blog article writing and content planning
You’ve heard that content is the undisputed marketing king, and that’s the truth. So if that’s the truth, then the writing of the said content is paramount to your online success.
Sadly, most Canadian businesses create content randomly without going through storyboarding it from start to finish.
Planning is everything, and procuring quality content entails planning the content from the ground up, all of the way to promoting it.
Skipping any of the planning stage of website content is one risk you can’t afford to take, as it can hamper your success on Google.
Here are our stages of content development as we see them:
1. Article Topic Analysis.
The content’s title is foremost and always the most crucial consideration. Content is the first thing potential readers will see; how it is structured can be the difference of whether you get that click or the scrolling continues down the search results.
Analyzing the topic entails gathering a handful of keywords and testing them using tools like the Google Ads Keyword Planner, Google Search Console, Analytics, SEMRush, AnswerThePublic, AlsoAsked and/or Ubersuggest.
These tools will show you how some phrases with your keywords are faring online. The key is to find what we refer to as the “Golden Keywords,” which are keywords that are high in volume and low in competition. These Golden Keywords are the holy grail of content for your website, whether for an article or a page.
The aim is to improve upon existing content on the web by offering that little bit more (in addition to your content) that nobody else is going for, such as infographics, providing a step-by-step process, or introducing video content. The most engagement and time spent on your website is ultimately what helps you rank better on search engines.
2. Source information for blogs.
Now that you have decided on a particular topic with the right keywords for traffic, it’s time to source information.
In doing this, you have to gather as much information as possible. Browse through numerous sites and sources.
Check reviews if you are writing about products, check for videos, podcasts, images, and virtually anywhere you can lay your hands to source information.
The goal is to develop content that will provide the best value to your reader. So, explore every available research trick in your arsenal to ensure you are bringing something of quality to the people taking their time to read what you have to say.
3. Start Writing.
You can start creating content while utilizing writing best practices with an endless sea of information available.
It’s time to produce the best content with the available resources. Get facts and statistics to be incorporated into the text. It ensures your readers see you as a credible source and a proper authority in the field. Google fricken loves external links pointing to peer-researched articles and Wikipedia.
The longer the content, the higher its chances of ranking high and attracting more backlinks. So make your content at least 1200 words to improve its chances of being indexed by Google.
And finally, provide immense value through your content. Every reader is there to learn or be entertained, so serve your readers this value on a platter.
4. Proofread and Edit.
Now you are done with the writing. It’s time to proofread and edit. It is to ensure you present impeccable quality content to your audience.
Consequently, you must look at your written content with a fresh pair of eyes to catch the errors, but we also recommend running your content through Grammarly and Hemingway.
You can hand it over to a copy editor for a thorough job or leave it for a few days and return to it.
Returning to it after a few days will help you look at the content differently, and you might discover that you need to do another round of edits. You are now fully equipped with a fresh pair of eyes, and you see things differently so hopefully you can rewrite the content better.
5. Optimize and Publish.
You’ve arrived at a critical stage that has to do with optimizing the content to be visible in search engines. It’s all about SEO here, and you can’t be too careful.
You should check it to see if the proper keywords are used in headings and ensure there is no excessive content optimization. Try to use synonyms of your keywords in the content itself to avoid a high level of keyword density. We recommend using an image every 300-words with your keyword in the image name, alt text and description.
SEO is a massive subject, and it’s alright if you hand it over to an SEO expert to handle the intricate technical aspects. When this phase is complete, you can then publish your content.
6. Promote.
After publishing, it’s time to promote your content across all available social media channels to drive engagement and signals to your content.
More importantly, you get some credible backlinks to your site and improve its performance on Google SERPs.
Promotion is as important as writing, and you can’t afford to skip this step. What’s the point of writing content that people don’t get to see?
That’s why promotion is necessary and social media is your primary weapon.
Summary.
Content creation comes in stages or steps, and any action you skip can jeopardize the final product.
From topic analysis to sourcing information and promotion, every step is essential and leads to the overall success of the content wherever it is consumed.