Writing For SEO

Writing for SEOLaura CreekmoreDirector of Taxonomy and Content Strategy@lauracreekmore

Agenda Intros SEO basics for 2020 Writing for SEO 101 Practice Building structure for SEO Practice Resources@lauracreekmore

SEO Basics for 2020

SEO Basics for 2020 How search technology works The role of writing The role of content structure Beware the snake oil Table stakes before shiny objects@lauracreekmore

How Search Engines Work Crawling the webSEO Basics for 2020: How search technology works

How Search Engines Work Crawling the web Evaluating pagesSEO Basics for 2020: How search technology works

SEO Basics for 2020: How search technology works

How Search Engines Work Crawling the web Evaluating pages Ranking the results Structuring the resultsSEO Basics for 2020: How search technology works

SEO Basics for 2020: How search technology works

On-Site Search Technology@lauracreekmore Type of indexing may differ Control weighting, results Define recommended results Define internal SERPs Go deeper with search analyticsSEO Basics for 2020: How search technology works

The Role of Writing Writing is the raw material Write for your audience Headlines, URLs, good contentSEO Basics for 2020: The role of writing@lauracreekmore

SEO Basics for 2020: The role of writing

@lauracreekmoreGreat Writing for SEO Is Great Writing Audience understanding Business goals Draft Review structure, audience language Edit Publish ReviewSEO Basics for 2020: The role of writing

Structure Supports the Story@lauracreekmore Highly structured content supports reading Aim for narrative and structure Avoid formulaic structureSEO Basics for 2020: The role of content structure

Structure Connects to Code@lauracreekmore Highly structured content is easier for computers toread Structured content aligns with semantic tags H1 tags, URLs, schema.org markup tagsSEO Basics for 2020: The role of content structure

Structure Reduces Liability@lauracreekmore Manage topics and data efficiently Manage changes effectivelySEO Basics for 2020: The role of content structure

@lauracreekmoreStructure Enables Advanced Tech Voice skills Chatbots AI More!SEO Basics for 2020: The role of content structure

Don’t Be Fooled Bad linking practices – you can’t fake it Keyword stuffing – don’t bother Paying a scammy providerSEO Basics for 2020: Beware the snake oil@lauracreekmore

First Things First@lauracreekmore Make sure your site is mobile-optimized Create great content Often For your audienceSEO Basics for 2020: Table stakes before shiny objects

Writing for SEO 101

Writing for SEO 101 Define the audience Find the keywords The longer tail, the better for popular topics Write a great piece Headlines URLs Write again often@lauracreekmore

Writing Fails Creating clickbait Thinking short-term Overly chummy, fake blogging style Pageviews over value@lauracreekmore

Writing for SEO 101 Define the audience Find the keywords The longer tail, the better for popular topics Write a great piece Headlines URLs Write again often@lauracreekmore

Practice

Assignment: Christmas Trees@lauracreekmore Imagine you work for Balsam Hill, the purveyor ofhigh-end artificial Christmas trees. You’d like to create a website that drives organictraffic to your site year-round – and drives sales.Discuss: Expected audience and business strategy.

Assignment: Christmas Trees@lauracreekmoreWrite: Draft an article pitch for the Balsam Hill blog.Pitch includes: Headline [Tip: Write this next to last.] URL [Tip: Write this last.] Lead paragraph Summary of audience, topic, how the piece will fulfillaudience need, how the piece fulfills company need.[Tip: Write this first.] Expected keywordsEmail to laura.creekmore@syndigo.com

Critique

Assignment: Tech Support@lauracreekmore Imagine you work for Dell Technologies. You’d like to create a website that drives organictraffic to your site – and drives sales.Discuss: Expected audience and business strategy.

Assignment: Tech SupportWrite: Draft an article pitch for the Dell website.Pitch includes: Headline [Tip: Write this next to last.] URL [Tip: Write this last.] Lead paragraph Summary of audience, topic, how the piece will fulfillaudience need, how the piece fulfills company need.[Tip: Write this first.] Expected keywordsEmail to laura.creekmore@syndigo.com@lauracreekmore

Critique

Building Structure for SEO

Kinds of Content Structure External System Internal@lauracreekmore

Taxonomy, Tags, Links@lauracreekmore Website structure can make it easier to find andindex your pages Use audience language keywords in category names,tags, links Never say “Click here” or “read more”Building Structure for SEO: External

External Structures

URLs, HTML tags, schema.org Write your best keywords into the URL And your H1 tags Use HTML tags correctly Look for additional semantic structureBuilding Structure for SEO: System@lauracreekmore

System Structures

@lauracreekmoreThe Hidden Structure in Content Recipes, IMDB Rethink your writing Write in a spreadsheet or formBuilding Structure for SEO: Internal

@lauracreekmoreFacets of Content Audience Time/Date Location Use Outcome Input Topic Source Industry-specific facetsBuilding Structure for SEO: Internal

Practice

@lauracreekmoreAssignment: Design a Content Template Imagine you run a website that posts events. You’d like to create a structure that makes it morelikely your events show up on SERPs. Sketch the form your writers should use to enterevent information to make this easier.Tip: Check schema.org for ideas.

ResourcesHow Google Search works videohttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v 0eKVizvYSUQHow Google Search works s/Preventing pages or sites from showing up in /Search Analytics for Your Site, by Louis nalytics-for-your-site/Getting the Google featured 03/google-featured-snippets/The Battle for the Body Field, by Jeff -body-fieldTraining the CMS, by Eileen sDesigning Connected Content, by Mike Atherton and Carrie ntent Strategy for the Web, by Kristina trategy-for-the-web@lauracreekmore

SEO basics for 2020 Writing for SEO 101 . SEO Basics for 2020: The role of content structure @lauracreekmore. Structure Reduces Liability