Introduction to SEO
Search engine optimization, as the name suggests, is how you can maximize the chances of ranking your content on Google and other search engines.
Think about the last times you searched for something on Google. You had a few suggested websites to choose from, and like hand-picking tomatoes at the supermarket, you picked a website more related to your search term.
You may not know this, but the website you chose intended for your search using that exact search term. They also knew that you would pick their website.
This is what SEO is all about, and keywords are the drivers that make it possible.
Websites know which keywords people are most likely to use on search engines. It is their job to know, and I am going to teach you a few tricks that will help you master this skill.
What are SEO Keywords
SEO keywords (also known as “keywords” or “keyphrases”) are terms used in online content to help the content rank on search engines using those exact terms.
A keyword can be something as simple as the phrase “how to bake chocolate cake”. If I have a recipe blog, helping people how to bake cakes, adding the same phrase “how to bake chocolate cake” into my content would be beneficial for my website.
Adding this would help users and bots to understand what my website is about. In this case, Google is more likely to recommend my website to you. Because your use of the same search term as my keyword makes my content more relevant to you.
Quality Content Is Good For SEO
It is important to know that SEO goes hand-in-hand with content writing. The contents you see on a website are not just ideas typed into a keyboard -I mean they are, but a lot more goes into it.
The first thing content writers do is figure out what kind of content they want to put out. Thereafter, research is done on the chosen topic. Lastly, writers compile all their ideas into a single file.
The real magic begins once the final draft is complete. This is where the search for the right keywords comes in.
Writes use all different kinds of keyword-search tools. These help identify keywords that most people are most like use to search for content similar to the one they have written.
(Keynote: AI (Artificial Intelligence) is a big factor in today’s writing. As people become more advanced as a species, so do the methods to grab their attention.)
The Importance of Keywords
The goal is to implement keywords into your content as carefully as possible. Make sure to use the same keyword at least two times, not more than that. Using the same keyword many times throughout your content may flag your content as spam to search engines and other bots.
Search engines are smart, so do not expect this process to be easy. This is also the reason why you do not find information about food when you search the term “french tips” on Google. It is Google’s job to know exactly what the user is searching for and exactly what content to suggest for them as a result.
Using the right amount of keywords increase the chance of ranking on search engines.
The process of Search Engine Optimization is not as simple as I have explained it; there is a lot more that goes into it than I can fit into a single blog post. Not to worry, I will make sure you get all your basics.
How Take Advantage Of SEO: STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE
Grab a cup of coffee, this is about to get interesting.
Step 1: Gather Knowledge
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of videos online that discuss the topic of SEO. They mention the kind of information that would be beneficial to you as a beginner writer or as a seasoned writer trying to improve their skills.
Some of these videos explain the ins and outs of SEO, what it is, why you should know about it, and how you can use it to your advantage. A ton of other videos have no clue what SEO is about, so to avoid wasting your time, I am going to recommend a few for you to watch:
STEP 2: WRITE QUALITY CONTENT
There is more to SEO than just ranking on search engines. This is the same reason why you find some content ranking on Google and others not, even though their content is similar. The underlying factor for this is the quality of each content.
WHAT DOES QUALITY CONTENT MEAN
Quality content entails writing that is relevant to the chosen topic, is not confusing, and most important, does contain any errors.
Errors include spelling errors, grammar and punctuation errors, and structure errors, to name a few. Error-free content qualifies as quality content.
You need to make use of spacing in-between your ideas, break your ideas into smaller paragraphs. This makes your content easy to digest no matter the length.
It is sad to admit, but most people have a short attention span. Many people are addicted to cheap dopamine and therefore seek quick information.
This gets us to another point on how to write quality content: Provide quick answers. It is natural to want to lead up to an answer after writing the title; you may want to give some critical information before answering the question.
However, this hurts your chances of ranking on search engines for quality content. For example, Google knows that people seek quick responses to their questions; this is why we use Google, to get the answers we seek right away.
There are no hassles like long paragraphs before we get to what we need. It is crucial that you answer the question right away and get straight to the point after introducing your title.
If you make the first paragraph interesting enough to read, then chances are readers will continue reading the rest of your content.
The structure of your content is one of the most important things to consider and is also the most overlooked. Creating the perfect storyline for your content and knowing which information comes after the other keeps readers engaged, and there is less room for confusion.
STEP 3: PRACTICE
“Practice makes perfect,” a phrase we’ve all heard at some point in our lives. The phrase suggests that should you practice a certain skill you wish to be good at, with enough practice you can eventually be good at it.
This proves true in the skill of writing. The more you practice how to become a good writer, the more you create quality content. You learn how to structure your content to make it more engaging, you learn about keywords and ways to implement them with expertise in order to rank on Google.
Think of it in this way: you come up to a very old house, and you are very thirsty. You make your way to the kitchen where you find a tap; you open the tap and dirty water begins to come out.
You keep the dirty water running long enough until eventually the water starts to become clear. You can now enjoy the clean water from the tap because you expelled the filthy water out first.
The same analogy can be applied to writing. Before you can be good at writing, specifically SEO writing, you must first be bad at it. This is why practice is important.
The more you practice writing, the more you learn. You begin to see patterns of what makes good content and what does not. You begin to see which keywords work best for your content and which do not.
Before you know it, you are an expert SEO writer. There onwards, you can choose to transfer your skills and teach others.
This process of teaching further solidifies your knowledge, and you can make a name for yourself in the writer’s market, a dream that can be accomplished.
STEP 4: LEARN CONSTANTLY
The last step goes hand-in-hand with the previous step, practice. There can never be enough knowledge; somewhere out in the world, people are becoming experts at writing and crafting SEO content. They also have something to teach; similarly, they can learn from you.
This may explain why seminars exist—even though people may be experts in their field, they still go out to acquire more knowledge. This knowledge they can then implement into their work; therefore, they are constantly evolving.
This learning curve is not only determined by the idea of becoming an expert. Search engines update their database on a regular basis, and through learning constantly, you are able to keep up with this change.
Make sure to never fall behind by keeping yourself up-to-date with new pieces of information available to you, no matter how small they may be.
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