Year: 2022

Have you heard of the anti-advertising movement?

Communities are beginning to notice the negative impact that outdoor advertising has. Giant billboards and ad-packed bus stops are becoming unnecessary eyes sores.

If you want your company to thrive, the answer isn’t to put up more flyers. Modern business owners understand that the true path to success is maximizing search intent opportunities or SEO.

Take Allstate, for example. The car insurance company has a beautiful blog that posts helpful insurance-related articles. If someone is in a car accident and needs to know what to do, a quick Google search is sure to turn up an Allstate blog with an answer. If you want your company to be the one with the answers, you’ll need to learn what search engine intent and optimization are all about.

What exactly is SEO, and how can you use it to create content that boosts your web traffic? Read on to find out.

Understanding the Goals of SEO

You know that SEO stands for search engine optimization, but what exactly are you optimizing?

Are you trying to optimize the online experience so that individuals visiting your website can easily browse your content? Or are you trying to attract people to your website in the first place by having the correct type of content available? The answer is a bit of both.

Search intent optimization and SEO are the same things. They present an opportunity to direct people to your website, by knowing what readers want and need. Once people get to your website, you can provide a pleasant visit with optimized pages.

Relevant Blog Example

To help you conceptualize what SEO is all about, it helps to review a few search intent examples, specifically for blogs. Let’s say, for instance, that you own a dog grooming business. To attract visitors to your website, you could post a weekly article about dog grooming tips.

Once visitors get to your website to read the article, you’ll need to make your services available to them. However, to avoid being salesy, you’ll want to provide your services in a helpful and relevant way.

For instance, perhaps you’ll have a link within the dog grooming article that takes them to your services page. At the end of your article, you can also include a strong call to action, where you direct readers to another part of your website.

From Search Intent to Sales Opportunity

If all you have is an excellent article, but you never direct readers to what it is you’re selling, then you’re missing the point of SEO. On the other hand, if all you do is try to sell people, instead of providing them with relevant and valuable information, you’re also missing the point of SEO.

You can think of SEO as an art form. You’re trying to blend together 2 worlds; The world of sales and the world of value. By providing value, and answers, you’ll be able to rise to the top of Google rankings.

Digital marketing experts can help you with a managed SEO plan. To cut out the middle man, though, you’ll want to look for all-inclusive services. The services should be easy to find like the ones on https://www.growthfriday.com/.

When a managed SEO company can provide web audits, content creation, and on-page optimization, you’ll know you’re on the right track. You should also request detailed reports with a complete SEO analysis.

The Power of Keywords

Do you understand how powerful keywords can be for search engine optimization? The right keyword can help you boost your rankings tenfold in a matter of minutes. Whereas the wrong keyword can attract the wrong type of audience.

How do you go about finding the right keywords for your website and the content you’re putting on it? There’s a ton of tools out there to help! The best part is that many keyword research tools are free and can be perfect when you’re just starting out with SEO.

Here’s a shortlist of some of the best free keyword research tools:

• GoogleTrends
• Semrush
• Moz
• Keyworddit
• Ahrefs Keyword Explorer

Along with the keyword tools on the list above, there’s also a lot of other reputable choices you can choose from. You’ll need to do a little bit of searching so you can find the perfect keyword tool for your needs. Then you can position the keywords to create a search intent funnel.

Keyword Features and Practices

One of the features a keyword tool provides is analyzing your competition. You’ll be able to see what keywords your competitors are using and how it’s helping them rank on Google. Then you can use this information to fine-tune your own website to include the correct type of keywords.

For instance, you’re going to need long-tail keywords, short keywords, and industry-specific keywords. You’ll also get to use secondary keywords that you sprinkle throughout the content.

A common mistake that many individuals know to SEO make is keyword stuffing. You’ll want to avoid keyword stuffing since this isn’t providing value to your readers.

What exactly is keyword stuffing? It’s the bad practice of cramming in as many keywords as you can in the hopes that your article will rank.

Above all else, you should always be putting value first when creating an article or on-page content. You need to think of what the reader needs to see and how your content can help deliver it.

Keyword stuffing makes articles wordy and awkward. If your content doesn’t flow, Google’s not going to boost your rankings. Instead, you’ll need to strategically place the keywords throughout the article.

We suggest putting the primary keyword in the introduction, a header, the body of the article, and the conclusion. You can then add in the secondary keywords wherever they fit naturally.

Choosing the Right Keyword

Where exactly do keywords come from in the first place? It all has to do with the questions people are typing into Google. F

or instance, almost every day, multiple people search “how to replace asphalt shingles.” Google notices the need to answer this question, so they’ll tell their ranking algorithm to look for relevant keywords relating to the question. For instance, asphalt shingles could be a short keyword.

Whereas, “How to replace asphalt shingles” could be a long-tail keyword. You can then use keywords to maximize global and local search intent opportunities.

Let’s say you own a realty company, and you want to help homeowners learn how to make their houses valuable as possible before selling them. Any articles that would benefit homeowners would be of value to your readers.

You could search for keywords homeowners are using, to come up with a topic idea. Perhaps you’ll write a blog post about how to sell a house as is, or how to sell a house for cash. By providing these articles on your website, you’ll be able to attract the correct type of reader.

Once the reader is on your website, you can then use internal links and on-page optimization to help direct them to the service or product you offer. If you’re a realtor, you can plug your services in the conclusion. Now the readers can call you for help, or

Creating the Right Type of Written Content for SEO

Coming up with blog post ideas and content can be creatively taxing. The good news is that it gets easier with time.

According to the University of North Carolina, freewriting is a great way to help your ideas flow. In other words, plan on creating a couple of rough drafts before you have a finished article.

During the rough draft phase, you can be as free as you want, letting every sentence make it into the article. Don’t judge yourself. You can cut out the fluff during the editing phase to provide a clear and concise blog post.

Entice Readers

Understanding search intent means knowing what type of content to create. But, how can you entice busy readers to absorb all of your content?

One of the best ways to hook readers is by starting off each blog post with a strong introduction. You’ll also want to break up the entire article body by using 3 sentence paragraphs.

If your paragraphs are 5 sentences or longer, it can intimidate readers. All they’ll see is a wall of text when they want fast answers. If you’re going to rank number one, you have to give the reader what they want.

You’ll also want to include headers that are relevant and captivating. Readers should quickly scroll through the article and stop on the header with the information they want.

Using Free Resources to Improve SEO Content

You can use copywriting tricks to make your blogs captivating. There’s a lot of free writing tips and resources online that you can use when crafting blog posts.

For example, have you ever heard of the copywriting framework AIDA? The acronym stands for attention, interest, desire, and action.

If you create blog post introductions that follow the AIDA format, you’ll be able to motivate readers to keep reading. Keep in mind that when people read things on the internet, they’re usually looking for fast answers. So you’ll want to keep your blog post introduction short and sweet.

We find that a hundred words or less are the best way to go for intros and conclusions. For the attention-grabbing part of the article, use a statistic that will grab the reader’s attention.

Then you can generate interest by expanding on what that statistic means. You’ll need to connect with what the reader wants or needs for desire. What question brought them to this article in the first place?

Finally, action is where you’re going to motivate the reader to continue reading the blog so that you can fulfill their desire.

Use a Strong Call to Action to Direct Website Traffic

The introduction is what’s going to get your reader to keep reading. But it’s the conclusion that will get the reader to take an action that benefits your company.

What type of action do you want the reader to take? That’s going to depend on the nature of your business.

If you want the reader to buy something from your company, you’ll need to include an internal link that directs them to purchase. In the conclusion, you can tell the reader to reach out to you today to find out what products are right for them.

If you don’t need the reader to purchase something or sign up for something, then you’ll want them to explore the rest of your website. You can include links within the conclusion that take readers to another relevant blog post, so they can enjoy more of your content.

You could also request that the readers share your blog post. As long as your content is engaging and helpful, the readers will likely share it with friends and family. The more shares you can get on social media, the better your online presence will be.

Going Beyond Blog Posts

Optimizing your website content and creating valuable blog posts is just the start. To take your SEO game to the next level, you’ll also need to learn how to use backlinks to your advantage.

Backlinks are a part of Google’s strategy. Remember, Google cares about providing readers with the answers they’re looking for. They want the answers to be helpful, relevant, and enjoyable to read.

If you have a relatively new website, it can be difficult for Google to determine whether or not you’re providing the correct type of content. One of the fastest ways to earn Google’s trust is by having solid backlinks. You can think of backlinks as a type of networking system.

A strong backlink is like somebody’s referring you to a friend. It’s a way of letting Google know that your website is valuable to readers.

Here’s a shortlist of the different ways you can set up a backlink strategy:

• Use infographics
• Guest blogging
• Editorial backlinks
• Business profiles
• Backlink service

When you combine the strategies above, you’ll be able to improve your website’s authority at a rapid pace.

Rise to the Top

As you can see, there’s a lot that goes into understanding search intent for SEO purposes. From finding the right keywords to crafting captivating articles, you have your work cut out for you.

Try one of the free SEO tools we suggested in this article to see how you can boost your company’s online visibility. If you need expert advice, you can also reach out to an agency that specializes in SEO.

If you’re looking for more ways to get your company’s name out there, we can help. Take a look at what the rest of our website has to offer!

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Did you know that the average internet user spends more than 25% of their life on the web? If you run a business, you know the importance of digital marketing so you can reach those users.

While small business owners often start with social media marketing, you can’t underestimate the importance of SEO on your website. SEO (search engine optimization) makes your website more visible to potential customers.

When you’re ready to start utilizing SEO, it’s time to hire an SEO writer. But why would you bother hiring a professional writer when you could write content on your own?

Keep reading to learn all about the benefits of hiring a professional for your online marketing.

1. They Create Targeted Content

When you use an SEO company or freelance SEO writer for your website, you’re hiring someone who knows all about creating target content for your ideal audience.

Many new business owners who want to write their own content don’t understand the importance of a target audience. They think that they should be marketing their services or products to everyone all at once. Because of this, they don’t narrow down their content and they end up writing something that no one will ever see.

An SEO content writer knows how to avoid this problem. Once they have an understanding of what your business has to offer, they can write content that will appeal to your ideal target audience.

For example, if your business is a brewery, they’ll write content that appeals to beer lovers, even if it isn’t specifically about your business. This means that anyone looking for content about beer will find your business page (and they may turn into customers).

2. They Know All About Keywords

How much do you know about keywords and keyword research? If you’re like most people, the answer is “not much.” Business owners rarely have the time to devote to researching keywords and using them in their content.

Professional SEO writers know how to find and utilize keywords that will move your website up the ranks of Google. These keywords will also attract potential customers who are searching for relevant queries.

If your business is focusing on local customers, this is even more important. A good local SEO company understands the importance of local keywords. You want to attract people who are looking for your business in your area.

Let’s return to the brewery example. Using keywords like “beer,” “brewing,” and “brewery” is important, but a good local SEO writer also knows that you need “beer in [your city],” “best brewery in [your city],” and so on.

They’ll be able to weave these keywords into the content in ways that make sense.

They also understand that stuffing keywords into articles and landing pages isn’t effective if they don’t look natural. Inexperienced writers make the mistake of doing keyword research and then just assuming that filling the page with those keywords is the answer.

In reality, this will ward off potential customers and it isn’t great for your SEO.

3. They Understand Persuasive Writing

Most professional SEO writers have plenty of experience when it comes to writing persuasively. Most of them have gone through college (and some have post-graduate education). They’ve written enough persuasive essays to have a firm grip on how to convince a reader.

Persuasive writing isn’t as easy as it looks. It’s convincing without being pushy. It makes readers think that utilizing your products or services is their idea instead of yours.

A good writer knows how to apply ethos, pathos, and logos to craft a piece of content that will persuade readers to follow their call to action.

4. They’re They Can Make Content “Flow”

Have you ever tried to write a newsletter, article, or even a marketing email and discovered that it seemed choppy and unprofessional? Many people underestimate how difficult it can be to write something that flows! A professional writer, however, has plenty of experience in this area.

Good content is easy to read. A professional writer knows how to craft a story of sorts through articles, landing pages, and emails even if the content is technical.

You can see this clearly on recipe blogs. Those bloggers understand that good SEO requires more than a simple recipe, but fitting enough keywords into a recipe isn’t going to work.

Instead, they create a story about the recipe and incorporate content that will boost their blog up the SEO ranks. This gets them more online traffic.

Those stories matter. Simply writing pages of technical content will bore readers and send them to other websites. Technical jargon is difficult to read for non-professionals.

Flowy content that’s accessible and interesting is the best option, and a professional SEO content writer can do that with ease.

5. They Can Scout Out (and Compete With) Competitors

A good SEO content writer knows how to look at your competition and use those competitors to your advantage. They don’t imitate competitors, but they know how to use their tactics and go above and beyond.

It’s incredibly difficult to get to the front page of search engines and even harder to land the first few results. A professional content writer understands that, so they look at the competitors that are already there. What are they doing right and where could they improve?

They take that information into account when they’re writing content for your website. They aim to fill in the gaps that the competitors have left so you’re providing something new and valuable to potential website visitors.

Often, you’ll see websites that mimic other competing websites exactly. This is bad for your SEO and it looks unprofessional. It’s a clear sign that the business owner didn’t hire a professional SEO writer.

6. They Use White Hat SEO

Did you know that not all SEO is good SEO?

Good SEO is called “white hat SEO” and bad SEO is “black hat SEO.” White hat SEO is what helps you boost your website up the search engine rankings while black hat SEO may result in penalties that push your website down.

Examples of black hat SEO include keyword stuffing, unrelated keywords, unhelpful content that’s solely for SEO, and invisible text. These things show the search engine that you have no intention of providing value to viewers.

An SEO expert knows how to avoid these problems.

7. Their Services Are Scalable

So what if you don’t need a full-scale and full-time SEO writer? Small business owners don’t often have the funds to pay a writer for large amounts of content every month.

Good SEO companies and freelancers offer scalable services so that you can buy only what you need. They understand that not every business needs multiple pieces of content every week.

That said, when you’re ready to scale up, all you have to do is ask. A good SEO writer will be able to churn out more valuable content when you need it.

But what if you need more than just blog content? No problem. Good SEO companies can also help you with press releases, newsletters, emails, landing pages, and more. You can ask for the services that you need and change them as your needs change.

8. They’re Quick Writers

Professional SEO writers can write fast. That doesn’t mean that their writing is low-quality. While you may see plenty of low-quality content on the web, this is a sign that the writers aren’t true professionals.

A good SEO writer often works for several clients at once. They’ve learned how to write content quickly and effectively without sacrificing quality. Because they likely already have experience in your niche, they don’t have to waste time learning the basics.

They often have several helpful keywords already and they understand how to plan and draft a piece of writing so that the writing process itself is quick and efficient.

9. They’ll Save You Time and Energy

So why can’t you just learn all of these things on your own? Everyone learns how to write on some level when they’re in high school, so there’s no reason that you can’t put your own writing skills to the test, right?

While you can write your own content, business owners don’t have the time to do this unless they’re professional bloggers (and even professional bloggers need help sometimes).

You have so many other responsibilities that the idea of taking time away from your busy schedule to write might seem impossible. Let a professional content writer take that responsibility off of your shoulders so you can focus on running your business.

Hiring an SEO Writer Is the Best Choice

A good SEO writer can boost your business. They know all about using the right keywords to target your ideal audience, they can craft persuasive content that flows, and they have the experience to understand what can bring your SEO up or down.

Writing is a skill, so why wouldn’t you pay a professional to do it? Don’t underestimate the importance of a good SEO writer for your business.

For more helpful articles all about running a business and more, visit the rest of our site.