Writing SEO content that answers your customers
By Pixit
A useful SEO article should still be worth reading if you remove SEO from the brief. Someone arrives with a question and expects help making a decision or doing a task. Here is how we approach that answer without turning the text into a collection of keywords.
Choose one main question
Write down what readers want to know and what they should be able to do afterwards. “How do I prepare a business website?” calls for a method. “Business website development” usually calls for a service description.
Avoid asking one page to answer every question about your business. Give each page a clear role and link complementary subjects.
Consider “website cost”. The reader may really want to know why two quotes differ. Scope, optional features and running costs answer that need. A long history of the internet does not help them compare the proposals currently on their desk.
Put the answer before generalities
State the answer or approach at the start. Organise steps with descriptive headings and use concrete examples: documents to supply, decisions to make and mistakes to avoid.
On a page about website budgets, explain what changes the scope: templates, languages, content and integrations. If you do not publish prices, explain what is needed to prepare an estimate.
Before drafting, write one sentence describing what the reader will be able to do afterwards. Use it to remove detours. Keep personality, examples and humour where they help, but do not make the reader wait six paragraphs for the promised answer.
Show what you can substantiate
Use your own examples with appropriate permission, relevant screenshots or a precise description of your method. A numerical result needs real measurement and an explicit context.
Distinguish a hypothetical example from a client outcome. Remove outdated time references when they no longer fit, and update the substance before presenting an article as revised.
Label hypothetical situations as examples. For a real customer story, check publication permission and how any claimed results were measured. Without that evidence, explain a scenario instead. An honest illustration can be persuasive without pretending to be a testimonial.
Avoid artificial word-count targets
Google does not have a preferred word count. An explanation should fully answer the question without extra material added just to make the page longer.
Write a distinct title, an accurate description and link labels that explain their destination. Read the text aloud: unnecessary keyword repetition often becomes obvious.
Look for sentences that could appear unchanged in ten unrelated industries. Replace them with a decision, a limit or a question to ask a supplier. If a paragraph adds nothing to understanding, shorten it. Reading aloud often makes empty wording particularly obvious.
Adapt and review every language
Use the same brief for all three versions. Check professional terms, contact details, product names and steps in the journey; do not translate only the navigation.
Before publishing, ask someone unfamiliar with the subject to explain what they understood. If they cannot identify the next step, clarify the ending or the suggested link.
Choose two or three links that genuinely continue the discussion. A budget guide might lead to choosing the format and then planning the project. Review the title and description after finishing the article: their promise should match the answer the reader actually receives.
