Without It

Google loves fresh content. They recently added a component to their search algorithm that takes into account how recently information was published when determining how relevant it is to certain search queries.

Husayni suggests, “Site owners should write for their sites on a regular basis. The more you post fresh, quality and relevant content on a site, the more you improve the odds of exposure and inclusion on Google search results.”

A regular basis could mean once every month or every other day, but the most benefit comes from posting often because of Google’s freshness algorithm. Google wants to give searchers the most relevant and up-to-date results on a topic.

Companies debating their number of postings should consider their purpose for the articles, according to Walker, who is also the owner of a public relations firm in Lakeland, Florida.

“If you’re just writing for search engines, you might get the results you want from three ‘OK’ articles,” she said. “But if you want customers, you have to provide relevant, quality content that will encourage people to read on and take action.”

Plagiarism Can Be Deadly For Rankings

Filling a website with interesting content is the goal, but the content has to be original, not copied from other sources.

Walker says the biggest mistake people make when it comes to SEO content generation is seeing similar sites and loving the content, then simply copying it to their own website.

Google views that as duplicate content, and they penalize sites that copy. Readers do not appreciate copied content either and can quickly deem a site not worth reading if it is just regurgitating content they have seen before.

“Strive to enlighten the clients or patients instead of rehashing material over and over again,” Husayni said. “And never copy and paste material directly to your own website.”

What creating the best SEO content comes down to is a balancing act. There are certain components that must be included, but the process is fluid. To be successful, companies and writers must be flexible and make continuous adjustments to keep everything working together to accomplish the goal of building a site that Google loves.

Popularity: 3%

Building A Site Google Loves: Writing Great Content — Part 1

ORLANDO, FLORIDA — It seems like the importance of great content is touted everywhere, but there seems to be much less information about what constitutes great content. How do you know if your content measures up, and more importantly, if what you are writing is what will make your website one that Google loves?

“We have a great team of professional SEO copywriters who create the content that contributes to the ranking results clients like to see,” says Ali Husayni. “A couple of our writers are going to share their process for making that writing a reality and some of the characteristics great content will have.”

To Write For The Search Engine or For The Reader?

That is the first and most important question. The first thing to understand about content generation is the reason for doing it, and—spoiler alert—that reason should not be just to get better rankings in search engine results.

“Writing the press release or article only with search engines in mind may very well help you improve your site’s ranking, but if it doesn’t generate new business, who cares?” says Lorrie Walker, the editor-in-chief at Master Google and the owner of a public relations firm in Tampa, Fla.

According to her the main purpose for writing website content, articles and press releases is to provide useful information for people who are seeking the kinds of services and products that the business provides.

“When I need a service, I want to find the best, most knowledgeable subject matter expert to provide that service for me,” Walker says. “If it’s someone local, I’m probably going to ask my friends and see if anyone has recommendations. But I’m also going to look at business’ websites and do my research. The more information you can provide about who you are and what you do, the better.”

Why Good Isn’t Good Enough

But jotting down some basic information about a company, a brief description of services and peppering in some keywords to SEO is not going to be enough to get top results in this era of the Internet.

“There are too many people producing content, many of them producing good content, to put up basic information on a website and expect to stand out,” Husayni says. “It takes a lot of work, but the opportunity is there for people who are willing to invest the time and energy.”

Three Characteristics Of Great Content

Walker says that when a company has written copy that is interesting, original and well-written, they have great content.

Website content must be relevant to what people are searching for on the topic and be helpful in some way by providing the information they wanted, answering the question or solving the problem. The only way to do this is to know the audience to write for and what they find interesting.

“Content should speak to them in a language they understand,” says Lanette Strong, an SEO copywriter. “They should leave the page with an accurate answer to the question they were searching for.”

That means if a company is trying to reach a layperson audience, they need to cut down on technical language and explain any terminology that a beginner in the subject would not readily understand within the context of the page.

“It’s not that we are dumbing down articles, it’s that we are helping readers get the information they were looking for without having to visit another site to get more clarification,” Strong explains.

Figuring Out What To Write About

The definition of interesting is ‘to arouse curiosity or interest and hold or catch the attention.’ That means companies need to look for topics that their readers might want to read about or would provide information they need. If a heating and cooling company is building a website to grow their residential customer base, they would want to focus on topics pertinent to homeowners like cutting energy costs, the latest equipment rebates or the benefits of upgrading to energy efficient systems. A company that is trying to get more commercial clientele or work with contractors would focus on different topics.

Strong says that researching what competitors are doing and staying abreast of current news is helpful when looking for topic ideas. Just make sure you can relate the topic to your company and put a fresh spin on it, she cautions, and Walker agrees.

“I think a good way of determining what to write about is to listen to your customers or clients or patients. What questions do you frequently get asked? Write about those topics,” says Walker.

Walker says that companies can also write about what sets them apart from their competitors, about business anniversaries or other milestones, including: awards or recognition from the community, new products or services and new employees and conferences employees attended or spoke at.

Half the battle of writing about a business or company is coming up with relevant topics and creating a well-defined goal for the press releases and articles. Stay tuned to read about out the next steps for creating great SEO content: sound writing mechanics, knowing how to use keywords effectively and giving Google what it wants from content while staying away from what can get a website penalized or banned.

Popularity: 3%