When I first was lucky enough to get the job of writing blog articles for an SEO company near me; 212 Creative, LLC, I didn’t know anything. I didn’t even know what a featured image was, much less how to find one, crop it, size it, optimize it and upload it! HA! If you are in the same boat, then this article is for you. In this article, we will give you the #1 secret to writing a good article, and give you several tools to help you determine what to write, and how to write it. Let’s dig in!
The #1 secret to writing a good article
First let’s start with how you choose what the heck to write about. I certainly have opinions about different aspects of life and work, but I don’t write about them. Do you know why? Because the reason I write articles is to get my business found on the internet. There is one thing, and one thing only, that you should focus on when writing a blog article. Google is very clear what it wants, and I do what Google commands. The #1 secret for writing a good article is….articles must have value to the reader. Articles that help your reader, and somehow add value to their life or business are far more valuable than fluff pieces that are 2000 words long, but are either boring, or don’t teach the reader anything. So how do you know what people need?
Notes from the underground: How do you know what to write?
Here are three ways to know what to write about.
- Personal experience.
What do you personally have questions about? Even if you are an experience web developer or work at SEO company near me like 212 Creative, LLC, there are still things that you are learning, new ways to do things, questions you have, work-arounds and tips that you have discovered. If you are interested in something, or have questions about something, chances are your readers will as well.
- Use some free tools.
There are lots of free tools that you can use to get you started. One of my favorites is Answer The Public, a free tool from NP digital. You get one free search a day, and that can be plenty. Just type in your topic and Answer the Public will generate a list of questions that people are asking about your topic. This can be priceless information to get you started.
- Your clients
I really pay attention to the questions that our clients are asking. If a couple of clients call and ask if we know where to get free, high resolution images for a featured image, then I might just add that to a blog article down the road (check out some free resources later on in this article!
What’s the big deal about keywords?
Keywords are the actual words and phrases with which people are using to search for your company or service. Ideally, the blog articles you write will be focussed on one of those keywords or phrases, so searches will come across your article and continue on to your website.
As one of the fastest SEO company near me, 212 Creative, LLC has several tools at our disposal with which we can do some very exact keyword research. We can even see the keywords for which your competitors are ranking! But those tools cost money. Here are a couple of free resources for you to do your own keyword research.
- SemRush
There is a company called Semrush that has a very powerful free keyword research tool. You may have to create a free account and there are some limitations, but it’s a great place to get started.
- Google Keyword Planner is also a very powerful tool. You can use this tool and not have to do a Google Ad, so it’s worth checking out.
- NP digital has a great free tool called Ubersuggest. You only get 1 free search a day, but it is an excellent tool.
The Next Step
You have your topic that is going to give value to your readers. You know what keyword you want to have incorporated into your article. But how many times should you mention that keyword? Are there enough internal links? Are external links a good idea? Is my title too long? Rather than guess at these questions, try installing a free plugin on your website. There are quite a few SEO plugins, we have used the Yoast SEO plugin numerous times in the past, and have been satisfied. There is a free version and a paid version. We have only used the free version and it seems to work pretty well. That is just our recommendation, don’t have that stop you from exploring other great, free options out there.
In conclusion, congratulations on your new role as blog article writer! Check out more of our blogs on 212creative.com to find more ideas to help beginning bloggers!
For all of your SEO, website design and development and graphic design needs, check out the best SEO company near me, 212 Creative, LLC. Call us. Let’s begin.
