fbpx

14 tips from SEO writers: The Importance of Organic Traffic

August 13, 2021

Create organic traffic with our SEO writer’s top 14 tips!

So, you want to know about organic traffic – who better to learn from than an SEO writer?

When it comes to creating online content, you need to know how to be found in search engines. Otherwise, what’s the point? The last thing you want is to spend hours creating a blog that no one is going to see.

But how can you make sure that your content is actually found in search engines? That’s where we come in!

At Vocal, we’re experts in creating content – and we want to share that with you! One of our SEO writers has put together this blog, all about boosting your search engine ranking.

So, sit back, relax and get ready to learn about SEO!

What is SEO?

If you’re new to the world of digital content marketing, you might not know the ins and outs of SEO. So, who better to teach you about SEO than an SEO writer?

SEO stands for ‘search engine optimization’. It refers to the way search engines – like Google or Bing – rank content in search engine results pages (SERPs). To get more traffic to your website, you need your content to rank highly in SERPs.

There are plenty of tips and tricks out there that SEO writers use to increase their SERP ranking.

What is organic traffic… and why is it so important?

Organic traffic refers to any visits to your website that stem from organic search results and unpaid ads. Research shows that around 60% of your traffic is organic – its importance can’t be ignored!

But why exactly is it so important for your website?

  • Organic traffic ensures that your website is getting real visitors – not just automated crawlers.
  • Visitors from paid traffic will dry up eventually. As long as you create consistent, SEO-friendly content, visitors from organic traffic will continue.
  • You can use organic traffic to create a credible, trustworthy online presence.
  • The more organic traffic you get on your website, the more valuable you will appear to Google.
  • Results from organic traffic last longer than they do from paid traffic or ads.
  • It doesn’t cost a lot – but is really effective!

Here are Vocal’s 14 tips from an SEO writer:

  1. You NEED to use keywords

Our SEO writer’s top tip: use keywords in your content.

This is absolutely crucial to rank higher in SERPs. If you don’t use keywords in your content, you’ll be outranked by someone who does. And your content will quickly fall behind!

What are keywords?

If you want to be an SEO writer, you need to use keywords. But what exactly are keywords?

Keywords are words and phrases that help search engines rank your content – and, ultimately, help users find your site.

The goal of search engines is to help users find answers to their questions. When someone Google’s a query, Google searches its index for content that includes the words or phrases searched. Any articles that consistently use a word or phrase will be placed at the top of the SERP. That’s because Google assumes that content that uses the keywords will be the most helpful to the user.

How can you use keywords in your content?

If you’ve never thought about keywords before, including them in your content can seem like a daunting task. But don’t worry – we have an SEO writer on hand to help you out!

To be a successful SEO writer, your keywords shouldn’t be obvious to your audience. Instead, they should blend in seamlessly with the rest of your content. If your audience reads your content and can immediately pick out your keywords, something needs to change!

And remember our SEO writer’s top tip. You should try and include the keyword in the title and first line of your article. That will really increase your SERP ranking.

  1. Avoid ‘keyword stuffing’

So, our SEO writer has just told you to use keywords in your content. And now we’re telling you not to overdo it. What are you supposed to do?

Our first tip still stands – to rank higher in SERPs, you absolutely need to use keywords in your content. But if you overdo it, you’ll be guilty of something called ‘keyword stuffing’.

What is keyword stuffing?

Keyword stuffing is when SEO writers cram the keyword into articles with the sole purpose of being found in SERPs.

When you’re trying to increase your SERP ranking, it can be tempting to use the keyword as much as possible. That’s how you get your ranking to climb, right?

And plenty of writers used to do just that. In the past, SEO writers have tried to manipulate search engines by stuffing keywords onto a page. Even if the content didn’t make much sense, the page would still rank highly in SERPs. All because the SEO writer had used the keyword over and over again.

Some writers tried to hide their keyword stuffing by matching the font color with the background. So, the keywords weren’t visible to the user. And some writers weren’t even subtle about it – they would simply list the keyword over and over again.

As you can imagine, this content was not very helpful to users.

But search engines have become wise to SEO writers’ tips and tricks. Nowadays, if you use the keyword too many times, you could actually be penalized. Your article will be pushed down the rankings and replaced with content that has stuck to the rules.

  1. Climb the SERPs with internal linking

Our SEO writer’s next tip? Invest time in internal linking. Yes, it’s tedious but it’s worth it to climb the ranks!

What is internal linking?

If you’ve ever written a blog post and linked to another page on your website, you’re already using internal linking.

Because that’s all it is: linking from one page on your site to another.

Most SEO writers do this anyway. It’s common practice to end a blog post with a link to your contact page or list of services. But to make your content really SEO-friendly, you need to take your internal linking to the next level.

Top tip from our SEO writers: look through your published blogs to find opportunities for internal linking.

Let’s break it down with an example. If you’re writing a blog about digital marketing services, you’ll probably mention copywriting – how could you not? Look through your published blogs and see if you’ve posted an article about copywriting in the past. If you have, link to that blog in your new article.

And there you have it – you’re making use of internal linking!

Why is it good for your SERP ranking?

SEO writers make use of internal linking because it will boost your SERP ranking – but how?

When you use internal linking on your website, search engines follow those links and store that content in an index. If you have more content stored in the search engine’s index, they’ll have more options to show users. So, you’re more likely to rank highly in SERPs!

  1. External linking is important too!

Internal linking isn’t the only way to improve your search engine ranking! External linking is important for SEO too.

What is external linking?

There are two types of external linking:

  • Outbound: these are links from your content to someone else’s.
  • Backlinks (or inbound links): there are links back to your content from someone else’s.

Here’s a top tip from our SEO writer! Make use of both outbound links and backlinks in your blog.

Why is external linking good for SEO?

As an SEO writer, you might be wary about linking to other people’s content. After all, you worked hard on it, right? Why send your audience elsewhere?

Outbound links add depth to your content. Search engines assume you know what you’re talking about, so they show your content to users.

But you should only link to content if it’s trustworthy and reliable. Otherwise, you’re putting your own credibility at risk. And don’t link to your competition. If you do, you risk handing potential clients over to your competitors. That’s the last thing you want as an SEO writer!

Backlinks are great for SEO because they increase your authority on a subject. When other websites are directing their readers your way, it shows that you have something important to say. As a result, search engines will assume that your content will answer the user’s questions.

How can you secure backlinks for your website?

There’s no denying it – getting backlinks does take a lot of work. But take it from our SEO writer – it’s worth the effort!

Here are three ways to get backlinks:

  • Submit news stories to press
  • Write guest articles for other websites
  • Collaborate with other brands.

Remember! Not all backlinks are going to help you climb the SERPs. Only links from reputable, trustworthy sites are going to make a difference to your ranking. And it all depends on the website’s domain authority!

Basically, a domain authority is a website’s overall SEO score. If websites with low domain authority are backlinking to your content, you could be penalised by Google. So, the quality of the websites linking back to you is more important than the quantity.

There are plenty of tools out there – like SEMrush – that you can use to check a website’s domain authority score.

  1. Remember: consistency is key!

Whether you’re an aspiring SEO writer or are just curious about SERPs – everyone will benefit from this next tip. You need to be consistent with your content.

If you aren’t consistent with your content, then it doesn’t matter about anything else. All of your efforts to create SEO-friendly blog posts will go to waste if you aren’t publishing regularly.

Why is consistency so important?

You might be thinking, ‘why does it even matter?’

Take it from our SEO writer: search engines will always choose websites that contain new content. That’s because search engines assume that new content will be most helpful to users.

And can you blame them? How are you supposed to answer the user’s questions if you never post fresh content?

But how much content is enough?

The amount you post depends on several factors, such as the size of your company, your audience and your goals. HubSpot studied more than 13,000 companies and found that brands publishing 16 times a month had 3.5 times more traffic. Obviously, that’s not feasible for every business but you get the idea. Consistent, new content is key.

If you haven’t posted anything in a while, you’ll be outranked by someone with a regular posting schedule.

Our SEO writer’s top tip! Create a realistic posting schedule – and stick to it!

  1. Use shorter sentences

A search engine just wants to make life easier for its users. So, if you want to rank higher in search engines, make sure your content is clear and focused. That means short sentences!

When you’re an SEO writer, it can be difficult to limit your word count. After all, you’re a writer – it’s only natural to show your creative side in your work! But if you’re writing content for SEO, it’s important to keep it short.

That’s because shorter sentences are easier for the average reader to understand. Overly complex and long-winded sentences might be too difficult for your audience to understand – and search engines know this!

Not only that, but most people only read about 20% of the content on a page. Shorter sentences are more likely to hold your audience’s attention because they are easier to scan.

Here’s an extra tip from an SEO writer: keep your sentences at 20 words or less. Any longer and Google will just bypass your content!

  1. Don’t just write for Google – remember your audience is human!

It goes without saying, SEO writers are all about ranking higher in search engines. But believe it or not, there’s more to being an SEO writer than creating content for Google.

First and foremost, if you want to rank higher in SERPs, you need to write for your audience – not Google!

It can be easy to get carried away with SEO. After all, in the world of digital marketing, there’s nothing more important than boosting your reach, right?

And, of course, SEO is important. But so is creating entertaining, easy-to-read content for your audience.

Your SEO efforts won’t matter if your audience doesn’t enjoy reading your content. Or if you stuff so many keywords into an article that it no longer makes sense (see tip number 2)!

After all, SEO is all about driving traffic to your website to increase sales or promote your brand. It doesn’t matter how many people visit your site if they don’t like what they see when they arrive!

  1. Create compelling headlines

One of the key things to remember when it comes to SEO writing is how powerful headlines are. You have a short amount to text to make a big impression. You don’t get a second chance to make a good first impression.

Your headline should be clear, interesting and make use of the keywords. No matter what the topic is, you need to make your headlines stand out. Boring headlines won’t engage the reader. If they don’t like the sound of your headline, they simply won’t read the content. Make the headings tell the whole story of the text.

In addition to a great headline, your meta descriptions need to be interesting too. They should further explain what your article is about. Be mindful that your title and meta descriptions show up in search results, so make them count.

  1. Structure your posts

The contents of your SEO writing may be great, but it can be hard to read if it isn’t well organised. Breaking your content up into smaller paragraphs with sub-headings will make it look more presentable. B

  1. Monitor your activity

Stay on top of your SEO writing performance by monitoring your efforts. Google Analytics is a great tool for this. You can track your page views and the average time users spend on your page.

Look at the numbers of social interactions such as likes, and shares to see how much engagement you are receiving.

Analysing your content will give you a good idea of what posts are working well and what posts aren’t. This will give you a goal to work towards to.

  1. Go deeper into your content

A big SEO trend is creating content that goes deeper into the topic. This can increase your search engine rankings. Users are more likely to go for a detailed post that can answer their questions.

How should you go about creating deeper content?

  • Write long-form posts – 2,000+ words
  • Explore topics that have many sections and angles
  • Write how to or complete guides.
  1. Improve your page speed

A simple way to develop your SEO writing is to improve your page speed. If your page takes too long to loads, users will get frustrated and look for another website. No one wants to sit around waiting for a website to load.

  1. Incorporate images in your text

Yes, your writing skills are important, but what about the use of visuals? They can help improve your SEO writing too. Consider inserting images, videos, embedded tweets etc in your blog. Here’s why:

  • Makes the blog more visually appealing
  • A great way of breaking up large chunks of text
  • Videos and images can help you climb search engine results pages.

Be patient – it takes time to see results!

Our SEO writer’s final tip is to have patience.

We understand how frustrating it can be when you’ve created SEO-friendly content but are yet to see results. After all, we told you that following our advice would boost your SERP ranking. Why aren’t you at the top already?

And many SEO writers get so caught up in SEO techniques that they forget about anything else. Including the fact that it takes time to climb the rankings.

But the truth is, no matter how SEO-friendly you make your content, it takes time to see results.

Best practices for SEO writing

Our SEO writer has put together some top tips for best practices for SEO writing:

Create a list of content topics

The SEO writing process starts before your write a single word. To succeed you need to write content that your target audience is interested in. Find questions your audience are asking and turn them into topic ideas.

Turn your topics into keywords

Once you’ve found what topics you’re going to write about, you’ll need keywords to match. What is your audience most likely to type into Google to find that topic? Be sure to use your keywords frequently and wisely in your content.

Promote your content

The SEO writing process isn’t over once you’ve published it. You need to promote your content otherwise it won’t rank very highly. Here are a few ways to promote your content:

  • Send it to contacts that might be interested in it
  • Share it on social media accounts and ask followers to share
  • Post on LinkedIn groups.

When will your SEO efforts pay off?

Unfortunately, we don’t have an exact answer for you. The length of time it takes to see results depends on many different factors. You need to ask yourself:

  • How long has your website been around?
  • What are your past SEO efforts?
  • How much content is on there already?
  • What is your link profile like?

Although we don’t have an exact answer for you, you should assume that it will take at least 6 months.

You might be thinking, ‘6 months – I can work with that!”

But remember, creating SEO-friendly content is an ongoing process. The work doesn’t stop as soon as you see results: that’s when the real work begins.

Being an SEO writer isn’t just about increasing your SERP ranking – you also need to maintain your position. So, when you start to see results from your efforts, you need to keep going!

Want help creating awesome SEO content?

Do you need help with your SERP ranking? One of our blog writers can work with you to boost your search engine ranking and get you noticed.

Looking for something different?

If you’re looking for something different, we can help with that too! Here at Vocal, we’re a full-service creative agency that is crazy about content. From copywriting to branding to website design, we’ve got you covered.

Get in touch and get ready to watch your business grow!

Share This Insight

Similar Thoughts

Marketing for a Small Business: Top 3 Ways to Boost Traffic
Latest News August 2, 2022

Marketing for a Small Business: Top 3 Ways to Boost Traffic

Everything you need to know before you start marketing for a small business Some folks dismiss marketing for a small business as nothing […]

Read More
Writing Help 101: Here’s How Copywriters Can Help You
Latest News June 20, 2022

Writing Help 101: Here’s How Copywriters Can Help You

Want to know how Copywriters can save you time AND bring results? Keep reading for writing help… Are you looking for writing help? […]

Read More
Marketing for Restaurants: 4 Strategies the Pros Use
Latest News May 2, 2022

Marketing for Restaurants: 4 Strategies the Pros Use

Increase footfall with these marketing strategies for restaurants The phrase ‘marketing for restaurants’ has around 1,000 Google searches a month. This leads us […]

Read More
Plan Your ‘take off’ with Copywriting for the Travel Industry
Latest News April 20, 2022

Plan Your ‘take off’ with Copywriting for the Travel Industry

5 ways to write about planes, trains & automobiles: copywriting for the travel industry Copywriting for the travel industry is vital to sales. […]

Read More
6 Ways to Drive Ticket Sales Through Copywriting for Events
Latest News March 31, 2022

6 Ways to Drive Ticket Sales Through Copywriting for Events

Gain our insights on copywriting for events! Copywriting can stir emotions, move a person to laughter or tears, and highlight social issues. Due […]

Read More
3 Things You Should Change When Copywriting For Luxury Brands
Latest News March 24, 2022

3 Things You Should Change When Copywriting For Luxury Brands

How to adapt when copywriting for luxury brands…and why you need to do it Copywriting for luxury brands is different from other copywriting […]

Read More

Let’s Get Loud

en_USEnglish (United States)