Content writing is no longer easy, especially with the new Google updates about high-quality content.
You don’t only have to surpass the competitor’s word count but also have to provide value. The content should be powerful enough to engage readers. If you have this type of content, congrats because you’ll rank on the top of search engines. But if not, you need this guide.
I’ll be sharing my 5+ experiences in content creation below. I’ll discuss the 7 best practices that I follow to write blogs and articles. So let’s read about it.
7 Content Writing Best Practices as Told by Experts
Here are the 7 best content writing tips to generate content that wins the audience’s heart and beats competitors.
1- Understand Keyword & It’s Intent
Not everyone talks about the keyword intent, but it’s important when producing great content. Remember, the purpose of content is to provide answers to solve the searcher’s problem. You can’t solve the problem unless you understand the question and the purpose of the query.
Always understand the keyword and its intent for effective content writing. If you’re targeting keywords like “best gaming chairs under $100,” which is a commercial keyword. It means the user is ready to buy and just wants suggestions for chairs. So, for this commercial keyword, don’t give general info about why gaming chairs are important, etc, because that’s not what users want.
You can add a buying guide about what type of chair is the best, but that too in brief. 90% of your content should be about the “solution,” which suggests the best gaming chairs that come under $100.
2- Analyze Competitors
After understanding keyword intent, add the step of analyzing competitors to your content strategy.
The biggest mistake writers make is they think analyzing competitors’ content is all about reading the main headings and checking the overall word count. In reality, you should focus more on how good the article is and what the issues are in the content.
Follow the good points of the competitors to produce engaging content, find out the mistakes, and ensure you don’t repeat them in your article.
For example, you can cover any relevant headings that are important, but your competitors haven’t written about them. That way, you’ll provide a reason to rank your website content on Google.
3- Do Research
The next important part of content production is the research. It’s not wrong to say that research is the backbone of whether you’re writing a short blog post or long-form content. The mistake the content writers made is they just read the top-ranking articles and paraphrase them. If you do this, Google will never rank your content on search engines. So, do the research like this:
- Read competitor’s content just to get an idea of what’s ranking on top.
- Find questions that users are looking for answers to.
- Do research separately for each heading.
- Use platforms like Quora, Reddit and different forums to get info.
- Read or watch expert interviews.
- Take your content to a new level by adding facts.
- Use websites like Wikipedia, Statista, Google Scholar, and ResearchGate to find facts.
4- Generate Outline
Once you’re done with analyzing your competitors and researching the topic, create a final outline for the blog. Ensure your outline covers the blog topic properly and answers all user questions.
Don’t forget to add relevant questions from the “People also ask” section and the “Related searches.” Keep in mind that it’s not important to add every keyword you see in the “Related Searcher”; just cover those related to your blog posts.
5- Create Good Content [Add Value to User’s Life]
Now comes the content writing process, which is a crucial part. You need to make content that people like to read. It should be interesting, easy to understand, and give useful information. Here are some set of tips that can help you write the best piece of content.
- Use simple words and short sentences like professional content writers.
- Don’t write paragraphs longer than 3 lines.
- Add real-life examples to make the content relatable.
- Write content that resonates with the audience; don’t write for the search engine.
- Your content should always have pictures or videos.
- Stick to the point: Google doesn’t like fluff content, nor do users.
- Make your content skimmable.
- Add FAQs at the end of your content.
6- Create SEO Content
The sixth step is to optimize your content. But remember, I’m not discussing the old SEO optimization techniques; they do more harm than benefit. The best is to spend some time reading your content, make it helpful as much as possible, and then make a few changes for SEO.
- Write a catchy (not clickbait) title in up to 55 characters.
- Write meta descriptions for up to 155 to 160 characters.
- Add semantic keywords in the content.
- Ensure that your content isn’t keyword-stuffed.
- Add interlinks or external links to the relevant articles.
- Format your article properly with heading tags.
- Do image optimization.
Tip: You can also use SEO writing assistant plugins like Yoast or Rankmath for content optimization.
7- Edit, Edit & Edit
Lastly, edit, edit, and edit your content. You should at least proofread your blog posts three times to produce high-quality content. The first time is to check whether the content is in flow or not, the second time is to remove fluff content, and the third time is to check grammar. This is the three-step content checklist I follow while editing every piece of content of my blog.
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Final Words
I’ve shared the 7 tips to help you improve your writing skills and produce quality content that wins the user’s heart. Remember, it’s all about making your writing interesting, clear, and useful. Use simple words, know your audience, and don’t forget to grab attention from the start.
Happy writing!
