SEO Best Practices

When it comes to content writing, people don’t want to just be sold to. They want to be given a reason to become an advocate of your brand. Your website visitors, social followers, and readers are more likely to do business with brands that are trustworthy and relatable to them. 

To captivate your audience, you’ll want to provide a variety of content to match exactly what they are looking for.   Your content writing should be clear, straight to the point, and captivating to the reader.  Thankfully there’s a format for that.  

These three key things will help you format content writing for both your readers and your SEO efforts. To format for SEO, follow these simple steps:

Use The Inverted Pyramid Style For Optimal SEO Results

Recommended by Yoast SEO, the Inverted Pyramid is a writing style commonly used by journalists. This is where you put your key points in the first paragraph and work to draw the interest of readers. 

One of the most common mistakes writers make is that they leave key points late in their content. Readers today don’t have the time to goose chase the main points in the article. The best content is easily understood by simply scanning the text.  If a reader can derive value from the content by scanning the text, the reader will be compelled to stay on the page and read more in-depth.  This is the job of the content writer.  This is why writers should use this style to get readers to know what you’re about.

Check Text Structure To Format For SEO

Another key aspect of content writing is checking to ensure that your text structure is easy to read. We will use Yoast SEO’s  three steps here to help guide you.:

Make Your Paragraph Structure Clear

To have clear paragraphs, work to form a thematic unit with one core sentence followed by elaborating that sentence. Also, make sure your paragraphs are less than 3-5 sentences long. This is important to know when writing for websites whether it be blog content or Guest Articles. Through each of these steps, continue using the inverted pyramid style and include plenty of white space – short sentences and spacing between paragraphs – to ensure your content is readable and easy to digest. 

Use Transition Words

As used to score posts at Creatives Scale, it is advised that you use transition words to show readers the connection between sentences and paragraphs. Transition words should be the start of a new sentence.  The purpose of transition words is to continue your thought in short, concise sentences without creating long, run-on text.

Transition words are helpful when summarizing, comparing, or concluding points. Examples of this include the word “too” to summarize, “less than” to compare, and “thus” to conclude. No doubt transition keywords help make things clear for you and your readers.  

Use Headings & Subheadings To Help Guide Your Readers

Headings are crucial in helping readers scan through your text while deciding whether to continue reading on. Headings and subheadings need to attract the readers’ attention while describing what the paragraph(s) are about. 

Work to have headings above each paragraph or series of paragraphs with similar topics. Make sure that your structure is smooth and easy to understand.   Good headers explain the topic without further reading needed.  This helps guide the reader into reading information that is necessary for their research. 

Here are some Heading organization best practices to format for SEO:

• Only the title of the post should be an H1 / Heading 1
• Each post should have a minimum of three H2 / Heading 2 headers
• H2 / Heading 2 headers should include keywords where possible and when they can be used naturally
• H2 / Heading 2 headers should summarize their respective section of text
• H3 / Heading 3 subheadings should only be nested within an H2 / Heading 2 to keep with the heading hierarchy
• Headers should never include a link

By following these steps, you’ll improve readability and will give your readers clear knowledge of what you’re all about. This will help your SEO efforts in return as well.

Use Stories To Relate To Your Readers

Perhaps the most important piece in formatting content writing is storytelling. 

We all love a good story, especially personal experiences that are relatable to others. Whether in blog posts or on product pages, including stories like that will help attract reader interest big time. These kinds of stories help others remember your message more easily and may even inspire them to take action. This is indeed a great way to improve brand recognition and increase organic search traffic by creating more interest in blog posts.

Quality Content Writing That Resonates Is The Key To Success

In conclusion, formatting content writing in ways that are organized, relatable, and to the point will help attract readers’ interest. In return, you will see your SEO efforts improve over time. 

Creatives Scale offers freelance, gig-economy opportunities for online content writing and marketing specialists. To put your SEO content formatting to the test and start a career in SEO Writing, visit our Freelance Signup page to learn more.

Don’t worry if you didn’t pass the writing sample test on your first try. Passing the writing sample test can be tricky. In just 24 hours, you can retake it. But use that time wisely so that you gain a better understanding of the best practices for writing captivating online content. 

Below are some tips to help you knock it out of the park on your rewrite.

Write About What You Know

It is much harder to write convincing copy about a subject on which you know virtually nothing than it is to write about what you already know and understand. If the topic is unfamiliar, take the time to do some basic research on your topic so you can write knowledgeably about it.

Review the Information

On the left side of your Writing Sample Test, there is important information included about the topic request and details about the company. Make sure to work this information into the sample that you write.  Add the information naturally for the best results.

Use an Outline Format

As you write, use an outline format with no fewer than three sections included in the body. This makes your piece look organized and adds clarity. Your copy should never appear cluttered or assembled hastily and out of order.

Use Short Sentences & Scannable Paragraphs

If you want to catch and keep your readers’ attention, short paragraphs comprised of succinct sentences are the way to go. Writing in this style ensures that readers at any level can understand what it is you are writing about.  Readability and scannability of text are big perks of creating captivating text.  If someone can scan your writing and find the answer they are looking for, they will be encouraged to continue reading into the details.

Write Freely

Ideally, writing is something that you enjoy doing. Otherwise, there are other careers that you may want to investigate. So, don’t be afraid to show off your writing chops!

The Checklist Has To Be Complete

Utilize the Checklist beneath the Writing Sample Test.  Every item of the checklist has to be complete in order to pass as SEO Writing.  Once items are complete or included in your writing, the checklist items will turn green. This lets you know that you can submit your writing sample.

Know What Your QA Editor Is Looking For

A small section within this same checklist will explain to you what a QA Editor will be reviewing in your writing.  Use this section as the barometer for whether or not your submission is ready to send.  

Review Your Copy

No matter what you write, never, ever hit the submit button until you have proofread your copy for glaring mistakes and typos. You also want to make sure that it “flows” well, so watch for awkward transitions and other problems that can affect its readability.

We Recommend Using Grammarly 

Even if you think your copy is perfect and there are no mistakes, you still need to download the free Grammarly app and run it through before you submit it. Grammarly can catch mistakes that you never knew that you made.

Here are some additional blog posts we recommend reading as a new content writer or before taking the Sample Writing Test again.

• What Is SEO Content & How Does Creatives Scale Support SEO Writing?
• How To Format Content Writing For SEO
• Content Writing: The Difference Between Blog Posts, Guest Articles, & Web Copy
• What Do QA Editors Review For Each Topic

All set? Get ready to hit submit and launch the writing career that you have always dreamed of having! Passing the writing sample test is just a hurdle. Now it is time for the race! To get started, sign up for Creatives Scale here.

You’re ready to put your writing skills into action as a freelancer, but there’s a dizzying array of terms out there for the work your clients want. When you don’t understand what you’re being asked to produce, you (and your clients) will end up feeling frustrated and wasting time. That’s never good for business.

Blog posts, guest articles, web copy: What’s the difference? Here is the breakdown of what you need to know about each type of content:

Blog Posts

The more content a company publishes that’s relevant to their customers, the more traffic they can ultimately attract to their website. SEO Writing is about more than traffic, however.  Writing for SEO means the searchable content you have created matches the expectation of the user.  In other words, when they find your blog post – they want to stay!  Readers will not just visit your site.  Readers will stick around, read, and read more!  Great SEO Content Creators go behind simply stuffing keywords into a blog post.  They take the time to be informative, share accurate information, and ensure the blog post is easy to read.  Great writers know just where and when to add a little personality!

Since gaining organic search traffic is the goal, blog posts need to be both informative and interesting; the kind of material that people search for on the web when they have a question, are trying to solve a problem, or just want to learn something new about a specific topic.

Engage the readers and fulfill a need. Keep the content clear and concise, but always emulate the tone of your client’s voice. Look to their existing website for clues about the language they use, whether it’s formal or informal, in first person or third, and what approach they seem to take to their business. 

Guest Articles

Guest blogging helps a client build awareness and credibility within their industry. These articles are published on third-party sites and generally talk about a client and what that client does. Proper Guest Articles are written with a more professional, journalistic flair.  Often the content comes across more like a magazine article or an interview.  Guest Articles are more like news reports and less like personal blog posts.  

While the goal is still to provide engaging content that captures the reader’s attention, this type of writing is more journalistic and professional overall.  Guest Articles are never written in first-person or stylized with personality. Use direct quotes from your clients by researching existing content, find and quote statistics that support your point. When quoting the client or sharing a hard statistic from the client’s website, make sure that the article links back to the client’s homepage. This ensures that the link will always be live and exist.  Specific links, such as blog posts, may change over time resulting in the loss of a link-credit for the client.

Some best practices for Guest Articles include minimum linking.  Such as with any SEO Writing, there should never be a link in the first paragraph, in header text, or more than one link within a paragraph section.  However, Guest Articles also do not include hard call-to-action text that comes across as self-promoting or sales-oriented like a blog post or web copy would.  Guest Articles remain informative and share only one or two links throughout the entire article, both to the client’s homepage.

Website Copy

These are the words that actually appear on your client’s website, so they always need to be professional, informative, and easy to follow. You want readers to find exactly what they need with just a glance. This is an element of writing that coincides with user-experience.  Writing for web copy is short, sweet, and to the point.  Writing for web copy includes button text and directions for call-to-action statements.

Since a website has mere seconds to capture a visitor’s interest, the content needs to be as scannable as possible. Put the most important information first, add bullet points to deliver information quickly, pay attention to your keywords, and use subheadings that communicate exactly what information the reader will find in each section. Make sure that you include a clear call-to-action on each page that tells people what to do next.

Now that you know where to start, it’s time to start writing. Check out CreativesScale.com to learn more.

Have you asked yourself what it takes to stand out in today’s online world? To answer that, you can with what we like to call SEO Content. You’re probably wondering what SEO Content is and how it compares to other types of writing. In this article, we’ll discuss these topics and what Creatives Scale does to provide you with a strategy for a quality writing experience.

What Is SEO Content?

If you want to rank high in the search engines, you’re going to need SEO Content that stands out. SEO Content is content that is designed to rank in search engines like Google and Bing. Blog posts, product pages, landing pages, and videos can qualify to be known as SEO Content.

How Is SEO Content Different From Other Writing?

Unlike other types of writing, SEO Content is made around a proven SEO framework. You can write the best piece in the world but it won’t rank without a variety of ranking factors. Some of these factors are included below. Ranking in SEO refers to a website’s position in the search engine results page. To succeed with SEO Content, here are some tips to help your content rank:

1. Know your target audience & their interests.
2. Do keyword research.
3. Write an engaging meta title & description.
4. Make your content visually appealing for great reader experience.

By following these tips, you will have content that will rank while you also attract interest from your audience. Keeping reading to see how Creatives Scale helps do some of the work for you!

What Does Creatives Scale Provide For A Quality Writing Experience?

Creatives Scale provides primary keywords to focus on throughout content and alternate, halo keywords to utilize for a variation of keywords within your topic. 

Creatives Scale provides a framework for each content writing order. Whether blog posts, guest articles, or web copy, Creatives Scale already provides the strategy for you.  That strategy includes:

• Suggested Topic
• Keywords to improve search
• Client details 
  • Company Name
  • Company URL
  • About Company
  • Business Type
  • Target Audience
  • Do Not Mention – Competitors 
  • and more!

To get started with ensuring that you’re writing the best piece of SEO content, follow these steps:

1. Write an outline.
2. Jump into your first draft by writing what you know & doing the research required to fill In any gaps.
3. Research only from quality websites with statistics posted within the last 12 months.
4. Link any quotes stats to the original source & ensure that it doesn’t come from a competitor of the client you are writing for (See: Competitors list on each individual order page).
5. Edit your draft before submitting it.
6. Upload your post.

For an added perk, we recommend that you download and use Grammarly to help you make your writing top quality.

Quality SEO Content Helps You Grow For The Better

Without a doubt, SEO Content is how you increase your presence toward search engines and your ideal audience. SEO Content helps entice readers to learn more and eventually, take action. Through the framework Creatives Scale provides you with, you’ll successfully develop high-quality SEO content. 

Sign up today and join the most exclusive group of writers and marketing specialists. With Creatives Scale, you’ll have all you need to grow and develop your creative freelance career in one place.

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