Do you write articles loved by search engines ( Machines ) and enjoyed by humans. It is now established that, by targeting low competition and low searched keywords, you can easily rank well for the keyword you are targeting. But ranking well in Google is enough to meet your whole purpose of blogging? It’s not. Because, ranking well in Google is just an opportunity to you to showcase what you have in store.
You definitely have something valuable to share with rest of the world (may be in exchange of money, email address or in most cases free) and unless readersrespond to your offer, any amount of traffic is useless. If there one factor that is as important as traffic, then it’s called Conversion.
You can measure the conversion simply by asking these questions to yourself.
- How well the new audience is able to connect with what you have written?
- Is your writing provides value to readers?
- Are you able to make someone laugh or smile through your writing? Ask your friends and relatives.
- Is your content shared by re-tweets and likes?
- Are readers commenting on your posts?
- Are your readers taking actions based upon your advice?
- Are people buying the stuff from your blog post?
If people come to your site and leave within seconds (bounce rate is high), then it is same as they didn’t come to your site.
During my experience with blogging, I have learned some really useful stuff about creating a content that is ranked well in Google and enjoyed by readers. Believe me; it took me quite a long time to understand how things like SEO work? Sometimes, I analyzed my own articles which were ranking high and found valuable inputs. Here are those discoveries which I am going to share with you right now.
Note that when I say ranking well, it’s not always hitting the first page of Google; it’s getting maximum visibility on Google. Not every article of yours can rank in page 1 of Google. If they start ranking like that, then you are certainly writing for machines, not for humans.
What are the steps to create such lovable content?
Step 1: Write at least 500 words of enjoyable, scannable, lovable content
Research: Depending on your niche, first you need to understand what people are looking / searching for. At the same time, how much expertise/knowledge you have in those areas. I hope, you got it. It’s marriage of demand and supply. People often look for some solution, proven methods, interesting debates and statistics. Your article must contain at least one of above ingredients in it.
Presentation: You need to present your article in the most interesting way possible. This is where you can really make a difference to bounce rates. Even though you could be presenting some facts, don’t write as if you are writing for a press release. Write as if you are giving a presentation at a prestigious event using the maximum tools and creativity. Include bullet points, sub headings, pictures, infographics wherever possible.
Editing: Once you are done with article writing, it’s time for some serious editing. Check and rectify spell mistakes and grammatical errors.
Step 2: Help the article rank well in Google
Pick the right keywords: It’s time to tweak the article for SEO purpose. It’s important, because Google won’t rank you well even if your article is awesome, if it doesn’t fare well the test of 200 signals that Google considers while ranking a page. Keywords are one of the major signals related to ranking. You don’t need to worry about 200 signals. You just need to address just few of them.
Research the keywords that could rank well based upon the article you have just written. I know I am reverse engineering. Use Google keyword tool and based on your topic of the article, pickup few keywords which have monthly searches between 8000 – 12000 and have low competition. Pick up 4 or 5 secondary different keywords. Now you have one primary keyword and few secondary keywords.
Edit the article for SEO: Go through the article and tweak various portions of the article. Start with title of the article. Include the primary keyword while keeping the title still interesting and inviting. Include the primary keyword just 1 or 2 times within the body of article and just few times the secondary keywords.
Note that, I am not suggesting you to overload the articles with keywords. You need to integrate the keywords seamlessly. Now, include the same keywords in tags. This is very important. Tags will surely help you to rank well. Write a custom excerpt and description for your article (handcrafted) and include the primary keyword in both of them. Supply the required attributes for images such as title, caption. Images can also help your article rank well.
That’s it. Hit the publish button now and be ready to reap the benefits of your efforts and receive the much deserved love from Google and your readers.
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