Express Writers
Copywriting For SEO: Your Secrets for Top Google Rankings

Copywriting For SEO: Your Secrets for Top Google Rankings

by | Dec 2, 2013 | SEO

With offline marketing, all you have to do is add a cute girl in a bikini, and you have the attention of virtually everyone within a 100-foot radius of the billboard. SEO online marketing & copywriting is not this simple.

What Copywriting For SEO Is and What It Is Definitely Not!

As website traffic becomes harder to get, the websites choosing to employ copywriting SEO tactics will likely convert more readers and boost sales. When it comes to marketing the products and/or services you offer on the Internet, it is very important that you use good quality SEO copy. This is because good quality content has a way of capturing the attention of your target audience; it speaks to them.

Copywriting for SEO is a content production technique that is used to inform and also encourage readers to take action.

To some people, copywriting for SEO simply means stuffing the content with keywords or key phrases. For example, if you were targeting the term “gift basket Pocatello” you may be tempted to add the term “gift basket Pocatello” into the content as often as possible hoping that the webpage may possibly rank high for the term “gift basket Pocatello”.

But here’s the gotcha. Repeating keywords or key phrases may make the copy sound utterly ridiculous. Silly-sounding copy is more likely to force readers to hit the back button and that is not very conducive to building business.

The keyword stuffing approach existed a few years back (and actually worked) when search engines such as Google, Yahoo and MSN placed a whole lot of importance on keyword density. Not anymore. Now, search engines have stopped using this metric for website ranking—instead, they will penalize if you try it today.

Integrating Copywriting with Search Engine Optimization

There are two factors to search engine optimization: external and internal. The external factor concerns aspects beyond your website. Google will rank your website by looking at links that point to your website from other web pages.

The second factor is the pages on your website. Thankfully, you have control over these web pages. When you employ copywriting SEO techniques to create well written, interesting content, then more people will be happy to link to your website. As soon as visitors arrive on your website, they will most likely find your content to be very engaging. If your website boasts of very interesting content, your readers will stay longer and this will possibly give your page ranking a big boost.

The external and internal factors will need to work well together in order to get the best out of your search engine optimization strategy. It is more than just getting your target audiences to your website through search engines; it is also about what visitors to your website will do when they land there. Writing that does not create the magic to hook that keeps readers engaged can make you lose hard-worn website visitors.

In a nutshell, you need to learn copywriting SEO skills that work. According to one of the resources on Unbounce.com, there are ways to develop powerful calls to action when producing copy for your website. Mashable.com even offers information about interesting resources for improving your search engine optimization skills.

How to Correctly Structure Your Web Copy

Use Captivating Headlines. One of the most vital aspects of copywriting SEO is creating headlines that will arrest the attention of target readers and draw them in. If you fail to use a captivating headline, people will simply not bother to read further.

When it comes to search engine optimization, the headline sure plays a very vital role. When users click-through on the link text from search results, they expect to see similar headlines on the pages they land on. This will serve as proof that they have found the information that they are looking for.

Always Appeal to Readers’ Self Interest

There is no way this is going to come out without seeming like an insult, okay, here goes. Readers are really not interested in you or the product or service you offer—whoa! That was really hard to type.

You need to understand that readers are only interested in themselves. Thus, effective copywriting SEO will make an appeal to the readers’ self-interest. Use tested and proven ways to appeal to a person’s self-interest are:

List The Benefits

Listing the benefits of a product or service will involve mentioning what the product or service can do for the reader. For instance, an iPod “holds your entire music library in your small pocket!” A product’s benefits are usually stated as verbs (action or doing words).

Another example, “the iPod’s beautiful slim shape will make it easy to slide in your front or back pocket.” You may have noticed how the slim shape of an iPod (which is supposed to be a feature) is turned into a benefit. “…easy to slide into your front or back pocket”, this is no doubt a powerful copywriting SEO technique that links the product’s features and benefits, and therefore makes them memorable.

Make an Offer They Can’t Refuse

Everyone is very familiar with offers such as “BOGO (Buy One Get One)”, “Buy Now Pay Later” and so on. Offers make for a compelling yet simple headline. Offers can be powerful headlines and are known to work well when readers are already familiar with your brand. Offer headline may not work at all if your product or service requires some explaining.

Give News

People simply enjoy hearing news. This is because they like knowing what’s new and fresh. Examples of headline integrating a news element are: Drive A Vehicle Powered By Water. Or, Choose the Cheapest Flights While You Are Asleep.

There is no doubt that these headlines simply imply a sort of change to the status quo. Seriously, who would not want to know all about driving in a car that is powered by water? People love news, and will feel it is their obligation to share their new found information with others.

You owe it to your business to learn copywriting for SEO correctly.

SEO Writing Fact or Fiction: Let’s Test Your Knowledge

SEO Writing Fact or Fiction: Let’s Test Your Knowledge

by | Oct 23, 2013 | SEO

So here we are, seasoned SEO experts and newbie writers that aren’t even sure of SEO’s meaning. What do we know about SEO writing and what do we think we know?
 

What Do We Know About SEO Writing?

 
Below, I will share four facts and four myths that are believed, in some cases, more than the facts are. You can see which ones resonate with you in particular.

 

A Successful Blogger Posts Twice a Week Writing More Than 300 Words Per Blog

Fact. The longer the blog post, the more valuable the content is considered to be. Likewise, the more often the blog posts are made the more current the blog is viewed to be. With these factors in mind, success is only a thousand words and two blog posts away.

Blogs should draw in the readership and develop a working relationship with them. People should feel camaraderie with the writer, or at least be able to understand your viewpoint and respect it so they want to read more of what you write. The fact that bloggers who write more in each post and write more often are successful supports the idea that people are developing a connection with that writer, even if it is a virtual one.

 

Providing Less Information Draws In The Reader

Fiction. Some companies are under the impression that sharing limited information will get interested parties to call for more. This can actually have the opposite effect. If the person is a potential customer that wants a better idea of services offered or prices charged, and they can’t get that from a company website, they will turn to a competitor who does share this information before they will make a call to gather the info. This is why it is important to answer the pertinent questions regarding services or prices instead of creating a website that only leaves the visitor hanging.

 

Three-Quarters Of Users Don’t Go To The Second Page of Search Results

Fact. Here is where SEO writing comes into play in a big way. For most people, they type a term or phrase into the Google search bar and start looking through results. The ones that catch their interest or seem most likely to hold the answer to their query are the ones that get clicked on. If the answer isn’t found on the first page, over 75% of the search engine visitors do not go beyond page one of the search results, no matter how many or few pages there are total. Also, users tend to choose the natural results more than the sponsored results, although this is only by a narrow margin.

 

Search Drives More Traffic To Sites Than Social Media By 100%

Fiction. It is more than that; it is actually by 300%. Sorry, that one was a bit tricky.

Search is the number one driver for web site traffic. Does that surprise you? According to Search Engine Journal, this is true and is one of many statistics that people don’t expect when it comes to SEO importance to traffic driven to the average website.

Social Media is a method of research and demographic information. However, that does not mean it is also going to be THE answer to creating more traffic for a website. Some people take the information on social media at face value and never track back to the professional website of the business in question.

 

Search And Email Are The Most Popular Internet Activities

Fact. This explains, obviously, the importance of that spam email you are always battling with and the quality copy to draw readers to the website of a particular business. These areas are the big draw. Therefore, the chance of a potential customer just happening onto your site among the millions on the Internet is slim to none. SEO writers understand this is why we have our jobs and are (hopefully) good at them.

 

Titles Aren’t Important When It Comes To Search Or Content

Fiction. A blog at Wordstream notes the exact opposite. Taking time and effort to create a clickable title that is informative for the reader goes a long way in making successful, quality copy that reaches the intended audience and keeps them interested.

The title in a news article is meant to gain attention. The title in an online article can lead to further information or new and unexpected data. Use these possibilities for your—the writer’s—benefit. Make the title work for you and for the reader.

 

The Search Engine Industry Is Estimated To Be Worth $16 Billion

Fact. This industry is money in spades. Understanding the importance of the search engine industry and working to determine the best way to use that to your advantage is a huge step on the way to your own success. Don’t ignore search engines as secondary or unimportant. Recognize them for the impact they have on daily Internet use. In fact, throughout the world each month, there are over 100 billion searches done. That means millions of searches Per Day. Those numbers are nothing to scoff at, if you ask me.

 

Writing For A Particular Audience Or Researching Keywords Are Time Wasted

Fiction. Both of these are methods to success that are forgotten or delayed in such a way their benefits are lost. The audience should be your first thought when writing anything. They are the ones you are trying to reach, and as such you always need to be thinking of them. Likewise, the audience is looking for a particular phrase or a certain product or service that can be found by searching for a particular keyword or keyword set. If the keyword is not researched to make sure it will have the desired effect, it may fall very short of its intended goals.

 

For SEO writers, separating fact from fiction may not be vital but it is helpful. Understanding the business is important, and knowing the aspects that are more important than they are portrayed is a big step toward improving your hold in this career field.