Search Engine Optimization (SEO) has continued to gain popularity over the years because it helps businesses maximize the returns on their digital marketing investment. SEO has become the difference-maker for content writers.
Writing online content means writing for your customers. For your efforts to yield results, your content must be searchable on the Internet.
As most entrepreneurs have learned, being an expert in your field is not enough to ensure your website’s ranking in the search results. For your valuable information to be found, it must be optimized.
To give your optimization strategies a boost, we’ve created this list of 10 must-have tools for SEO content writers.
1. SEMRush
SEMRush is a favorite SEO tool for content writers. It’s easy to use and effective. What SEMRush does is to extract the high-ranking keywords used by the websites that are ranking high in the search results page.
An interesting feature of SEMRush is the Writing Assistant.
Writing Assistant is a tool that gives immediate recommendations on the best keywords to use for your content. It does this by analyzing the keywords used by the highest-ranking web pages.
For example, you can download the Writing Assistant app and have it installed as an add-on for Google Docs.
Turn on Writing Assistant before you start composing on Google Docs. As you type, Writing Assistant will run a check on your content for SEO quality. It will break down your content into 4 categories:
- SEO friendliness
- Readability
- Tone
- Freshness or originality
To get Writing Assistant, you must first have a SEMRush account. A free version of Writing Assistant is available but if you want more in-depth features, sign up for the Guru Plan which costs $199.95 per month.
2. Google Search Console
Google Search Console is a definite must-have for digital marketers who want to run a laser-focused SEO campaign.
Google Search Console gives you all the necessary information you need to assess how your website is performing. You will know which web pages are popular with the audience and the keywords they use to access your website.
You will also get data about the number of pages that have been indexed by the search engines.
Its search analytics feature will give you the following insights about your website:
- Total clicks
- Total impressions
- Average Click-Through-Rate (CTR)
- Average position in the SERP
All of these data can be used by the content writer to fine-tune your optimization strategies. Your content writer will know with certainty the types of content he needs to create to increase the visibility of your blogs and other forms of online content.
3. Yoast Real-Time Content Analysis
Yoast is one of the most popular plug-ins for WordPress especially for content writers looking to shore up their SEO strategies. Yoast’s Real-Time Content Analysis is a valuable resource for SEO advice in addition to providing features to help your website move up the search rankings.
Yoast’s Real-Time Content Analysis is a cloud-based tool that won’t cost you a cent. You can hop on the cloud at any time and use this valuable tool to sharpen up your content and make your web page more visible on the Internet.
Create and then, edit your title. Optimize your meta description. Use its integrated analytical tools to guide your content writing process. To be more certain, Yoast’s Real-Time Content Analysis will give you sneak peek and see where your SEO efforts will place you in the search engine results page.
4. Google Keyword Planner
Similar to SEMRush, Google Keyword Planner is another mainstay in the SEO toolbox of many content writers for 3 very good reasons.
First, Google Keyword Planner is free! All you need to access Google Keyword Planner is a Gmail account.
Second, Google Keyword Planner is customizable and easy to use. Simply set your desired settings – target country, language, and list of keywords – and you’re good to go.
Third, Google Keyword Planner is complementary to SEMRush. How? Use Google Keyword Planner to check the monthly search volume of a particular keyword. Not only will you see data on volume but Google Keyword Planner will give you Keyword Ideas.
Choose a high volume keyword idea and type it into the Google search box and launch a query. Google will present a list of websites that are relevant to the search query.
Copy and paste the URL of the website in the first position of the SERP onto the search box of SEMRush then click enter. SEMRush will retrieve all of the keywords used on the web page. Repeat the procedure for websites from the 2nd to 5th positions in the SERP.
You will have a spreadsheet of keywords that have been proven to help web pages rank high in the SERP.
5. Website Auditor’s Content Auditor
Website Auditor has come up with its own SEO tool called Content Editor. Think of Content Editor as Word with SEO features. This wonderful SEO tool will give you tips on how to optimize your content as you’re transposing ideas from your mind to the keyboard.
Title and meta descriptors are very important to optimize your page. As you’re preparing your respective descriptions, Content Editor will give you a preview of what your SERP will look like plus an idea of what your competitors’ SEO strategies are.
A challenge for content writers, especially for those writing Buyer’s Guides or Product Reviews, is to keep track of the keywords used in the content. Sometimes a 6,000-word Buyer’s Guide will need more than 100 keywords integrated into the content at least once.
Content Editor has a keyword counter that will help you keep track of the keywords you need to include on your content.
6. nTopic
Writing online content is much different than writing for a glossy or submitting a research paper to your college professor. The ideal content for online publication goes beyond well-researched material and having no errors in grammar and spelling.
Content writers often write without knowing if the words they use are relevant to the topic or not. Some words may not be associated at all with the subject matter you are writing about.
Google considers topic relevancy as an important ranking factor. If Google does not consider your content as relevant, your web page may find itself down in the search rankings.
nTopic is an SEO tool that works to improve your content by letting you know if the keywords are relevant to the topic by giving you an nTopic score. If the score of your content is low, nTopic will give recommendations on how to make it better.
nTopic claims in its website that a web page sees a 4% increase in the search rankings after implementing the improvements the software recommended.
7. KWFinder
KWFinder is almost like an all-in-one SEO tool for content writers.
Similar to the other SEO tools discussed above, KWFinder will give you a good number of keyword suggestions. In addition, KWFinder will give you other useful data such as:
- Search Volume per Month
- Cost-Per-Click Figures
- History of keywords – how popular these keywords have been over the years
You will also be given comprehensive information on the current position of the keyword you are using.
KWFinder is not a free SEO tool. The Basic Plan will cost you US$49 per month and will help you find 100 keywords per day.
The most expensive plan is the Agency which costs US$129 per month and will help you find up to 1,200 high-ranking keywords per day.
8. Scoop.it
According to studies, to drive more traffic to your website and to increase search rankings, the ideal blogging frequency is 11 times per month.
Even the best content writers will have a hard time sustaining a pace of 11 optimized blogs per month. But you need content – high-quality content – to give your website a boost up the SERP.
Your next best option would be to pack your website with high-quality and optimized curated content.
Scoop.it will do just that for you!
Scoop.it is a content curating machine that scours the Internet in search of articles that are unique, useful, informative, and relevant to your website. Of course, these articles have been optimized for search engines.
By publishing high-quality curated content, you can enhance your brand, open up potential connections with influencers, and provide your followers with relevant information.
9. SpyFu
SpyFu is an SEO tool that does exactly what you think it’s all about -spy on your competitor’s SEO strategy!
Simply type in the domain name of your competitor and SpyFu will retrieve a number of valuable pieces of information that you can use to fine-tune your own SEO strategy.
The treasure trove of SEO information includes the following:
- Organic keywords your competitor is ranking for.
- Adwords for PPC your competitor is using.
- Keywords your competitors have used that yielded poor results.
- Keep track of the keywords your competitors are actively bidding for.
Then, type in your website.
SpyFu will recommend the best keywords you have not used or spent on for your PPC campaigns.
This is a wonderful SEO tool to have because you will know exactly how your SEO strategies are measuring up versus the competition.
10. WooRank
WooRank is an online tool that does a comprehensive audit of your SEO strategy. In real-time, WooRank will give you valuable information on how your SEO is doing – the strengths that deliver results and the weak points holding it back.
But WooRank won’t stop there.
Once the weak points of your SEO strategy have been identified, WooRank will propose an action plan that can help deliver the desired results.
An interesting feature of WooRank is its Keyword Tool that helps you find the best keywords for your content, keeps you updated on your ranking versus your competitors for targeted keywords, and tracks the performance of your keywords over time.
Conclusion
To compete for the top spot in the search rankings, SEO is an absolute must but your SEO game must always be on point.
The rules of SEO are constantly changing because the online behaviors of consumers are likewise shifting from time-to-time. You have to stay on top of your audience and find out what motivates them to perform a search.
The 10 SEO tools we discussed in this article will eliminate the guesswork and ensure you have solid data to design an effective content marketing strategy or improve upon your current one.
If you need help in fine-tuning your SEO strategy, give us a call or drop an email. We will get in touch with you right away.
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