Content Writing - Guides & How to Create SEO Articles

The demands of digitization make writer position increasingly needed by startups and various government agencies. It's not about learning how to make the right article, it's more like guidelines for creating articles and learning about SEO.

This work requires us to have in-depth knowledge to guide the target reader at the message we are trying to convey and to answer the reader's question.

In fact, a writer is required to understand various persona of prospective readers in order to have measurable content planning and the right target audience.

The common questions asked to us (from internship candidates and full-time employees).

1. I have never written, but I want to be a writer. Where should I start?
2. I want to start learning writing faster, what topic should I start with?
3. How long should I write to make an appropriate article?
4. How does SEO become important in content writing work?
5. What kind of posts that drive organic traffic to my blog?
6. What tools should I learn to help my activities as a writer?

I will make it easier. I will focus on the questions above, including related and relevant topics to support the main answer.

Question 1 - Where do I start?

Start from the easiest way, write a content with topics you have mastered. For example:

1.1 I understand very well about creating websites using the PHP programming language.

1.2 I love to plant flowers at home, and today I have more than 100 plant collections from various regions in Indonesia.

1.3 My parents like to bake cakes, and I also have the same hobby.

1.4 I am an expert in architecture, I got a GPA of 3.8 from a well-known campus in Singapore.

1.5 I am the winner of the DOTA II competitions two years in a row, in 2019 and 2020.

I will make a simulation of the two questions above. This will take you deeper to understand the purpose of writing. We will go further to find out how to create good and high-quality SEO contents.

I hope you can come up with solutions to other questions in these two discussions. But if you need an answer from me, please ask in the cmlabs blog comments column, at the bottom of this article.

I am interested in the statements 1.2 and 1.5, so here are the simulations and their descriptions:

1.2 I love to plant flowers at home, and today I have more than 100 plant collections from various regions in Indonesia.

The most important thing a writer or content writer should have is an in-depth understanding of one topic. In the statement 1.2, you have fulfilled these requirements. The next stage will be easier.

1. Start creating a blog;
2. Start writing a list of plants that have successfully grown well;
3. Check Google SERP to read other related posts; (learn from other people's writing)
4. Share with friends on Whatsapp groups and Facebook/Twitter/Instagram;
5. Write consistently;

The five phases above are the simplest simulations to answer this first question "where do I start?".

1.5 I am the winner of the DOTA II competitions two years in a row, in 2019 and 2020.

In the statement 1.5, this will be more interesting. Right now, your position is the expert and the winner of the competition. Therefore, the specifications in the statement 1.5 are even better. You can write and get readers easily, since your name has successfully participated and become a winner in a competition. Your name will become popular among game lovers (in the same community).

You have a better starting ground, and the next phase will be easier for you to start writing. Share some tips and tricks on how to play DOTA II games. What are the items players need to purchase in the early stages of the game, so they still have enough money to save and buy items at a more difficult level.

Then, share the simulation video when you play games. Upload to YouTube and embed it into your website. In a short time, you will get the visit you expect. Even better, the organic visit.

More interesting, isn't it? It's not just a matter of what kind of content and how to create article content with a certain approach. In this first topic, we provide you a deeper understanding of the definition and purpose of the content itself. Let's get to the more interesting questions.

Question 2 - What topics are the easy ones?

Pada pembahasan ini, sedikitnya sudah dijawab melalui simulasi pada pertanyaan pertama. Topik yang paling mudah adalah bidang yang saat ini kamu kuasai dengan baik. Lebih lagi jika kamu berhasil membuktikan bahwa kamu memang menjadi salah satu yang terbaik dibidang tersebut, seperti halnya simulai 1.5 pada bahasan topik pertama. Lalu apakah cukup demikian?

In the second question, we will go into a deeper discussion about content writing. We will learn to find easy topics, from the perspective of demand or search volume on Google SERP.

• Do you often go out of town?
• Are you looking for souvenirs when you are out of town?
• Are you having trouble finding a list of the best eatery in the city?
• Are you having trouble finding the best tourist attractions in the city?
• Do you find other unique places?

The five questions above are generally typed on Google search. And that is exactly your question right now. Those questions will always appear every time someone goes out of town. So, what's the next step?

Easy, the next step is to make writing to answer the five questions above. Use the same scenario in the simulation of the first question, under discussion 1.2 (i.e. about flower plants).

Questions one and two are important keys for the topic of content writing. Again, I remind you, a writer has to have a good understanding and in-depth knowledge about certain topic. These topics could be a hobby or interest. At least, try write relevant contents that are needed by the community on a topic we mastered.

Question 3 - Eligible article length

To answer the third question, I need topics and keywords. But I will make it simpler, let's start from the keywords. Follow the steps below:

1. Open Google search engine -> https://www.google.co.id;
2. Type the keywords you are thinking about -> for example: tourist attractions in Bandung;
3. Open the top 3 articles in the SERP; ( learn more about SERP )
4. Count how many posts in the article and add them to get the average number;
5. Just like that, now you get the answer to the third question;

As I said in my promise, this is the easiest way to find out how long the article is, or the word count in an article. Why did I use the 5 phase simulation above?

The Justification is simple :

• Google expects relevant answers on SERP;
• This means that the top 3 articles are the most relevant (or the best out of other thousands articles);
• Learn and imitate the best sites that has been proven to get a high rank on Google

Example the calculation:

• Rank #1 = 675 words
• Rank #2 = 1120 words
• Rank #3 = 523 words

The formula to find out the ideal word count is

( 675+1120+523 ) / 3 = 773

We find that the ideal word count is at least 773.

Question 4 - Why is SEO important for content writing

Two major and related things will be discussed in this fourth sub-topic. It is very important to understand well about what is SEO? - When it comes to this point, obviously, I assume you have passed through and understood the definition of content and how to create good articles. As I explained in the previous topics.

After you understand more about SEO marketing, then next read is about what is content writing?

Now, let's discuss the related topic in this paragraph. About why SEO is important for content writing. Please answer the following questions:

1. Do you plan to publish this content for people to read or is it for personal use?
2. Do you expect to get more visits from Google or from social media?
3. Do you want to post some ads on your website?

The first question, SEO is not necessary for content writing if the blog or article is for personal use. There is no target to reach on the internet. In contrast, if you publish it for get people to read it, then yes, you need SEO.

The second question, SEO is also not necessary when you only expect to get visits from social media like Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and others.

The third question, SEO is really needed when you expect a large number of visits to the website. So you can get more dollar from online visits to your blog and website.

Question 5 - Contents that drive a lot of traffic

Regarding the visit/traffic, the most important thing is to understand the concept of demand. Demand in search engines. How do you know the number or demand?

To get to the next stage, you need SEO Tools to track the number of organic visits on Google. Tool options you can use:

• Google Keyword Planner - Paid (note: in the free version, you can only see the range, e.g. 100-1000 avg search volume)
• Ahrefs – Paid
• Keyword Tool IO – Paid
• Uber Suggest – Free

We recommend you use the Keyword Planner. To this day, only Google that has better and more accurate data than crawlers and other third-party applications.

Besides, you can also use Google Trends as a last option. At least, Google Trends will show you demand graphs on Google, even though the metrics are different, namely Interest Over Time.

Question 6 - Tools for content writing

I have mentioned Tools for SEO and demand in the fifth sub-topic. Next, what are the available and relevant content writing tools?

Of course, this is very closely related to how to make measurable articles. I understand that some articles from other sources mention that content is a matter of quality content and discussion. But you need to know that everything needs to be measured properly. It also applies on how to create articles that we discuss in this content.

Nowadays you have a huge choice of tools. From free to paid ones. But what you should note is that the tools are for assisting your content writing activities. So, think about the goal, rather than technology tools. Let's get into the list of content writing tools we recommend for you based on their purpose and functions.

1. Counting the number of words,
2. Counting the keyword density,
3. Calculating the estimated reading time,
4. Counting the number of words, sentences, paragraphs, and
5. Pointing out the spelling mistakes.

To answer the five questions above, you can use the Word Counter , available on the cmlabs website. You can access this smart tool for free . You can also access Word Counter on cmlabs via desktop-web, mobile-web, and tablet. You can even access it in two languages, EN and ID.

This is it, we have come to the closing part of this article about tips and guidelines for content writing and its relation to SEO activities to get organic visits.

Conclusion

• It's important to understand your passion, it would make writing more fun.
• It's more important learning how to write articles or how to create good articles it is about the content and quality of the content, instead of just paying attention to aspects of SEO.
• Continue to explore and understand the topics you write to create higher quality content.
• Start and challenge yourself to write on blogs and websites.
• Focus and be consistent on one particular topic.
• Use content writing tools to help your writing activities, it helps to shape a more measurable and clear story flow.
• Continue increasing your knowledge about content writing, copywriting, and SEO marketing work.

WRITER PROFILE

ACTIVE CONTRIBUTORS IN CMLABS, SINCE 2020

Muhammad Ilman Akbar is a professional marketer with more than 7 years of experience in various businesses. When this article was written, Ilman Akbar recently left one of the unicorn startups with the most powerful SEO team in Indonesia. In fact, Ilman Akbar is the SEO Lead for the startup, namely Traveloka. Ilman is also the founder of DailySEO Indonesia, an online media specifically for SEO in Indonesia. Keep up with Ilman Akbar's writings on the cmlabs blog.