One of the most important skills you need to be successful at SEO, is SEO Copywriting or writing awesome SEO content.

SEO content must be optimized for search engines (Google), but must also be written with the reader in mind.

In fact, the number one rule to writing good SEO content is that it should be written for people first, not search engines. This is because, ultimately you are trying to attract the end user (clients, customers, readers, prospects) first, so writing content that is engaging, easy to read, fun and informative is key. Adding a bit of humor helps as well!

Once you have your content written for humans, then you need to optimize it for search engines by using the key words you want to rank for in your article. These two things go together, so when you are writing your article, you keep your key words in mind.

What is SEO?

In simple terms, SEO is creating content that comes up in the searches when you enter particular key words.

“…SEO is a method of optimizing the effectiveness of your content for the search engines, in order to help it rank higher than content from other sites that target the same search terms.”—Neil Patel, SEO Copywriting

Writing SEO Content for Humans

As mentioned above, your copy needs to appeal to the end user: your reader.

A compelling way to do that is to solve a particular problem (which is really what marketing is all about: solving problems for your customers).

Customer has a problem –> You give them the solution = They buy your products

The SEO Process

The SEO process consists of:

• Choosing your article topic (the problem you are solving for your customer)
• Researching the best key word(s) to use in your article
• Use that keyword to write the content
• Then, hopefully, you content is awesome and people want to read it and share it.

Authority and Relevance

How does Google decide whether your content/article should show up in the search engine results (SERPs)?

According to Redevolution, “Google™ search results show links to pages considered relevant to the search that are trustworthy or authoritative. Authority is primarily measured by analysing other web pages that cite your page by mentioning and linking to them, although there are many other factors.”

Neil Patel explains this future by saying: “On the internet, links are like votes… your web page’s rank [depends upon] the quality of those links.”

What is SEO Copywriting?

 

Copywriting is the art of creating compelling content that prompts the reader to take a certain action (buy product, click link, sign up to newsletter, etc) by writing promotional adverts that create customer engagement. The idea is to convert a reader into a loyal customer or client.

This content needs to be evergreen, engaging, useful, informative, persuasive, as well as optimized for search engines.

When you do this using key words, it is SEO Copywriting.

The Elements of SEO Copywriting

In order to writing compelling copy for SEO, there are certain elements of an article you need to create.

These include:

• Headline
• Content
• Meta Description
• Page Links

1.     Headline

 

The Headline is one of the most important elements to your article, as it needs to be compelling enough that the reader clicks on it to read your article, like a flashing neon sign. If you don’t write an interesting headline, no-one will click, and therefore no-one will read it. Therefore, you won’t convert readers to customers.

So, write a headline that attracts attention.

How to write a good headline?

• Ask a question, ie: What is SEO Copywriting?
• Use numbers: 10 Ideas for Great SEO Copyrighting
• Provide a solution: How to Create Great SEO that Ranks in Google

Your title should be 50-60 characters in length, as that is the amount of space Google allows for titles.

The main key word for your article should be in your headline, preferably at the beginning.

Key Word: Subheading Title to Describe Article Content

In many blogs, the headline is also the title tag of the article

2.     Content

The content in your article is the meat of the article. It consists of:

• Introduction
• Body
• Conclusion

The introduction is the beginning of your article after the title. It is comprised of the first sentence and paragraph, which introduces the reader to the theme you are writing about and let’s them know what they can expect to find out.

The first sentence of your article should have the main key word, preferably at the first of the sentence.

The body is where you engage your readers and posit your compelling reason why your solution will solve their problem.

Tips for creating easy to read body of article:

Use short sentences. Use short paragraphs.

Leave lots of white space around words.

Use sub headers; H1, H2, H3s to break up content by sub-topics

• Use bullet lists
• and number lists

“Add italicized quotes that stand out for important information, like this!”

Use Bold to make certain sentences or words stand out.

Add images to break up text.

You can also add other graphics like charts, infographs, videos, and other elements to create a visual and break up the words.

Main copy in the body of your article should have a key word density of about 5%. Don’t over-optimize or key word stuff your article.

Articles should be at least 1000 words.

3.     Meta Description

A meta description is the description that comes up in Google search results underneath your title, which tells the reader what the article is about.

“Google uses the meta description on your page as a snippet when people search for keywords that are relevant to your page. This snippet copy is what will determine whether or not you get clicks, no matter how highly you rank in the search results.”—Neil Patel

Meta descriptions should contain your main key word, a compelling description that makes people want to click it, and should be between 150 – 160 characters.

4.     Page Links

Use page links to link to other relevant content on your site for further reading or when referring to similar information, and, to link to authority sites, specifically references that show your article is well researched, and you know what you are talking about.

5.     Call to Action

Finish your article with a call to action to compel your reader to click a link, but a product, share on social, or whatever the purpose of the article was in the first place.

Final Tips

Again, remember that writing compelling SEO copy is all about writing for the reader.

To write compelling copy, tell a story.

Use powerful words that drive engagement.

Write with passion.

Write interesting, informative content.

Ask questions. Answer questions.

Write in simple terms and don’t use jargon.

Persuade your reader to take action.

Don’t forget humor!

Target 2-5 key words and alternate long-tail key words per post.

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How confident are you at writing your own SEO copy?

If you need help, let us know!