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Language: en
Content is just information.
And whatever you want to write about,
chances are, you're not the first.
Demand for content is surging.
And with information accessible literally
at the tip of our fingers, there's an excess
supply, making it more challenging to get
noticed and produce profitable results.
So in order to do that, you need a system
that will lead to predictable results so that
your content can stand out from the rest.
So if you're a blogger, freelance writer, or do
any type of content writing, keep watching
because I'm going to walk you through a step-
by-step framework to engage your audience,
satisfy search engines, and as a result, drive
consistent traffic and hopefully revenue.
Stay tuned.
[music]
Alright, so first, let's set the record straight.
Whether you're writing for your own site or
for a client, you should have two objectives
for your content.
#1. The content should drive traffic to the site.
And #2. The content should engage those people
so that they'll turn into customers or be pushed
further down the sales funnel.
So with those objectives in mind, let's go
through a simple 4-step process to achieve
both of these goals.
The first step is to write about topics
people are actually searching for.
Most people like to write about topics
that excite them.
And while that's all well and good, these
posts often have a short shelf life.
For example, a few months ago we
published an article on how to start
a link building campaign fast.
We talk about systematizing, automating, scaling
and all sorts of exciting things… at least for us.
And immediately after publishing, we
promoted the post to our social media
followers, email list, and spent a few hundred
dollars on ads to amplify the content.
As a result, we had a huge spike in traffic with
thousands of visits over the first few days.
But soon after, the traffic faded fast.
And today, it gets next to no traffic
compared to our other posts.
And while this post wasn't created with search
traffic in mind, we knew that it would create
a textbook "spike of hope" and "flatline of nope."
And that's what happens when you create
content that no one's searching for.
Now, when you create content around topics
that people are searching for, then you get
the opposite effect: free, passive, and consistent
traffic that usually grows over time.
To find topics worth creating content on,
you'll need a keyword research tool to
a) identify search demand, and b) understand
traffic potential of the topic, which is the total
amount of monthly search traffic you could
get if you were to rank high for that query.
So let's say we have a site on DIY
home improvement tutorials.
To find keywords to target, I'll go to Ahrefs'
Keywords Explorer and search for some keywords
broadly related to the topic, like "home
improvement," "kitchen," and "living room."
Next, I'll go to the Questions report.
And as you can see, there's quite a bit of
search demand around these topics as
you can see from their search volumes.
And this topic on "how to paint kitchen
cabinets" seems like a promising topic
for our DIY home improvement site.
Now, to find the traffic potential of the topic, hit
the SERP button and look at the Traffic column.
As you can see, the top-ranking page
gets over 37,000 monthly visits from
Google every single month.
So this topic checks both boxes.
Now, it's important to note that I've skipped
a few steps here in the topic selection process,
the main one being assessing ranking difficulty.
But this tutorial is on content writing, so
instead of expanding, I'll add some links
to our keyword research tutorials
in the description.
Alright, so at this point, we have a topic to
tackle, but just because you have a topic,
it doesn't mean you should write
whatever you want.
Remember, our goal is to rank at the top of
Google so that you can get consistent traffic.
And this leads us nicely into the second step,
which is to assess the "type" of content Google
wants you to create.
Google's job is to deliver the most
relevant results for any given query.
And they do a pretty good job at this.
So naturally, if you want to rank for your
target topic, then you need to know the type
of content Google will rank for that query.
This is called search intent, which tells us
about what searchers are looking for when
they key in a query.
The easiest way to do this is to just search
for the query you want to rank for and look
at the top-ranking results.
And the three things you're looking for are:
Сontent type, which can be blog posts, product
pages, category pages, or landing pages.
Content format, which can be how-to guides,
step-by-step tutorials, list posts, opinion
editorials, reviews, or comparisons.
And the last one is content angle, which is
basically the unique selling point of the top-
ranking pages.
So looking at the top 10 results for our query
"how to paint kitchen cabinets," you'll see that
all of the pages are blog posts, so that would
be the content type you should use too.
As for format, the top two ranking pages are
"how-tos," which will be step-by-step tutorials.
And for content angle, there isn't really
a definitive one.
From my experience, matching content type and
format are critical to rank at the top of Google,
but angle usually isn't as important unless there's
a clear theme among the top-ranking pages.
Alright, the next step is to create
a data-driven outline.
Content is like a puzzle.
There are a lot of different pieces and it's tough
to assemble without some kind of framework.
Outlines are like the edge pieces of the puzzle.
They help to form the base and all you
need to do is fill in the missing pieces.
They also help make sure you're including
all critical points worth communicating
on the topic.
And from an SEO perspective, it can help
you satisfy the algorithm and the audience.
The way Google determines a page's placement
in the search results is algorithmic.
Meaning, you can't pay to rank at the top
of Google and your friend that works there
can't move your site to the top.
Their technology is able to understand
words and the context they're in.
And the more context you give to search engines,
the better your chances of ranking high.
The easiest way to find critical talking points
is to look at some of the top-ranking pages
and see if there are similar subtopics.
For our topic on how to paint kitchen cabinets,
the top 2 pages both talk about choosing
the right paint, preparation, priming the
cabinets, painting the cabinets, and so on.
So add these commonalities to your
outline as subheadings.
Another thing you can do is use Ahrefs' Content
Gap tool to find common keyword rankings
between the top-ranking pages.
This can help you find more subtopics as well
as jargon that might be relevant in adding
context to your post.
Just enter the top 2 or 3 relevant ranking results
in the top section and then run the search.
As you can see, people are looking for the
best paint for cabinets, they want to know
how to refinish them, some are specifically
looking for white cabinets, and so on.
Don't worry about stuffing these keywords
in your post, but if you see something that
could act as a subheading, it might be
worth adding to your outline.
Just focus on writing something that's
succinct and actionable.
This will humanize the post and help you to
focus on what matters most: helping readers.
Alright, the next step is to create
a click-worthy headline.
A headline is important because it's
what stands between you and a visitor.
Its main job is to convince people to
actually click on your result.
Then it's your content's job to
keep them reading.
Now, if you struggle with writing good headlines,
here are a few simple formulas you can use.
Take a screenshot before I start filling
in the blanks for our home decor site.
"How to Professionally Paint Kitchen
Cabinets in Under an Hour"
"7 Proven Ways to Decorate Your
Home on a Tiny Budget"
"10 Simple Ways to Renovate your
Home on a Shoestring Budget"
"10 Reasons You're Unhappy with
Your Home Decor"
Now, it's important to note that while clickbait
headlines might produce more clicks, keep in
mind that if your content can't deliver on
the headline's promise, then it'll do more
harm than good.
Alright, the next step is to write a killer
intro using the AIDA formula.
The introduction is arguably the most
important part of your content.
Its job is to hook your reader, tell them
they're in the right place, and convince
them to keep reading.
Fortunately, there's a tried and tested formula
you can use called AIDA, which stands for
attention, interest, desire, and action.
Let's write a sample intro for our article
on how to paint kitchen cabinets.
The first line should be dedicated
to grab your audience's attention.
So something like…
"You don't have to be a professional
to paint beautiful kitchen cabinets."
This breaks a common belief the reader
might have and thus, grabs their attention.
The next part is to pique their interest.
You can do this with stories, interesting
facts, or anything else that might help
connect with your audience in a personal way.
So let's add to our intro.
"But the surprising thing is that 99% of
homeowners still choose contractors,
which can cost up to 20 times
the price of a DIY solution."
This line adds an interesting fact that also
communicates that a) they'll be unique by
doing it themselves, and b) they'll
save a ton of money.
Alright, next up is desire.
This part is meant to show the reader how
your content can solve their problem.
And one of the best ways to do that
is by showing them proof.
So let's add on.
"In fact, we spent just $100 on materials
and we now have our dream kitchen."
Finally is action.
This can be done in the form of a "let's get
started" type of line or you can enhance
the user's experience using something
like a table of contents.
So if I were to add on to our
intro, I might say:
"Let's walk through the simple 5-step process
to get your kitchen looking like a million bucks."
Alright, let's move on to the next step, which
is to make your content actionable and easy
to digest.
So your outline should act as a nice
skeleton for your post.
And to add meat to those bones,
you need to do two things.
#1. You want to make it as helpful as possible.
Meaning, if someone searches for "how to
paint kitchen cabinets," then they should be
able successfully do that with
the help of your content.
This will all come down to your knowledge
and expertise on the subject.
And #2. You want to make it easy
to digest and read.
And this comes down to your
communication and writing skills.
The best tip to make your content digestible is
to keep your thoughts as succinct as possible.
For example, if you're writing a step on choosing
the right paint for your cabinets, you might say
something like…
"The color you choose is up to you.
However, there are 5 things you need to consider
depending on the type of cabinets you have."
Then add a list of 5 bullet points.
Compare that to something like…
"Color is a powerful thing.
It can affect your emotions so choosing
the right paint is a critical step.
According to a 2018 study, red is
a very emotionally intense color.
Think about fire and blood. Intense…"
This doesn't really help the user
solve their problem.
It just sounds like you're trying to convince
them to paint their cabinets red.
As for readability, you can do things like…
Use headings and subheadings, avoid walls
of text by writing in short sentences and short
paragraphs, add images if it helps clarify
or visualize a point, and use transitional
sentences like "as you know," "however",
and "also," which can help improve flow.
Now, after you've written your content,
I highly recommend getting someone
to give you unfiltered feedback.
This is something we do at Ahrefs for every
single piece of content we publish whether
that be a blog post, landing page, or video.
It helps us to always put our best foot forward
and deliver no-fluff content that we hope will
help our readers and viewers.
Now, the content aspect is a very important
part when it comes to SEO.
Meaning, if you can't get your content right,
then you probably aren't going to rank high
for any meaningful keywords.
Also, there are times when you'll nail
your content, but you still can't rank.
This often comes down to the level of
competition, which usually boils down
to quality backlinks.
Now, I won't go into assessing the ranking
difficulty of a topic or how to build backlinks
to your pages because we have quite a few
tutorials that go deep into these topics.
So I highly recommend watching those and
if you enjoyed this tutorial, then make sure
to like, share, and subscribe for more
actionable marketing tutorials.
And if you have any questions,
leave one in the comments below.
I'll see you in the next tutorial.