Everyone is on the internet. Perhaps more significantly, everyone is on search engines. With so many queries and thousands, if not millions, of results for each specific query, it’s safe to say it’s a jungle out there. One way to introduce content to the audience looking for it is via search engine optimization (SEO). Here’s more on that topic, as well as how SEO-friendly content writing services help.

What Is SEO?

A search engine isn’t of any use if it doesn’t supply people with what they’re searching for. Imagine typing in a query such as, “flower shops in Seattle” and instantly being given links to concert halls in Spokane, or greenhouses in Olympia. This is why engines such as Google crawl around collecting information about every page on the web. 

From there, the search engine uses an algorithm to decide what pages are the most appropriate responses to the query entered into the search bar by the user. These appear as search results, and those results highest in the ranking, on the first few pages, naturally get more clicks than those further back.

So how can a page work its way up the ranks? SEO. SEO techniques are put in place by content creators and web developers to hit the right marks with the engine’s algorithm. This way, that page has a better shot at placing higher in the results when certain queries are entered. 

It is estimated that Google provides results to more than 3.5 billion searches every single day. So each day, any given web page has the opportunity to get an untold amount of new visitors – provided they’ve done due diligence with respect to SEO.

How Does SEO Fit Into Content?

Not all SEO rests on the content writer. Technical SEO techniques, such as mobile friendliness, speed, and clean navigation are very valuable. Still, content writers have a whole slew of tricks they employ in the name of SEO, and it’s always changing. After all, the algorithm evolves, and SEO-friendly content-writing services must evolve with it. 

Here are a few relevant examples of how SEO currently finds a home in web content.

• Keywords. Keywords are a good place to begin, because they’re foundational to SEO, and aren’t going anywhere. Finding the right keywords is all about researching the audience, and knowing what they’ll type into the search bar. Pages that feature those keywords have a better shot at placing high in the rank. 

Today’s content writers are adept at keyword research, but it’s also a good idea to leverage analytics and draw as many conclusions from data as possible. As for keyword usage, the right writer will know where and how often to use that keyword or phrase. 

• Reading ease. The more readable a page is, the more the algorithm favors it. This means that the page content is written in a manner consistent with what the target audience would prefer. 

Additionally, the copy should be easy to understand and process. For example, a solid block of text with sentences as long as some paragraphs would not be SEO-friendly. A mix of long and short sentences, broken down into various subheadings, is best.

• Exceptional quality. There are plenty of pages out there providing the basics on every topic imaginable. Many of these pages are easy to write, and get lost in a sea of short blog posts explaining basic info. In fact, much of it isn’t very original at all, and can even be obvious rewrites of content that Google’s already seen. 

This is one reason why engines like Google are now more interested in pages that provide niche information, or more comprehensive guides. Think long-form articles sourced with quality data. When a longer piece of content is included, it demonstrates that the page has more to say on the topic than other pages do. 

• Edited work. Even if an article is pretty well-researched and contains the right keywords, it can still be knocked down due to simple mistakes. Misspellings, typos, and other errors do not serve as good SEO principles. Pieces that are not written by native speakers also might take a hit in the search rank. 

Fortunately, a lot of web content is outsourced and handled by SEO-friendly content writing services, which always include editing in their process. 

• Local focus. Mobile First, voice search, and more are changing how an audience is targeted. Anyone with a brick-and-mortar business needs SEO efforts that get the attention of those closest to them. For starters, keywords, titles, and tags used in web content would ideally include location. 

Why Hire SEO-Friendly Content Writing Services?

Some clients will write their own copy (or have a member of staff do it), and then send it off to an editor and SEO specialist from there. However, SEO-friendly content writing services can handle it all. 

That typically means that content is ready faster. How? Ultimately, that’s one of the biggest advantages of seeking people who not only write but are up to date on relevant SEO techniques. From the very start of the piece, SEO is built into the content. When editing and SEO checks occur, the piece is less likely to need a lot of revision. Deconstructing content that isn’t SEO friendly and rehabilitating it can be costly and tedious.

But some wonder if this is truly an issue at all. Modern trends clearly reflect the need for SEO. These days, most anyone who writes for the web has at least some education and experience with SEO. And isn’t that enough?

For best results, websites need more than that. When someone chooses a content writing service with special expertise in SEO, they’re choosing people who make SEO their career. No time is wasted on obsolete tactics, and the content is not filtered through a piecemeal collection of people with their own opinions on optimization.

Finally, it’s simply a more reliable way to get the right content. Clients get writers skilled in lending credibility and building authority, while the writer is automatically inserting ways to get that message to as many people as possible. Content services have a large pool of qualified professionals within their ranks, so there’s never any worry of relying on one person to save the project.