Content SEO Part 2: How to Create SEO Content

Regardless of the type of content we are creating, there are some general rules that webmasters should follow to create SEO-friendly content.

Rule of thumb: Write for humans first. Search engines come second.

Find a topic

Picking up where we left off in the chapter, "Keyword-Based SEO," we should already have a topic for our content. Following the cluster content strategy discussed in Step 3 of Keyword Research, it seems logical to group similar keywords together. The broad keyword is the target keyword for our pillar pages, while the related long-tail keywords are the target keywords for our cluster pages. Let's look at an example:

Suppose dog food is a broad keyword with strong traffic potential. It can be the topic for a pillar page. A title around the lines, “Dog Food - All You Need To Know As A New Dog Owner” seems fitting.

At the same time, let’s be realistic. A keyword such as dog food, with high traffic, is also very competitive. Ranking for it is near to impossible.

Aside from a comprehensive piece on this strong keyword, we need to increase the chances of our site to rank. This can be done by adding supporting content optimized for less competitive long-tail keywords. Also by answering all possible queries that could originate from the broad keyword, dog food, we give the users complete knowledge on our site. Don’t give them a reason to look elsewhere no matter what comes to their mind around the lines of the broad keyword.

Support the pillar post on dog food with multiple cluster pages, each targeted for a related long-tail keyword. Possible topics for cluster posts could be fruits safe for dogs, older dog nutrition and dental dog treats.

Once we have our content strategy in place, we will ...