SEO content is writing that is planned around what people search for. It answers a question someone has typed into Google, and it does so well enough that Google is happy to show it and the reader is happy they clicked.
That is the whole idea. The rest of this article is about doing it properly.
1. Start with a real search
Every piece of SEO content begins with a search someone actually makes. Not a topic you like, and not a phrase you hope people use. Look at the searches your customers make before they buy from you, the questions they ask on the phone, and the phrases your competitors rank for.
Pick one main search per page. A page that tries to rank for five different things usually ranks for none.
2. Match what the searcher wants
Look at what already ranks for your search. If the top results are guides, write a guide. If they are product pages, write a product page. Google has already worked out what people want for that search, and it will not rank a page that gives them something else, however well written.
Quick tip: type your target search into Google and read the first five results before you write a word. That is your brief.
3. Write for the reader first
Good SEO content reads like a knowledgeable person explaining something clearly. Short sentences. Plain words. Headings that say what the section is about. Answer the question near the top, then go into detail.
Use your main phrase in the title, the first paragraph and a heading or two, where it fits naturally. Stop there. Repeating it every other sentence reads badly and no longer helps.
4. Make it complete
A page that covers the subject fully beats a thin one. Cover the related questions a reader would have next. Add a worked example, a checklist or a table where it helps. Link to your other pages on the subject so readers and Google can find them.
Length follows the subject. A simple question needs a few hundred words. A buying guide might need two thousand. Write what the subject needs and no more.
5. Publish it properly
Give the page a clear title of about sixty characters, a meta description that says what the reader will get, and a short, readable URL. Add it to your navigation or link to it from a relevant page, so it is not left as an orphan nobody can find.
6. Improve it over time
The first version is rarely the best one. After a few months, look at which searches bring people to the page and which ones it almost ranks for. Add a section for those. Refresh anything out of date. Pages that are kept current keep their rankings; pages left alone drift down.
If you want a content plan built around the searches your customers make, book a call and we will map it out with you.