Search engine optimization is an important consideration for any modern website or business that has an online presence. Without SEO, websites will languish in obscurity. It is only the first handful of responses that get the majority of the traffic generated through internet searches.
If you want to raise and maintain your SEO score, you need to produce content with SEO in mind from the beginning. Here are some simple tips anyone can follow to make their content as SEO friendly as possible.
Use Headings and Sub-headings
Dividing your content up into sections will not only make it much easier for your audience to read, but it will also improve the SEO of your content. When readers are presented with a wall of text, many of them will simply click away and look for something else; no one wants to wade through a sea of words just to find the information they’re looking for.
When content is divided into headings, users can easily skim it and hone in on the bits that are most important to them. For example, if you want to know how to create a content marketing strategy, you can search on Google and find millions of results. If the first link you click on is just a block of text, you will have to read it until you find the bit you are looking for. However, if the article is divided into sub-headings, and you see a heading titled “What is a Content Campaign?” you can go straight to that section and find the information you need.
Link to Previous Content
Backlinks are really important in determining your SEO score and they are one of the easiest things you can do to give yours a boost. All you have to do is link back to old content on your website that is relevant to the content you are producing today. Not only will Google et al look favorably on websites that link back to old content, but it will also help to drive traffic to old pages and keep them relevant.
Link to Reputable External Sources
You shouldn’t only link to your own content, of course. You also need to link to external websites to maximize your SEO. When you do this, make sure that you are linking out to reputable sources. Doing this will increase the validity of your website and will ultimately encourage other websites to link to yours.
Keep Your Articles the Right Length
It used to be assumed that the more you wrote, the more traffic you would receive. Blog posts used to be several hundred words long on average, but that doesn’t tend to be the case anymore. Articles of 1500 words or more have become something of a rarity. Instead, articles tend to be around 500 words in length.
You should be aiming for 400-500 words as a minimum for your website content. You can definitely write longer articles if you want, but you need to ensure that they are high-quality and aren’t watered-down. If your articles are full of filler, they won’t gain the kind of traction you’re looking for. Incfile’s article on “What is a C Corporation?” is a great example of the striking the right balance of length of article and the quality of the content. The article carefully answers the question, and yet doesn’t overload a reader with huge blocks of text.
It is also great to learn ideas from Matt Diggity who shares real SEO techniques based on his experience. If you produce your content with SEO in mind from the beginning, you will find it much easier to build and maintain a high SEO score. Keep doing it and it will soon become second nature.