Tips & Tools To Write Both SEO Optimized And User-Friendly Content

 

SEO Optimization is a tricky thing. On one hand, you want your website to rank on Google. On the other, you want the writing to sound natural and effortless. You don’t want to turn off your audience with keyword saturation and obvious optimization tactics. Here are some tips and tools to help you balance your human reader and the machine that determines your visibility.

Tips

Have An Outline

Outlines are your friend! An outline lets you divide the message of your post into sections (which can have headers and sub-headers, a.k.a. great places to use keywords). An outline also helps you determine the flow of your writing so it is user-friendly and easy to read.

Know the Message You Want to Convey

Each post should have a strong message and purpose. If you don’t have a clear message, then the post will read like it’s meant to attract readers (rather than entertain readers). People will also be less likely to notice your keyword saturation if they are engaged in the material and if the content offers them some value.

Skip the Keywords (At First)

When you first write your blog post or web content, don’t worry about incorporating any keywords. Just write like you talk. Make the content conversation (but professional), and interesting. Once you are comfortable with the flow and tone of the post, go back and work the keywords in as naturally as possible. This might mean rewriting a few sentences, but it works better than building your entire post around the SEO keywords.

Have a Friend Read Your Post Out Loud

Listening to someone other than yourself read the post aloud will make you more aware of how the language sounds. Do the keywords stand out? Does it sound strange? Does it turn you off? Are there any sections that make you cringe when you hear them? If so, rewrite these parts before you post.

Optimize the Length

Websites that rank best on Google are between 400-700 words. Very long posts are less likely to rank well, and readers are less likely to read them. Very short articles are viewed by the algorithm as less valuable. So, try to keep most of your posts in this range. Once you have a following, it’s fine to post the occasional long article. It’ll mix things up and keep your readers engaged.

Don’t Overdo The Keywords

You know you need to have keywords in your copy, but trying to saturate your post with them will make the writing unreadable. This kind of copy is called “black hat SEO,” and is a turn off to readers. There is no indication that Google favors sites with very high keyword density. Aim for 1-2% density. So, in a 500-word post, you should mention 5-10 keywords. But keep in mind that your title, headers, and subtitles count. So, you don’t need many in the body.

Tools

SEO Optimization: Type in the URL of your website, and this SEO optimization tool will analyze the metatags. Images, text, keyword density, and any headers to show you how to improve the SEO optimization.

Essay Mama Writers: The professional writers at Essay Mama can balance the SEO keyword saturation with readability and intrigue. You’ll end up with copy and sounds like it was actually written for people and not machines.

Read-Able: How readable (and user-friendly) is your material? Paste it into Read-Able to get a score.

Hemingway Editor: The best way to make people hate your writing is to confuse them. Long, run-on sentences are a top offender. Hemingway Editor will help you find and eliminate the confusion.

It’s important to balance your SEO optimization with readability and interest. But also keep in mind that we live in the age of social media, where anyone can share your content and instantly boost your rankings and visibility. For this reason, it’s important to put quality content above everything else. The right content will find its audience. Follow these tips to make the most of your SEO strategy, but remember that your human audience is the most important factor to consider when you write.

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