Stuck on SEO? Here Are My Favorite SEO Copywriting Tips for Beginners.
Overcomplicating SEO? Feeling like you have no clue how to rank in Google, and when you look it up, your mind just gets imploded with too much information?
Well, I’ve been there too.
Now no one can say they know the real formula for SEO unless maybe they head the SEO headquarters in Google. (I just made that up, but I bet there’s someone out there that is the SEO guy at Google who knows it all.)
SEO is a like a mystery that thousands of people have tried to solve, but have never figured out from start to finish. And unfortunately, Scooby won’t be able to solve this one.
Right now, there’s no actual solution for this. However, one solution I can give you is the basics of SEO and how you can work to boost your site rankings by doing just a few simple things.
Now, with SEO nothing is 100% proven to work, but these are some tips curated from some of the highest-ranking SEO experts out there, so I trust what they have to say.
Hi, I’m Kate! I’m a freelance copywriter who specializes in health and wellness. I, like you, have been trying to solve the mystery of SEO for quite some time now, so I thought, “Why not put what I’ve learned into an article?”
So here it is. Read ahead to learn how you can use SEO, and if you like my article, check out my others here.
How Do You Use SEO for Copywriting Services?
SEO stands for search engine optimization or, using certain techniques with your writing that will help you stand out from other businesses online.
Per Neil Patel, “In a nutshell, 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.1
I like to think of it as you google, “flowers” and the business that ranks higher in SEO will be the first article on flowers that pops up in your search browser.
SEO is important to your website, because, without it, your site will get lost in the millions of others on the web.
Here Are Some Simple Tips for SEO Copywriting
Copywriting can help boost SEO. Whether it be to write articles, web copy, product descriptions, images, or videos, there’s a variety of content you can write to get your business to rank higher in Google and drive more traffic.
These are forms of copywriting and these require SEO techniques in order for them to help your website’s rankings.
You could write a blog on your own, and then just post it without doing SEO research. This would do nothing to help your search rankings because there are key items you should include in your writing in order to maximize your SEO potential.
So what are the most important tactics you should use for SEO?
Well, you should add SEO keywords (short and long-tailed), interesting headlines, engaging content, meta descriptions, use internal and external links, and update your content regularly.
If you work on these when writing your content, your SEO will be off to a great start.
So let’s dive into each and why they’re important to SEO.
Use Keywords That Stand Out
Using quality keywords is detrimental to SEO. So what are keywords?
A keyword can be one word or many words (often referred to as a “long-tail keyword”). Keywords are important because they tell search engines about the content of your website’s page. “Keyword” is also a term that’s used to refer to the words and phrases that people enter into a search engine to find information that they're looking for. If a user’s search keywords match the keywords on your site, your site will show up in the search results.2
Google identifies popular keywords, and will then match your article with that keyword search if SEO is done correctly.
If Google believes yours is the most pertinent to a search, then yours will rank higher.
It can sound complicated. But what you need to know is simple. You need to know how to research keywords that your ideal audience would want to know about, see which ones rank the highest, and then add them to your copy.
The most important spots to add them to are:
your title
headlines
and meta descriptions
Adding high-ranking keywords throughout the copy will make your copy more recognizable to Google and more likely to pop up during someone’s search.
You must remember that some searches are complex, and there may be a million articles on one specific topic, so it’s important to find keywords that are on the easier side to rank but are still popular with searchers.
For example, if you google ice cream shops on Cape Cod, there would be a ton that would pop up because Cape Cod is a popular Summer vacation spot. But if you google ice cream shops in Falmouth on Cape Cod, then chances are it would be easier for the ice cream shop in Falmouth to be at the top of the search.
This ice cream shop should know that they should be using location-specific keywords because there is so much competition on Cape Cod with ice cream shops, but not as much competition locally in the town of Falmouth.
Keywords are “key” here because they drive Google to index and figure out what sites make the most sense for a search that is being conducted. Here’s more info on how to use keywords effectively and the tools you can use.
Write Headlines That Attract Readers
Headlines are the first thing your readers will see and the most important part of your copy. You want your headline to stand out because you really only have one shot to hook your reader to read on and one shot to use keywords that boost your headlines.
Keywords in your H1s and H2s are important to use throughout copy because Google will review these and skim for any keywords they see as popular, then place your article in that bucket on searches. If you have a quality keyword, and it’s included in your headline, chances are your post will rank higher than others that don’t.
Another component of using headlines with SEO is how long someone remains on your site. If the bounce rate is super high, meaning, if someone clicks on your site, then immediately jumps off, your ranking will decrease on Google.
So how can you improve your bounce rate?
Well, you should use a headline analyzer to make sure your headline is ranking over 70, which means it's bound to attract readers and get their attention. Better headlines will attract more readers and keep them reading for longer.
Google then sees that you have a low bounce rate, and will start recognizing your copy as something people are interested in which will increase your search rankings.
Don't skimp on your headlines. They’re the most important part of any copywritten material.
But, writing content that stands out is also important.
Write Engaging Content
So you have an idea about what you want to write about, research your keywords, and are ready to write your copy.
But, how can you make your content engaging enough to keep visitors on your page?
Well, headlines will get them there, but you need to make sure you…
Have quality content that will help speak to your audience’s pain points, and keep them interested.
AND…
Research what people are interested in. Make sure you include valid citations from trustworthy sources to build authority with your audience.
If you can do this, and make your writing intriguing and worthy of someone staying on the page to read the whole thing, Google will see that your content is being read and that it’s trustworthy.
It’ll help your content rank higher on search engines.
But how does the reader even know what your content is about and if they’d want to read it?
Use Meta Descriptions Where Applicable
Meta descriptions are the description you’ll see under a clickable article/website listed in Google. It includes a relevant summary of what your article/copy is about and will allow the reader the chance to decide if they want to continue and click on your site.
SEO is important here because Google reviews the meta description and places your site/article into whatever bucket it thinks your content falls under. It also helps boost your site’s activity.
Per Google, well-written meta descriptions can lead to more clicks.3
Overall, if your description is intriguing, your audience will be higher because they’ll want to read more.
Choose detailed and descriptive meta descriptions and be mindful of what you write to rank for keywords, and to make it interesting to your target audience.
Include Internal and External Links
Per Yoast, before your content can rank, it needs links. Google finds your posts and pages best when they’re linked to from somewhere on the web. Internal links also connect your content and give Google an idea of the structure of your website. They can establish a hierarchy on your site, allowing you to provide the most important pages and posts with more link value than other, less valuable pages. So using the right internal linking strategy can boost your SEO. 4
Adding internal and external links to your content is pretty easy to do.
It also helps your SEO rank because if you are adding trustworthy external links to your own article, Google recognizes these sites, and assumes that you also have high authority and trust in the field you are targeting.
For example, if your site has articles about yoga, and you are referencing yoga in another article, you should link your article back to the other article to help boost your SEO. The more links to your site, the more Google will find, index, and understand what the pages on your site are all about.
Now, don’t go linking every single word on your document (please don’t do that) but linking here and there to other sites and your own, can help boost your SEO and establish trust and authority in Google’s eyes.
Continue to Update and Write New Content
Over time, if you’re ranked number one, and then all of a sudden, notice you’re falling behind, there’s a good chance you need to check and update your existing content.
Consistently write new blog content on trending topics that will help boost your rankings. Writing 4 new articles a month is an ideal goal to help your site rank higher than others.
If you have a ton of older copy material, skim through them and see what’s still pertinent in society.
For example, if you wrote an article on how the crypto business can make you millions of dollars two years ago, you’d probably want to go in and get rid of that because crypto has really taken a dive in the last year. And if you wrote an article on trending wedding dresses two years ago, chances are the trends have changed and it's time to simply revamp that article.
Refresh your product, video, and web copy descriptions. See what can be updated, and continue to post new content as you get more products, videos that debut, and website additions.
Google actually re-scrolls sites, and it can help boost your SEO again.
Overall, there are many ways to help boost SEO, and no one knows the true SEO formula, but these popular copywriting tricks are a good start to getting your ranking higher.
SEO Is Important for Many Reasons
I cannot guarantee that your SEO will magically get better, but these tactics are all used by some key copywriters who have some high-ranking content online.
Remember, SEO is very important to your copywriting because you want your business and your client’s business to stand out amongst the other competition that's out there. Otherwise, without SEO, writing content won’t help your site stand out.
Everyone wants to get that gold medal, but you need to put the effort in to achieve Olympian status.
This is not an overnight process. SEO takes time. Work on the above, and then check back in a few months to see how SEO has improved your site and article rankings.
In conclusion, SEO doesn’t have to be scary. Yes, it’s complex, and yes, there are many techniques you can use, but these are some good places to start.
Let me know in the comments if this was helpful, and if you have any other tips and tricks for those copywriters out there, include them below.
P.S. If you liked this article, check out my others here.
References:
https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/35624?visit_id=636973104773702253-3736671569&rd=1
https://yoast.com/internal-linking-for-seo-why-and-how/
