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3 Tips for Writing Search-Friendly Website Content
Published on August 3, 2021
Every business wants to be found when their potential clients conduct a local search online. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is what allows small business websites to be found at or near the top of search results. And one of the most important aspects of SEO is high quality written content that’s optimized for search.
Therefore, writing local, search-friendly website content is arguably the most important thing you should focus on for SEO. For new web designers or even small business owners, crafting search-friendly content can seem like a very challenging task. However, when you break down the process, it’s a lot easier than you might think.
Website content should be locally-focused, appeal to site visitors and it should be relative to the business and their industry. The content on a site should accurately reflect the company and the main products and services it offers. Create content that talks directly to potential customers with the information they are looking for. Be sure to use keywords and terms throughout the content that potential customers would use. Writing search-friendly content will help your site rank higher in search results and can ultimately lead to more customers.
Whether you are crafting content for your own site, or writing content for a client’s website, here are 3 tips and some examples to help you create local, search-friendly content every time.
1. Include the Business Name
One of the simplest, yet often overlooked ways to improve your website content is to include the actual business name within the content. Many web designers or business owners will use generic terms like “our company” or “our firm” instead of using the actual company name. By incorporating the business name throughout the site, you are increasing the chances of it coming up in local search results for that business. Take a look at the example below to see what we mean:
Before:
Our company is the best restaurant in the area. We have a lot of unique dishes that are tasty and delicious. Come visit us today.
After:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of unique dishes that are tasty and delicious. Come visit Antonio’s today.
Here's a tip: Don’t worry about sounding repetitive. It’s more important that the language appeals to the search engines than it does to the person reading the content on the site. As long as you don't over do it, people will look past the fact that you’re repeating the business name several times in the same paragraph, but the search engines need it spelled out for them.
2. Choose the Right Keywords
Choosing the right keywords for your site is essential if you want your site to show up in relevant searches. For small businesses, keywords are defined as words or phrases that reflect the core products or services they offer. We say “core” because it’s better to focus on your main services, rather than trying to rank for everything and anything you offer. When choosing keywords, the more specific, the better. For example, if you’re a restaurant, keywords might include the type of cuisine or the specific dishes you offer. You might also include things like “catering” or “party room” if this is something you offer. Here's another example to show you what we mean:
Before:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of unique dishes that are tasty and delicious. Come visit Antonio’s today.
After:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best Italian restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of authentic Italian dishes including our homemade pastas, brick oven pizza and our famous Chicken Parmigiana. Planning a party? Antonio’s offers full-service catering and can accommodate up to 100 guests in our newly-renovated party room. Come visit Antonio’s today.
Here’s a tip: Opt for “long-tail keywords,” as opposed to single words or phrases. A long-tail keyword is a phrase that generally consists of 3-5 words. Since long-tail keywords are more specific than generic terms, they allow you to target specific areas or demographics. Long-tail keywords are also less competitive so you have a higher chance of ranking in search results, which can lead to more conversions.
For example, “baby shower catering venue” (4 words) is a long-tail keyword, whereas “catering” or “catering venue” are short-tail keywords. Another example is “Italian restaurant with outdoor dining” as opposed to just “Italian restaurant” or “outdoor dining.” You can sprinkle in these long-tail keywords throughout your website content or even create individual pages dedicated to each specific long-tail keyword.
3. Incorporate the Area Served
Another tip for writing search-friendly content and improving local search results is to incorporate the physical location of the business and the area it serves on the site. Make sure the business address is easily accessible and visible on your website. In addition, be sure to include the city, state or area you serve within the content itself. This will help your site rank higher for local search results when people search terms like “restaurant near me.” Take a look at the example below.
Before:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best Italian restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of authentic Italian dishes including our homemade pastas, brick oven pizza and our famous Chicken Parmigiana. Planning a party? Antonio’s offers full-service catering and can accommodate up to 100 guests in our newly-renovated party room. Come visit Antonio’s today.
After:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best Italian restaurant in San Francisco, CA. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of authentic Italian dishes including our homemade pastas, brick oven pizza and our famous Chicken Parmigiana. Planning a party? Antonio’s offers full-service catering and can accommodate up to 100 guests in our newly-renovated party room. If you’re looking for an Italian Restaurant in the San Francisco area, come visit Antonio’s today.
Here’s a tip: It's always best to focus on one area, especially to start. Don't think you'll trick the search engines by writing the same sentence over and over again with a different area plugged in. If you can earn search results for one area and build up a strong search engine reputation, then the site may be more likely to come up naturally for searches specifying the surrounding areas as well.
Time and again, SEO experts have labeled high quality, search-friendly content the most important aspect of SEO. While it may take a little extra time upfront, writing quality content is something every web designer should make the effort to do right, the first time.
If you use the tips mentioned here, you will be able to create search friendly website content for any industry or client, to give them an advantage over, or at the very least put them on a level playing field, with their competition. Search friendly website content is the key to showing up in search results, getting more traffic and gaining more customers.
Every business wants to be found when their potential clients conduct a local search online. Search Engine Optimization, or SEO, is what allows small business websites to be found at or near the top of search results. And one of the most important aspects of SEO is high quality written content that’s optimized for search.
Therefore, writing local, search-friendly website content is arguably the most important thing you should focus on for SEO. For new web designers or even small business owners, crafting search-friendly content can seem like a very challenging task. However, when you break down the process, it’s a lot easier than you might think.
Website content should be locally-focused, appeal to site visitors and it should be relative to the business and their industry. The content on a site should accurately reflect the company and the main products and services it offers. Create content that talks directly to potential customers with the information they are looking for. Be sure to use keywords and terms throughout the content that potential customers would use. Writing search-friendly content will help your site rank higher in search results and can ultimately lead to more customers.
Whether you are crafting content for your own site, or writing content for a client’s website, here are 3 tips and some examples to help you create local, search-friendly content every time.
1. Include the Business Name
One of the simplest, yet often overlooked ways to improve your website content is to include the actual business name within the content. Many web designers or business owners will use generic terms like “our company” or “our firm” instead of using the actual company name. By incorporating the business name throughout the site, you are increasing the chances of it coming up in local search results for that business. Take a look at the example below to see what we mean:
Before:
Our company is the best restaurant in the area. We have a lot of unique dishes that are tasty and delicious. Come visit us today.
After:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of unique dishes that are tasty and delicious. Come visit Antonio’s today.
Here's a tip: Don’t worry about sounding repetitive. It’s more important that the language appeals to the search engines than it does to the person reading the content on the site. As long as you don't over do it, people will look past the fact that you’re repeating the business name several times in the same paragraph, but the search engines need it spelled out for them.
2. Choose the Right Keywords
Choosing the right keywords for your site is essential if you want your site to show up in relevant searches. For small businesses, keywords are defined as words or phrases that reflect the core products or services they offer. We say “core” because it’s better to focus on your main services, rather than trying to rank for everything and anything you offer. When choosing keywords, the more specific, the better. For example, if you’re a restaurant, keywords might include the type of cuisine or the specific dishes you offer. You might also include things like “catering” or “party room” if this is something you offer. Here's another example to show you what we mean:
Before:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of unique dishes that are tasty and delicious. Come visit Antonio’s today.
After:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best Italian restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of authentic Italian dishes including our homemade pastas, brick oven pizza and our famous Chicken Parmigiana. Planning a party? Antonio’s offers full-service catering and can accommodate up to 100 guests in our newly-renovated party room. Come visit Antonio’s today.
Here’s a tip: Opt for “long-tail keywords,” as opposed to single words or phrases. A long-tail keyword is a phrase that generally consists of 3-5 words. Since long-tail keywords are more specific than generic terms, they allow you to target specific areas or demographics. Long-tail keywords are also less competitive so you have a higher chance of ranking in search results, which can lead to more conversions.
For example, “baby shower catering venue” (4 words) is a long-tail keyword, whereas “catering” or “catering venue” are short-tail keywords. Another example is “Italian restaurant with outdoor dining” as opposed to just “Italian restaurant” or “outdoor dining.” You can sprinkle in these long-tail keywords throughout your website content or even create individual pages dedicated to each specific long-tail keyword.
3. Incorporate the Area Served
Another tip for writing search-friendly content and improving local search results is to incorporate the physical location of the business and the area it serves on the site. Make sure the business address is easily accessible and visible on your website. In addition, be sure to include the city, state or area you serve within the content itself. This will help your site rank higher for local search results when people search terms like “restaurant near me.” Take a look at the example below.
Before:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best Italian restaurant in the area. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of authentic Italian dishes including our homemade pastas, brick oven pizza and our famous Chicken Parmigiana. Planning a party? Antonio’s offers full-service catering and can accommodate up to 100 guests in our newly-renovated party room. Come visit Antonio’s today.
After:
Antonio’s Restaurant is the best Italian restaurant in San Francisco, CA. At Antonio’s Restaurant, we have a lot of authentic Italian dishes including our homemade pastas, brick oven pizza and our famous Chicken Parmigiana. Planning a party? Antonio’s offers full-service catering and can accommodate up to 100 guests in our newly-renovated party room. If you’re looking for an Italian Restaurant in the San Francisco area, come visit Antonio’s today.
Here’s a tip: It's always best to focus on one area, especially to start. Don't think you'll trick the search engines by writing the same sentence over and over again with a different area plugged in. If you can earn search results for one area and build up a strong search engine reputation, then the site may be more likely to come up naturally for searches specifying the surrounding areas as well.
Time and again, SEO experts have labeled high quality, search-friendly content the most important aspect of SEO. While it may take a little extra time upfront, writing quality content is something every web designer should make the effort to do right, the first time.
If you use the tips mentioned here, you will be able to create search friendly website content for any industry or client, to give them an advantage over, or at the very least put them on a level playing field, with their competition. Search friendly website content is the key to showing up in search results, getting more traffic and gaining more customers.