Copywriting with a nod to SEO

When writing content for your site you should be considering SEO. Your content should consider both the information your target audience is after, and how they are looking for it. By considering how your audience is searching for your content, you can make sure the copy you write aligns with that language. By considering and incorporating this language, you’re making it easier for search engines to show your content in the search results for the search terms your audience uses.

Therefore, here are some SEO tips for copywriting.

1. Keywords are cool when it comes to writing copy for search

Many websites that guess their keywords and are spreading themselves too thinly (this included us at one stage). So getting your keyword strategy right is crucial . Also, we talk about keywords but phrases or key phrases is more accurate. How many of us have typed in just one word into Google? SEO experts should be able to provide a list of target key phrases based on SEO analysis.

2. Highlight your keywords on the page

Keywords essentially tell search engines like Google what your website or that page is about. So for your page to increase its search engine ranking, your keywords need to be reflected in your copy as well as within the code (this bit is for the SEO people).

Within the actual copy itself, it is important to ‘highlight’ your keywords in prominent areas of the page, so insert your target keyword naturally into the main heading and body copy. Also, if your paragraph headings and subheadings contain your keywords (or related terms), it all helps summarise what this page is about so work them in!

3. Write good copy that’s keyword rich (note: it’s not the same as spamming)

Imagine you arrive on a website that’s a Fairtrade business and here’s what you see.

“Welcome our website, we’re an ethical & green business. Buy our ethical & green baby wear, plus we also specialise in ethical & green girls tops ….”

Two words: Not nice.

There’s always the temptation to just splatter your keywords or phrases all over your Tradespace or website to get to that all important page one of search results but a word of advice – this is not a good strategy.

Spamming your content will only drive your customers away. In fact, it will turn the search engines away because the focus now is on having authoritative content, well placed keywords and forward planning. In short, your content needs to work for your customers. If it works for your customers and gives them what they are searching for, it will increase your ranking naturally.

4. Build your content up

One of the best ways you can help your search engine ranking is to update your website regularly. The most successful blogs in terms of search are ones that constantly updated with good highly relevant content.

Updating regularly not only gives your customers and the search engines something to come back for it presents more opportunities to use your keywords and set yourself up as an authority in what you do!

5. Links work when writing copy for search

It’s no secret that getting links from authority sources and linking out to them is a great way to increase your rank. But equally important is how these links are named and how you’re naming/using other links on your page.

If you’re still using the old ‘click here’ to describe your links, ditch it now. One good reason to do so is the fact that that link makes no sense to a screen reader or a search engine. To give search engines a flavour of your content, insert links that are contextual, and reflect your keywords and try to get your network that links back to you to do the same.

Contextual linking is one way of improving your search engine ranking but to increase your links, you’ve got to consider every element of your page as an opportunity. So using keyword or key phrase rich titles and descriptions when linking your video files, your images and yes, even your navigation can all give your search ranking a boost!

Want to know what are the latest effective SEO strategies? Speak to us! We’re an SEO agency based in London that loves to help websites grow their visibility in organic search. Feel free to contact us, or email hello@minttwist.com or @MintTwist.