Content Writing Keyword Research for Long Form Content: Pro Tips for Success

Are you struggling to get more views on your blog? When your long form content is not showing the performance you expected, chances are that you need to optimize your long form writing strategy. Long form content is an evergreen content type and serves to bring long term results for any website. However, first you need to carefully plan the keyword research for content marketing. After that, you need to follow pro tips to create long form content that ranks on top of Google. Here are some expert tips on how to do keyword research for long form content:

Did you know that long form content above 3000 words receive 77% more backlinks? It means long form helps you build better niche authority. ^[1]

What to consider for Long Form Content Keyword Research?

Long form content writing is more than just about covering the target keywords. 

In fact, it is about helping your readers the best way possible.

When you bring value to your readers, your content is more likely to receive more search volume and rank on top of search results. 

So, the top consideration for writing long form content pieces  is your audience. 

As a content marketer and content creator, your first and foremost priority is to meet the expectations of your audience. 

In best cases, you shall attempt to go above and beyond what your audience expects from your blog.

A crucial part of getting to know your audience is to predict what type of questions they have in mind.

Here are some following guide questions to help you identify your audience’s top most queries:

• Who is my target audience? (Be as specific as you can)
• What does my audience want/need to know?
• Why would my audience want to know more about a particular topic?
• How can I make information helpful to my audience?
• What is something different my audience will get from my content?
• What type of baseline information does my audience already have?
• How will my content impact my audience?
• What next steps will my audience take?

How to do Keyword Research for Long Form Content?

Once you have figured out what your audience wants to get out of your blog, the next step is to do keyword research for long form content. The content keyword research begins from your niche of interest. In your particular niche, research and pin down trending topics for discussion among your audience. 

Selecting a topic cluster gives you a clear direction for long form content writing. Once you have selected your niche, you are more likely to attract a large pool of audience and rank on top of search results. 

Checklist for Selecting the Right Topic

If you are struggling to find what topics your audience is interested in reading, here is a checklist for you:

• Start by brainstorming the topics that you want to focus on in your long form content
• Find out who has written on your selecting topics and how they have done it
• Analyze existing information and find out how much of the topic is already covered
• Now, find out gaps in existing information and devise a content strategy to fill those gaps

The rule of thumb for writing content that ranks on top of search results is to bring a new angle, insights and expert, helpful information to a selected topic. Google’s new helpful content update also indicates that valuable content is more likely to be on top of search engine results as compared to run-of-the-mill trending content.

At this point of research, you might also want to consider the following content keyword research tips:

• Check the “People Also Ask” Section on your search results and figure out which questions you can address better
• Check the trending videos and social threads to find out more points to cover in your long form content

Research and Pick Your Target Keywords

The next and most important step is to do keyword research for long form content. Once you have picked a viable topic, it’s time to launch your favorite keyword tool and get on with keyword research. A great tip to find suitable keywords is to forget that you are doing the research for longform content. This enables you to target the niche-specific keywords and your content has more chances of ranking for multiple keywords. 

Analyze Your Competitors

As compared to short form content, long form content has more chances of getting on page 1 of search results due to keyword clusters and LSIs. Consider your competitors when doing keyword research. Here is what you need to ask yourself:

• Which websites are writing on the same topics as yours?
• What are the most prominent brands in your niche?
• How in-depth articles are currently available online?
• What type of additional insight or value can you bring to stand out from your competitors?

Filter out relevant keywords with high search volume. These keywords have the best chance of getting you on top of SERPs since your ideal readers will be looking for information on these keywords the most. 

Also Read: Long Form Vs Short Form Content – Which is Better for You?

Include Long Tail Keywords

LSIs or long tail keywords are a gold mine for long form content writing. These keywords not only bring more authority to your content but also help you target an audience from adjacent, relevant niches.

Long tail keywords are super-specific depending upon the topic and are much easier to rank for desired targeted traffic.

Follow the Standard SEO Practices

Following the standard long form content SEO practices is just as important as writing the content piece. Since search engine algorithms are going to play an important role in ranking your content, you need to optimize your content accordingly. Here are the standard SEO practices for long form content:

• Include target keyword in title, first paragraph and subheadings
• Optimize your SEO Meta Title and Meta Description
• Add relevant SEO tags and complete the meta data
• Include long-tail keywords and LSIs throughout your content
• Select relevant FAQs for your content and address them 
• Add proper heading tags including H2, H3, H4 and so on.
• Reserve H1 for your main title only
• Include multimedia and visuals to attract your audience
• Include inbound and outbound links for authority link building

Improve Your Content Readability

Long form content is usually above 800 words. Thus, the length of the content may make it overwhelming for the readers. So, the best way to work around the length is to improve readability. Your long form content should read as effortlessly as possible and make a lot of sense for your audience. Here are some tips to improve readability:

• Break down long paragraphs into shorter paragraphs
• Include subheadings and bullet lists wherever possible
• Create graphs and data charts to retain attention
• Ensure easy sharing of your content piece on every platform
• Add internal links to your website to reduce bounce rate

Scale and Create Long Form Content with AI

Skip the hassle of lengthy writing and take help from AI to improve your long form content piece. AI long form content writing assistants, like WriteMe.Ai, are capable of generating content ideas, improving content structure and creating content efficiently. Your focus shall be on providing value, offering helpful information and bringing accurate guidelines for your readers. Thus, an AI can take most of the grunt work for you while you focus on bringing value for the reader.

Key Takeaway: Done Right, Long Form Content Brings Evergreen Results!

Including long form content in your content marketing strategy brings long term benefits for your blog or business website. Most of the pillar content and trending listicles are  written in long form. Thus, focusing on bringing value for your readers helps you create killer long form pieces that rank your website on top of SERPs.

References:
[1] Longform Content – PointVisible