What Is SEO Copywriting? (11 Tips for Success)

Establishing a relationship between you and your clients is vital for generating sales for any product.

Knowing how best to achieve this can be challenging, but fortunately, with SEO copywriting, you can use words to influence your clients’ emotions and make them want to purchase what you offer.

As an SEO expert with years of experience in the industry, I will provide you with essential insights into what SEO copywriting is and how you can utilize it to boost sales and convert leads.

Quick Summary

What Is SEO Copywriting?

SEO copywriting is the process of incorporating SEO practices with enticing words for the sole purpose of convincing individuals to purchase a particular product.

This form of writing differs from others, such as content writing, because it aims not to generate traffic or inform the public but to convert leads.

SEO copywriting is found in material sources, such as landing pages, emails, and product pages, and the content is usually short but straight to the point and impactful to users.

5 Elements Of SEO Copywriting

The elements of SEO copywriting include the following:

1. Title

The title is an essential element of SEO copywriting and is the first thing that will draw the attention of your target audience. Make sure that the keyword you are targeting is included in your title. Try to create a title with a specific emotion to draw readers’ curiosity. 

You can always use an SEO tool to help you get the desired result if you need help to achieve the perfect title.

2. Meta Description

Your meta description should summarise what you have written and have just the correct number of words to entice users to click further. 

Your meta description is what pops up apart from your title, giving your audience a clue of what your page is about, so ensure to include a call to action, your target keyword, and make it unique. SEO tools such as Yoast can help you with this if you encounter any challenges.

3. Content

Having solid content makes it easier for people to want to buy what you are offering. It also ranks your page highly on search engine results pages because your content is now considered authoritative concerning the keyword phrases or topic.

When writing content, answer the questions you think your audience might have regarding the keyword phrase or topic [1]. If you want search engines to prioritize your content over your competitors, it should contain a sufficient amount of words.

Take a look at our comprehensive guide to content for and SEO conversion, providing you with the perfect starting point.

4. Keyword Frequency

Keyword frequency refers to the number of times your keywords appear on your page.

Avoid including your keywords too often on your page so that it does not lead to keyword stuffing because Google can penalize you for it [2].

If you want to find out if your content contains too many keywords, compare the number of times they appear with the overall length of your content.

Use keywords sparingly in your content if your keyword density is more than 5.5%. Search engines will flag your content as spam if your keyword density exceeds 5.5%.

5. Page Links

Page links prove that your content is connected to other content and, in turn, is good enough to make other websites want to link to it.

When doing page linking, make sure you link to relevant content outside your website, link to content with anchor texts, and link to relevant content within your website.

Are There Downsides To SEO Copywriting?

There are no downsides to SEO copywriting. However, it can take a long time before SEO copywriting becomes effective or before you can easily convert leads.

You will spend ample time improving your SEO and optimizing your content. If you have a busy schedule, you obviously will need the services of an SEO copywriter to do all these things for you, which automatically translates to more costs for you.

SEO copywriting may take time, but it is very effective if you have the patience and perseverance to see it through.

11 Tips For Successful SEO Copywriting

These are some of the tips you can use for successful SEO copywriting:

1. Include A Table Of Contents

A table of contents gives readers a run-down summary of what is contained on your page. It shows that your page is organized and makes it easier for readers to know if the answer to their search intent lies within your page.

Make sure each heading clearly describes each section of the SEO content on your page, and make them specific and straight to the point.

2. Use Relevant Keywords

If you have a topic in mind you wish to write about, you need to incorporate relevant keywords in line with that topic. This will benefit your content when users search for information related to those keywords.

Focusing on niche-related or long-tail keywords will be better if you belong to a specific niche. This way, you have less competition, and your content is more specific and compelling, bringing the desired results.

3. Provide Answers To Questions That Users Ask

You need to provide answers in your content to questions you feel people might ask about your chosen topic.

You can use tools such as Quora to assist you in finding questions that people regularly ask about your chosen topic and then find ways to answer them in your blog post.

4. Discover And Satisfy The Purpose Of A Search Intent

If you want your content to rank high on SERPs, you need to be able to discover why users are searching for a particular keyword and find ways to satisfy them.

Remember that search intent is classified into four categories: informational, navigational, commercial, and transactional.

There are several keyword tools out there that can tell you the category that a search intent falls into so that you can do justice to it, and in turn, you can expect search engines such as Google to give you a decent ranking.

5. Check The Target Keywords Used By Your Competitors

Doing this can save you a lot of time compared to finding the target keywords to focus on. See if there are any keywords that your rivals have used and are ranking for but you are not. If there are, incorporate them into your content to gain more traffic to your site [3].

It will help if you use search engine optimization tools that can help you compare your keywords to competitors, saving you the time and stress of doing it yourself.

6. Write Linkable Content

Ensure you write content that naturally attracts backlinks from other websites because this is important for search engine optimization.

You can check your competitors’ backlink profiles and see what other websites are linking to them so that you can know what type of content and outline it should have.

7. Optimize Your Headers, Title Tags, And Meta Descriptions

When your page pops up on result pages, the first thing users will see is your title tag and meta description.

Make sure all of these are optimised. For example, keep your title tag short (not more than 60 characters) and let your headers pass a message.

Your meta description should be less than 120 characters and include your target keywords and a call-to-action. Let it be a clear description of what your content is about.

8. Give Your Content A Proper Structure

Content with a solid structure will make it easier for readers to understand the message. Your content should be clear and concise, including informative paragraphs with a high readability score.

Mind your vocabulary and ensure your words are simple and easy to grasp. Only use jargon or high vocabulary when writing on a technical topic. Watch your tone so that it gives off the right emotions to your readers.

Use short sentences since this will help you pass along your points much faster to your readers. You can use tools like Grammarly or Quillbot to make your content authentic and unique.

9. Add Stunning Visuals

Visuals make your content more interesting, so add images and videos where necessary. Also, use descriptive names for your images, and remember to include the alt text.

While doing so, remember to format them appropriately so that they do not cause slow page speeds and ruin the interest of your readers.

10. Include A Call-to-Action (CTA)

The purpose of SEO copywriting is only achievable if you include a call to action to persuade users to purchase what you are offering.

A user probably landed on your page for a reason, so it is in your best interest to provide straightforward answers to satisfy the purpose for which they came to your page.

In doing so, ask them to purchase something as an additional solution, or you could direct them to another page with the information you feel they are curious about. This will lead to lead conversions and more traffic and engagement.

11. Update Your Content From Time To Time

Information constantly changes, so your content may need to be updated over time. This is why you should make updates, check your links to see if they are still needed, remove broken links, and include more competitive keywords [4].

Doing this occasionally will prevent your website from declining in the search engine rankings and will continue to attract organic traffic.

Most text ads involve SEO copywriting because they seek to compel readers to take action. Whether on Google, Bing, Facebook or elsewhere on the internet, businesses use text ads to encourage their prospective customers to take action.
– Don Dodds, SEO Expert and Founder at M16 Marketing

Top-Tier Tools For SEO Copywriting

There are several amazing tools you can use to aid you in SEO copywriting. While we recommend SEMrush for keyword research and SEO audits, there are also some good alternatives:

SEO copywriting is all about keywords; you need to research the best ones before drafting a web page or blog. In many cases, keywords determine writing projects.
– Marc Hardgrove, SEO Expert and Chief Executive Officer of The HOTH

FAQs

What Are Common SEO Copywriting Mistakes?

Common SEO copywriting mistakes are writing extremely lengthy content, having too many keywords, and using complex vocabulary.

How Long Does It Take To Learn SEO Copywriting?

It takes around one to three months to learn SEO copywriting and about six months to a year to perfect it through consistent application.

What Are the Most Important Elements of SEO Copywriting?

The most important elements of SEO copywriting are headlines, content, meta descriptions, keyword frequency and density, and page links.

Is SEO Copywriting a Skill?

Yes, SEO copywriting is a skill that can be very beneficial when trying to persuade people to purchase a product or perform an action in your interest.

Take Advantage Of SEO Copywriting For Your Web Content Today

SEO copywriting is an invaluable skill that can give your content the relevance and authority it needs to persuade users to purchase a product or service.

Following SEO copywriting strategies diligently can also drive traffic to your website and give your business or brand more respect and a higher reputation in the digital space.

Remember that results are not instantaneous, so you must be consistent if you want to see positive results and grow your business. If you want to learn more about SEO copywriting, we suggest joining The Affiliate Lab.

Article by

Matt Diggity

Matt is the founder of Diggity Marketing, LeadSpring, The Search Initiative, The Affiliate Lab, and the Chiang Mai SEO Conference. He actually does SEO too.

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References

1. https://www.techradar.com/features/the-magic-of-a-product-led-seo-strategy 
2. https://www.theverge.com/2012/4/26/2975924/google-updates-spam-filtering-algorithm 
3. https://www.digitaltrends.com/business/how-to-clean-up-your-keywords-and-refresh-your-seo-strategy/
4. https://www.tomsguide.com/features/website-seo-why-you-should-update-your-website-regularly