Writing techniques for SEO have become extremely important in this day and age where content is valued. Under such circumstances, it is no exaggeration to say that SEO writing is one of the skills of marketers.
Therefore, this time we will introduce a method of writing with SEO in mind and key points.
There are two directions for SEO writing.
SEO writing refers to writing techniques that take SEO into consideration.
SEO
stands for search engine optimization, and is a writing method that mainly takes measures to improve Google’s search rankings.
SEO writing should be done primarily from two directions:
I will explain each one.
1. Writing for users
User-friendly writing refers to writing that is easy to understand and useful for search users. In other words, it is writing to create content that is useful to users who search on search engines.
Why do you need to create content that is useful to users? This is because Google, the main search engine, places emphasis on “content.”
Google values great, user-first content that delights searchers, and has announced that it will rank pages with such content higher in search results. Most recently, on December 10, 2019, Google implemented an update to its search algorithm called the “BERT Update.” This has improved our ability to understand the nuances and context of user search terms, allowing search results to better reflect the context and quality of the text.
The most recent Google update is a core update carried out on December 4, 2020. Although this is not an update to individual content/articles, it does have an impact on article search rankings.
In other words, in SEO writing, the context and quality of the text will be increasingly required in the future. Although it has become less common these days, low-quality writing that is simply sprinkled with conventional keywords can be said to lower search engine rankings.
Writing that is useful to users can be said to be the main writing of SEO writing.
2.Writing for search engine crawlers
Writing for search engine crawlers is writing that is optimized and easy to understand for crawlers. For example, it refers to writing techniques that are part of internal SEO measures, such as including keywords in headlines and making sure that h tags are structurally correct.
By creating a structure that is easy for crawlers to navigate and understand, you can have your pages evaluated correctly. This will inevitably improve your search rankings. Of course, the main premise is that the content is excellent, but optimizing it for crawlers is also essential for SEO writing.
16 points for writing with SEO in mind
From here, we will introduce the key points of writing with SEO in mind. We will introduce the above-mentioned 1. writing for users as a writing point to improve the quality of content, and 2. writing for search engine crawlers as a writing point as an internal SEO measure. .
10 writing points to improve the quality of your content
1. Focus on the user
In the list of “10 facts about Google” that Google constantly checks, the first thing listed is “1. If you focus on the user, everything else will follow.”
1. Focus on the user and everything else will follow.
From the beginning, Google has put user experience first. Whether we were developing a new web browser or tweaking the look of our homepage, our primary focus was on users, not Google’s internal goals or revenue. Google’s homepage has a clean interface and pages load instantly. We never manipulate search result rankings in exchange for money. Ads clearly identify themselves as ads and present relevant information in a non-intrusive manner. When developing new tools and applications, we aim to create a highly complete design that doesn’t leave users feeling like they could have done things differently.
It is no exaggeration to say that this is Google’s first and foremost way of thinking. Google places the highest priority on user convenience. Google’s primary focus has always been on users, not Google’s internal goals or revenue. When it comes to SEO, getting a high ranking on Google is essential for getting to the top of search results. To achieve this, if you narrow your focus to users by providing content that satisfies them most, other things will follow, such as improving your search rankings, attracting more customers to your homepage, and generating revenue. That’s why. When it comes to SEO writing, the key to achieving results is to always keep the mindset of “narrowing the focus to the user.”
2. Write as an answer to search keywords
When it comes to SEO writing, it is important to provide the most appropriate content as an answer to the keywords that users are searching for. In particular, creating content based on keywords that many search users search for will help with SEO.
For example, put a search keyword in the title of the page and create sentences around that keyword. Even if you ignore keywords and just create content that seems to be useful, if it is not useful to users, it will not be evaluated by Google and will not rank high in search results. Therefore, it is important to always write around search keywords.
Including keywords in text is important as an internal policy, but it also improves the ease of understanding for users.
3. Increase your expertise
<br/> When writing, you create content based on keywords, but it is also important to improve your expertise at this time. Because this is also included in “Google’s 10 facts”.
The second item is “It’s best to do one thing extremely well.”
2. It’s best to do one thing extremely well.
Google is a search company. With one of the world’s largest research groups focused solely on solving search problems, Google knows what it can do and how to do it better. We iteratively solve complex problems and continually improve a service that already allows millions of users to quickly and seamlessly find information. The technology developed in the search field is also applied to new services such as Gmail and Google Maps. At Google, we continue to use search technology in other areas to help people access and use information in every aspect of their lives.
Google says it has “one of the world’s largest research groups focused solely on solving search problems,” and it does one thing very well. In other words, writing to the utmost in one thing means improving your expertise. It also means a high level of expertise in the sense of digging deeply into a single theme, rather than covering a broad range of information from multiple genres. In this way, highly specialized written content is liked by Google and is more likely to rank high in search results.
The following are some concrete ways to improve your professionalism when writing:
I will explain each one.
corresponds to a specialized book
In order to improve your expertise, it is effective to read specialized books. After reading and researching several specialized books related to the theme based on the keywords you are about to write about, and gaining specialized knowledge in that field, you can decide what kind of information would be candidates for web content. While exploring, we will write professionally. In some cases, it is also effective to cite books. When doing so, please be careful as it is illegal to copy the text in its entirety beyond the scope of quotation.
Interview an expert
Interviewing professionals in the field and writing based on the interviews will also improve the professionalism of your content. By interviewing people with qualifications, you can further increase the professionalism and reliability of your content.
Post your experience
There may be cases where there are no specialized books on the topic you are trying to write about, or where it is difficult to interview experts. In that case, one way is to post your experiences.
For example, if you are trying to create useful content for users who are looking for a good gym, simply listing recommended gyms will only serve as a reference for users. However, if you actually use the gym and write about your experience realistically, it will be very useful information for users.
Testimonials may not be considered highly specialized content, but they can be said to be highly specialized in the sense that they provide real information specific to a particular gym. Testimonials can be said to be very effective as they lead to the point of “increasing originality” which will be discussed later. However, even when it comes to testimonials, the act of reposting reviews from other sites without permission or posting false testimonials can be disadvantageous to either person or company, and users It can also lead to deception. As a result, it is content that is disadvantageous to users and Google.
When posting your experiences, be sure to be original and reflect what you actually experienced.
4. Increase originality
Google also rates high originality. In the 2017 update, Google said, “High-quality sites with original and useful content will be ranked higher.”
This week we made improvements to the way we evaluate website quality. This update will lower the rankings of low-quality sites that focus on getting their pages higher in search results rather than providing users with useful and reliable information. As a result, high-quality sites with original and useful content will be ranked higher.
Why is writing without originality bad? Of course, there is a point in weeding out copy content, but it is also because it is not useful to users. This is easy to understand if you put yourself in the user’s shoes. What if you wanted to know something and searched for it, but all the pages from number 1 to number 10 of the search results contained similar information? It’s inconvenient, isn’t it? To avoid this, Google evaluates pages with highly original and useful content for users and ranks them higher in search results. Therefore, before writing, the correct answer is to carefully research other pages that are already in the top search rankings, and write by including information that is missing from the user’s perspective, or by creating originality that is not found elsewhere. Yes.
5. Express your writing concisely
<br/> When you think about what constitutes high-quality writing, one of the answers is “easy to understand.” One of the characteristics of easy-to-understand sentences is that they are concise. Expressing sentences concisely improves understandability.
The key is to be creative by keeping sentences as short as possible and avoiding redundant expressions.
6. Focus on creating a structure (plot)
In order to rank high in SEO, it is not enough to simply write beautiful sentences. What is written and in what order is also important. The primary goal is to make it easy for users to understand. In order to make it easier to understand, the first step is to create an easy-to-understand structure (plot) of the entire text that meets the needs of the user.
To create a structure that is valuable to users, first find out their needs based on the keywords you want to rank for on that page. For example, you can use Google’s suggestion function (*) to pick up related words, or use a keyword tool provided by a private company to see what keywords people are searching for. Look for intent.
*What is the suggestion function? A function that predicts and displays related keywords when you enter a keyword in a search engine.
For example, if you type “sports gym” into Google’s search window, suggestions such as “recommended sports gyms” and “cheap sports gyms” will be displayed. These related terms are the ones most people are likely searching for.
Based on these, we explore the user’s search intent. Users who search for “sports gym recommendations” say “I want to join a sports gym, but I want to know what kind of gym has a good reputation, whether it’s highly rated, whether it’s popular, etc.” We can infer the search needs of “I want to know about the best gyms.”
On the other hand, we can infer that users who searched for “cheap sports gyms” have the same desire to join a gym as users who searched for “recommended sports gyms,” but we can also infer that they have a need for “low price.”
In this way, you need to present different content to each user who searches for “recommended sports gyms” or “cheap sports gyms.” Then, consider a configuration that meets your needs. For example, in the case of “cheap gyms,” it would be useful to specifically name cheap gyms, describe their features, and explain how to find and choose cheap gyms. Also, consider the overall structure, such as the order in which the information will be presented and how charts and tables will be used. The writing will proceed according to the overall structure.
7. Make titles, introductions, and headings clear and easy to understand
Titles, introductions, and headings must be written clearly and clearly from the user’s perspective. As I will explain later, be sure to include keywords in the title, introduction, and headings. However, it is not enough just to include keywords. The most important thing is not the list of keywords, but whether the information is easy to understand and useful for users. In other words, it is important that the title allows you to understand the content of the text at a glance. At the same time, it is also very important that the title matches the content of the text. In this way, the key to creating titles, introductions, and headings when writing content is to not forget the user’s perspective.
8. Consider the context of the main text
<br/> Once you have decided on the structure, when creating the main text according to it, it is okay to write in a way that conveys what you want to convey to the user in an easy-to-understand manner.
However, you need to be careful that just because you want to include keywords, you end up creating sentences that don’t make sense or are unnatural and don’t sound like Japanese. If you want to rank high for a keyword, you’ll want to include a lot of keywords, related words, and co-occurring words, but just listing them doesn’t make sense as a sentence. Incorporate keywords, think carefully about how to make your sentences natural, and create content that is useful to users while taking the context into consideration.
9. Use easy-to-understand charts and bullet points
<br/> So far, I’ve said that clarity is important, but text is not the only content. Another key point of writing is to create content that is easy to understand for users by using charts, bullet points, etc.
Long texts are not convenient, especially for users who are in a hurry. In such cases, if the necessary information is summarized in bullet points, it is convenient for users because they can see the main points at a glance. Make it easier to understand by actively using charts and bullet points.
10. Don’t use too much technical terminology
<br/> This is another key point in writing from the user’s perspective, but it’s also important not to use too much technical terminology. I mentioned earlier that the more specialized you are, the better your Google ranking will be, but this doesn’t mean that you write in difficult terms using technical terms. Increasing the specialization of content means specializing in one field and presenting deep and useful information to users.
If you use too many specialized terms and it becomes difficult to understand, the page will be of no use to users, even if it is highly specialized. Don’t use too much technical terminology, and even if you do use technical terminology, you need to be creative by providing easy-to-understand explanations.
6 points of writing as an internal SEO measure
Next, we will introduce the points of writing as an internal SEO measure, that is, the points of writing optimized writing that is easy to understand and recognize for search engine crawlers.
1. Insert the keyword you want to rank high in the title, introduction, and heading.
It is essential to include the keywords you want to rank in the title, introduction, and heading. Of course, it is necessary to enter keywords in natural Japanese, but it is said that it is more effective for SEO to enter keywords as early as possible.
Please keep the page title to around 28-30 full-width characters. This is because the title is displayed on Google’s search results list page, so it is the first character that is judged as the content of page 6. The maximum number of characters that can be displayed for the title is 30-32 characters, so try to keep it to 30 characters or less to avoid cutting off the title.
2. Is the H tag structurally correct and does it contain the correct information?
H tags for headings such as H1, H2, H3, etc. increase in number as you go down the hierarchy. They must be used in order and in the correct structure.
3. In the main text, put keywords at the beginning of paragraphs
<br/> The main text will be created below the headings, but if possible, try to put keywords at the beginning of paragraphs for the best SEO effect. It is said that
4. Don’t use too many demonstrative pronouns
It is said that demonstrative pronouns such as “that, that, this, which” should be avoided as much as possible in SEO writing. In general writing, there is a tendency to avoid using the same word repeatedly, but in SEO writing, demonstrative pronouns are often used too often, both in the sense of including keywords as much as possible and in the sense of emphasizing ease of understanding for users. It is important that there is no.
5. Create a proper description
<br/> A description is the explanatory text that appears below the title of the search results. By setting this as a description tag, you can easily convey the content of the page to users. Considering the number of characters that can be displayed in search results, it is said that 120 characters or less is optimal. However, if you use a smartphone, only about 70-80 characters will be displayed, so it is a good idea to keep it short.
6. Link text should be clear and accurate
<br/> You may also include links in the main text. In this case, the link text must include keywords that are easy to understand, and the text must accurately represent the content of the link destination. Just like writing the main text, write this from the user’s perspective.
The key to SEO writing is “user perspective”
So far, we have introduced the key points of SEO writing. As I’m sure many of you have noticed, Google is placing more emphasis on high-quality content year after year. It may seem difficult, but if you put yourself in the position of a search user using Google, it’s not at all difficult. You can easily find the correct answer by thinking, “What if I searched with that search keyword?”
summary
◆Writing for SEO needs to be done from two main directions: 1. Writing for users and 2. Writing for search engine crawlers.
◆1. When writing for users, it is a good idea to focus on 10 writing points to improve the quality of your content. 2. When writing for search engine crawlers, it is best to focus on the six points of writing as an internal SEO measure.
◆The key to SEO writing is to do it from the user’s perspective. If you put yourself in the shoes of a searcher using Google and think, “What if I searched for that search keyword?” and write with the desired information and writing style, you can create content that is highly rated by Google.
