11 Tips From Semalt On How To Write SEO Texts

10 Content Optimization Tips To Improve Results | SEO Setups

SEO texts are characterized by the fact that they are readable not only for users, but also understandable for Google robots. Read how to write SEO texts to regularly increase the visibility of your website! 

Regardless of whether you are the owner of a service website, personal website, or online store, work in the marketing department, or are drawn to starting your adventure with positioning, SEO copywriting is a topic that you must be familiar with. So, get a notebook in your hand and get as much from this entry as possible! ? After reading, you will be ready to create - or commission - your first SEO text.

SEO texts - how are they different from regular texts?

SEO texts, in fact, represent any content that has been optimized for the requirements of search engines (usually Google). So they are not united by the subject - they can be texts about everything, placed in any corner of the web - but the form. We will come back to optimization in a moment. Let's see now which texts can be good examples of SEO texts.
  • Texts on websites. Both offer and marketing (thus also aimed at selling the product) and informational (e.g. describing a specific service, its course, price, or effects).
Their nature does not matter much, as we wrote above - for the content to qualify as SEO, it must meet certain optimization requirements.

So the SEO text on your website can be:
  • Description of the home page (preferably containing information about your business and links to specific thematic or product categories).
  • Description of the subpage/page of the category (that is, a description of a group of products, services, or articles with a similar theme or purpose, such as "living room sofas", "summer beauty treatments," or "fantasy books").
  • Product/service descriptions (i.e. descriptions of specific products - physical or not - that you sell).
  • Blog articles. Is every SEO text a text that, on average, still looks like an article and is filled to the brim with key phrases? The realities of the internet can be overwhelming, but no, you can still create good articles that will still be valuable from a ranking perspective. How? Read on, we'll let you in on the secret ?.
  • Sponsored articles and content. These will be, for example, guest content on an industry blog or paid entries on a thematic portal. These can be both advice articles as well as interviews or reviews.
  • Social media content. So how is it with these social networks, are they worth SEO in the end or not? We always say "yes", although our arguments are less obvious than you expect since only a few people appreciate the true potential of SEO that social media brings.
But if every page has some text, but not every page is SEO text, where is the difference?

SEO texts and regular texts for websites - the most important difference

SEO texts are search engine-optimized content. Not all web content was created consciously in the rules governing the world of positioning.

Remember, however, that optimization is not everything - they still have to give value to the user, not only from a UX point of view but also because Google simply pays attention to the engagement of the recipient. So what you create, you do for the user, but moreover... also for Google.

They differ from other content precisely by taking into account the requirements of search engines, namely the form and certain technical requirements, which we will discuss later (for example, the use of key phrases, H2 headings, or alternative texts in graphics separating the text).

It's very simple: by writing in such a way that the search engine can also read your content and evaluate it correctly, you gain more recipients in the group of your potential customers. 

How to write SEO texts? 11 tips to get you started

The Art of Writing: How to Create Content Like a Pro

1. First: don't overdo it

Let's start with this! Once you know all the ingredients of a good SEO text, you may be tempted to use them 100%, even 200%, but we definitely advise you to take a few deep breaths and restore some common sense. First of all, optimize carefully, do not send the text full of key phrases, because it will not do you good - customers will have enough, and Google will find you unreliable.

Keep all the knowledge you learn, but use it wisely.

2. Trust your data

Use the information collected by tools such as Google Analytics or other applications that collect data about your recipients, like the Dedicated SEO Dashboard. They will help you identify the needs of your target group and operate more effectively. The power of data!

3. Update your content regularly

Make sure that the SEO texts on your website are always up to date. In the descriptions of the categories, do not let any products that are no longer available appear, and quickly refresh the articles from 2019 so that they don't scare away ?.

Content updates are not only allowed but also advisable - don't be afraid to add new information, relevant fixes, and new optimizations (e.g. after changing algorithms or when you learn something new about SEO).

Google likes new things, so it's time to do a general cleanup on your blog.

4. Carry out a thorough key phrase analysis

As you know, key phrases are used to make the website visible in the search engine to the right audience. So you have to consider what query the user has to type on Google to find your text. Here we will suggest which tools to use when analyzing key phrases: 

5. Don't neglect readability

In the pursuit of perfect SEO, do not miss the most important goal, i.e. creating good, readable text. Remember that pleasant UX content will have a positive impact on the position of the website in search engines. So what do you have to bear in mind? What should a good SEO text contain?
  • Clear headings - necessarily larger than the rest of the text.
  • Short paragraphs - a few lines look much better than a dozen! Remember that modern internet users have a very short attention span. Don't challenge them - say no to walls of text.
  • Bold important parts of the text - underline what is most important to the user: interesting insights, key conclusions, and good tips, for example.
  • Highlights in the form of tables, quotes, etc. - if possible, make the text as interesting as possible. Break the paragraphs with comparison tables, add quotes from specialists and be creative in it.
  • Bullets - we like bullets, checklists, and exchanging. Go ahead and add them to your texts to keep the user's attention.

6. Remember about headers (H2, H3)

Google likes when everything is in order. Then the robots will easily find themselves on the page and assess what its key content is. 

You can help them with this by using the appropriate grading of headings with the tags H2 and H3 (leave H1 for the product name or the title of the article). In H2, use key phrases, and use H3 to improve the legibility of the text.

7. Select the appropriate text length

Our most universal rule, proven in dozens if not hundreds of cases, is that when it comes to text length, a lot depends on external factors. Therefore, we try not to set one rigid standard for the length of the description of a category, product, or page. We noticed, however, that the longer the text is, the better the subpage ranks thanks to it. So remember, if you can squeeze as much out of the text as possible.

8. Weave natural key phrases

Earlier, we wrote about the analysis of phrases, now it's time to deal with keyword stuffing once and for all, i.e. a common and very unfavorable positioning phenomenon in the SEO world.

Keyword stuffing is an excessive saturation of text with key phrases, which makes the texts unreadable, and Google can mark the website as spam.

Remember to use common sense and tool tips that will tell you how many times a phrase may appear in an SEO text of a specific length. The most important thing is that the text looks natural and fulfills all its most important functions, e.g. information, advertising, or sales.

9. Make sure you have internal linking

One of the most important features of a good SEO text is its optimization for internal linking. Depending on the content we are talking about, links can appear there in various forms.

In category descriptions, we most often find anchors on key phrases related to given products/services/categories, while on product pages in online stores, it is common to link in photos or in the form of "See also" or "Other customers also bought" tiles.

10. Uniqueness is the key!

Remember not to copy content from other websites (even if they are, for example, product descriptions from the manufacturer). What's more, we also do not recommend duplicating descriptions within your own website - this means that each category, service, and, finally, even each product should have a separate SEO description, all due to the specificity of Google algorithms, in particular the Panda algorithm.

Let's summarize: the SEO text will not be the book description copied from the publisher's website. It will be a self-created - at least paraphrased - description in which you will take into account all good SEO practices, such as internal linking, optimization for key phrases, or the right selection of headlines.

11. Be linguistically correct

While the missing commas will be forgiven by Google and the reader, more serious linguistic errors (especially spelling and stylistic errors) may affect the success of your content. Nobody wants to read poorly written, incorrect SEO texts that are full of stumbles and inaccuracies. Be above that and take care of your great, fast-paced, enjoyable content writing style.

Summary: How to write SEO texts? 

Finally, let's collect in one place what should be a good SEO text. And you know what? To make it easier for you, we will do it in the form of a list - exactly as recommended in the article!

What a good SEO text should contain:
  • H2, H3 headings with key phrases;
  • optimization elements for key phrases also in a continuous text (highlights);
  • legible structure: short paragraphs, cutscenes (e.g. quotes, tables, infographics), listing and bullet items;
  • internal linking;
  • naturally interwoven key phrases (used in the text after appropriate keyword analysis);
  • up-to-date, unique content.
Good luck in creating successful SEO texts!