Effective search engine content can be termed as the content that appeals both to readers and search engines. It can be quite tricky as you are basically writing articles and reviews for readers, but at the same time it is search engines that take your contents to readers. It is not enough just to create a website. Its future development and visibility to search engines is much more important. In this article I will be outlining 10 recommendations, which will help make your web project really successful.
1. Choosing the right keywords
Search engines identify your website contents with the help of keywords. These are usually very closely related to the search terms that are entered by the users in search engines. Before writing any topic for websites or blogs, you will need to conduct a thorough research on the keywords that are closely associated with the topic. You could make use of keyword research tools like Google AdWords’ Keyword Tool to find the most popular keywords.
2. Readability
Please remember that you are, first and foremost, writing for your readers and not search engines. You might find it difficult to use some of the popular keywords grammatically, but you cannot really afford to skip it all together. Although search engines look for the keywords in particular, they would want the readers to read quality content. Therefore, you will need to make sure that the content is interesting and adds value to the readers, instead of just stopping it short with overused keywords. Keywords should not stop the content flow.
3. Content relevancy
Make sure that you make use of keywords whilst maintaining the relevancy to your content. Search engines employ a number of methodologies so as to be able to detect content that has been created with the sole purpose to obtain good ranking. Not only will such content become unreadable, but chances are that your website gets blacklisted by search engines.
4. Keyword placement
Overusing keywords is not a good idea, as your readers will know your intentions immediately. Instead of using your keywords all through the content, you could use them more in the starting few paragraphs and as subheadings. In the other parts of your article you can then use alternative synonymous or phrases instead of the keywords.
5. Make short and crisp paragraphs
Users hate reading big blocks of paragraphs. Moreover, chunks of text will make your article look boring. Because of this, they might not even read your post or article completely, which would be a real waste of your time and efforts. The contents will become more readable if the paragraph sizes are restricted within 4 to 5 lines.
6. Use bullets and numbering
Most of your readers are likely to have a short attention span, and they might not be interested in reading the entire content of your article. They would instead prefer skimming through bullet points if they are crisp and concise. Therefore, it would be a good idea to use bullets and numbering whenever possible.
7. Make subheadings
Subheadings can be very helpful in directing readers to the precise points that they are interested in. Moreover, you could also use the keywords as subheadings, so that the flow of reading does not get interrupted.
8. Proper linking
If you have to hyperlink any of your content to some other page, make sure that you explain the relevancy of that page very clearly. If the page you are linking to is not relevant to what you mention in your content, it would surely annoy the readers. You could lose your credibility with those readers, and that is something which is really difficult to regain.
9. Avoid repetitions
Some writers think that they need to reiterate or restate the same information in order to drive the point to the readers. Well, readers are smart enough to understand the information when they read it for the first time. Repetitions might irritate them as they might feel like getting back to square-one even after reading half your article. It is always better to continue with information rather than repeating the same things. You could maybe write your opinion on that point instead of restating it.
10. Proofread your write-up
Unless you have very good typing skills, you are bound to make mistakes while writing. Make sure that you proofread your articles or posts very carefully before publishing them. It would be a good idea to proofread twice to eliminate all the errors in your write-ups.
In addition to all the above points you will need to make your content interesting for the readers. You could interest them more by writing something that has out-of-the-box kind of thinking.
Want to learn more?
Want to get an industry-recognized Course Certificate in UX Design, Design Thinking, UI Design, or another related design topic? Online UX courses from the Interaction Design Foundation can provide you with industry-relevant skills to advance your UX career. For example, Design Thinking, Become a UX Designer from Scratch, Conducting Usability Testing or User Research – Methods and Best Practices are some of the most popular courses. Good luck on your learning journey!
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