Writing good, high-quality content is arguably the single most important thing you can do for your website. It should be the foundation of any effective SEO strategy.
But from an SEO perspective, writing well-crafted sentences isn’t enough: your content must also be relevant. Search engines like Google evaluate how relevant your webpage is to specific search queries, and they’ll rank your website accordingly in search results.
To write SEO-friendly content, follow these three key steps:
- Research your keywords!
What are people searching for? Determine which keywords people commonly use when searching for topics similar to yours. This step matters a lot when it comes to aligning your content to what your audience is looking for. - Pick the keywords you intend to focus on
Select the specific keywords you plan to target. You can focus on just one keyword or expand to as many as 15, depending on the scope of your content. - Write!
Create your content, naturally incorporating your chosen keywords throughout. But be cautious – overusing keywords can harm your rankings rather than help.
Simple, eh?
A practical example of keyword use
Imagine you run a website, www.football-shirts.com, that sells football-themed t-shirts. You perform keyword research and identify a few simple words and phrases to use in your SEO strategy: “football shirts”, “football clothing”, “footie shirts”, and “soccer shirts”. Now, you’re reading to write content optimized for these keywords, but you wonder: how often should I use these keywords in my text?
What you’re asking about is keyword density. Keyword density is the percentage of your content made up of your target keyword(s). If you write a 1,000-word article, for instance, and your keyword appears 100 times, the keyword density would be 10%.
While there’s no universally agreed-upon percentage, and search engines have never published any precise figures, SEO experts generally recommend keeping keyword density between 2% and 5%. Anything higher risks being flagged as keyword stuffing, which can hurt your site’s search rankings. Google and other search engines penalize content that prioritizes excessive keywords use over readability and relevance.
Beyond keywords: writing for people first!
Using keywords strategically is important. No doubt. But the heart of great SEO content is its ability to engage real people. Your audience should always be at the forefront of your mind as you write. Engaging, easy-to-read content is far more likely to attract and retain visitors, encourage social shares, and build long-term loyalty to your website. Simply churning out articles filled to the brim with keywords probably won’t do you any good in the long run.
Here are a few tips to create people-focused, SEO-friendly content.
- Write clearly and simply
Use straightforward, easy-to-understand language. Accessible writing widens your audience and keeps readers interested. - Be concise, but informative
Avoid overwhelming readers with unnecessary details. For example, a 10,000-word article stuffed with keywords will drive users away rather than keep them engaged. There’s no need to write King Lear: keep things a moderate length. - Make it captivating
Focus on creating content that resonates with your audience. Well-written content is more likely to inspire readers to share your work, revisit your site, or explore other pages.
The takeaway
Effective SEO content is a careful balance between keyword optimization and audience engagement. Use keywords thoughtfully to signal relevance to search engines, but never lose sight of the fact that your readers are real people. When you create content that informs, entertains, and captivates, you’ll naturally attract more traffic and foster a loyal audience—helping both your readers and your rankings thrive.
What next?
Check out our SEO Basics Guide, or learn about the myths and pitfalls of SEO.