How To Write Articles Optimized For Search Engines

Search engines are the most common way to get unpaid traffic for your website. Most web traffic comes from search engine referrals, so optimizing your website to rank high on them is essential.

The most popular search engines are Google, Bing, and Yahoo. This article will give you important tips to help you write articles that rank high on them.

They include

Pay Attention to Keywords/Search Intent

Search intent describes the purpose of a search query. What common questions related to your field do people search for? For instance, if you run an electronics blog, you may observe many people searching for “What type of phone should I buy?” You can write an article on this topic so that search engines can suggest your website when someone types that query.

The most popular search engines provide tools that help you identify the keywords people are searching for. You can use Google Trends or Bing Keyword Research to do this. After getting the right keywords, include them throughout your article to inform search engines that you’re answering those queries.

Write Quality Content

Your articles must offer valuable information to the reader. You should

• Write up-to-date and factual information

• Identify what users are searching for and answer their questions accurately

• Find out trending topics and write articles related to them

• Include illustrations and images in your articles to convey information to readers

• Cite other websites where need be, e.g., citing statistics or quotes

Search engines prefer longer articles as a rule of thumb. A 500-word article is ideal but if you can write 1,000 words or more, go for it. Longer content offers better value to readers and helps keep visitors glued to your website.

Use Internal Links

Internal links are one of the main tenets of search engine optimization. You should cite other pages on your website in a relevant way. For example, if you’re reviewing a smartphone app, you can talk about a related app you’ve reviewed before and link to that page. These links help search engines index your pages and rank your website better.

Write Meta Information

Every article should have meta description and title tags. Search engines aren't human, so they can't recognize a page's title and description unless you specify it using these tags. If you don’t, the search engine might pick random parts of the text as the title and description and display it to users.

Use Headings and Subheadings

Break down your content into headings and subheadings. This makes it easier for readers to find exactly what they're looking for. For instance, if you have a frequently asked questions (FAQ) section on your article, use H2 or H3 headings to separate them. This way, search engines can easily identify a question and recommend your website to anyone who searches for that same query.

Add Alternative Text to Images

All images on your article should have alternative text, a HTML code describing what it is. This alternative text allows search engines to identify what the image is about and recommend your article if anyone searches for something related.

Your alternative text should be brief; a maximum of 125 characters. Also, endeavor to include the article's main keyword in any alternative text description.

Conclusion

We have listed the most important tips to help you write articles that’ll rank high on search engines. If you need help in writing such articles, you can hire our experienced writers at Big Valley Media. Contact us and see how we can help you.