Writing great SEO copy can feel like a daunting task, but it doesn’t have to be. In this guide, we will provide you with some helpful tips on how to get started.
At Content Hype, our Melbourne-based team of copywriters are here to help make the process a little easier for you.
In this blog, we’ll share the top seven things you need to think about when it comes to writing SEO copy in your blog.
Step 1: Understand your customer
SEO is constantly evolving, and with the ever-changing algorithms of Google, it’s more important than ever to understand search intent.
What is search intent?
Quite simply, it’s the reason why someone is searching for a particular thing online.
For example, if you were to search for “coffee shops Melbourne”, your intention would likely be to find a list of coffee shops in the broader Melbourne area. But if you were to search for “coffee shops near me”, your intention would be to find a coffee shop that’s close by.
In order to create effective SEO copy, you need to understand what your customer is looking for and ensure that your content is speaking to those wants and needs.
When you understand this, it becomes a lot easier to find the right keywords for you to target while writing SEO copy.
Writing SEO copy for your blog can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to feel like a daunting task. The more you know about search intent and the person searching for information online, the easier it will be to write great content that speaks directly to their wants and needs.
Step 2: Create a shortlist of keywords
SEO copywriting can be a very effective way to improve your website’s search engine ranking, but in order to reap the rewards, you need to target the right keywords.
What are keywords?
They are simply words or phrases that people use when searching for information online.
When it comes to SEO, it’s important to target a small number of keywords and focus on creating content that is optimised for those keywords.
This will help you to rank higher in search engine results pages and improve website traffic.
But how do you find the right keywords for your business?
It can be a daunting task, but not impossible.
The first step is to come up with a shortlist of ‘seed’ keywords that are relevant to your business and then branch out from your ‘seed’ keywords to find related and relevant keywords to target.
There are some tools you can use to find the right keywords including Google Keyword Planner to help you find keywords related to what you are writing about.
When selecting your keywords, you should consider the following:
- How often is the keyword searched?
- Is the keyword relevant to your topic?
- What are the competitive keywords?
Bonus Tip: High volume keywords versus low search volume keywords
When targeting high volume keywords, it is important to consider the competition. If there are already a lot of websites targeting that keyword, it will be more difficult to rank your website on the first page of Google. However, if you are able to rank your website high up on the search engine results pages (SERPs), you will receive a lot of traffic.
On the other hand, targeting low search volume keywords may be less competitive, but the traffic you receive will be much lower. It is important to do your research and find the right balance between high volume and low competition keywords.
Step 3: Make sure to actually use keywords when writing SEO copy
When you are writing your SEO copy, it is important to use your shortlisted keywords as often as possible. This will help to improve your chances of ranking higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs). You can use your keywords in the following places:
- Titles
- Headings and subheadings
- Introductory sentences
- Concluding sentences
- In the body of the article
You should also use variations of your keywords throughout your article. This will help Google to understand what your article is about.
However, using too many keywords can actually hurt your SEO. This is because Google may see it as spammy and penalise your website. It is important to use keywords in a natural way and not force them in where they don’t belong.
Step 4: Make your readers feel invested in what you have to say
One of the best ways to ensure to avoid unnecessary ‘keyword padding’ is to go out of your way to ensure that what you’re writing actually provides value to your audience.
If you can deliver on value, your audience is going to get a lot more out of your content and become increasingly invested in what you have to say.
After all, SEO is all about bringing more traffic to your website, but if your audience isn’t getting anything out of your content, then they may be less likely to come back to your website or further explore your offering.
Writing SEO copy is all about bringing as many visitors to your website as possible.
The key is to learn the subtle art of balancing volume and value so that you can use SEO techniques like including keywords naturally or using headings and subheadings for good measure without killing the value you have to offer.
Step 5: Keep the content focused
You need to make sure that your content is focused, without padding it with unnecessary words or phrases. This can be difficult, but if you are able to balance volume and value, you will be able to improve your chances of ranking higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
It is also important to use keywords in a natural way, and not force them in where they don’t belong. Remember, the key is to provide value to your audience so that they feel invested in what you have to say. If you can do this, then you will be well on your way to writing successful SEO copy.
Just remember these four tips and you will be on your way:
- Make sure your content is focused on a single topic.
- Don’t pad your content with unnecessary words or phrases.
- Break your content up into sections, using H1, H2 and H3 tags as required to break up the content.
- Balance volume and value to ensure your readers feel invested in what you have to say.
Step 6: Write SEO copy that is easy for humans to read but also crawlers to parse and understand
A crawler is a computer program that helps search engines understand what websites are about. Crawlers analyse the content of a website, as well as the website’s structure and the way it is linked to other websites. This information is then used to determine how relevant a website is to a particular search query.
Crawlers also help to determine which websites appear on the search engine results pages (SERPs). The higher a website appears on the SERP, the more likely it is to receive traffic from potential customers.
So, with that in mind, it goes without saying that when it comes to writing SEO copy, ensuring your content is easy for crawlers to make sense of is crucial.
Don’t forget, though…
Whilst it’s undoubtedly important to ensure your content can be easily understood by crawlers, don’t forget that the humans reading your content need to understand it as well!
When it comes to writing SEO copy, it’s important to make sure that your content is easy for humans to read. After all, if your readers can’t understand what you’re saying, then they’re not going to stick around for long.
SEO copywriting can be a difficult balancing act. You need to make sure that your content is easy for crawlers to parse and understand, whilst also ensuring that it is valuable and interesting for your human readers.
It can be a tricky juggling act, but if you are able to master the art of writing SEO copy, you will be well on your way to improving your website’s search engine ranking and bringing in more traffic.
Step 7: Remember, keyword density is not the be-all and end-all focus on creating quality content
Keyword density is a measure of how often a keyword or phrase appears on a web page in relation to the total number of words on the page. When it comes to writing SEO copy, it is important to ensure that your content has a moderate-high keyword density so that crawlers can understand what your website is about.
However, you should not focus on achieving a specific keyword density at the expense of creating quality content. Remember, the key is to provide value to your audience so that they feel invested in what you have to say. If you can do this, then you will be well on your way to writing successful SEO copy.
In that way, it’s important to focus on more than just keyword density when it comes to writing effective SEO copy.
Whilst it’s important to include your target keywords in your content, you also need to make sure that your content is valuable and interesting for your human readers.
Keyword density is not the be-all and end-all of SEO copywriting. If you focus on creating quality content, your readers will be more likely to stick around for longer, and you will be more likely to rank higher on the search engine results pages (SERPs).
Conclusion…
In this article, we shared seven things you need to think about when writing your own SEO copy in order to get started on the right track.
If any of these tips seem overwhelming or if you want help with crafting an effective strategy, let our team of Melbourne-based Copywriters handle all of it for you!
We’re always happy to partner with clients who are looking for guidance as they create compelling content that drives sales by speaking directly to consumers’ needs.
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