How do we write long-form content for SEO?

Any successful content strategy must include some type of long-form content. If you’re aiming to perform well on search engines to increase your industry reputation and improve website traffic, you must create long-form blog posts alongside any short-form content.

Why? Well, that’s why we’re here – to help you understand why we write long-form content and why you should, too.

Continue reading the opinion of our expert content writers at Paramount Digital to find out more about the importance of long-form content.

What is long-form content writing?

Long-form content refers to written, long-form videos, or audio content that delves deep into a subject. For example, long-form blog posts could have a large word count. A normal ballpark for these types of blogs is between 1000 and 2500 words! Long-form audio content could be a two-hour podcast.

Long-form content in any format aims to provide extensive insight into a specific subject, providing the listener, watcher, or reader with substantial information.

A long-form article will ask several questions, providing answers and knowledge for readers.

Why publish long-form content for SEO?

So, now you understand what long-form content is, it’s important to determine why you should publish it. Whether it’s written content, audio, or visual, quality in-depth content can be hugely beneficial for a brand, especially in the digital age.

What type of benefits can producing long-form content provide?

• SEO and visibility – Long-form content can enhance your search engine optimisation strategy by engaging your readers for longer, leading to much higher search engine rankings. Time spent on the page and bounce rate (users that view one page then leave the website) are ranking metrics, so improving performance for this criteria is crucial.
• Authority – Become a leader in your field by providing thorough blog posts with detailed analysis and in-depth information.
• Content versatility – Unlike short-form content, your long-form content can be repurposed into podcasts, video snippets, infographics, and more.
• User engagement – With keyword research, you can reach your target audience and then engage readers with blog posts, increasing the average time spent digesting your content.
• Customer education – Long-form content creation provides your regular readers and viewers with in-depth information that educates them, building your brand reputation and helping them return in the future.
• Content library – Regularly publishing successful long-form content allows you to build a library of longer articles that provide value for current and potential customers.
• Long-term traffic – You can attract visitors to your web pages over a long period with consistent long-form blog posts and more.

General principles for creating long-form content

How do you get started creating long-form content? It’s not simply a case of sitting down and creating something at the drop of a hat; it requires careful planning and research to create a long-form content strategy.

Follow our steps to find out how long-form content can be created to benefit your brand.

Conduct comprehensive research

Before creating any sort of long-form piece of content, you must conduct some research into your target audience and the specific subjects you’d like to cover.

Of course, one of the main aims of creating long-form content is to perform well on search engines, so utilise a keyword research tool to ensure you can find the right keywords and phrases to incorporate. This way, you can discover exactly what your target audience is searching online.

Once you know what your audience is searching for online, you can begin planning how you’ll go about creating long-form content.

How can you rank highly on search engine results pages?

When you create content, you must rank highly on search results pages to give yourself the best chance possible of increasing your reach.

Creating comprehensive content while incorporating keywords you discovered during your research will, hopefully, ensure you rank highly on search engines – increasing your online visibility.

Outline a content strategy

Your content strategy must include a detailed plan of how you’ll structure your long-form content. This includes the key points you’ll cover, any subtopics, and the relevant data to back up your claims.

Ensuring you have a clear plan gives you the best chance possible of your content flowing well and improves its readability.

Ensure high-quality production

Any long-form content that’s created must be done so at the highest possible standard, ensuring your audience is engaged and interested.

When writing long-form content, focus on clarity and conciseness. For particularly niche subjects, they can be difficult to understand, so simplifying the language can make it easier for your audience to understand.

For video and audio content, ensure the highest quality production with clear visuals and sound. Anything less than excellent in this day and age will only lose viewers and listeners.

Incorporate visual elements

When writing longer articles, aim to incorporate visual elements such as relevant images and infographics. This backs up your information and provides an easy-to-read summary of your content.

Visuals can also break up heavy chunks of text, which can often be an eyesore to readers.

Edit and revisit

Once complete, aim to have another pair of eyes overlook your content. They may see something you missed, allowing you to create the best possible long-form piece of content.

Before publishing your content, revisit it and add anything you might have missed.

Maintain a consistent publishing schedule

Next, it’s key to maintain a consistent publishing schedule. This must be whatever works best for you and how long it takes to create the content.

Can you manage one per week, or does the research stage of each subject take a lot longer? Possibly one piece of content every fortnight is better?

Whatever you choose, stick to your schedule.

Marketing is essential

Finally, you must market your content. Waiting for it to rank highly on search engines is simply not enough to ensure you get enough eyes on it.

Use social media posts to market your content to any followers and subscribers you have, giving them a direct route. This can help with your lead generation, giving you an excellent chance for your blog posts to create conversions and increase potential sales.

Can you repurpose long-form content?

Yes! You can repurpose all kinds of short-form content and long-form content.

All long-form content can be repurposed into various formats to spread it to different platforms and audiences.

For example, long-form blog posts can be repurposed into infographics and social media posts. These can be published and marketed on different platforms.

In terms of podcasts and videos, these can also be repurposed into shorter clips that can be used on platforms like Instagram, X, and TikTok – making the most of your long-form content.

Need the services of an expert content marketing agency?

So, is your brand in need of long-form content creation to reach your target audience and improve your authority?

If you lack the manpower required to create such content but you’re keen to showcase your technical and complex services in long-form content, we can help.

At Paramount Digital, we’re experts in all things content. Our content marketing team is well-equipped to handle your requirements and create interesting, informative, and engaging content for your readers.

Our fantastic SEO team can also enhance your standing on search engines, improving your website traffic, which will hopefully produce greater lead generation.

Interested? Simply contact us today by calling 01744 747474. We can’t wait to hear from you!