SEO copywriting tips to improve your rankings and conversion rate
Effective copywriting follows a multipronged approach.
It aims to improve your search engine rankings organically.
It also aims to improve your conversion rate in addition to meaningfully engaging your visitors.
Many clients these days prefer to hire SEO copywriting services instead of content writing services because then they can get the best of both worlds.
What exactly is SEO copywriting?
Is it same as SEO content writing?
Not necessarily.
Remember that the end goal of copywriting is to convert leads.
The end goal of content writing is to generate organic traffic.
Therefore, in the conventional sense, you use content writing to generate organic traffic and then you use copywriting to convert that traffic into paying customers and clients.
Another big difference between copywriting and content writing is that when you write copy for a web page or even a blog post, there is a clearly defined CTA (call-to-action).
The purpose of general content is to provide information and generate awareness whereas the purpose of copywriting is to prompt people to take action.
SEO copywriting means writing the copy in such a manner that it also helps you improve your search engine rankings.
Just because you are writing copy to generate leads it doesn’t mean search engine rankings are irrelevant.
Just as search engine rankings are important for your average blog post, they are also important for your business web pages, for which, copywriting is required.
What type of content requires SEO copywriting?
Frankly, anything.
It is often said that copywriting is mostly required for promotional material but even when you are writing for your blog posts and articles, you can wear the hat of a copywriter and write a convincing copy to make people take an action.
This is especially important when you are writing a business blog.
Nonetheless, you may require SEO copywriting for following types of content:
- Main website copy
- Landing pages
- Product descriptions
- Blog posts and articles.
One of the biggest benefits of SEO copywriting is that it forces a writer to write both for the search engines and the users.
Listed below are 5 SEO copywriting tips that can help you improve your search engine rankings as well as conversion rate.
Make a list of questions that people ask
Google loves questions so much that it ranks web pages and blog posts providing answers to query-based questions higher than other web pages and blog posts.
Therefore, a query like, “How can I improve my SEO copywriting?” brings better and targeted results than “best SEO copywriting services”.
You can prepare a list of frequently asked questions.
You can use websites like AnswerThePublic, Quora, and Reddit to find out what questions people are asking pertaining to a certain field.
Why prepare copy based on questions?
People type complete questions – complete queries – when they ask precise questions.
If Google thinks that your answer precisely matches the question being asked, it features your content as a snippet, increasing your click-through-rate by almost 35%.
Additionally, you express yourself better when you are providing answers to straightforward questions.
It makes your copy easy flowing.
Use your main keyword in the title
The title of a web page is different from the main headline.
The title appears as a hyperlink in your search engine listings, just above the description.
In HTML parlance, it is also called “meta title”.
The headline on the other hand is the big font message that you see at the top of a blog post or web page.
They can be same, and they can be different depending on your preference and SEO needs.
People tend to click more on the links that contain the words they have just used in the query.
Your click-through-rate is important for better search engine rankings.
The more people click your search listings, the higher they begin to appear.
This is because when more people click your link Google thinks that it contains the relevant information for the query just used.
Use the language your target audience uses
This is one of the most important SEO copywriting tips.
Why is it important to use the language your target audience uses?
People normally use search queries in the language they are comfortable in.
Since a big portion of searches are voice searches these days, people search the way they speak.
They use conversational language.
Visit forums.
Spend some time on social media websites.
Directly interact with your customers and clients.
Carefully observe the way they talk to you.
The way they talk about your product or service may be completely different than how you talk about your product or service
For example, as a mobile phone manufacturer you may talk about the AMOLED display as a great feature but for a user, the benefit is that he or she can watch videos clearer than an average flat screen TV.
As a SaaS provider, you may find the feature that your software can be used on every device but for the user, the more important aspect might be that he or she can subscribe for a lesser fee instead of paying a hefty one-time fee for a bulky software.
Write for the search intent
Your SEO copywriting becomes more effective if you write your copy based on search intent.
Search intent is the intention with which an individual uses Google or any other search engine.
People have distinct intentions and when you are writing copy you should be able to recognize that distinction.
Some people are simply looking for information.
They have no intention of doing business with you right now.
They don’t need to be convinced.
They simply need to be engaged with useful, relevant information so that by the time they are ready to do business with you, they recognize you and respect your opinion.
Their search intent is informational.
Some people, although ready to do business, haven’t made up their minds yet.
They need more information.
They need comparisons
They are ready to be sold to.
They are interested in reading FAQs, product comparisons, testimonials, and reviews.
They may be searching for something like, “pros and cons of Google Workspace and Windows 365”.
Their search intent is commercial.
Then some people are ready to buy.
They are searching for something like, “the best copywriting services for my accounting website”, or, “looking for SEO copywriter”.
Their search intent is transactional.
Write your copy targeting different searcher intents for better search engine rankings and conversion.
Don’t cram multiple keywords in a single document
Sometimes to save cost client send me a long list of keywords that need to be incorporated into a single document.
This is bad both for SEO and conversion rate.
I prefer to use only three keywords when I’m writing a blog post or web page.
One primary keyword and two related keywords.
When you are given a list of 10 or 15 keywords, unnecessarily you have to write extra words to incorporate all the keywords.
This dilutes the effectiveness of your entire copywriting process.
Whether you are doing SEO copywriting for your own website or working for a client, make sure that per page or per blog post you cover just 2-3 keywords.
Write in-depth blog posts and web pages
Both Google and your human readers prefer long form content – 1300-1500 words.
My average length is 1000-1200 words.
But, writing too many words doesn’t mean you fill up your blog posts and web pages with useless information.
Write long form content only when you have highly useful information to share with your readers.
Assuming you are delivering useful information, long form content makes readers spend more time on your website.
This reduces your bounce rate.
It increases engagement rate.
It helps you build your authority.
Long form content attracts backlinks from other websites and blogs.
Since lots of information is present on a single source, and since your bounce rate is low, Google begins to improve your search engine rankings for those pieces of content.
For improving your search engine rankings as well as engagement rate, have a long-term target for your SEO copywriting projects.
This is applicable to your own website and the websites of your clients.
Don’t overcommit.
Don’t promise results within a month or so.
No matter how excellent your blog posts and articles are, you cannot deliver tangible results in one or two months.
At the minimum, make a commitment of 6 months
It takes around 6-8 months of sustained SEO copywriting to experience some observable results in terms of better rankings and higher conversion rate.