How do you strike the balance of creativity and SEO in content writing? And How to write content for people and optimize for search engines?.. Machines are boring, and thats just a fact imprinted on the mind of everyone except the techno geeks and machine learning fanatics.
In that case, without a doubt, people are just going to assume that writing for the search engines i.e. SEO (Search Engine Optimized) content writing, should be nothing but a content clogged with facts and keywords for the search engines to recognize. And quite frankly, many sites out there manage to write such content.
The element of creativity almost seems to have disappeared. People no longer really want to read as well, all they look for is the crucial information in the entire content such as the main product details and price.
Many would argue by saying that its enough for the audience to know just that and all that the sellers need is for them to buy the product, so isnt it a win-win situation? But thats where youre wrong, it is not!
If all were going to do is focus on selling the product, when would we focus on building the brand? What about consumer engagement?
The search engine optimized content on your website shouldnt just be for the search engines to recognize your website, but for the users to know the right information, engage with you, and retain you as a trusted brand so that you grow as an establishment. So,
How do you strike this balance of creativity and SEO in your content?
Stop making it obvious!
Undoubtedly, searching ardently for the right keywords and using vital keyword search tools such as Google Keyword Planner and even Google trends (to know whats trending) is vital. However, when you incorporate these keywords in a manner that just shows it so apparently, then maybe youre stepping into dangerous waters. Remember, never stuff your content with keywords! You dont have to have them in every line, repeat it a few times but dont make it obvious. Incorporate the keywords, but only in a subtle manner.
Blend the Factors together
The teams that make your content are both the SEO content team and the content creators who put everything together. It is very crucial that both the elements work together and agree upon the middle ground. SEO writing and creativity are NOT oil and water, rather theyre as dissolvable as salt and water, provided that both the teams agree upon incorporating keywords with the right gist of creativity.
Organic Traffic and User Engagement
It is imperative to drive as many people you can to your website. And how can you do this? By focusing on SEO in all the ways you can, apart from incorporating keywords in the content. Also, by promoting your website or blog on social media sites. But is driving organic traffic enough? What if they arrive at your website, but not find enough content to stay there and further do not get into the business? When you let your team of creative content writers to do their job, theyll come up with unique and interesting content that will actually make them stay and engage with your site.
Remember, theyre still lazy readers
While we did talk about creating creative content and telling stories, we must also remember that we are still writing for skimmers. These readers who visit your website are merely going to skim at the first sight and then, they would decide to either stay or leave. So its very crucial for the content writers to balance the middle path, they have to know to be creative with a few words, and also include content that both catches the attention quickly and then diverts to the depth (for use engagement).
Say it aloud
One of the key tricks that we content writers at Inksplore follow is speak the content loud or in our heads. When you read it aloud or just ramble it within, ask yourself if it makes sense. How would you feel if someone right in front of you were conversing with you that way? It is true that writing and speaking is not the same, but when it comes to creating content for the internet, as in, for websites and blogs, most of the words must be as simplistic and comprehensible as possible. Nobody likes too many Jargon!
Interesting Enough
Lastly, keep in mind that when youve got something interesting to say, people are going to talk about you. People love stories and a touch of professionalization, and were sure that youve got your own background and character too, so make sure you show it. Your content can have keywords, but your content need not be only keywords.
Youve got a great website. Beautiful layout, crisp poetic content, pictures taken from all the angles, description on point, yet somehow your sales are still hitting the rock bottom.
We understand how infuriating that can be, you seem to have it all together, yet the final outcome seems to disappear into the thin air. However, after our intense research and experience in the field of content writing, we finally figured out where it all begins to snowball: in the content itself.
Content is the king, and we back that up with every piece that weve written (and trust us, its a LOT).
No matter how great your website looks, if your content is ineffectual, then everything would tend to go downhill eventually.
Yup, poetry on your site is great, cool words too, but if you dont follow the golden rules of content writing, then yep that site is not going to be SEOs best friend.
Content Writing Rules
As a company that constantly focus on helping others with their SEO writing/content writing, Inksplore decided to put together 21 killer tips to produce the best content you can!
1. The Rule of inverted pyramid model
Always remember that your audience has a short attention span, and that means that theyre not going to read your entire saga. Follow the inverted pyramid model, whereby the most important messages of your content goes at the top, the supporting information in the middle as you continue your way down, and the not-so-relevant information at the bottom.
This way, you get to squeeze in the info that needs to be conveyed at the beginning, which in turn would retain your audience.
2. The Rule of Readability
Your content needs to be as readable as it can get. Generally, a twelve year old kid should be able to understand the content. This isnt academic writing to get too brainy or sophisticated, the only time we as content writers do get complex is then.
This is your website which is meant for all types of audience, you need to get straight to the point and make your content crisp and simple. No rhetorical questions, riddles or tricks, get creative, but do it in the right amounts.
3. The Rule of SEO keywords
This is the secret of it all, perhaps the most important tip of all. No matter what you do, you need to up your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) keyword research game. No more playing around or slackening, the best way to get a better SEO ranking is to create the best SEO content. Fill your content with the perfect amount of keywords, you should neither overdo it, nor be too shy to include them.
Once you get the right keywords rolling in and follow other SEO Guidelines, we assure you that your ranking will look better than ever before.
4. The Rule of Active voice
Passive voice is the element born to drag sentences. When you constantly write your content in passive voice for whatever reason, the entire paragraph would sound boring and redundant. How do you feel about the girl was scolded badly by her mother (passive), the mother scolded the girl badly (active). Choose simple, and make your content look crisp.
5. The Rule of Simplicity
Content writing is an art of saying something in a few words. So keep your paragraphs short and simple, dont drag em or write about a single topic for 10 paragraphs. 3-5 paragraphs are great with the right amount of commas and full stops in between.
6. The Rule of Being You
A lot of people may ask you to be the next Neil Patel, but even Neil Patel would ask you not do so! Rather than being like another great SEO content writer or a web content writer, find your voice. Be yourself and speak for the brand, the people behind it and your values. Dont let other internet royalty intimidate you, the magic lies within you. So let it out!
7. The Rule of Familiar Words
Id love to read a writer who can teach me a couple of new words, maybe one or two per content, but when they overdo it, thats when my spark goes off. Use familiar words in your content; Jargon is fine for highly technical content, but be sure to explain it in extremely simple words. Remember, an average 12 year old must understand your writing.
8. The Rule of Visualization
When your content is one long saga without any changes in its font or length, people are likely to lose interest. Make your content lucrative by shortening the sentences, adding bullets, making a few words bold, quoting certain customer reviews in larger font size, etc. People are likely to notice the larger and the more different parts of the content first.
9. The Rule of Linking
Its not a crime to provide your audience with other sources to explore when you write an infographic/informative article. You can add a couple of sources from where they can retain further information. Better is when you source other related articles on your site which will not only provide them with ample amount of information, but also will generate more traffic for you.
10. The Rule of Writing for them
Youre a great company, but when you keep that as the center of an articles theme, then its not going to fair well. In content writing, the rule is to make your content about them. Give them a reason to care about your content. How would the blog content help them? Is your website content informing them with something of value? These are a few questions you and your web content writing team must ask.
11. The Rule of Confirmation
It is okay to not know. It is okay to learn more. It is okay to ask for help. As much as it hurts your ego, you need to know that youre a human. You may have an English literature degree yet make a few spelling and grammatical errors, and thats okay. If you dont know or if you arent sure about something, Google it or ask someone who knows.
12. The Rule of Editing
Its not always right for you to edit your content all by yourself. But if you do and are really good at it, rest for a few hours after initially writing the content. After refreshing yourself and clearing your mind off the clutter, get back to it and start editing. Or, you can always leave the job to experts.
At Inksplore, we edit and proofread content from all over the world, the trick to keep up with it all is to set the right schedule and a revitalized mind.
13. The Rule of Writing to Answer
Your potential customers are looking for you, and they need answers to their questions. Keeping that in mind, its your duty to answer the questions related to your products and services. Use the catchphrase and the words theyd be using to search for you. Also, discuss the answers to the potential questions theyd be asking. Trust us, with a bit of research, youd find the answers in no time.
14. The Rule of Retention
By the time your reader is done with your article, they must want more. Always remember to incorporate call-to-action in your content. Urge them to download, share or read more by providing the links for performing those actions in clear spaces.
15. The Rule of Multimedia
An infographic article is great. Inksplores SEO content writers focus on improvising the content by adding the right multimedia for the right content. A short video or couple of related pictures/GIFs can make a world of difference to your content.
16. The Rule of Being on Point
The best way to flunk your content is by overwriting. Its different with blogs, and its different with web content writing. While blogs can be elaborated stories and you can drift away with the topic (in a few cases), your website blog/content cannot do so. Stick to your main point, dont float or drift. Talk about the topic and make sure that your readers leave the site knowing something.
17. The Rule of Wearing their Shoes
When you wear the shoes of your audience, youd know exactly what to write. If you were your audience, what would you read, howd you arrive at the website, and most importantly, would you come back for more?
Is your copy writing convincing enough to buy your product or avail your service? When you wear their shoes, youd know it and youll eventually do it.
18. The Rule of Reading
Keep reading content from other websites, keep reading those books that help you or merely teach you new words. When you read more, youd get better ideas out of seemingly nowhere. So keep reading and gain inspiration from all around you because theres always more to learn!
19. The Rule of Dictionary
Dictionary.com is a writers best friend. Use the site to know the meaning of new words, to define your Jargons and most importantly, make use of their thesaurus. Check out the synonyms and antonyms to write better and just to get a couple of alternative words rolling into your content. You wouldnt want to be repetitive, do you?
20. The Rule of Writing Lazy
In short, write for lazy people. People whod take no efforts to research or look up the dictionary. People whod merely scan, and the people whod just jump into the final action of buying/availing/sharing. Cater to the lazy audience, and watch your readership grow.
21. The Rule of Taking it Easy
SEO content writing isnt easy, but with time, youll do well. Take it easy on yourself, be patient and work hard. Dont beat yourself too much if things dont work out right away. Look for improvisation, not self-pity. If needed, ask for help. Inksplore, being the best content writing services in India would love to help anyone out there with all forms of content writing!
Is it necessary to write content for Googles human quality raters? A few years ago, never would the people have believed if one said that there are actual humans behind Google who rate the various sites according to the content in it.
Once the Internet became quite familiar, many merely assumed that they could post whatever theyd like and eventually the visitors would roll in. And boy oh boy, were they wrong about it!
Some of the website owners who knew the technicalities knew that their sites would be ranked at the top when their content caters to the SEO requirements.
While that is a fact, every other content writer and website owner must understand the role of Googles human quality raters.
When the content is solely written for the search engines bot, but not the human hearts, then you need to know that things wont look that good for you. While many may disagree, this needs to be imprinted on your mind.
Whether the opinion of the human quality raters matter or not, you must always focus on writing content for humans more than algorithms.
So how to make this work?
Guidelines to Write Content for Google
Google has updated its search quality guidelines recently that enable marketers to follow the best practices on
We have elaborated three main topics Reputation, Branding, Bridging that really matter when you write for humans.
Reputation
According to the human quality rating guidelines, Google cares more about your reputation than you think. While this information might intimidate you because youre a newbie, dont let it haunt you. Sure, Google looks at who you are as an author to the site, your bio and the reputation you have in the online world, but that doesnt mean that only the old ones hit the jackpot. As a newbie, you can too.
The best way to increase your reputation as a brand online is by focusing on high-quality content that speaks to the people and for the brand. Your website must be able to answer the questions that people want to know. Once theyve come across your site, do they find the need to hop onto the next website or do they remain? If youve answered their questions and spilled facts rather than made-up tales, theyd know that you know your deal.
Once they rely upon you for more information, consider yourself good to go. They would begin to refer your website, and perhaps even spread the word, and thats how you build your reputation. Its not a one-day process, but with the right elements put into the mix, youll get there.
Branding
So youve got this amazing product/service, but people dont know about it; what then would come out of it? Branding is highly crucial to establish yourself as a name out there, and there are several ways to do it. Humans tend to judge you by the connections that youve established, and human quality raters would also consider that to be an important element before they rank your site.
Make sure youve referred your brand to an expert in the field, or someone reputed to write a review. Even great and authentic feedbacks would work. People tend to rely upon others opinions than yours. They either respect an authority who speaks about your brand to eventually earn further interest or would love to hear from the ones whove experienced your services. As a newbie, you could ask the bloggers or youtubers or a biggie to review your product. Get their reviews, and put this up on your site, and see the difference.
Bridging
Great SEO content writers would know that theres not a world of difference between SEO content writing guidelines and human quality rating guidelines. When you write a content to improve your ROI, there are certain elements that you would keep in your mind, and they include both-writing for humans and the search engine bots.
If youve got a wonderful content writing team, or the right SEO content creator with you, then theyd proceed writing by bridging both the elements, rather than merely focusing on a single component. Merely writing something flowery for the human hearts ignoring the robotic element of the Internet is downright absurdity.
Blending both the components is fairly easy when you think about it, here are a few things you can do to master the art:
Perform proper keyword research and incorporate the keywords into your content naturally.
Write short and crisp sentences.
Be active on social media, talk to the potential audience on various social media sites.
Provide ample options for them to link to your content.
The more people talk about you, the better the impression on human quality raters and the crawlers.
Write often. Dont be a once in a blue moon person.
The more active youre with content creation and marketing it, things will look better for you.
Speak about the real issues out there, and write in such a way that you resolve the issue without rambling too much.
Inksplore has been mastering the art of creating content for human quality raters as much as it works on SEO content creation. We blend in both the elements to do the best we can, and thats partly why our clients from all over the world have always been repeat customers. Our way works, and we truly hope the content provided above works for you too.
If youve got any trouble with creating, ping us and well startle you with content finesse!
There are a plethora of books heaping tips upon tips to make your business the best it can be. For sure, all of those books have certainly helped many entrepreneurs out there. More than ever before, the youngsters entering this swirling world of figures and services are making it big due to the deep understanding of the tactics, finances and the industry. While the practical elements of business do roll into ones habit, too often, the traditional entrepreneurs ignore that one element that makes the game- the internet domination.
While it is great that your company has an Instagram page that may or may not be functioning, you need to know that its not enough. If you want your business to be known to the world, you need put your content first. No matter how good your SEO keyword research goes, if your content isnt good, then things are likely to go down altogether. Your content matters, and heres why:
Because Relationship with Audience matters
When you write for the robots, you dont really have to bother about the connection or your words, thats what they say. But it is seldom that way. Remember, youre not just writing for the crawling bots, but also humans who need to feel the connection. Content writing isnt just about filling the content with SEO words, rather its an art that not only convinces search engines to rank your site but also persuades your audience to be a part of your brand.
Speaking for your Brand
There is no better way for you to promote your brand or speak for it in your own voice than by content marketing. SEO content writing will take care of putting you out there, link sharing will lead your audience to the site, but when you want to establish your voice as a brand, then you need to play the game better. Your content shows the audience who you are as a company, your values and motives too. One quick glance at it should tell them how good you are, and how you can benefit them. Hence, it goes without a say, the right words form the right connections and the right brand.
Your Blog is your Weapon
According to a recent Hubspot survey, 60% of businesses who blog acquire more customers. Now thats a great information for anyone willing to do great in their industry. When you plunge into blog writing with the help of a writing team or outsourcing of course, youd establish an amazing connection with your customers and others in the industry. Comments, feedbacks, and emails will constantly push you to look for the better and do better. Unlike other traditional businesses, your brand wouldnt merely focus on establishing a one way connection, rather it would be a two-way connection due to all the interaction that goes between the two parties.
Because nothing matters more
Did you know that more than half of the population performs a thorough research about a product before buying? Well, in order to research, they dont go for their musty old books, rather they head straight to the search engine, and type in the name of the product/service. For your company to show up, you need to be focusing on creating killer SEO content. How else would your audience know about your existence?
When you put content first and give your all for creating the perfect content with easy and great website design that works greatly for both- humans and the bots, then things will certainly look up for you. If you want to be found, you need to show who you are, and that can only happen when you focus on your content.
Establishing Expertise
As a customer, youd obviously need to know why you should trust a brand and how you can do so. Just because a company is selling whats new and trending doesnt mean that everyone would love to swear their loyalty to it. If youre entering into an industry, then you need to know about it, and you need to stay on top of the game. But such a feat cant be achieved if you dont explore enough. However, there are many out there who possess great knowledge about their line of business yet fail to establish themselves because they havent work towards building the trust.
The foundation of building authenticity and voice to the brand is by creating website content that matters to you and your audience. They need to know that you know who you are, and that you believe in your message. Thats when theyll trust you enough to further establish a long-standing relationship.
Unarguably, the greatest element of digital marketing happens to be your content. The magic lies in there. Youve found a couple of topics to write on, and even managed to form a great team of content writers, or say, youve outsourced content writing to an organization like Inksplore; your job seems to be almost done. It is indeed done for the most when it comes to content creation, and its the content writers job to incorporate the right SEO keywords etc. However, there are a few technical elements that you need take care of personally or ensure that it is taken care of.
Optimizing content for search engines to add websites to their indexes refers to making a content crawlable. Crawlable bots, also known as spiders are programs sent by search engines to find which websites and the number of web pages of those sites that should be crawled and indexed. In order for the bots to find your content, it needs to cater to certain requirements, if not, the link will be disrupted and your site wont be indexed by the search engine in its database.
Its true that youve got the perfect keywords for your content to be recognized, but once you pay more attention to nitty gritty details too, youll be good to go. So the question is how? Well read on to know more from our technical writers.
Shallow Click Depth
For the crawler bots to index your page, you need to keep your page as clutter-free as possible. Experts recommend to keep your most important pages links maximum merely three clicks away from your homepage. If not, then your site is unlikely to be crawlable.
URL Size
The size of your URL matters a lot. The content king Neil Patel talks about the length of the URL too among all the other technicalities in his article. Your URL size must not be more 60-65 characters, or more than 5 words. When you include more than 5 words, according to Matt Cutts, the algorithm will weigh those less and not credit you enough. Also, ensure that you include the essential keywords in your URL too.
The Infographic Hack
Infographic articles are great, in fact, one of our favorites. But when your images are just put out there without having looked into the crawlable elements of it, then your content is not likely to be indexed. Apart from the precise alt text (alternative text for the images), including supporting text on your page for the image with the keywords would be great! While your SEO content writersare on their work with the infographic content, slip in your suggestions for supporting content. Inksplore is quite big on incorporating both for golden results- alt text and supporting text.
Look at the Links
As said before, the search engines must be able to find the most essential pages easily once they arrive at your homepage. At times, the links may not be crawlable as you mightve used JavaScript for it. Experts swear by standard HTML links, and theyre great for the bots to crawl into and get your site indexed.
Meta Description
Pay attention to your meta description, meta tags and meta titles. These meta description helps you describe what your infographic is about, but also is great for the crawler bots to sneak into. Ensure that your meta description is not more than 160 characters, and also that it includes one keyword, which also is the most essential keyword to your content.
Search Engine Optimization Tools
To get the fullest out of your SEO content creation, make use of the great SEO tools out there. Some of the top-notch SEO tools include:
SEMrush
Moz
Yoast SEO
Raven Tools
Searchmetrics
Find the tool that fits your budget and the application style. Not all websites need the same tool, and one formula doesnt work for everyone. Find whats best for you, and get on with your SEO game.
Load Time
Google announced quite a few years ago that your page is ranked based upon its load time too. If youve got infographics on your page, ensure that theyre in the right format- the ones that promise faster loading time such as JPEGs, PNGs, GIFs etc. If you arent sure about the loading speed of the images, then check its infographic loading time with the help of Googles Page Speed insights. Once you get that right, it only makes your site all the more crawlable.
