What Good Content Writing Should Include
Good content writing should be a core part of online marketing. Content, most simply put, is just a way to portray your products, services, or information about your industry. You probably want to do it the ‘right way’, and that’s awesome. However, different things may work better for different people, and some even seek the advice of professional SEO services. If there is a right way to do content writing, it should definitely include these several factors.
Create Original Content
Keep it original! Creativity is key when developing a good content writing strategy. If you are someone who is easily inspired, you are in the ideal situation. However, for several writers, coming up with creative and original content is challenging.
Avoid making content writing feel like a chore. When content becomes less about the creativity and originality, it can being to feel like a grueling task. If you feel like you’re stuck, or struggling to present an ideal topic, there are several tools to help you generate good topics. Some of our favorites are:
- SEMRush
- HubSpot
- Portent
Then, once you’ve established what you are going to write about, it’s time to shift your focus to using effective structuring.
Focus on Effective Headlines
For many content writers out there, this is one aspect that is often unintentionally looked past. Headlines or subtopics can be the perfect place to add keywords you’d like to use. If you are not using your keywords in the most useful and effective ways possible, you are making a huge mistake.
Keywords help you to be noticed, by using phrases that competitors are getting noticed for, and using them to your advantage. That being said, do not cram in keywords, also known as stuffing. Keyword stuffing is a sure-fire way to make your website look untrustworthy and spammy.
Great headlines also grab the reader’s attention. Which is extremely important, because without grabbing their attention, they likely won’t finish reading your blog post. Losing their attention, also means losing their loyalty. If users don’t like what they see the first time they see your post, they probably won’t return for more in the future.
Updating Your Blog Often
As many pages, as often as possible. Blog posts are a majority of how you consistently gain new customers and page visitors. Let’s be honest, the blog is almost the backbone of your SEO efforts. Those who produce closer to 15+ posts a month, will almost quadruple the traffic of those who only post every once in a while.
It is also very important to remember, marketing, especially in your niche industry, is constantly changing. You need to constantly change with it! News and updates are a good way to get a little extra recognition to your website. Especially when the news is fresh, and you’re one of the first to put the information out there. Less competition the earlier you post.
There is a lot of debate on the amount of blogs you should be producing per month. The consensus usually falls around 1 to 2 blog posts per week. However, don’t shy away from producing more when possible. More pages, more links, more traffic, more success.
Engage With Users
EXTRA! EXTRA! READ ALL ABOUT IT! Just like the good ole’ days, people want to be engaged in what you are selling. Get your audience’s attention!
Engagement with your users does not have to end with one click to your blog post. Some fun ways to get the users engaged with your content are:
- Asking questions
- Creating polls
- Writing strong and personal topics
Your audience wants to feel both important, and heard. While pleasing to the audience, good content writing also helps with how you rank on search engines. More interactions, means more traffic to your website. More traffic to your website, means more recognition and authority on search engines!
At the end of the day, there is no perfect, forever useful, formula for good content writing. The list of what makes your content writing great could go on and on.
Keeping your content accurate and truthful. Ensuring your paragraphs are short and sweet. Generating strong blog topics. The list is endless. Which means there is plenty of room for you to be successful in good content writing and blogging.
Don’t be afraid to try new things! What works best for you, and your industry, is completely different from what works best from someone else’s. Develop your own style and structure. If it works out, perfect! If it doesn’t move onto the next strategy.
Steve Scott is the CEO & Director of Training at the New York SEO Training Academy. He has taught SEO skills to people from around the world and currently offers his hands-on search engine optimization training workshops in New York to individuals and businesses of all sizes. Corporate SEO training classes and consulting are also available.
