How to Assist Your Writers in Navigating Through Google

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Writing by itself is hardly a walk in the park.

Writing for search engine optimization (SEO for brevity) is, for a lack of better term, even harder.

There will be countless times wherein frustrated writers will try to insert keyword after keyword into their articles no matter how out of place they may seem or how off they may sound. But this is the least of your problems. The problem really sets in and creates quite a dilemma when you give your writers clear cut instructions and you would still see them scratch their heads in confusion.

To you, directions such as “create clickable titles and insert keywords or phrases in the H1” may sound like straightforward instructions. But to your poor flummoxed writer, this is equated to jargon speak that leaves them perplexed. While navigating through Google Land, driving on their own might get them to their intended destination, but it not always practical and it will be costly as well. Instead, these writers will need you take the wheel and have them observe from the passenger seat. 

Shall you guide your writers well with clear directions, and hand them a road map if you may, you would not only be assisting them into writing better articles (as their writing will certainly improve) but you would be investing in your company’s ROI as well.

To ensure that this comes into fruition, there are five things you need to take note of:

Get a realistic assessment of your writers’ skills

This will enable you to provide the appropriate your writers might require. Some of your writers may already be SEO writing demi-gods, but you may have employed writers who are rather skilled in writing but are novices in writing for SEO. 

Writers who are already well versed with SEO writing would benefit more from advanced tips and strategies while those who are newbies to the field would need more instruction and involvement from you. Do not erroneously assume that an experienced writer is highly skilled in SEO as innumerable writers are still operating on obsolete SEO information which could be detrimental to your website.

Craft easy to reference SEO content guides

Set your expectations and relay them to your writers clearly and concisely. Be very specific on how long you want the blog posts to be, how you would like Titles and meta descriptions to be structured and other details you want to be included. After a rigorous training series, these things can often be overlooked and neglected. 

Create a guide that would outline what your expectations are from your writers and their posts and provide examples as well.

Evaluate your training options for SEO content

Simply sending your writing team to a conference would not be very effective. Instead, it would be to your advantage and to the benefit of your writers if you created a comprehensive and customized program. Always take into account that your writers come from different backgrounds, some may already have experience in SEO while some may not. 

Some may have been previously employed and had experience in a different area of writing than the one your company is hosting. Consider these things and develop a program for them. At the very least, your training should include SEO writing and editing principles, keyword, and keyphrase research, creating top-converting Titles and Meta description.

Frequent follow-up training should be offered

Google does not stay stagnant and in order to keep up with its changes, you need to develop training sessions for you writers. Apart from assisting your writers in refining their craft, this is also an excellent way to review and revisit your SEO techniques, polish them and evaluate if they might be getting obsolete.

Always provide adequate feedback

Never underestimate the power of giving feedbacks and constructive criticisms.

Your writers will thank you for this. By consistently providing adequate feedback, your writers will feel that you are more involved with their work apart from you pointing out where they need to improve. 

The more you provide feedback, the more their craft improves and the more confident your writers will feel in their work. Be specific in your feedback, point out the areas where improvisation is called for and give praise where praise is due. A simple “You’re doing a great job!” or “You can do better than this” would not cut it.

Try these steps out and provide the necessary skills your writers will need for SEO success. You will aid them in becoming confident and effective writers and help them in safely arriving at their destination faster. Perhaps these five steps are all you need to give your writers that map to successfully make that trip around Google-land.