What? Now Google expects everyone to be a pro writer? Don’t worry – I’ve got you covered. Learn how to write awesome content in just minutes.
With its recent “Phantom” update, Google continues to push the quality of the Internet to new heights.
That’s good news for searchers.
Sheesh! But, that means more work for small business owners.
And since you have so much free time in your schedule, it fits in just perfectly, doesn’t it? 🙂
Hope you picked up on the sarcasm there. But it’s the reality you now have to deal with. Instead of active penalties and punishments, many SEOs wished Google assigned “good” for high-quality work and “less good” for lower quality stuff. But that’s a loooong discussion for another time.
In the meantime, you can use this simple guide to write content. All you need is just a couple 500-word blog posts each month to do the job.
Let’s get to it:
- Find Topics
You may know your competitor’s blogs. That’s a great place to find ideas. If they average 25-50 social shares per post, you have a reliable gauge of which posts do well.
You can also use BuzzSumo to find some of the most popular topics on the entire web. You get 10 results for free – that’s all you need. Paying’s not necessary.
AllTop aggregates popular blogs from around the web. It instantly exposes you to hundreds of ideas. Simply Google “[your keyword]+ AllTop.”
You can also write topics around your customer’s most common questions.
- What Parts of Your Content Should You Pay Attention To?
The title makes or breaks your post. Spend most of your time writing that.
You can use this title generator to create hundreds of interesting titles. The wording’s a little awkward, so you might have to clean it up a little. But, it gives you unique titles fast.
The first paragraph is your lead. You have to put your most interesting stuff right there so people read the rest of your content.
Interesting ways to write your lead paragraph:
- Show why common thinking isn’t right
- Use a startling fact from a credible resource
- Tell a story from personal experience
- Overcome an objection
- Explain why your post offers unique information that can’t be found anywhere else
- You Must Use Interesting Sub-Heads!
Did you know web users read just 20% of the typical web page, and 28% at most (according to web usability expert Jakob Nielsen)?
Your best chances to get attention are:
- Page title
- Lead paragraph
- Sub-heads
- Bullet-points
- One-sentence paragraphs (like you see at the beginning of this post)
A good way to use sub-heads is to allude to what information comes next. Wet your reader’s taste buds, but don’t give them the full story!
Examples of tantalizing sub-heads:
- Most Homeowners Think Their A/C Doesn’t Need Winter Maintenance, But…
- The Real Reason Your Home Isn’t as Comfortable As You Want
- The Most Recommended Cure for Insect Pests (And Why it Doesn’t Work)
Whew, Well, That’s Enough!
99.9% of businesses don’t use these techniques…at all. So just being aware of them…that puts you way ahead of the pack.
And they’re boiled down to fast and easy nuts and bolts, so you get things done quick.
Use these techniques today – and I guarantee you’ll get a better response from your readers.
