Late last year I put together a list of 9 steps for better article writing which you should review if you’re writing content for article sites.
This week, I’d like to build upon that content and look at how you can compile SEO friendly web pages and articles for your affiliate site. In the original article, I listed the following steps:
Step 1 – Choosing your topic
Step 2 – Introducing your content
Step 3 – Covering your main points
Step 4 – Writing your conclusion
Step 5 – Inserting an anchor text hyperlink
Step 6 – Filling out the signature / offer box
Step 7 – Writing the Headline
Step 8 – Check your work
Step 9 – Submitting your Article
Obviously some steps such as the signature/offer box may not apply to your own website but the rest of the process does.
A good article should follow some sort of structure. For example, it should at least have a beginning, a middle and an end or conclusion. We all know the effect of “To be continued” when we’re watching a particularly stressful TV episode. It’s best not to leave your readers hanging by not concluding your…
A Basic Article Writing Framework
This is the basic article writing framework that I previously suggested you can use if you don’t have one that you follow. I find it very useful when I’m having a hard time getting under way.
Headline
Introduction
Point 1- Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Point 2 – Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Point 3 – Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Point 4 – Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Conclusion
Signature box
An SEO Webpage / Article Writing Framework
For SEO purposes I like to adjust that a little so that it looks a little more like this:
Headline containing main keyword phrase
Introduction (start paragraph with main keyword phrase)
Sub headline 1 – Uses keyword variation 1
Point 1- Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Sub headline 2 – Uses keyword variation 2
Point 2 – Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Sub headline 3 – Uses keyword variation 3
Point 3 – Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Sub headline 4 – Uses keyword variation 4
Point 4 – Idea 1, idea 2, idea 3
Conclusion (end paragraph with main keyword phrase)
This layout more specifically focuses on the keywords which you are trying to rank for and ensures that they are incorporated into the text in all the SEO “expert” recommended places.
Improving Readability and SEO Friendliness
Don’t just sit down and start writing. Take time to plan your article before you start typing. I prefer to make notes for each of the headlines, sub headlines, points, and ideas. By writing these first, you will complete much of your writing before you actually start. All you need to do then is build in more detail by writing 2 or 3 sentences about each point in your list.
Within your article, there are a few steps that you can also take to improve the content to make it more search engine friendly but also human friendly. These include:
H Tags
The key to a good readable article is to break it down into easily scanned sections. People tend to scan an article with their eyes to get the gist of your writing before they dig into the content.
This is to find the section that they’re after to get the overall idea of your content. One thing’s for sure, using H1, H2, H3 tags to build headings and sub-headings into your writing improves the readability on screen.
Always use a H1 heading, because it’s the highest rated, for your article title or headline. Use H2 and H3 for sub headlines depending on their importance. Sometimes your choice may be affected by the site’s CSS. Not all designers think about the SEO importance of headings when building websites. For example, I’ve seen H4 headings that were bigger than H2 headings.
Keyword use through your content
Using your keywords throughout your content is necessary, but only very occasionally. You’re better using terms that support your topic. For example, if you’re writing an article about chocolate frogs you might use words like candy, sugar, sweet, carob, Freddo, confectionery and Cadbury. These build context and support your main keyword.
If you are going to insert your main keywords anywhere, start your first paragraph and end your last paragraph with them.
Keyword density
There is a range of views on keyword density but I personally try to keep under 2% to 4%. Once you get above this, your article starts to make less sense to human readers and, as you’re trying to get them to buy from your link, that’s not a clever move.
In text links
Text links within your article play an important part in SEO. Linking off to related articles helps your readers dig into more specific information and Google seems to like it when you link out to expert sources. You should also consider a keyword text link to another page or the homepage of your own site. Anchor text links have always been valuable, as has the process of cross linking within a website.
Pulling It All Together
If you consider this framework plus the readability and SEO tips when you sit down to add a new page to your website, you should be able to consistently write interesting content that will appeal to your visitors as well as the search engines.
Make a point of writing for your audience first and the search engines second. If you worry too much about what Google wants, you can end up with content that no one enjoys reading and a site that really doesn’t encourage repeat visitors.
Too many affiliates write content just for the sake of making pages for the search engines to index. Don’t be one of these people. Please produce content that enriches the knowledge of people who visit your site and helps to answer the search that brought them to you in the first place. After all, we all use the search engines to find what we need and no one enjoys ending up on a page of garbled text.
Don’t want to write your own content or don’t have time?
We recommend using the services of Content Kingdom. They’ll help you to improve the results of your online marketing by giving you access to original, custom written, keyword optimized articles ready for your websites, blogs, press releases, and article marketing any time you need it.