You must’ve heard the phrase “content is king” at least a hundred times. While we don’t want to beg the difference, we feel like this phrase needs adjustment. “High-quality content is king” is a far more accurate phrase.
Content creation is a responsible and demanding task, and you need to be on top of it. Why? Because it can help you reach your goals such as raising brand awareness or building a relationship with your target audience. It can also help you boost your organic traffic.
So, if you want to use content to boost your organic traffic, but aren’t sure how to do it, just keep reading.
Best Content Writing Strategies
The guide below will show you different content writing strategies that are bound to skyrocket your traffic and improve your content quality. Here are our 13 best content writing strategies. Let’s take it one at a time.
1. Do Your Research
Every demanding task requires thorough preparation. If you thought you’d just sit at your desk and start typing, you’re wrong.
The truth is, you need to perform some research and investigate the current state of affairs on the market. Here’s what you need to know:
- who’s your biggest competition
- what type of content are they sharing
- where to find the latest news from your niche
- who’s your target audience
This is step zero in your process of creating a better content writing strategy. You need to ensure you’ve got all the pieces of the puzzle on the table before you start putting it together.
Do your research and find the answers to the questions above. Once you do that, you’ll be ready for the next steps in your content writing strategy.
2. Provide Value and Nothing But Value
So many content writers and marketers focus on the numbers, keywords, and algorithms, that they forget the essential reason why anyone would read anything that you publish. People need information.
Members of your target audience will read your content only if you provide:
- facts
- valuable data
- accurate information
- practical advice
- actionable tips
- problem solutions
They want to read your content and feel like they’re gaining something. Therefore, focus on the value of your content, before you start thinking about the form, keywords, or visuals. Make sure your target audience is happy with the value you’ve provided and you’ll have them come back for more.
3. Recognize Pain Points
Did you successfully define your target audience? Do you know your average audience member’s age, sex, or social status?
If you did all of this, now it’s time to recognize and define their pain points. This will help you nail the topics for your content and provide the content they’ll want to read.
You need to answer questions such as:
- What problems are my audience members facing?
- What are they interested in?
- What latest news would they like me to cover?
- What problems can I help them solve?
Let’s say you’re running an e-commerce selling home décor products. You should cover topics such as “How to Decorate Your Patio on a Budget” or “Top 10 Small Bedroom Décor Ideas”.
By understanding what your audience wants to read about, you’re making sure the content you publish reaches them and has them interested in what you have to say.
Do the research, stay updated, and share fresh content that your audience wants to read about.
4. Use Long-Tail Keywords
Keywords are important for SEO and your organic traffic. But, if you think you should just choose the most obvious keyword and try ranking for it- you’re wrong.
You should aim for more specific, long-tail keywords.
Long-tail keywords are great for your organic traffic for several reasons:
- they are closer to what people type in Google search boxes or say in their voice searches
- they are more specific, which means fewer people are ranking for them
- they have a higher conversion rate
So, the next time you’re writing a blog about DIY skincare products don’t try ranking for “body scrub” but rather rank for “make my own body scrub”. It’ll get you more organic traffic.
5. Do Not Use Keyword Stuffing
If you want to get more organic traffic, you need to remember you’re writing for the people, too.
Yes, you want the Google algorithms to recognize your content and rank it high. But, your primary goal is to make sure the people who are reading it, find it exceptional.
This is why you should never use keyword stuffing. Just cramming a bunch of keywords into sentences that make no sense is not going to get you anywhere. Instead, implement the keywords naturally and use them only if they make sense in a sentence.
6. Write Outstanding Titles
Your page titles are the ice-breakers you need to stand out from the rest of your competitors and get the people to choose your page over dozens of other similar ones.
This is why you have to write outstanding page titles that will draw the attention of as many people as possible. But, what does that actually mean?
Here are some of the best tactics you can use to write page titles that are bound to help you boost organic traffic:
- says exactly what the page is about
- use a keyword
- include words such as tips/secrets/steps/ways
- be specific
- promise the value you’ll share
- use power words
Let’s compare:
- How to Quit Smoking vs. 10 Surefire Ways to Quit Smoking Today
- Yoga Poses For Beginners vs. 6 Best Yoga Poses You Can Do as a Beginner
- Choosing The Best Baby Stroller vs. Step-by-Step Guide on How to Choose The Best Baby Stroller For Your Newborn
The second titles are far more exciting, promising, and specific. This is why more people are going to choose the second page title and read the content on that page. If you nail the page title, you’ll be able to reach more people and give them the content they’ve been searching for.
7. Write Killer Meta Descriptions
Even when you get your content to rank high in those search results, you still have a dozen of other results on the same page to beat. Meta descriptions can help you do it.
Meta description is that short text right under your page title in the Google search results page. You need to optimize it and here’s how:
- tell them what the page is about
- use your main keyword
- intrigue them
- use a CTA
- make it short but powerful
Great meta descriptions can help you get your audience to click your page instead of your competitors, and boost your organic traffic the way you need it.
Invest the little extra time you need in writing killer meta descriptions and it will be worth it.
8. Simplify Things
When your target audience is looking for information online, they don’t want to waste too much time or get through any trouble to find their answers. They want to do it quickly and easily.
This is why you have to simplify your content to make it fit even for the layman in your audience.
The simpler your content the better results it will make.
Naturally, this doesn’t mean it should be any less informative or valuable. You simply have to present the information in a simple manner. Here’s what that means:
- use conversational, everyday language and vocabulary
- don’t use scholarly, formal, or technical language
- use simple sentence structure
- write in short paragraphs
- use subheadings
- use lists and bullet points to break down your content
If you write in huge chunks of text, your audience will find it hard to read and comprehend your content. Make it easier for them by simplifying things and creating a more user-friendly experience.
9. Publish Tutorials & How-To Posts
Another thing you need to think about when you’re trying to boost your organic traffic is how to choose the best content type for your target audience.
Among the best types of content that you should be using regularly are tutorials and how-to posts. Why? Because they provide the value we’ve been mentioning all along.
Here’s what to cover in a tutorial post:
- step-by-step guide on how to do something
- examples and instructions
- explanations
- breaking down a complicated process
- visuals to help better understand
When you publish a tutorial and help your target audience learn something, you’re winning them over for the long haul. They’ll consider you a reliable source of information and come back to you for more.
And that’s what will get you the boost in organic traffic that you’re looking for.
10. Create Numbered Lists
Lists are another effective and powerful type of content that needs to be on your repertoire. Lists have the power to convince people you’ll share valuable information and provide the facts they need.
Here’s a couple of examples to help you get the right idea:
- 12 Tools You Need to Start Your Own Garden
- 7 Best Tips on How to Raise a Creative Child
- 23 Surefire Ways To Boost Your Social Media Presence
Lists and numbers give your target audience a promise that they’ll learn X new things or take exactly an X number of steps to accomplish their goal.
They’ll be more willing to read your article and see for themselves what you’ve got lined up.
11. Use Visuals
Visuals are powerful, especially today when people are used to scrolling down their news feed looking for something to grab their attention. This is why you need to use powerful visuals to enrich your content and make it more effective.
Consider using different types of visuals, such as:
- original images
- royalty-free images
- infographics
- videos
- GIFs
You can create your own or use the ones you find online, but make sure they fit the context and make your content more memorable and entertaining.
12. Align Your Branding
Originality and consistency are a powerful tool in building a target audience and boosting organic traffic. People want to see you stand out and stay true to what your brand stands for.
This is why in your content writing strategies, you need to align your branding and make sure you stay consistent with your branding strategy.
So, your blog posts need to be aligned with the comments you leave on social media or the things you tweet about.
You have to pay attention to your:
- personality
- tone
- voice
- style
People need to recognize your uniqueness and believe your authenticity. This is why you have to nurture your branding in your content writing strategies.
13. Be Accurate
When you’re trying to boost your organic traffic, you need to make sure you’re acting like a true professional. You cannot allow any mistakes or inaccuracies to find their way into your content.
This is why you have to be 100% professional and accurate.
To achieve this, you need to:
- edit until you’re completely satisfied
- proofread several times
- remove any spelling or grammar mistakes
If your audience spots even the slightest mistake such as a typo, they’ll automatically think less of you. This can decrease your organic traffic and kill your reputation.
Check out some academic writing companies that can help you out with this, if you’re not sure you can do it all on your own. Make sure you settle for nothing less than perfection, and your target audience will appreciate you more.
Final Thoughts
Content writing strategies may seem to be a complicated or demanding process, but with the right strategy, you have nothing to worry about. Just make sure you’re respecting all the main principles of writing high-quality content and you’ll boost your organic traffic in no time.
Use the strategies we’ve shared above to create a new, improved content writing strategies and enjoy the boost in your organic traffic that is bound to happen.
Author Byline:
Daniela McVicker is a passionate digital marketer. Daniela is interested in everything related to SEO and blogging. She collaborates with Essayguard and other websites where she shares her experience and helps marketers make their names in the online world.