SEO Sydney, Australia (Search Engine Optimisation), Website Design & Website Audits, Web Hosting, Copywriting, & Pay Per Click Advertising

Everyone SHOULD know by now Google likes fresh, relevant content. There are many "formulas" out there about how to write an article or post which Google will want to list high up in it's results (SERPs), but I can only tell you how I write; not everyone may agree with my methods, but it works for me.

The way to obtain more traffic to your site, is to entice Google to have a love affair with your pages. Sometimes the affair may be a little rocky, and sometimes it will be WONDERFUL. But never, ever give up.

How do I write articles?

First, I think of a subject, or I'll see something which I think will make a good article. It could be something I read in Twitter, the news, or something I see in a website I think is worthy of praise, correction or review. Usually, it will be somthing I have some knowledge of; that way, the article will appear more genuine and keyword research will not be required for the article itself.

Second, I will then do some rudimentary research to see if people search for that subject, or anything related to it.

Third, once I have established a title relevant to the subject I want to write about, I will write the article.

Actual example: One day I noticed through Twitter that Tania Zaetta (TV Presenter, Actress, Model, etc.) was having trouble with Telstra's phone customer service. I tweeted to her, suggesting that she ask Telstra's Twitter account to help because I have had a positive experience dealing with them in that way previously.

Long story short, 3 hours wasted on the phone with no solution, and the problem was fixed in minutes by their Twitter team with no fuss and great customer service.

I thought there had to be an article in that somewhere, so I did a little keyword research and settled upon "How To Use Twitter" as the "parent" keyphrase.

I then wrote the article with no further keyword research. Read the full "How To Use Twitter" article.

Doing no further keyword research may seem odd to other people, and yes, even optimisers, but I find writing an article "naturally" works. If you bog yourself down in spending hours on keyword research, then agonise over keyword density, it all gets a bit too much - and dare I say, the article or post may become a little contrived.

I've read MANY articles where people have tried to over optimise a page, or not optimise at all. I ONLY research the title - that's it.

You can see the end result in the screen capture above/right.

So, MY formula is very simple:

• Research your title well - check how many people search for it versus how many results there are
• Write your article naturally - if you are writing about something you know, this should be easy
• DON'T keyword stuff - get out of the "I must use this phrase x number of times" mindset
• DO keep in mind your title - keep your article on point and relevant
• Try and keep your word count to no less than about 400 words
• Use social media to generate interest
• Use relevant images in your article
• ALWAYS use white hat SEO methods - think long term, sustainable goals
• NEVER use black hat SEO methods - unless your goal includes short term gains followed by pain
• Don't give up - article/content writing is a long term but EFFECTIVE SEO solution

Further reading:
How to write an article (more detail) | How to write a press release

As a final note, it's always a good idea to ask someone else to read your article before it goes "live". Typos are easy to make, and a fresh set of eyes (or a new idea) is always good. With that in mind, thanks to Kristin from SassySEO: @theSassySEO.

  

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