SEO Copywriting is composing (writing and formatting) textual content for websites, either from scratch or by editing existing content, with the aim of improving the performance of the pages that the SEO copy is placed on. This in turn can improve the performance of the site in general and can positively affect externally linked sites too.
Best practice tips for SEO copywriting
Use keywords
The most significant mistake in SEO is simply not having a website that’s accessible for search engines to read; the next biggest mistake is not including the keywords on your pages that potential customers are using to search for websites like yours. For example, if a plumbing website did not mention “burst pipes” or “leaks” they are likely to miss out on traffic for these search terms, and therefore missing out on potential clients. You may be saying ‘pipe deterioration’ or some technical terms that people are not searching for – be sure to use words that your customers are using too!
Do keyword research
Know your industry (if you don’t already) by researching all the popular search terms and including them in your content so you’re not missing out on potential traffic. However, to ensure that you adhere to white-hat SEO standards you should ensure that you include these keywords within natural language, as opposed to spamming your page with loads of keywords in poorly-constructed sentences, which is a black-hat SEO spam technique known as ‘keyword stuffing’.
Engage your audience
Writing engaging copy can help to keep users on your site, thus lowering your bounce rate which can subsequently lead to an increase in ranking.
Write catchy sales content to drive conversions
Use of concise and catchy content, especially in titles, headings, opening sentences, short descriptions and call-to-actions, can be critical in optimising conversion rates.
Use correct grammar
Use of correct spelling, punctuation and grammar, and a tone suitable for your target audience, can help make your site appear authoritative and trustworthy to your site’s users (including Google).