The 4 Foolproof Phases for Writing Content That Ranks

Let me be honest from the start:

There are no keys that can be applied universally to any niche on any topic to create good content that reaches the top 1.

Every SEO has their own way of working and their requirements when it comes to commissioning texts and ranking them.

There is no single formula to achieve this.

What I have learned over time is something I consider fundamental before diving into creating a niche and its corresponding texts:

• You must identify opportunities with low competition.
• Leverage the power of storytelling in a personal format.
• Make it original and visual.
• And finally, maximize the visibility of that story from the SERPs.

The most common mistake we tend to make is applying all technical criteria when writing SEO-optimized content. This often leads to unnatural and unreadable content with a structure and development that are not coherent: keyword density, h2, h3, h4 subtitles, longtails in “Indian format”…

Stop and think:

Would you read that content you are publishing to the end?

Or worse:

Is your content addressing the user's search intent?

Probably not.

You have focused so much on optimizing it for SEO that you have forgotten the basics: giving the user what they want.

And no, I’m not saying you should forget all the “tricks” technical, but rather incorporate them logically and coherently, always thinking about what the user is searching for when typing the magic words into Google.

Andrey Lipattsev, Search Quality Senior Strategist at Google, confirmed in March 2016 that the two most important factors for ranking are content and links, giving us the foundation to start.

It is also evident that the more information you publish on a topic, the more chances you have of ranking for keywords and longtails related to that topic although, unfortunately, this is not always the case (Google, get your act together to improve this)

So, do you want to know how to create good content to try to reach the top positions in Google ranking?

Next, I will share what has worked for ME when creating content to rank, but that doesn’t mean it will work just as well for you. Test, experiment, create new ideas based on what you are about to read. It’s the only way to know what works and what doesn’t.

AND REMEMBER: A 10 content is not a guarantee that you will achieve the top positions in the search engine. It’s not enough; there is much more to ranking content.

1. Analysis and Research Phase

This will sound familiar because it has been discussed a lot. In fact, in every new SEO presentation I see or hear, the analysis of competition and the top 5 to see what has been written on the topic you are interested in, what keywords your competitors have used, and what characteristics the website at the top 1 has are always mentioned.

In addition to this initial analysis, I also advocate using the BuzzSumo tool to see which content has been most shared related to the topic I want to address.

From there, it is essential to pause for a moment and try to answer a series of questions:

• What questions about the topic are being answered on the top-ranked pages?
• Is the information incomplete? Is there something important that you can add to your text?
• What format do they use? Is it visual content? Are there videos or multimedia content included? Is the page optimized for all devices and browsers?
• Is it easy to find the answer?
• Are there sources of information? Are official studies mentioned? Are they reliable?
• Is the writing of quality?
• Is there over-optimization of the main keyword?
• Is there a recognized expert in the field? Have their interviews been published?

2. Understanding Phase

I have called it this because you really have to become the user who performs the search for which you want to optimize your content. You need to stop and think.

It’s the best way to understand why they are performing that search and what information they really want to find:

• What are they looking for.
• What is their problem or pain point.
• What thoughts are going through their mind.
• What are their doubts.
• What are the possible solutions.

The texts that have always worked best for me have aligned with the reader's thoughts and their problem. From there, presenting your product as the solution is usually the best way to generate conversions, especially when it comes to affiliate texts that provide a review with data, graphics, and personalized information drawn from your experience.

Examples:

My post about the Orbital theme by Romuald Fons.

Dean Romero's post about SEOBOX.

Omar de la Fuente's post about Thrive Content Builder.

3. Optimization Phase

Every SEO has their peculiarities when it comes to requesting their texts and imposing their technical requirements at the optimization level.

I, personally, consider the following important:

Select a keyword that is not impossible to rank

Many people give up at the first hurdle because they have not been able to reach page 1 of Google due to a poor keyword choice. Forget about terms with excessive searches if you are just starting and also about keywords with the word “buy” (read this post by Juan González to understand this last point). Focus on longtail words that start bringing traffic quickly to your niche. You will have time later to tackle other terms with more searches.

Choose h2 and h3 subtitles wisely

You can base this on related searches that Google shows you at the bottom of the page or on the suggestions that appear when you are typing in the search bar.

Follow an orderly and coherent structure

Plan the questions and answers you want to include in your text well

And arrange them in a way that makes sense for reading.

I usually send my writers a guide with the subtitles so they follow a certain order when writing and know what questions I want to answer in the text. Write in the order that the user expects to read the information and not based on any SEO formula.

Pay attention to semantics

With tools like Seolyze it is possible to extract all the words semantically related to the main keyword of your text. You can prepare a list of terms and pass it to your writer to include them in the text, but always coherently.

4. Formatting Phase

In my experience as a Copywriter and content writer, I can tell you that few fulfill this formatting phase.

Opening WordPress and publishing the text I send is a good idea, but improving and formatting it to make it visually more appealing and easier to read is an even better idea.

I always recommend:

• Include a table of contents.

You can do this with any TOC+ type plugin.

• Highlight important parts of the text in bold.

Highlighting only the main keyword and longtails in bold is a thing of the past.

Highlight what you think is most important for the user accessing to scan your text (or read it in full)

• Add icons with the Shortcodes Ultimate plugin.

Yes, I know, it takes time, but it looks very visual and facilitates reading.

• Add colors.

You can do this through text boxes with the previous plugin or even by coloring subtitles or more important words.

• Add embedded YouTube videos.

But don’t go overboard with this. If the video doesn’t add value to the text, it doesn’t make much sense to add it.

Take a look at the most popular videos on the topic, which are usually the best ranked on YouTube, and think about whether they really add something to your content.

People are very fond of videos, and they are a very valuable element to keep them on your site longer.

• Add testimonials or quotes from experts.

You can do this in various ways: rescuing phrases mentioned in their blogs or interviews or asking them directly about a topic.

Here the positive effect is multiple: you are providing opinions from experts in the field that add more value to your content, and in addition, they will share your content and make it more visible.

• Link and mention official studies.

Many writers don’t do this, but you can do it later (or inform them beforehand to do so).

This will give greater credibility to your content, both in the eyes of the reader and in the eyes of Google.

And make the links dofollow, don’t be cheap!

• Add original and royalty-free images.

How many times have you come across the same image on different blogs on the same topic?

Sometimes, to save time, we are very uncreative, and there is nothing users like more than creativity.

Add a frame to that photo, change the tone, crop and focus it differently…There are many tricks to transform an image and make it original in the eyes of Google. Put it into practice!

Note:

If you usually buy sponsored links in the press on Unancor to include in your link building strategy and you are in favor of unique articles, you will already know that you have up to 4 links available just for you.

Why not add some link to an official study or authoritative page on the topic instead of sending all four links to your website?

This will result in a more natural article, with more value, and you will be on the same page linking to an authoritative website in the industry.

Good strategy!

And that’s all for today. I hope my experience writing content helps you focus and have a clearer vision of what quality content for ranking is. All this doesn’t go out of style because it’s about writing for the user while applying a series of SEO techniques that facilitate the organization and optimization of the post. The rest will follow smoothly.

And you, what tricks do you use when crafting articles for your niches or websites?