If you’re wondering what an SEO article looks like, you’re in good company. Here’s a quick video where you’ll learn what you need to know, followed up by a 2024 update.
(Video transcript is below, in case you prefer reading to watching video.)
Hey, guys, it’s Avery. This week’s question is all about what does an SEO article actually look like. I get this question all the time. Now the first thing I want to start off with saying is …
…please don’t overcomplicate it. Trust me, it is not hard to make an SEO article, to write one properly.
How SEO articles are different from regular articles
The main thing you need to know is that they’re really not that much different from a regular article, they really aren’t. If you look at any article on a website, and you see that it’s well-written, it’s informative, fits with the tone of the website, it’s conversational in tone, that could be an SEO article. If it’s not an SEO article, the only thing that has to be done to it to turn it into an SEO article is to add a keyword phrase that the client wants to rank highly for in Google.
For example, if you were to do a web search for any term, let’s say you’re going on a vacation to Orlando, Florida with your kids, and you want to Google “things to do in Orlando with kids”, that phrase, “things to do in Orlando with kids”, could be the keyword phrase. When you look in Google search results you’re going to know if you’re seeing an SEO article because that phrase, “things to do in Orlando with kids”, is likely to appear in the main headline. It will probably also be in the first paragraph. You’ll see it prominently in sub-headlines in the article. If you see an article like that, you know it’s been SEO’d for the search term that you were searching for.
Let’s say that you’re trying to find out what the internet speed is like in a place you’re going to be working and traveling in. You Googled “good internet in Hanoi”. I know I did that a lot before I came here. I’m filming this from Hanoi right now, actually. If I wanted to find an SEO article on good internet in Hanoi, I’d Google that search term, and I would see if in the search results I saw any results that had the phrase “good internet in Hanoi” in the headline. Then when I click on that article to look at it, I’d see if the phrase “good internet in Hanoi” is in the first paragraph and if it’s in any of the main sub-headlines. If it is, odds are it’s an SEO article. The person was trying to rank for that term.
SEO articles can be written about pretty much anything
For pretty much any term you can think of, you can do this experiment to find SEO articles. It could be anything from how to choose a good puppy for your family, to how to get rid of anthills to how to sew a dress. Any phrase that you can think of that would be of interest to someone to find out more about could be turned into an SEO article.
Summing up
Just remember it’s honestly not complicated, so don’t let your mind or your uncertainties turn it into something complicated when it’s not. Just understand that all an SEO article is is a regular article that’s well-written and conversational, published on the internet, and is optimized for a keyword phrase.
Please do keep your questions coming in. Hit the reply button to the email that you heard about this video in and send me your questions. Leave me your comments below the video with your questions, or go to the contact form on my website and leave me your question there. Either way, I will see them all. I will chose the most common ones to answer in my weekly Q&A’s. Until next week, I hope you guys do great, do take action. Start doing something. Set up your Upwork profile or come up with a pitch that you can use for clients. Work on your samples. I’m sure you guys have lots to do, so get to it. I’ll see you guys again next week. Bye.
2024 update
As with everything in life, some things stay the same, and others change. But the way I format SEO articles honestly hasn’t changed much over the years. If you follow the principles discussed in the video above, you’ll be in good shape! One thing I will caution you on now that we’re in the age of AI is this: do NOT to succumb to the temptation to use AI to write all your stuff for you. There are several reasons for that:
- There are AI detectors out there that are uncannily accurate. Sure, some of them suck, but others don’t. So if you use AI extensively in your writing, you should assume that there’s an AI detector out there that will know it.
- Articles that are 100% written by AI are commonly used by spammy sites who are out to make a quick buck, unfortunately with zero regard to the quality of the info provided. Clients who know what they’re doing and are looking out for the long-term health of a website are NOT going be a fan of freelancers who try to pass of pure-AI content as human-written.
Very encouraging and enlightening. Thank you!