A recent survey by the Search Engine Journal indicated that CTR for websites ranking in the number one position in search results is 25%. This number decreases to 15% for websites in position two and goes down to 2.5% for websites ranking in 10th position.

So, if your website appears on the second page of the search results in Google, this number will be even lower.

It indicates that if a website is not ranking on the first page, there are nominal chances of viewers finding it organically. It means lesser lead and revenue generation opportunities.

Your next best option is spending on advertising to get traffic to your site.
Any free options?

Try SEO writing for longer-lasting results and benefits than a paid campaign. SEJ states that around 89% of businesses depend on organic search as their distribution channel.

Here are some tips for content writing for SEO to get you started with search engine-friendly content and get that higher ranking for your site.

Beginners will find these actionable content writing tips particularly useful.

By the end of this blog, you will know more about the following important tips for SEO-friendly content writing.

Research Your Keyword(s)

Keywords are the key to getting your site content seen by the viewers. So, before you start writing, you have to ensure you have a list of relevant keywords to work and focus your content on. You can start with 3, and go up to 5 or 6 longtail keywords broadly.

You have limited space to make impactful content, so use each word. Make powerful headlines that are clear, generate curiosity, and are rich in keywords. Keep the meta descriptions interesting, and elaborate on the topic of the article. Remember, the title and meta description will show up in the search results, so you must make them count!
Some good tools for professional SEO writing are SemRush and KWFinder that help in keyword research.

Organize and Draft

Many seasoned writers skip this step. Organizing helps align thoughts and keeps your writing on track. That way, you can get done with the writing phase faster.

Once you have figured what you want to convey, you need to organize it by adding the required citations and notes. This simple practice will help save lots of time in the future.

The next important step in drafting is editing your work. After the first edit, you may take a break and read your writeup later, to get a fresh perspective or even better, get someone to read it.

Make final changes after you are satisfied with the result. The more edits you have given, the better your article will look.

Optimize Your Links

Generally, you need to use two kinds of links in your content, internal and external.

Internal links are those that link back to your company’s website. It can be a contact page, a blog post, or a shop. External links are those that connect to external sources that are used to back up your statements and give depth to your article.

These are extremely important to SEO content writing, but be careful, links to non-reputable or out-of-date blogs will harm your content instead of helping.
Including 1-3 internal links for a 1,000-word article will be sufficient.

Link building goes a long way since link buying and link farms but is still an important ranking factor for content writing with SEO. Linking back to your articles ensures a link back to the website when the article is picked up by another site.

If you are creating different types of content like infographics and videos, then add an embed code on the site to help to promote content sharing, and add a link back to the source.

Click the link below for a detailed read: 
Discover 5 tried and tested link-building techniques for your business.

Enhance your Content for Featured Snippets

As mentioned earlier in this blog, getting a good ranking means everything for marketing. And if your piece of content is featured in the snippet, you establish your authority in your domain and the content will be regarded as an authentic source of information in your niche.

But how do you get there? It cannot be by fluke, nor does it happen overnight. It takes time, and consistent efforts before your content get featured as a snippet.

Featured snippets are precise answers to search queries by users. Google uses these snippets to answer quires in the best possible way. Your content must answer the given question accurately and briefly to be selected as a snippet.
For instance, if the search is “How to shoot video on iPad,” you can put “How to shoot a video on an iPad Computer” as your H1 or H2, followed by a numbered or bulleted list of steps to be taken.

After this, you can include a question in your answer. So your paragraph can start like “To take a screenshot on your iPad, follow these steps.”
Use actionable verb, like “click” and “select” to start every sentence. Write short definitions if needed which are not longer than 58 words.

Use Social Media to Your Benefit

“Social media is here. It’s not going away; not a passing fad. Be where your customers are: in social media.” — Lori Ruff, speaker, author

If you can resonate with the above statement, use social media monsters like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook to promote your SEO-friendly content.

Social media is free and open source for promotions, plus it helps reach out to your audience with just a click.

Create a business account with a valid profile and start posting content consistently.

Use different methods of connecting with your followers like contests, giveaways, polls, infographics, daily posts, live videos, stories, and more.

Eventually, you will gain substantial followers, and have better clarity about what kind of articles or blogs work for you, what should be the ideal length, and what keywords lure your audience to your content.

After getting this clarity, you can use the above-mentioned actionable content writing tips in your daily writing projects.

Research Relevant Topics for Best Content Writing Tips

Lately, the internet is crowded with junk and duplicate content. Readers get bombarded with useless and irrelevant content all the time. To avoid duplication of the subject matter repeatedly, do your research thoroughly. Try to find fresh sources of reference so you can craft original content which interests the readers.

One tip to get original ideas for your write-up is to search the primary keyword in Google, by opening all 10 results on the first page and reading all of them to get an in-depth understanding of your topic.
Also, search keywords with their statistics or facts and get information that matches your article.

Summary

If you follow the above article writing tips, you will not only reach your targeted audience but also see an increase in your followers with time.