SEO copywriting is usually thought of as the job of creating textual content for website pages with the proper placement of targeted SEO keywords. Although this partly answers the question of what is SEO writing, there is a lot more to it. But let’s start there, since this is the most common SEO writing task.
SEO copywriting has traditionally been about optimizing web page copy by targeting keyword phrases in certain frequencies and densities. And yet search engine research shows that most of the factors that determine how a web page is ranked in a search engine are based on things that happen off the page itself.
SEO Copywriting: The 5 Essential Elements
The emphasis on keywords in the title makes practical sense from a search engine standpoint. When people search for something, they’re going to want to see the language they used reflected back at them in the results.
Having keywords in your title is also important when people link to you. When your keywords are there, people are more likely to link to you with the keywords in the anchor text. This is an important factor for Google to determine that a particular page is in fact about a particular subject.
No matter what sort of content you have how much information it has in it if it’s not getting the readership. If users aren’t coming to your content to read it, it’s just a waste.
So, to make users understand it, all you need to do is optimizing your website correctly. If your pages are taking more time to load, users lose their interest and jump back to some other page.
You should try to keep the length of your title under 72 characters for search purposes. This will ensure the full title is visible in a search result, increasing the likelihood of a click-through.
1. Title
Whether you optimize up-front or later, you at minimum need to know what keywords you’re targeting and include them in the title of your content. It’s generally accepted that the closer to the front of the title your keywords are, the better. But the key is that they appear in the title somewhere.
The original title of this post contained the keyword phrase “SEO copywriting,” but it was positioned at the end of the title. That’s because I went with the more compelling headline first and foremost. But I can serve an alternate title in the title tag (which is the snippet of code Google actually pulls the title from) thanks to a post feature in Genesis (also available with the All in One SEO plugin for WordPress).
So, I can always enter a more search-optimized alternate title later, such as:
2. Meta Description
SEO copywriting is not just about ranking. It’s also about the presentation of your content in a search engine. The meta description of your content will generally be the “snippet” copy for the search result below the title, which influences whether or not you get the click.
It’s debatable whether keywords in your meta description influence rank, but it doesn’t matter if they do or don’t. You want to lead off your meta description with the keyword phrase and succinctly summarize the page as a reassurance to the searcher that your content will satisfy what they’re looking for.
Try to keep the meta description under 165 characters so the full description is visible in the search result. Again, you can create a meta description in WordPress right in the posting area with Thesis or All in One SEO.
3. Content
Unique and frequently updated content makes search engines happy. But you know that part. For search optimization purposes (and just general reader-friendliness) your content should be tightly on-topic and centered on the subject matter of the desired keyword phrases.
It’s generally accepted that very brief content may have a harder time ranking over a page with more substantial content. So you’ll want to have a content body length of at least 300 words.
It might also help to bold the first occurrence of a keyword phrase, or include it in a bulleted list, but I usually don’t get hung up on that. It’s also debatable whether including keywords in subheads helps with ranking, but again, it doesn’t matter – subheads are simply a smart and natural place to include your keyword phrase, since that’s what the page is about.
The content itself is a vital element of SEO copywriting. The major reason why people conduct searches in Google and other search engines is that they’re looking for useful content. Search engines also feed on fresh SEO content, which is why you must consistently update your site.
4. Keyword Frequency
Keyword frequency is the number of times your targeted keywords appear on the page. Keyword density is the ratio of those keywords to the rest of the words on the page. Keyword frequency means how many times your chosen keywords appear on the web page.
Keyword frequency and density are no longer as effective as they used to be, before Google started rolling out frequent updates, but are still important parts of SEO content. Avoid on-page optimization mistakes, like keyword stuffing, excessive keyword insertion and header tag stuffing.
You don’t need to mindlessly repeat keywords to optimize. In fact, if you do, you’re likely to achieve the opposite result.
It’s generally accepted that keyword frequency impacts ranking (and that makes logical sense). Keyword density, as some sort of “golden” ratio, does not. But the only way to make sense of an appropriate frequency is via the ratio of those keywords to the rest of the content, so density is still a metric you can use.
In other words, the only way to tell if your repetition of keywords is super or spammy is to measure that frequency against the overall length of the content. A keyword density greater than 5.5% could find you guilty of keyword stuffing, and your page could be penalized by Google.
5. Page Links
Linking is the fundamental basis of the web. Search engines want to know you’re sufficiently “connected” with other pages and content, so linking out to other pages matters when it comes to search engine optimization.
Links are the basic building blocks of your web page. One of the 10 things Google knows to be true is that “there’s always more information out there.”
Page links tell Google that you’re connected and sociable and that you’ve got useful content that people can access somewhere else. This content could be your own or it could be from another author or site.
Linking out to other authority sites and pages is an indication that you value what other people create. Google will reward you for being in sync with their mission: organizing the world’s information and making it universally accessible. A good marketing team would highly recommend to appropriately link.
Here are some “rules of thumb” for linking based on generally accepted best practices: Link to relevant content fairly early in the body copy
• Link to relevant pages approximately every 120 words of content
• Link to relevant interior pages of your site or other sites
• Link with naturally relevant anchor text
Again, these are guidelines related to current best practices. Don’t get hung up on rules; focus on the intent behind what search engines are looking for – quality search results for people.
Why is SEO Copywriting so important?
Let’s say that your content is ranking higher on Google for your focus keyword.
What happens then?
Well, if you appear in Google’s top results, you’re making your target audience to take action.
This could be through signing up to your newsletters, keeping in touch with you, or merely buying whatever you’re offering them.
SEO Copywriting
One thing that you must learn that if you’re using the keywords, which the end-users are searching for, you’re giving them the perfect content.
All you need to learn is to place the keywords in the best position in your content to improve the rankings and drive massive traffic to it.
You all are clear of this fact that when it comes to writing, words are everything. Only words are responsible for making business, or to break it.
If you’re running a business, SEO Copywriting is something that will grow your business or a website.
If you’re doing the Copywriting for SEO, Google will consider you as a quality website, and it would never penalize you.
Quality content is something that provides all the information to the user, both critical and not so important.
So, to create quality content, try to answer all the questions including who, why, what, how, when, and where. This type of writing will give a right direction to the readers, immediately.