In part I of SEO copywriting, we talked about the importance of writing for search intent and information keyword selections. Part II was about top ranking pages and unique angles. For this section of the series, we will tackle two more important steps in making your content rank in Google: creating captivating introductions and linkable posts.
Write a kick-ass intro
A lot rides on the quality of your intro. It determines whether or not people will decide that your post is what will get them the hook they require or not. You actually accomplish this by having quality content that gains their trust and lets them know they’re in the right place. You gotta do all of this in the intro because who really reads an entire article or blog to find out if you really know what you’re talking about or have all of the information required to carry the load of what they need? (Not many)
There is certainly no one size fits all approach to writing intros. It truly takes a formula of a talented writer, a manipulation of quality content and a great topic. But your intro should vary depending on who you believe will be searching for the topic and overall search intent.
It’s important to be direct and have something super interesting to say right out of the gate. If you are writing a blog on kayak fishing, let’s all hope you have a story of how you caught some monstrous shark on the end of a fishing pole in that intro… on that kayak.
By stating this right off the bat, you will show that you understand who your audience is and how they want to connect to your content. How you move on in your blog about that monstrous shark and how your kayak held you steady enough to reel it in is how you provide a solid information solution to the rest of your base.
Linkable Posts
Building link triggers into your post is not only smart but important if you want your posts to rank well. Determining what would make someone want to link to your post is the key. The best test for that is to actually look at why people are linking to the current top-ranking posts. You can accomplish this by looking here:
Site Explorer > enter a top-ranking post URL > Backlinks
You can look here for a couple of the top-ranking pages on topics you might be familiar with and research what’s ranking, what’s linked and why. If you understand who is likely to link to a particular content (and why), it will aid in your prospecting.
Summer Series Take-Aways
This summer we have provided six steps to help your content get noticed and get ranked. The most important take away that rings true throughout each one is to ensure you have quality content. Quality content means you will have to invest not only in quality writers but also in understanding the components and rules that go behind the writing on the Internet and why things are ranking and performing the way they are. Continue to write for search intent and information keyword selections. Understand top ranking pages and unique angles… and when you finally write, create captivating introductions and linkable posts.