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With all of the content available online, writing a new article can sometimes feel like throwing words into the void. Good copy isn’t always enough to cut it anymore. So how can you stand out from the competition?
The answer is search engine optimization, or SEO.
93% of all online experiences begin with a search engine. That means that no matter how powerful or compelling your writing is, nobody will ever be able to find it without search engine optimization.
Writing SEO content is the first step towards expanding your online reach, but it’s not an easy skill to master. These days, search algorithms expect a delicate balance of keywords, natural language, and quality information to rank your content highly in search engines. Making use of powerful SEO writing tools can mean the difference between making your work visible or letting it get lost in the content stream.
The following SEO writing tools can simplify the process and get you on track to optimized content in no time.
1. Google Search Console
Powered by the top search engine in the world, the Google Search Console offers access to a dashboard of information about your website.
With just one glance, you can learn lots of data about your website, including which pages are performing well, which keywords people are using to find your content, and even demographic info about your readers. This information is crucial to assess your current content strategy and refine it to reach an even wider audience.
2. Yoast Real-Time Content Analysis
If you’re looking for something that covers all the basics in one application, Yoast is the tool for you.
This application started as a WordPress plugin to help improve writing mechanics, including increasing readability, eliminating passive voice, and using keywords sparingly throughout your copy. The newer, expanded version works for any website or browser application, not just WordPress.
With the Yoast Real-Time Content Analysis tool, you can get instant feedback and analysis on any piece of content to get it ready for SEO success.
3. Woorank
Woorank gives you the power of a personal strategist with the simplicity of an online tool.
This SEO analysis tool offers you a monthly report assessing all aspects of your SEO strategy. It points out strengths and weaknesses in your campaign and gives you a breakdown of how effective your social media marketing is, where you’re ranking in terms of keyword use, and your website’s overall reputation.
Here's a look at what your Woorank dashboard might look like:
Keep in mind that Woorank offers one free report per month. For further analysis or assessment of additional websites, you’ll have to upgrade to a paid plan.
4. Keyword Density Checker
While there are plenty of content writing tools for SEO out there to help you pick the right keywords, it’s also important that you use those keywords correctly.
The Keyword Density Checker will help you refine your keyword use, ensuring that you’re not overusing any keywords in your content. Overusing keywords can not only cause algorithms to flag your content as spam, but it could annoy or confuse your readers too.
Before you hit publish on your next online article, be sure to run it through this tool to make sure that your keyword density comes across as natural, seamless, and perfectly optimized for SEO.
5. One Look Thesaurus
When you’re writing a long article, some repetition is inevitable. You might find yourself using the same words, phrases, or statistics to make your point, even if it’s not intentional. But this can make your writing clunky and difficult to read. It also might come across as spammy or low-quality content, which will quickly drop your SEO ranking.
With the One Look Thesaurus, it’s easy to find alternatives for your most common words and phrases. This tool also comes in handy if you’ve ever had a word on the tip of your tongue, but can’t remember what it is. One Look comes with a reverse dictionary, where you can type in a description and find the exact word you’re looking for to complete your sentence.
6. Hemingway Editor
The Hemingway Editor helps you work on the mechanics of your writing. It highlights common writing mistakes and keeps track of which sentences are hard to read. It also gives you an average readability grade to demonstrate the reading level of your prose.
All you have to do is copy and paste your content into the desktop app and it will show you:
- The readability of your content
- Sentences that are long or hard to read
- Overuse of adverbs
- Overuse of passive voice
- Sentences with simpler alternatives
- Word count
- Average time to read content
The interface is clean, simple, and easy to use as well.
If you tend toward the wordier side when writing, this app can help you make your writing concise and easy to read—which will in turn boost your SEO potential.
7. Spellcheck Plus
Nothing ruins SEO optimized content faster than a typo. If your writing isn’t clear and grammatically correct, you run the risk of coming across as inexperienced, careless, or spammy.
While a built-in spell checker on Google Docs or Word might do the trick, these functions don’t always catch every mistake. With Spellcheck Plus, you can catch tricky spelling and grammar errors, even those that might slip past another spellcheck service.
If you're looking for something fast and effective to take your writing up a notch and keep your work from getting buried in the search engine results, this tool will help you get the job done.
Conclusion
With just a few simple but powerful tools, incorporating the best SEO practices into your work is easier than ever.
Writing is hard, and writing with SEO in mind is even harder—but it doesn’t have to be. These tools can help you speed up the process, enhance your strategy, and make your work search engine ready.
This article was written by Compose.ly writer Julia Dupuis.
