SEO copywriting is the ability to write content for users that is optimized for search engines at the same time.
It is important to create texts that respect SEO but that are not full of redundant keywords and repetitions: a good SEO Copywriter is able to develop contents that speak to customers, skillfully concealing the indexing and positioning mechanisms.
Google – more than other search engines – takes into consideration the browsing experience of users and the relevance of the content with what is searched; in particular, the quality of the content is essential to obtain a good ranking.
So how do you go about creating quality content?
First of all, it is a good idea to know that there are some things that absolutely must not be done, under penalty of a penalty by the search engine and a demotion in the SERP (from the English Search Engine Results Page).
10 Tips for Good SEO Copywriting
1. Writing of original and unpublished content
The most used search engines, such as Google, penalize copied content: if within your site there are entire texts, or part of them, completely identical to others on the web, you will inevitably be penalized in the ranking.
In this way, your site will appear in the queue in the search results or even may not appear at all, resulting in difficulties or inability for customers to find you.
Instead, the advantage of having completely new content, created around your product, your company, and your services, allows you to better position yourself for the keywords that interest you.
2. Care of the language, respect for syntax and spelling
The texts published on the web must have the same rigor as the texts printed in a newspaper or a book: it is important to respect the rules of grammar and syntax to convey to the user all the care and attention used to create your site.
Typos and an incorrect syntactic form of the sentences, not only convey a sense of incompleteness and superficiality but are read by the search engine as a penalizing element. Some parts of the algorithm are in fact able to read the contents and analyze grammar and syntax, inserting the text within a semantic context.
Presenting a well-finished site, with flowing, clear and easy-to-understand texts is pleasant and makes the user feel in a welcoming and pleasant environment, thus pushing him to want to repeat the experience.
3. Keyword Research for SEO Copywriting
If you want the writing of your article or guide to be successful, the first thing you need to do is identify the keywords and questions that users are looking for or ask about them and break them down into semantic areas.
To obtain this data, there are several online tools that you can use, such as the following:
- Semrush “keywords magic tools”; (of which you can see a screenshot below)
- Google ADS “keyword tool”;
- Uber Suggest by Neil Patel.
These tools, of which the first is paid and the following free, will allow you to search for keywords with the relative search volumes and competition level.
A good SEO strategy typically has both short and long-term goals. It is not certain that immediately aiming for the most competitive keywords is always the best choice to make, it could take a lot of time and work to get results.
Initially, it is also possible to focus on less competitive keywords but still relevant to what you do, such as long-tail keywords. This will make it easier and faster to get traffic to your site, while simultaneously working on content for the most competitive keywords.
However, once the search is complete, you can start creating the structure of your website and your texts, organizing them into macro topics, each of which will have its own in-depth articles, as you can see in the example image below.
4. Content creation planning
After having chosen the keywords and having divided them into semantic areas, it is necessary to develop a content structuring scheme and an editorial plan that marks the timing of publications.
It is important to retain users by involving them and stimulating their interest with a path in which an editorial line and a concrete evolution of the message you want to communicate are recognizable.
One strategy could be to make visits to your site become a “fixed appointment”; for example, if you post content every Wednesday morning, over time readers will get used to it and visit your site on time, every Wednesday.
On the contrary, a poor organization of contents and publications will lead to a lack of logic and completeness, which can also result in a higher abandonment rate of your pages.
5. Create evergreen content
Creating evergreen content, in which there will continue to be interested in the future, will allow you to think long-term. In this way, your investment of time and resources to write for us the article, once you reach the ranking, will continue to benefit you over time.
Despite this, we must remember that even evergreen content needs to be revised and updated from time to time. In almost all sectors there is news and users love to read up-to-date information.
It will probably have happened to you too when you search for information on Google to find articles published on different dates among the first results; in this case, users often tend to read the most up-to-date ones first. So in addition to updating the content, it is a good thing to also enter the last date it was revised.
6. Length of content and time spent on the site
The average time a user stays on a web page is a value that allows you to understand how much content is really appreciated by those who read it. Search engines also use this data together with the bounce rate to evaluate whether or not content deserves the top positions in search results.
For this reason, even if there is no ideal length of the content, we will have to make sure that the text is sufficiently comprehensive and interesting to keep users on the site as long as possible.
In this regard, it is always useful to link to other relevant and interesting in-depth content, both inside and outside the site; the important thing is to pay attention that the links inserted are always directed to authoritative sites with a good ranking.
Read More: Targeted Seo – How To Excell At Online Search Engine Optimization
7. Optimization of Tags and Meta Tags from an SEO perspective
One of the main factors for the correct indexing and positioning of a web page is certainly the Tag Title, the element that indicates to readers and the search engine what is contained on the page.
It is very important that the Tag Title is well optimized and contains (preferably at the beginning) the main keyword we intend to position ourselves for.
It is generally a good idea that the title does not exceed 65 characters as on most devices the search engine cuts the additional characters.
Another relevant factor is the Meta Description: if well-optimized and relevant to the Tag Title it will provide users with a call to action that will allow our result to be clicked more than others, thus obtaining an excellent CTR (Click-through rate).
8. Heading Tag Optimization
As already mentioned, when you write about a topic with the aim of positioning yourself, you must do it in the most complete and exhaustive way possible. This involves the fact of having to write sometimes very long texts, which are better divided into paragraphs to make it easier for users to read.
The heading tags (ranging from H1 to H6) come in handy for this, organize the contents of a page in a hierarchical manner and divide it into paragraphs with respective titles and subtitles.
For the main title, the H1 tag is used, followed by the H2 tag, and for the title of the paragraphs, if well optimized, it will have to describe the content of the paragraphs. In the case of very long articles, if there are additional subtitles within the paragraphs, it is possible to use the H3 tag and so on up to h6.
9. Image optimization
Every self-respecting article will contain images, infographics, or videos to best represent what you are explaining to your readers. As you well know, images are not read by the search engine like normal text, which is why they need to be optimized so that the engines know what they are about.
To carry out this task effectively it is also good to use the keywords contained in the text, for more information we recommend our article on image optimization for the web.
However, one of the most important elements for optimizing an image is the alt tag, which is the alternative text that describes its content in case it is not available for some reason.
10. Share on social networks
Finally, even if it may seem like a side activity, once the content has been written and published it is important to share it on social channels.
Sharing helps promote the reading of the text, thus improving the popularity of your brand. In addition to this, it is possible that those who read the article or the guide, if they consider it interesting, decide to link it as a resource from their site, thus transmitting value to the page and the website.
If you have social channels then use them, they will certainly be an excellent vehicle to invite your users to read the content you have written. If the subscribers and interactions are few, it is also possible to create small Facebook ADS or Linkedin ADS campaigns to expand the spread of your message.
