So you have your SEO plug in.
All the i’s are dotted.
All the t’s are crossed.
Good for you.
You likely have H2 headers in the proper spot. Plus you nailed down a semi-competitive keyword. Excellent.
Readability? Check.
All your details are lined up in a row, like ducks.
All SEO details play a chief role in driving search traffic from Google. I get it.
But many bloggers miss an often ignored SEO factor.
What is it?
Writing helpful, in-depth, valuable blog content that solves a specific problem.
Content Makes Google Go
At the end of the day, Google wants good, solid content to, look good in the eyes of users. Google wants results that answer specific queries effectively. Call it wanting to keep credibility. Or, wanting to look good.
The problem is this; many bloggers check all boxes on SEO details but come up short as far as writing thorough content that sufficiently hits the mark of delivering on the title promise. No need to write a 2000 word masterpiece every time out. I see 600 word posts rank for some keywords on Google because not all queries need to be answered in 1000, 2000 or 3000 words.
But all queries should be answered in as many words as possible to get the job done in clear, clean, concise fashion.
Some blogger do not write clear, simple blog posts geared toward providing a complete solution to reader needs. It is like they do all the secondary stuff right from meta descriptions, to proper H2 tag use, to keyword selection and placement, to picking an enticing and optimized title, to choosing an SEO friendly post slug, but they miss the meat and potatoes, the primary factor in driving search traffic; writing helpful, thorough content.
Start with the Content and Go from there
Pick the proper keyword but write the blog post immediately after choosing your niche specific keyword. Be in the flow and stay in the flow by completing the post before you even think about optimizing it for SEO. No sense editing until you craft a complete, helpful post, rich with value.
I recall a few years back how after writing a roughly 1000 word blog post titled “how to submit a guest post” I ranked it on page 1 position 3 of Google for the same key phrase. Not bad, especially considering I did not even use an SEO plugin back then. I ranked for a hyper competitive keyword despite no optimizing. Note; I did have a fairly high DA and solid links in to give myself a little advantage. I did however do a smash up job writing the post, drilling down how you’d want to submit a guest post successfully, listing practical steps for reaching this goal.
Considering I ranked by by Forbes and Hubspot I guess I hit the mark.
Practice Writing
Practice writing offline to be a skilled blogger online.
Write 500 words to 1000 words daily in a Word document. Trash the document. Be clear, and confident, with your writing.
Creating helpful, Google-friendly content is easier and easier if you practice writing on a daily basis. Be persistent. Hone your skills. Perfect your craft.
A plug in will not do all of your SEO work for you. Keyword research tools only suggest keywords that readers query. But writing your tail off helps you develop the skill that appeases the Google gods for if you write in-depth, thorough, clear and concise content you will definitely position yourself to rank on page 1 of Google.
Add your SEO details via a plugin and research to drive sweet search traffic to your blog.
Keep writing.
Write some more.
Solid, practical, powerful and thorough content is the backbone of any successful SEO campaign.