SEO Content: A Brief Overview

Writing about your business sounds easy right?

Simply tell your story, write short promotional offers, and be clear about your products or services.

In theory, yes. But for SEO (search engine optimization), it’s a little more complicated.

You can use the basic SEO practices for creating any online post for your business. SEO should be designed to be read by Google and your clients. This will ensure the post is interesting to readers and informative to Google so they can rank attach search terms to your business. You can post this content to your Google My Business profile, social media accounts, blogging sites, or website. The general rules of SEO writing will apply in the same way.

But how does Google read your content?

Basically, their “robots” scan your page and extract key words and phrases that help them understand what it is you do. These robots read much faster than humans but require a more straightforward approach to language. If your site’s content is too confusing, Google’s bots might not know what services your offer and you won’t rank well online.

However, SEO content writing fixes this problem. The goal of this writing style is to make your content legible for both Google’s bots and real human clients. I do this in a few different ways, but the most important aspects we’ll talk about today are keywords and phrasing.

What is a keyword?

A keyword is just a word or phrase that is important to your industry. For example, an important keyword for an auto shop would be “auto repairs.” While “repairs” on its own is important, most people using Google are going to search for “auto repairs” or “car repairs” so that their search results are more specific and so that Google only presents them with repairs for cars, not “repairs” in general.

Keywords can be a single word (which are easy to add into content) or they can be “long-tail keywords” which is a group of words or phrases. These are more difficult to weave into content in a way that is legible by both Google and your clients.

Keyword: “auto repairs”

Long-Tail Keyword: “affordable auto repairs Kansas City”

Long-tail keywords have a lower search volume, but they also have a higher chance of getting you found by an interested customer.

Phrasing

So why does Google care about phrasing and verbiage? After all, if the important keywords are in the paragraph, Google should be smart enough to read them all, right? Unfortunately, that’s not the case. Google wants to match your content to exact searches made by Google users in your area.

Think about what you type into Google. Is it long, flowing paragraphs, or is it simple, focused queries?

In most cases, it is the latter.

Here’s an example of what I mean. Imagine you’re writing a post for your GMB account or social media profile. Instead of writing “At our Cincinnati, OH location, we offer auto repairs” you should write “We offer auto repairs in Cincinnati, OH.”

You do this because many more people will search for “auto repairs in Cincinnati, OH” than they would “Cincinnati, OH location, we offer auto repairs.”

In short, SEO content is like a matching game.

What do local Google users in your area search for, and how can it be added to your content so you get found? You want to stick to exact phrasing whenever possible so that you have a higher chance of getting found for specific queries.

But how do you know what people are searching for online? A professional marketing agency can do all the heavy lifting for you through keyword research, search trends, and insights into your local competitors.

Brand Image and Tone

But, what about my brand’s image?

Of course, I take this into account when writing. As an SEO content writer, I want you to appear professional to potential clients, and I want them to be able to read your content without guessing what your services are.

That being said, the #1 goal of content posting is to get you found for specific words and phrases. These phrases have to be together or you won’t be found for them.

In most cases, it is better to sacrifice a “nice writing style” or “eloquent phrasing” for the writing style that will be easily legible by Google and customers. Most readers won’t even notice the difference.

Conveniently, SEO content is often written very simply and clearly, which is beneficial to both the reader and Google. I choose to use language that mirrors what people search on Google to get more customers. That might not always be the most reader-friendly content, but it’s the best choice for your online profile.