SEO blog writing is the process of creating content to rank highly on search engine results pages (SERPs). This is usually done through a combination of targeting keywords that a lot of people are searching for, optimizing your format for easy crawlability through things like H1 headers and meta descriptions, and of course, writing informative blogs that align with the searcher’s query. For this, you need various SEO blog writing tools to make the most of your posts.
You may be an expert in your industry, but translating knowledge into high-ranking, helpful content that actually reaches your buyers is a whole other challenge. Thankfully, there are some tools and strategies to make that easier. In this article, we’ll be looking at the top SEO blog writing tools you should be using.
How SEO Blog Writing Tools Underpin Content Marketing
Inbound marketing is growing in popularity every year. Why? Because the way we make purchase decisions has evolved. Buyers do large amounts of independent research now, and it’s easy to swap companies if they become dissatisfied. It’s not enough to just draw attention to your product/service, trust is also paramount to building customer loyalty in B2B marketing.
This mentality informs inbound methodology – offering free value to your customers removes you from the throng, and makes you a valued resource to potential leads.
While paid ads and outbound still have great uses in any marketing strategy, SEO blog posts allow your brand to gain traction without customers feeling their autonomy has been compromised. When customers come across your site organically, they don’t feel ‘sold to’ – making SEO a persuasive marketing tool.
Guide to SEO Marketing for B2B Tech Companies
SEO Blog Writing Tools: Factor By Factor
So, what SEO blog writing tools can help your content rank well? Let’s look at what you need across three key areas that impact your rankings:
Optimization
From backlinks to meta-descriptions, there are over 200 ranking factors Google uses to index SERPs. Thankfully, there are SEO blog writing tools that will help you automatically tick some of those boxes. These include:
Yoast – Yoast is a WordPress plug-in that scans content for good SEO, helping it perform better in search engines. The way a spell-checker would catch any typos, Yoast catches any sub-optimal choices, like an infrequently used keyword or lack of external links.
SEMrush – what can’t SEMrush do? This popular tool is one of the MVPs when it comes to keyword research, Google Ad optimization, and competitor analysis. When you’re building a content plan or launching a new campaign, you’ll want it in your arsenal.
Hubspot – Hubspot is a full-service CRM (Customer Relationship Management) tool with an SEO checker built into its Marketing Hub. Hubspot’s biggest USP is its holistic approach to all customer-facing roles, and it’s woven SEO blog writing tools into its software throughout, making it an excellent base for your website.
Relevance and Plagiarism
Obviously, your business should be avoiding intentional plagiarism of any kind. But when a lot of content is being written about a small topic, there may be some unintended overlap, which can affect your rankings.
Writing aid Grammarly checks content for plagiarism as well as for clarity and readability.
Great content only works if it’s correctly understanding its audience and their needs.
Successful inbound marketing hinges on providing useful information to your target buyer. Plus – the time a browser actually spends on your site is also a ranking factor. Not only that, but the buying cycle is now nine days longer than in 2015 – further emphasizing that SEO blogging must be about gaining trust and adding value, not just making a quick sale.
Keyword search tool Answer The Public can be useful for helping you determine what your audience is actually searching for, by providing visuals of related searches and their data.
Based on your chosen keywords, Answer The Public is an automated auto-complete tool that illuminates what searches are getting traffic. It’s a favorite of bloggers for its ability to quickly and easily generate relevant topic ideas.
Length
The length of blog posts is actually one of the key SEO blog writing tools at your disposal. The average length for a blog post is around 1000 words – enough space to provide context and meaningful insights, but focused enough to keep the reader’s attention.
Yoast’s plug-in flags anything under 300 words for poor SEO – and personally, we’d take that number up to 500.
Why? Even if your shorter piece successfully answers the question posed, you’re unlikely to keep the reader on your site long enough to make an impression. And crucially, Google bots may see your blog as full of low-value ‘thin content’ and rank it lower in search results.
Longform content between 2,000 – 3,000 words can be hugely successful as well, so long as it’s relevant and informative throughout.
Anything longer than 3,000 words is less likely to find an audience organically and is best saved for an ebook or other kind of gated content, or split into multiple articles.
Regardless, it’s important to remember that most people are repelled by a wall of uninterrupted text, and a significant portion of your readership is going to be viewing your content from their phone. Use your chosen CMS to break up your piece into breezy sub-sections. Use headings, bullet points, graphs, and infographics to make posts dynamic and skimmable.
The Bottom Line
Far from a one-time installation, SEO is a dynamic and ever-evolving process, and it requires maintenance from someone with their ear to the ground. Building brand awareness and trust require consistently good SEO. But as this article hopefully illustrates, there are plenty of SEO blog writing tools to help you.
Some companies find that, in order to maintain SEO best practices, they need to steal time from their other business responsibilities. This is where partnering with an expert consultant can help.
SEO-based content marketing is one of the most powerful, cost-effective ways to drive traffic and nurture leads. The right SEO consultant can take the measure of your current website and competitive landscape and build you a content plan and strategy. They can ensure you’re using the best technical SEO practices on your website and write value-rich content that provides higher rankings in the SERPs.
At Nituno, our SEO experts are Hubspot and SEMrush accredited and have an abundance of experience writing high-performing, value-rich, optimized content. Experience has taught us that every client is unique. That’s why we’re equipped for flexibility, using inbound, paid SEM, outbound, video, and social media marketing to turbocharge your growth, depending on what your company needs now. Need compelling blogs that rank highly and drive growth? Get in touch with us today.
