How To Create SEO-Rich Content

This guest post was written by Meara Santoro

I’m so excited for the opportunity to guest blog on bystinafaye.com! A beautiful website and brand is great, but if your content is not optimized for SEO, you’re going to have a hard time being found in search engines. Hopefully this post will help you craft your content for your website in a way that is beneficial for both users and search engines.

Just so we’re all on the same page, SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization. It’s one of those topics where experts don’t all tend to agree. There are hundreds of factors that go into SEO and how well your website will rank in search engines. Domain authority, keyword targeting, load speed, content freshness, just to name a few.

One of the most important inputs (as of now) for SEO is the searchers engagement/satisfaction and content quality. Is your content satisfying the searchers need? And is it comprehensive and unique? These things matter because if a user doesn’t find your content useful or it’s not what they intended to find, they’ll bounce from your website. We obviously want people to stay on your website and be engaged.

Here are some of the things you should consider when putting together content.

Keyword Research

Keyword research is the very basis of SEO. Without some kind of keyword strategy and being mindful of search volume for those terms, you may be writing for topics that no one is looking for. I recommend clients develop a list of about 10 high priority keywords for their website and/or blog. Try to put yourself in your target audiences metaphorical “shoes’ and think of things they may be typing into Google in hopes of finding your product or service. Jot down a list of whatever comes to mind.

There are many free tools for keyword research, my favorite is the Google Keyword Planner tool. You’ll then have an idea of the average search volume for each of those terms. Good rule of thumb is anything with 10 searches per month, as long as it’s highly relevant is considered good. Anything in the hundred of thousands of searches per month is too vague and you would have a hard time competing to rank for that keyword.

What will resonate with your audience?

Now that you have your high priority keywords you’re trying to target, it’s time to craft some compelling content. A big part of creating SEO-rich content is targeting the correct keywords with good search volume but it’s also about providing value. Try and consider what this person is likely looking for and what they’re hoping to find. One of my favorite ways to do this is to think of a particular key phrase I’m trying to write for and pop into a Google search. See what types of content Google already thinks that keyword is relevant for. Is it mostly blog posts? News articles? Detailed lists? Interactive guides or infographics? It’s important to take all of this into consideration when deciding what type of content you want to create.

Useful Types of Content

Once you have an idea of what is already appearing in search results, it’s time to create your own content. Don’t be afraid to step outside the box and try a new format, but don’t use a new format just because it’s new. Again, you should craft content that you truly think your target audience is going to find useful and relevant. Here are few types of content that work best for SEO:

Blog posts
Short-form/evergreen articles
Long-form articles
Photo/visual galleries
Detailed info-rich lists
Multipage guides
Videos- specifically YouTube or embedded videos

There is also the technical aspect of creating SEO-rich content which is important. But by putting your end user first and incorporating a keyword strategy, you should be well on your way to creating SEO-rich content.

— Meara Santoro