THE ULTIMATE PRO GUIDE TO SEO CONTENT WRITING

We’ve had over eight clients with over 140 optimized posts since SARMLife became an SEO agency and launched her do-it-for-you SEO writing services in 2021.

Using proper SEO content writing strategies, we now have several posts ranking on the first page of Google and even some making it to the featured snippet spot!

We have posts ranking for keywords like ‘Challenges of an African blogger,’ ‘Ways to Build A Christian Home,’ and ‘Woman Evolve Quotes,’ among others.

Four years ago, SEO was an alien term. So, how did I go from knowing nothing about SEO to writing blog posts that are doing well on search engines? What is my SEO content writing process? And how can you optimize old and new posts to rank well on search engines?

I’ll cover these questions and more.

First, I want to explain the difference between content writing and copywriting because most website owners are unsure if hiring a content writer or a copywriter is the next best step for their site.

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SEO Content Writing Vs. SEO Copywriting

Is content writing any different from copywriting?

Yes! The main difference is the search intent and content goal, although both involve SEO and content.

SEO copywriting uses SEO techniques to convert site visits to leads and sales through targeted content.

SEO writing can also generate leads and sales, but the primary purpose is to write content that satisfies a user’s query, i.e., answer questions on a particular topic.

Both content writing and copywriting involve having a form of content; however, the endpoint of SEO copywriting is conversion, usually in the form of sales.

Why SEO Content Writing Is Important

SEO content writing is the process of writing content that is fully optimized for readers and search engines.

SEO should be a part of your content writing process because you need SEO practices to get in front of your audience.

Remember, there are billions of blog posts on the web, and even for certain queries, hundreds of specific and related posts are in the search result.

Despite this number, the average searcher only reaches the first ten search results. The competition is even fiercer for voice searches.

So, SEO content writing aims to ensure your content appears as the first ten (10) search results.

Here are my top reasons why SEO content writing is essential:

It helps to increase your ranking.

Competing against thousands and millions of blogs for a single keyword is doable only with SEO in your writing.

You can increase your rankings on search result pages for most search engines through SEO content writing, which will help you become a go-to in your niche.

It builds domain authority.

When you consistently appear in top searches for niche-specific keywords, other website owners and bloggers in your niche will start to link to your content. You will also get quality backlinks from authority websites, helping to increase your website’s domain authority.

It builds brand authority.

Talk about being your niche’s go-to for information, products, and services. Not only will your business be profitable, but you will succeed in branding what you do. The mere sighting of your name on blog posts, webinars, and so on will automatically attract people to you because you have built enough authority in your niche, and it starts from writing optimized content.

SEO Content Writing Process

My content writing process is straightforward but takes a lot of intentional effort, from the idea generation to the final draft and editing.

The SEO content writing process involves the following:

1. Idea Generation

Consistently generating blog post ideas is one of the sure ways to grow your business.

It can be challenging to develop niche-relevant ideas that can be optimized.

Sometimes, your topic idea might not be voluminous to be a blog post, but there’s always a way to ensure your ideas are relevant and optimizable for SEO.

How to get blog topic ideas

Here are the ways you can get topic ideas consistently:

(I) Customer feedback.

One of the most effective ways to develop blog post titles relevant to your target audience is to get feedback from them.

They know what they want, and what better answer than from the horse’s mouth?

This step will help you to align your content to the needs of your audience.

There are ways you can get customer feedback.

Through social media platforms

You can create polls on Instagram or keep your DM open to your audience for topics they wish you would discuss.

You will get your audience’s pain points and challenges.

It could be information they’ve searched for and not gotten answers to.

When you create a blog post in response to feedback, alert them.

Also, your comment section is a great place to get topic ideas.

Your followers will probably ask a couple of follow-up questions in the comments.

Check your comments now and then to know what your followers want.

Conducting surveys

Create short, straightforward, and fun surveys.

Usually, with surveys, you ask the questions; all you need from your audience are the answers.

However, creating a survey and providing a blank section for your audience to write freely is better because your questions might not be satisfactory.

Your target audience might have other ideas, observations, and questions you didn’t include in the survey.

You can create surveys using Zoomerang, SurveyMonkey, or online surveys, but always keep your surveys simple and short.

Direct inquiry

You can inquire from your audience directly, online or offline, from friends and family.

You may have noticed a handful of your consistent followers who engage with your content online.

Go to their DM and ask them direct questions like:

Is there something you want me to talk about?
What do you wish we do that we don’t?
What are your primary concerns when it comes to (niche)?
Do you have any topic suggestions or collaborations? And so on.

(ii) Content gap analysis.

What keywords are your competitors ranking for that you aren’t?

These are tons of blog post ideas that are relevant to your niche.

A content gap is a topic your audience needs or is searching for but isn’t on your website.

Neil Patel describes content gaps as “missed opportunities” because these are topics your audience wants but are not in your content. The next step they’ll take is to check out your competitors’ websites.

Content gaps occur due to outdated information, keyword fluctuations, ignorance, and new updates in your niche.

Content gaps can be in the form of keyword, topic, or media gaps.

Keyword gaps concern the type of keywords you use for your posts.

Are they short-tailed, medium-tailed, long-tailed, or conversational keywords?

Topic gaps have to do with your content.

Are your topics/content relevant to your users?

Do they cater to all levels of knowledge?

For example, an advanced post about image optimization that only talks about technical and advanced tips will be useless to someone just getting to know about image optimization.

Does your content structure align with search intent?

These are all content gaps.

Media gaps are the multimedia on your posts.

Are your audience interested in infographics? Do they want to see a video explanation or just read texts?

What kind of images do top-ranking posts have? What type of videos are your competitors using?

After identifying your content gaps, you want to take active steps to rectify them.

The content gaps you discover (mostly keyword and topic) are ideas you can use for your next posts.

The media gaps will show you the multimedia you’ll add to your posts.

(iii) Industry trends.

It is essential to stay updated about industry trends because new industry updates = new blog post ideas.

In my guide to Google algorithm, I mentioned that one of the best ways to stay updated is to follow industry experts. Identify your industry experts and follow them on their social media platforms. If they have official information sites, it is also good to follow them.

For example, When ChatGPT rolled out, I noticed that many SEO experts were talking about its use for SEO, and I knew this would be valuable to our audience, so I wrote a blog post on ChatGPT for SEO.

Another example was when Google updated its best practices for links guide, and Search Engine Journal immediately posted a blog post to alert its audience of Google’s update.

The same goes for your blog. When new updates will be valuable for your audience, be among the first to share them.

You can also stay updated on industry trends through niche-specific communities, Google Trends, and subscribing to expert newsletters.

(iv) Personal idea.

You might have some personal experiences in your business that can be useful to your audience, and you can share these ideas.

However, when sharing personal experiences or branded strategy with your audience, relate it to an existing term in your niche.

For example, the skyscraper technique, developed by Brian Dean of Backlinko, helps with link building and traffic. To share this with his audience, he related it to link building in the post’s title and wrote it as ‘Link building case study: How I increased my search traffic by 110% in 14 days.’

If he had written a blog post titled ‘My skyscraper technique,’ no one would know what he was talking about, and the CTR for that post would be low.

So, in sharing your branded solutions with your audience, include a term they are familiar with.

For example, suppose you use a technique to keep your wigs tangle-free and brand this solution by giving it a name. When you write a post on it, you want your readers to know what solution your branded technique is giving.

In Brian’s case, it was link-building.

(v) Question and answer forums.

There are different types of question-and-answer forums on the internet today. Some have even been made into apps, valuable places to get your audience’s questions.

Question forums like Quora and Reddit have groups for specific interests.

So, depending on your niche, you can search for groups or communities your audience will likely be in and read the questions being asked.

These questions are content ideas you can optimize as blog posts on your website.

2. Idea Optimization

The main difference between blog writing and SEO content writing is Research.

When it comes to blog writing, all the ideas generated in the first step are good to go, but with SEO writing, you need to ensure these ideas are optimizable by verifying them on search engines.

This step is optional, but I prefer to crosscheck each of my ideas against existing blog posts. It assures me my content is niche-relevant and gives me an idea of what type of content ranks in the top results.

This step is fast and easy.

Steps to optimize your topic ideas

To optimize my topic ideas, I use one or both of these tools:

(I) AnswerThePublic.

AnswerThePublic is a great SEO tool Neil Patel took over in May 2022. With AnswerThePublic, you see visualized data showing you the questions that Google Search users are asking.

To verify your content ideas, you can input the keyword in this tool’s search bar, giving you a concise list of related questions.

All you need to do is check if your topic idea is similar to any of the questions asked on Google.

The questions are organized into:

Most searched
Average searched
Least searched

The premium version will show you the search volume for each question, which is essential to know if you are optimizing your content for voice searches.

If you don’t get a question similar to your topic idea, it does not mean it is not optimizable; you can check Google to see if similar blog posts exist.

(ii) Google.

You can search on Google to check if blog posts are already written about your idea to optimize your ideas.

You will be surprised that only a few posts about your idea exist. It could mean your idea is not valuable to your audience, so it is better off as part of a post or a new topic in your niche.

If it is not something your audience wants, there is no need to write about it, except if you wish.

If it is better off as part of a post, you can create an umbrella post and add the idea as a subtopic.

If it is a new topic in your niche, ensure you understand it so you don’t post erroneous information for your readers. Or, you can wait till industry experts talk about it, read their posts, understand it, and then write yours.

If your topic idea exists, it means your audience needs it, and your competitors are talking about it—viable content.

The next thing to do is to take note of the top 5-8 ranking pages and check their content structure, title, word length, and even the keyword used (usually in the URL or introduction).

This information will help match user intent and tell you what you can do better!

3. Keyword Research

After verifying that the idea is one you can work with, the next step is to find the keywords you will use for your post.

Types of keywords

Here are the different types of keywords:

(I)Short-tail keywords.

Short tail keywords are one-word keywords that cover a wide range of topics. For example, SEO, branding, chatGPT, SEO writing, etc., are short-tail keywords.

Sometimes, short-tail keywords can also be two-worded. E.g., image optimization, voice optimization, Google algorithm, etc.

These keywords usually have a high search volume and SEO difficulty.

Short-tail keywords are inappropriate for your primary keyword, even with a high search volume, because they are too broad. Except if you are writing a guide, you may be unable to cover the entire topic.

Also, searches are now more streamlined, meaning people hardly go online to type in one or two words. They know what they want, and they are specific in their searches.

Short-tail keywords also reduce your chances of ranking because it is too competitive.

(ii) Long-tail keywords.

Long-tail keywords are more specific and streamlined. These keywords can form complete sentences and usually have a low search volume and SEO difficulty.

These keywords usually contain more than five words and can form standalone sentences that leave you no doubt about what the searcher wants.

For example, ‘$40000 a year is how much per hour’ is a long-tail keyword that tells you what the searcher wants.

SEO experts frowned at using long-tail keywords for a while because searchers usually opt for short-word queries.

However, long-tail keywords are returning with the prevalence of voice searches and their infusion into voice assistive devices.

Does this mean you should use the long-tail keyword as your primary keyword?

Not really.

However, you can use long-tail keywords in your content as FAQs or subtopics.

(iii) Medium-tail keywords.

This is the best option for your primary keyword.

Medium-tail keywords are between 3-4 words that give a bit of context to your keyword without being too streamlined.

These keywords allow you to cover a broader range than long-tail keywords while still being specific to a particular audience.

For example, if you want to talk about on-page optimization.

A short-tail keyword like ‘SEO’ or ‘SEO tips’ is too generic; a long-tail keyword like ‘on-page SEO strategies for businesses’ is too specific, but a medium-tail keyword like ‘on-page SEO strategies’ or ‘on-page SEO guide’ is just spot on.

(iv) Conversational keywords.

These keywords are similar to long-tail and are mainly used for voice searches.

They are long-tail keywords but more conversational—as if you are asking a friend a question.

SEO experts will advise you to use conversational keywords in your content so that your content can rank for voice searches.

For example, ‘How can I prepare tomato sauce’ is a conversational keyword used mostly in voice searches.

Conversational keywords should be a part of your content but shouldn’t be added as a part of your keywords.

The ideal number of keywords per post is 3-5 words. Usually, I create a balance of short, medium, and long-tail keywords. If I focus on one type of keyword, I will miss the benefits of having others.

Here’s how I structure keywords per post:

1 short tail keyword
2-3 medium tail keywords
1-2 long tail keywords

Tips for keyword research

(i) Understand search intent.

Search intent is a big deal for search engine optimization because search engines are now more focused on the searchers than the search engines themselves.

What are the searchers looking for? If your focus keyword is ‘on-page SEO tips,’ are searchers interested in listicles, images, guides, or short-form content?

When it comes to search intent, it includes what your searcher wants and how they want it.

Search intent is generally classified into four, namely:

Informational: This intent shows that the searcher needs informative pieces that give them specific answers to what they want.
Transactional: This shows the intent of people searching to buy at that exact moment. These searchers are usually specific because they know what they want to buy.
Commercial: These are more like transactional intent but usually to buy later. These types of searchers need a list of related products they can choose from instead of information on a single product.
Navigational: Navigational intent has to do with people that are searching for specific brands. With polysemic words like Apple, sometimes, Google can understand if a searcher wants the fruit or the company’s website.

(ii) Do a keyword gap analysis.

Keyword gaps imply the keywords your competitors are ranking for that you do not have on your website.

You can carry out keyword gap analysis using keyword analysis tools like Ubersuggest.

(iii) Know your keyword metrics.

Knowing and understanding your keyword metrics is essential for deciding the keywords to settle for. These metrics include:

Search volume is the number of searches made for a particular keyword. Usually, most keyword analysis tools give the average monthly search for a keyword.
CPC (cost per click) is the amount advertisers pay to get a pair of eyes on their ads. Even if you do not run ads, knowing how competitive a keyword is is crucial.

A high CPC shows that ranking organically will be more difficult.

Paid difficulty shows how difficult it will be to rank high for a particular keyword in paid searches.
SEO difficulty shows the difficulty of organically ranking for that exact keyword.
Trends show the searcher’s behavior for that keyword over time. Do searches increase during an exact period? Is it an active search?

It shows you the keyword’s relevance and if it is still relevant.

Other keyword metrics depend on the tool you use. However, these are the most important metrics to take note of. If you are focused on ads, you will want to dwell more on paid metrics like cost per click, paid difficulty, and trends.

(iv) Carefully select your primary keyword.

You should carefully select your primary or focus keyword to align with your content goals. I focus more on organic results, so my focus keyword is based on the search volume and SEO difficulty.

When writing for businesses with new websites, I go for lower SEO difficulty keywords so they can rank.

I focus more on the search volume when I write blog posts for more advanced websites.

(v) Understand keyword placements.

There are certain places you must input your focus keyword in your content:

URL: Your focus keyword must be part of your URL. URL optimization is one of the best practices for SEO; it gives web crawlers an understanding of your website and your content.

Title: Your focus keyword in your title is a must for SEO. It has to be intact with no dividing word, i.e., if your focus keyword is ‘voice search optimization,’ your title shouldn’t be ‘optimization practices for voice search;’ instead, it should be in any of these formats:
- Prefix – (focus keyword) – suffix: You can insert your focus keyword between a prefix and a suffix to make your headline meaningful and provide context.
- (focus keyword) – suffix: You can insert your focus keyword before a suffix to give it more meaning because some keywords cannot make meaning on their own, except support words are added.
- Prefix – (focus keyword): You can put a prefix before your focus keyword so it makes sense.
- (focus keyword): If you are using a conversational keyword, your entire headline can be your focus keyword.

First 100 words: Your focus keyword should appear in your introduction, preferably the first 50-100 words.
Headings: At least one of your header tags aside from your title should have your focus keyword.
Meta Description: Having your focus keyword in your meta description increases your ranking chances.
Images alt-texts: At least two of your images should include your focus keyword.

Your content should not be keyword stuffed; to do this, ensure your keywords appear as natural as possible. Also, leverage the use of semantically related keywords in your content.

Tools for keyword research

There are several tools for keyword research:

4. Headline Optimization

Make your headlines or titles compelling to readers.

Your headline should tell a reader the content of your post in a straightforward way.

When a searcher types a query on the search engine, they get millions of results in a split second. They search through the search result and click on a web page.

They haven’t seen the post’s content yet but are deciding it seems better than the rest of the results. Why?

The headline.

The headline is your first chance to make an impression on your audience and should clearly state what the reader will learn upon clicking on your page—the more specific the benefit, the higher the chance of a clickthrough.

Best tools for headline optimization

Here are the best tools to use for headline optimization:

Tips for headline optimization

Usually, your headline analyzers will give suggestions to improve your headlines. However, to save time, you can use some helpful tips to develop the most compelling headlines.

Here are my top tips for headline optimization:

Include numbers in your title.
Use 8-10 word lengths.
Make your title characters between 60-70.
Include power words in your title.
Make sure your title carries a sentiment.
Include your unique selling point in your headline.
Have a specific focus.
State the benefit of your content.

5. Content Research

This includes the content structure and information that needs to be in your content. What are the points that need to be in your post? What are searchers looking for? How should you structure your content to give you an edge?

With content research, I check existing blog posts using the same focus keyword as mine and look for ways to improve.

If they wrote a 15-list post, I would write a 20-list post or make a 15-list post that’s more detailed. If the word count is 2000, I will try to write more. The goal is to ensure your content is more valuable and up-to-date than existing posts.

You can create a detailed outline by comparing top-ranking results on Google, using the content idea section of Ubersuggest, or using an AI tool like ChatGPT.

Types of blog posts to write

How-to’s: These blog posts show how to perform a specific task.
Tutorials: These are similar to how-to posts but will mostly contain videos and graphical illustrations.
Industry studies: These are posts designed around industry research that you make. Industry studies are costly, but you can start with basic research that won’t exhaust your budget.
Award Bait: These posts are primarily about recognizing relevant businesses or blogs in your niche. Award bait posts are suitable for link building.
Guides: This post type shows the reader everything about a particular topic and guides them through everything they need.
Listicles: These are list articles; the significant part is you can create a list for anything.
Infographics: These are graphical illustrations from charts to tables and images. Infographics show important information graphically.
Ebooks: These are downloadable electronic books. You can create blog posts in the form of eBooks for users to re-read at their own pace.
Case Studies: These posts show behind-the-scenes, success stories, and even fail stories.
Expanded list posts: These detailed list posts contain carefully explained actionable steps about a particular topic.
Checklists: This post shows the reader actionable steps to take. It gives you a breakdown of what you need to do and how to do it sometimes.
Industry news: These posts talk about the recent updates in your industry. They don’t have to be lengthy but should accurately explain the new updates to readers.
Crowdsourced manual: This is a compilation of experts’ opinions about a subject in your niche.

6. Content Writing

How do you write posts that are optimized? What practices should be put into writing the content of a blog post?

The main juice of SEO content writing is in the content of your post because Google is working round the clock to ensure they deliver the best results to their users.

No matter how many updates are being rolled out, the main goal of Google is QUALITY.

From the introduction of your post to the conclusion, here’s how to create the best content:

(I) Meta description

A meta description is a summary of the content of your post displayed immediately after the headline and URL in a search result.

It is an HTML element, and you have to include it in your HTML code; however, most content management systems, like WordPress, allow you to type your desired meta description in a designated field.

They are essential to your content because they can directly impact your clickthrough rate.

Tips for writing good meta descriptions

Write short meta descriptions. They summarize your content, so it shouldn’t exceed 120 characters.
Use your focus keyword in the meta description. It tells the reader you stayed true to the context of your title.
Use a direct tone.
Include CTAs in your meta descriptions.
Make it compelling.
Align your meta description to the content of your post.

Note that Google can automatically change your meta description to match the search terms a searcher uses. Don’t be alarmed when the meta description for your posts is not the same as what you see on search results.

(ii) Introduction.

Readers first see your introduction when they click on your post.

It is not enough to have a good title and meta description; if your introduction is bad, it can cause a high bounce rate, bringing down your rankings on a search result page.

Your introduction is your chance to hook the reader on what you are talking about, raise anticipation, and keep them scrolling.

Types of introduction

The main point of every good introduction is to start with a captivating start line. There are different ways you can make your start line captivating. These include:

Statistics: Start with interesting statistics about your topic.
Story: Use a relatable story to keep readers hooked.
Question: Ask a thought-provoking question that addresses their pain point.
Quotes: Start with a famous industry or life quote relevant to your topic.

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Features of a good introduction

What makes a good introduction?

Make your first sentence short.
Go straight to the point.
Highlight specific benefits of the post.
Keep the introduction short and precise.
Address at least one pain point.

(iii) Comprehensive content.

Comprehensive or long-form content is the best type of content to write.

Your content needs to be as detailed as possible so that a reader doesn’t leave your post with questions. Include FAQs to answer more questions and optimize your post to rank for voice search results.

Word length for a well-optimized post should be about 2,000-2,500 words. With this, you can be sure to cover a wide range of a topic.

However, there are power blog posts that go beyond 2,500-3,000 words; you can convert them into PDFs for easier, self-paced reading.

You should note that comprehensive content isn’t just about the word length; the content itself needs to be valuable and relevant to a query. You should also avoid stuffing your content with keywords or unnecessary words.

To get enough content for your post, you can browse related questions about the topic and answer them comprehensively in the post. You can also compare existing posts and add relevant updates to them.

(iv) Header tags.

Header tags are crucial for SEO, making your content more accessible for web crawlers to understand and easy for readers to go through.

These tags show the hierarchy of your post to both users and search engines.

There are different types of header tags from H1 to H6.

H1 tag: These tags are used for the headlines, although they are often used interchangeably with title tags.
H2 tag: These are used as the main subheading tags.
H3 tag: These are also used as subheading tags.
H4 tag: This shows a subsection of a subheading.
H5 tag: I try to stop my tags at H5 because they indicate a smaller subsection important enough to be tagged.
H6 tag: These tags draw attention to a mini point.

Header tags are like book chapters that give you an idea of the entire content.

(v) Paragraphs.

The readability of your content is also essential, and writing short paragraphs can keep readers on your page longer.

Short paragraphs are easier to read and understand, making your blog post look breezy enough to captivate your reader.

You must break down the entire content of your post into small paragraphs.

How long should a paragraph be?

I’d say 3-5 sentences long. Each paragraph should explain a single concept.

While writing paragraphs, you should ensure each of these paragraphs connects.

There should be sentence flow in your content; it increases the coherence of your content.

(vi) Reading level.

No matter your niche’s seriousness or professionalism, your content should be easy to understand.

Backlinko’s voice search SEO study revealed that content written at the 8th-grade reading level ranked more for voice search results.

Google does not explicitly state that this is a ranking factor, but we know that understandable contents consistently rank high in search results.

(vii) Tone.

Always try to write your content in conversational tones.

User experience is the most crucial ranking factor right now, and if your content is conversational, readers are bound to spend more time on your page and even share your content on social media pages.

Also, conversational tones are perfect for ranking in voice search results.

(viii) Links.

One of the essential SEO content writing practices is to include links in your blog posts.

There are two types of links:

External links: These are links to other websites from your web page.

External links are great for link building, but they also show professionalism and can increase trust.

It is always important to link to authority websites in your niche and include link-building strategies to help you get backlinks from credible sites.

Internal links: These are links to other web pages on your website. You should link each post on your website at least once to another post.

It shows site crawlers the relevance of that post.

With strategic internal links, you can increase the page authority of your blog posts and make it easier for web crawlers to index your posts.

When linking to other websites or posts on your site, take note of your anchor texts. With Google’s updated link practice guide, we see that Google prioritizes natural language anchor texts that make it easy to understand what the page you are linking to is about.

If you can’t use a natural language anchor text, it is best to resort to the focus keyword for that post.

Here are some best practices for linking

Only link to important pages.
Use keyword-rich anchor texts.
Use natural language anchor texts.
Avoid exact-match anchor texts.
Don’t use the same anchor text for two pages.
Avoid automating internal linking.
Link to only credible websites.

(ix) Conclusion.

Your conclusion is just as important as your introduction.

This part is where you summarize your main points so that even if a visitor does not read the entire post, they can get enough value through the conclusion.

Conclusions are usually short but can also be longer depending on how well you summarize your post.

Also, your call to action is a part of your conclusion.

Most SEO content writers should put more work into their CTA.

CTAs are necessary to lead a visitor to take a specific action on your website.

If it’s not specific to an action, it’s not a good CTA.

(x) URLs.

URLs are also helpful for search engines to understand what your web page is all about.

To create an SEO-friendly URL, here are some of the best practices to follow:

Make it short.
Include only your focus keyword.
Do not stuff keywords in your URL.
Use hyphens to separate words.
Avoid long URLs.
Do not include dates in your URL.
Avoid unnecessary words.
Use lowercase.
Include HTTPS in your URL.
Avoid using your post title as your URL.

7. Images

Your blog posts are only complete once you have added relevant pictures. Your posts need images to keep readers interested, give them information at a glance, and provide more context to your words.

Also, as popular as voice search is, Google’s image search is gaining traction among users, especially with the integration of Google Lens, which allows you to search using pictures taken on your phone.

It is a good idea to be able to rank for image searches.

Types of images in a blog post
- Stock Images
- Charts
- Tables
- Original Graphics
- Screenshots

Ensure that every picture you insert in your blog post is appropriately optimized.

Tips for using images in a blog post
- Compress your images.
- Insert images after relevant texts.
- Add alt texts for your images.
- Use high-quality images.
- Use only legal images.
- Add captions to your images.
- Make sure images are mobile-friendly.
- Use the correct image file type.
- Rename your image files.

After adding images to your blog, you can upload them to your website.

However, don’t leave all the work to search engines after uploading your posts.

Here are some things to do:

8. Content promotion

No matter how optimized your content is, you don’t leave the fate of your post to search engines.

Ways to promote your content:

Email marketing: Big names in the industry, like Search Engine Journal and Neil Patel, among others, send newsletters with links to their blog posts.

Send strategic newsletters to your email list and add links to your blog posts.

Social media marketing: Social media is a great place to promote your content. You can include images from your post or make a shareable image summary and share it on these platforms.

You can promote your posts on:

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
Instagram
Pinterest

Question forums: Answer questions on these forums and include links to a blog post that explains it in detail.

The fact that you want to link to your post does not mean you shouldn’t answer a question as detailed as possible.

It is best to give a detailed answer to a question and, afterward, offer a link to your blog post.

Users will trust you and click on your link based on how well you can answer the question.

9. Content Updating

Change is constant!

There are always new updates in every niche.

For example, on-page SEO practices three years ago are different now. There have been new updates based on Google algorithm changes, and even old techniques have experienced upgrades.

So, what will happen to the on-page SEO post you made three years ago? You have to update it.

Aside from this, search behavior also changes, so you want to ensure your content stays relevant through the years.

While updating your old content, you should also take note of the links, statistics, and industry updates.

Historical optimization is updating your old content and making it relevant in real-time.

HubSpot has a detailed post on historical optimization.

Best Practices for SEO Content Writing

This entire post explains the best practices for SEO writing, from getting ideas and optimizing them to performing keyword research and writing your fire post.

However, here is a summarized list of the best tips for SEO writing.

Understand buyer persona.
Match searchers’ intent.
Have a content calendar.
Invest in a human editor.
Use long-tail keywords in your headings.
Optimize your images.
Include FAQs in your posts.
Optimize for rich snippets.
Optimize for featured snippets.
Avoid keyword stuffing.
Add keywords to your meta description.
Include actionable tips.
Write what you know.
Write in conversational tones.
Update your old content regularly.
Optimize your URL.
Invest in original images, especially infographics.

SEO Content Writing Tools

These are tools that make SEO writing easy for you. Several SEO tools can make the content writing process breezy, from writing tools to writing assistants.

Here are my top picks for SEO writing tools:

1. Grammarly.

Grammarly is a writing assistant that helps to review your writing. It is one of the most used writing tools worldwide because it is easy to integrate into software and devices.

Grammarly is also AI-powered, so you quickly get real-time suggestions that will help to improve your writing.

Features of Grammarly

Grammar checker
Plagiarism checker
Citation generator
Essay checker
Tone detector
Style guides
Snippets
Analytics
Brand tones

Plans

Free Plan

This plan focuses on basic writing suggestions and tone detection.

With the Grammarly free plan, you get help with grammar, spelling, punctuation, conciseness, and tone detection.

Premium Plan

This plan is designed for individuals and focuses on helping with clarity, vocabulary, and tone improvements.

The primary focus for this plan includes everything in the free plan with full-sentence rewrites, choice of words, tone suggestions, and citations.

Pricing is $12.00 per month.

Business Plan

This plan is designed for teams, businesses, and organizations. The features include everything in the premium plan with style guides, snippets, brand tones, analytics dashboard, SAML single sign-on, account roles, and permissions.

Pricing is at $15.00 per member/month

2. Google Docs.

Google Docs is the best tool for writing, especially when collaborating with other writers. Google Docs allows you to write, edit, and collaborate on a document.

My favorite part of Google Docs is you can automatically update your changes. There is no fear of losing your content due to device breakdown or technical difficulties.

You also get to edit your document offline, and once you connect to the internet, your changes are automatically saved to the drive.

3. Hemingway Editor.

Hemingway Editor is a content writing tool that helps you to analyze your texts and revise your work.

With Hemingway Editor, you can revise your work no matter how lengthy.

Here are some of the analyses you can do with Hemingway:

Reading time
Letters
Characters
Words
Sentences
Paragraphs
Readability

This tool analyzes the text, highlighting complex sentences or phrases using color codes. Here are the color codes and their meanings:

Yellow codes show lengthy, complex sentences and common errors that should be split.
Red codes show dense and complicated sentences that need to be reworded.
Purple codes show sentences with shorter alternatives, and you can move your mouse over these highlights to get hints.
Blue codes show weak phrases that you should replace with more powerful words.
Green codes show that the highlighted sentence has a passive voice or tone.

The online version of Hemingway is free, but the desktop version (Mac or Windows) costs $19.99.

4. NeuralText.

NeuralText is an AI-enabled SEO content optimization software that helps you to create optimized content in half the time. It can analyze top-ranking pages about a topic and create curated SEO-optimized content in record time.

It also gives you long-tail keyword suggestions, clusters semantically related keywords, and uses AI to suggest words to complete a sentence.

Features of NeuralText

Audit management
Competitive analysis
Content management
Dashboard
Editorial calendar
Keyword research tools
Machine learning
Multi-channel campaigns
SEO management
Natural language processing

Plans

Free Trial

$1 for a 5-day free trial.

Starter Plan

This plan supports only one user and allows you to generate 20,000 AI words, write and optimize five articles and get up to 2,000 keyword suggestions.

Pricing is $19 per member/month.

Basic Plan

This plan is also for a single user, and although similar to the starter plan, it can generate 20,000 AI words, write and optimize 40 articles, get 20,000 keyword suggestions, and cluster up to 5,000 keywords.

Pricing is $49 per member/month.

Pro Plan

This plan is available for three users, and it can generate up to 40,000 AI words, write and optimize unlimited articles, get 50,000 keyword suggestions, and cluster up to 15,000 keywords.

Pricing is $119 per member/month.

5. Jasper.ai

Jasper is an AI tool trained to write original and creative SEO content for users; it helps you to write optimized content ten times faster.

Jasper is probably the best AI writing tool out there because not only does it help you to write good blog posts, but it also helps with social media posts, email subject lines, and even product descriptions.

The features of Jasper.ai are so numerous that I can’t possibly list them all!

Features

Text summarizer
Paragraph Generator
AIDA framework
PAS framework
Product Description
Creative story
Content improver
Blog post topic ideas
Blog post outline
Blog post intro paragraph
Blog post conclusion paragraph
Feature to benefit
Sentence expander
Bio writing
Ad writing
Title and meta descriptions
Headline writing
Email subject lines
Text Rephrasing, and so on.

Plans

Free Trial

You get a free trial of Jasper for five days.

Boss Mode

This plan is designed for individuals and small-scale teams and can take up to five users. You get over fifty templates, a tailored brand voice, 30+ languages, browser extensions, Grammarly, a plagiarism checker, and SEO mode.

Pricing starts at $82 per month for 50,000 words/month—the more the number of words, the higher the price. Prices get as high as $500 per month for 700,000 words/per month.

Business Plan

This plan is designed for growing teams and businesses and is open to more than five users. But there is yet to be an exact plan and price for this option.

You get to contact the sales department and get personalized plans and pricing that depends on what you want for your team.