SEO writing tips

Don’t create content for the sake of creating content or because you want to rank for a certain term. Write informative content that will:

• Answer a searcher’s questions.
  
• Provide them with what they need to make a decision.
• Make them feel something.

It’s not only about keyword research, it’s about understanding the intent behind a search – what is the audience searching for and why are they searching for it? Do they want to compare health savings accounts? Are they looking for a doctor near them? Or are they looking for expertise on specialty medications?

To conduct audience/keyword research, follow these steps:

• Determine which keywords your audience is using. You can do this a number of ways:
  • Perform a Google Search on a keyword and see what the top results are to match that keyword.
  • Look at the “People also ask” section in the search results for questions you can answer in the content.
  • Refer to “Related searches” at the bottom of the SERPs for other ideas.
  • You can also put in a Workfront request for the SEO team to conduct keyword research and provide you with an SEO content template.
• Then, naturally include those keywords in your heading tags and body content, as well as semantically related terms (synonyms).
• Satisfy your audience with content that is better than your competitors to rank higher.

The H1 describes the main topic of the page. It should also be the most prominent headline on the page. Use only one H1 per page, and include your primary keyword – whether it’s a short-tail or long-tail keyword. Get more H1 tips.

People are easily impatient by slow-loading pages, broken links, low-quality graphics, pop-up ads and large blocks of text. That’s why every page you create must be “snackable.” Here are some ways to make a page scannable:

• Use natural language. This means to use the words/phrases that your audience uses, avoiding jargon when possible.
• Use the primary keyword in the first 100-150 words (besides in the H1) so that the audience knows they’re on the right page and Google understands the main topic of the page.
• Target 5-10 additional keywords throughout the body content.
• Answer real questions that people ask about a particular topic to satify their search intent.
• Use short paragraphs.
• Create bulleted or numbered lists.
• Bold important text.
• Use pull quotes or testimonials. These can help build authority and trust for a topic.
• Write clear CTAs so that the audience understands what they'll get out of the action before clicking. (Avoid using "click here".)
• Use proper grammar and spelling. This also contributes to expertise, authority and trust.
• Update older content. Not just tweaking a word here and there, but adding a new paragraph, updating statistics, adding imagery or a video, testing a new H1 or metadata, etc.

Read more about optimizing body content.

Having images on a page doesn't necessarily help that page rank higher in search results. But they do enhance the user experience and can help to increase organic traffic by having an attractive thumbnail appear in search results.

• Use original photography or create graphics. Try to avoid stock images since every website uses them! We want to differentiate ourselves from competitors and present interesting imagery.
• Ensure that images are less than 200K in size so that they load quickly and don't affect page speed performance.
• Always include alt text, describing what the image is for both screen readers and so that Google understands what the image is.
• Include your primary keyword in the file name.
• Place images near relevant content and near the top of the page.

Learn more about image SEO.

Use subheadings to break up the main topic/ideas on a page. This not only helps the audience scan the information they're interested in, but also helps search engines better understand the content and structure of a page.

Include additional keywords or synonyms you're targeting in your subheadings, but don't overdo it; not every subheading needs a keyword, so make it sound natural.

Subheadings are also a great way to capture searchers' actual questions, so that you can answer them in the paragraph below it.

Internal links play an essential role in SEO because they:

• Guide visitors to answers they seek about products, services or expertise on a particular topic
• Demonstrate to search engines how content relates and pass on link authority
• Show visitors and search engines which pages are most important

Search engine spiders crawl links within a site to determine its structure. Pages closer to the primary navigation are naturally considered more important.

External links also play an important role in SEO because they:

• Can be used to cite a source or offer further context
• Are seen as an "endorsement" of the content being linked to

When to link:

Think about the customer journey when determining what you should link on a page. What would your audience need to know in order to get answers or make a decision? Here are some things to keep in mind:

• Prominment links and calls to action should be placed strategically to catch the attention of your audience, such as in the banner or in a button.
• For in-text links, make sure the link anchor text is descriptive and succinct. You want the audience to understand what they're clicking on. (Avoid using generic text like "click here".)
• Use heatmapping tools like CrazyEgg to see how visitors are engaging with the content and which links they are or aren't clicking on. This can help to inform and optimize your linking strategy, both internal and external.
• Don't overdo it with links. Make sure the links you add provide value to both the audience and search engines. Otherwise, Google has said that using too many internal links on the same page can dilute their value and also prevent Google from understanding a site's structure.
• Most importantly, when adding a new page to the website, make sure you link to this new page from another page on the website. This will help the new page get indexed by Google and avoid what are called "orphan pages."

Learn more about internal and external links.

Besides images, videos are a great way to have visual content.

If you're not sure what to cover in your video, search for topics/ideas on Youtube and see what comes up in the results. If there isn't a quality video for that particular topic or you think you could do better, then that's what you can focus on.

Consider these best practices when embedding videos on a page:

• Videos should be less than 3 minutes in length (the shorter, the better).
• Write a strong call to action on the page to encourage users to watch the video.
• Use a compelling video thumbnail, something eye-catching.
• Include your primary keyword in the video file name.
• Write video metadata using keywords so that the video is indexed.
• Don't forget to add a transcript and closed captions.

Get more video SEO tips.

Google uses a set of factors called E-A-T (Expertise, Authoritativeness, and Trust) to help determine the quality of pages and may improve their rankings.

By providing a byline and bio on an article or blog, you're showing the audience and search engines that this content was written by an expert in that field. Therefore, the information is trustworthy, and authoritative websites will want to link to that content.

To demonstrate E-A-T on an article page, follow these steps:

• Include the author's name with credentials at the top of the page. For example: 
  • By Kristi Henderson, DNP, NP-C, FAAN, FAEN
• Anchor jump link the author's name to the bio at the bottom of the page.
• Add the Published date to the top of the page.
• If going back and updating an older article, include the Updated date at the top as well.
• For the bio, include their headshot, name with credentials, job title, and information about them that demonstrates why they're an expert in that particular topic. You can include things like:
  • Years of experience
  • Education
  • Clinical interests
  • Skills
  • Awards
  • Job function
  • Associations they belong to

URLs

Aim to make your page URLs short, concise, clear and descriptive. Shorter URLs tend to rank higher in the search results. Follow these best practices:

• Use lowercase letters and separate words with dashes.
• Include your primary keyword.
• Ensure your URL and page headline are aligned to maximize relevancy.
• Remove any stop words from the URL, such as: the, but, to, and, or. Sometimes including certain stop words can make a URL more readable, though, so use your best judgment. The goal here is to make your URL as short and readable as possible.
• Avoid using dates. They can make your content appear outdated and add additional length to the URL.
• Avoid using numbers. They can make it harder to update your content if stats or lists in your content change.
• An ideal URL slug length is 3-5 words.

What is a URL slug?

The URL slug is the last part of a full URL, after the last backslash. For example:

• https://www.optum.com/business/solutions/employer/risk-management.html
• https://www.optum.com/business/solutions/provider/physician-practice/chronic-care-medicare.html
• https://www.optum.com/business/resources/library/diabetes-drugs-tackle-obesity.html

A slug that contains keywords or keyword modifiers like "best," "guide," "checklist," "fast," and "review" can:

• Help you rank for those target keywords and long-tail versions
• Signal to search engines that the content should be included in search results
• Assist search engine crawlers in understanding how to get to your page
• Improve a user's experience if the URL structure clearly states what the page is about

Learn more about URL structures.

Breadcrumbs

Make sure the breadcrumb title for a page is clear, short and descriptive, just like your URL. Breadcrumbs are important because they:

• Categorize information in search results
• Help improve a page's ranking
• Guide users by showing them where they are within a site