Writing SEO texts: The ultimate guide 2021
Step #1: Keyword strategy / macro strategy
The first step in creating SEO texts is to define the intention, ideally in connection with the macro strategy of the site. Because this is difficult to explain, I will give you a small example:
Of course, the primary goal of an SEO text is to rank well on Google, which is why we will take a closer look at the keyword strategy or keyword focus. A text that ranks well, however, is far from being a text that really achieves its goals.
So if I want to achieve certain company goals with a subpage, I should make sure that the text meets this company goal.
Of course, the company wants to rank for certain keywords, but above all it wants to present its own values in these texts. Therefore, an SEO text must always fit into the overall strategy of a company - mere rankings and content does not always count.
Step #2: Analyse and understand the search intention
Before we can start writing a text, we need to understand the search intention of our target keyword. The search intention is nothing more than the type of search result a user wants to see when they enter the keyword into Google. In English this is also called user intent.
The goal of our content must therefore be to satisfy the user and answer the questions he has when he enters the keyword on Google or to provide him with exactly what he wants to see.
By analyzing the search intention, two different levels practically emerge on which we should build our later text framework:
- The type of content (long text, detailed text, etc.)
- The language of the text or the content itself
While analyzing the search function, it is important to answer the following questions:
- Who is the user actually?
- What fears or worries does the user have?
- What is the user's motivation for searching for this term?
- How can the user be satisfied?
- What is the user's background?
In which stage of the customer journey is the user currently at?
Of course, Google has collected some data on this search intention over the years and therefore plays out the results for each keyword that have satisfied users in the past.
This means that if our content is structured similarly to the average result of the top 10 rankings for our focus keyword, the search intention should already be quite well met. Therefore, the first step in the search intention is that we simply enter our main keyword into Google and take a closer look at the top 10 rankings.
Why is understanding my target group so important?
It is essential to understand which users are actually searching for this keyword and what level of knowledge they have. It makes no sense to write a very specialized article if the visitor is an absolute beginner and has to learn the basics first.
If you direct your content for the exemplary text to professionals, but in reality complete beginners or newcomers to this field come to your site, they may (or even very likely) not be convinced by your content and quickly jump off.
Step #3: Competition analysis
In the third step of our preparation for the perfect SEO text, we take a close look at the content of our competitors and evaluate it by asking various questions.
The goal of this competition analysis is to find out how good our competition actually is or to find aspects that we can possibly improve in our later article.
After having looked at the contents in step 2, we now go into a deeper analysis and take a closer look at the topics.
The following questions are our guide in this step:
- What kind of content is ranked exactly?
- Which sub-topics are covered?
- Which media (videos, images, podcasts) are used?
- Are there sources? Is the text written by experts or an editorial team?
- How profoundly is the topic covered?
- Are there other patterns such as tips?
Step #4: Second competition analysis
After we got the first overview in step 3, we now go into the keywords more intensively. In the second competitive analysis, we identify the site in the top 10, which ranks for most organic keywords on Google.
This type of keyword research is called "competition-based research". It is a very powerful tool and makes sure that you discover some keywords that you did not have on your screen before.
This can be done either with the tool Ahrefs or Sistrix. Unfortunately, I don't really know any free variants for this step - but I have to say that it is not really necessary either.
Once we have found the URL that ranks in the top 100 for most organic keywords, we analyze these keywords and can later use them for the structure or body text of our article.
Once we have taken a closer look at all the competitors, the next step is to create the appropriate intersection.
Competitor A, for example, may have dealt with one sub-topic in less detail, but has much more content than competitor B for another sub-topic. Our goal is to create the perfect symbiosis of all competitors, which is why we have to create an intersection.
The larger the intersection, the more accurate the result. The more work you invest in this step, the better your later results will be.
Step #5: Identify content gaps
After we have determined the perfect intersection of our competitors, we naturally want to make sure that our content is even more detailed. For this purpose, it is a good idea to identify so-called content gaps or even content gaps.
This can again be done in different ways:
- Possibility: Manual research
- Possibility: Use autocomplete function
- Possibility: Use the help of a tool
Possibility 1 actually explains itself. One researches in the WWW until one has found further contents which could still interest the target group of the SEO text.
Possibility 2, the use of the Autocomplete function is possible with a simple Google search. Google shows further results for similar search queries both when typing in the search slot and below the respective SERP page. This makes it relatively easy to get to further content.
With option 3, various tools such as the KW Finder, Ahrefs or the keywordtool.io can be used again. These tools use a built-in autocomplete function. Ahrefs has even more profound functions.
Step #6: Create the structure of the SEO text
Now that we have completed our research for the time being, we can take care of the structure of our content in this step. For this purpose, it is advisable to create a headline structure.
This structure is the basic framework of our later SEO text. The headlines should be built in a logical order. The less important parts of our core topic should be at the end of the text.
If, for example, it is about a buying guide, questions that users ask themselves before buying a product should be placed at the top of the text. Questions that they tend to have after the purchase, such as "How do I maintain xy?", should be at the end of the text.
Once the structure of the headings is complete, we can start filling in the text. This step is perfect for outsourcing to an expert copywriter.
Step #7: The final text optimization
Once the text is written, we are of course far from perfect. With the help of various methods, such as the so-called WDF*IDF analysis, an already existing text can be further perfected.
These methods examine the semantics of our content by comparing it with keywords from other texts, for example. The goal of this text optimization is to increase the relevance of our content for individual search terms. I won't go into the technical background further at this point.
The WDF*IDF analysis is quite controversial in the SEO scene - and I am not a big fan of it either. Nevertheless, it can make sense to check your content with one or even several such tools.
Compress the contents
For me, one of the most important factors that distinguishes outstanding content from mediocre content is the density of information. Because of such "rules" like "the longer your content is, the better the ranking" many people tend to put extremely much text on a page.
For me, the last step in my text creation is therefore always compression. I try to say things that I expressed in 3-4 sentences in the first draft, now in 1-2 sentences.
Nobody wants to read any "bla bla sentences". On the internet it is important to convey information in a simple way.
I hope my text could be of help to understand the mechanics behind: Writing SEO texts: The ultimate guide 2021
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<figure class="attachment attachment-preview" data-trix-attachment="{"contentType":"image","height":100,"url":"https://media-exp1.licdn.com/dms/image/C4E03AQECVrz_jnPteQ/profile-displayphoto-shrink_100_100/0/1593968376856?e=1614211200&v=beta&t=-b3Nx-hWkkNLovRKjNTgkdZ6Atu1wvWhLMuYk7pP8-w","width":100}" data-trix-content-type="image"><figcaption class="caption"></figcaption></figure>Paulo FernandesContent Writer, Translator, and Subtitle Translator contact languageweb24@gmail.com
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