SEO copywriting is a must-have skill in digital marketing, especially with the rise of AI. Today, anybody can get a decent auto-generated text. However, only a well-crafted human copy can bring the desired results to your website.
But it’s not only about writing original, informative, and relatable articles. Including SEO practices in your copywriting routine is the key to driving organic traffic and boosting a website’s visibility. As a writer, you must prioritize SEO knowledge and skills to stand out atop the mass of low-quality content. And the best part is that you don’t need a college degree to get better at this.
Effective SEO Copywriting Techniques
Are you following the most recent Google updates? That’s great, but it’s just the first step to successful content optimization. Many SEO copywriting techniques may vary depending on the website’s content, location, audience and scale. You don’t have to master them all at once, but you need to be familiar with the basic principles. Here are some general yet effective tips you can use right away:
Keyword Research
Website content cannot stand out unless it is optimized with relevant keywords. Google analyzes all web pages and uses keywords to rank specific pages above others. Although some of them are harder to target than others, you should prioritize and focus on primary keywords, which are essential to your performance.
You can perform keyword research for your SEO copy with tools such as Google Keyword Planner, SEMrush, Ahrefs, or SurferSEO. With these tools, you can access competition metrics and search volumes. Therefore, you can craft SEO content accordingly and optimize it for results or audit existing pages.
On-page Optimization
When your web pages are ranked higher in search engines, your website will naturally gain more organic traffic. To achieve this, you should include keywords naturally to your content. Remember to add them to page titles, headings, meta descriptions, images, or body text, but don’t overuse them. Stuffing your texts with keywords will have the opposite effect—Google may detect it as spam and penalize your page with lower rankings.
Content Structure
Let’s say your client owns a dentist webpage. You write an SEO article related to preventing cavities. However, you add bullet points in your introduction. You don’t add enough headings and subheadings, leaving plain blocks of text. How will the reader view your content without proper structure? They probably will skip your article for a more comprehensive one.
Content structure is crucial in SEO as Google prioritizes useful, easy-to-read, and properly structured content. Implement bullet points where there is no need to use too much background to explain a subject.
Add logical headings with proper keywords to help readers scan your content and understand it. Break up your text into paragraphs for easier readability. It will also improve the general user experience on the website.
Using the Right Tools
Some tools can boost your SEO copywriting and help with content research. You can significantly improve your copy with various headline analyzers and editing apps like Hemingway. Unfortunately, copywriters don’t always have access to all necessary resources due to geo-restrictions. This is where VPN becomes handy.
Geo-restrictions can also hinder localized keyword research. Besides, your data can be exposed while analyzing your competition. You can use a VPN to change your virtual location and research or analyze your competitors anonymously. A VPN will also help marketers protect sensitive customer information as it encrypts your data and keeps your online activities private.
Be mindful of your VPN provider, as free services can do more harm than good. The VPN price can differ slightly depending on one provider to another, but it’s always worth investing in a reliable service when it comes to cybersecurity.
Internal Linking
Search engines must understand the structure and hierarchy of your content. You can achieve this with internal linking. Think about how fandom pages do it.
They have a principal page about the series they talk about. Each time they mention a character, event, or something else that might deter them from the primary subject, they link the keyword to another page. When readers click on it, they are redirected to a page that explores the topic in more detail. This is the same principle you should apply to your pages. Remember to add a call to action throughout your content and encourage visitors to subscribe to your page, contact you, or make a purchase.
The Key Takeaway
Familiarizing yourself with the essential principles of SEO can be your first step ahead in the vast digital marketing landscape. Start with thorough research and include your primary and secondary keywords organically. Structure your articles for better readability and use the right tools to refine your content. Also, always be mindful of your online presence and use a reliable VPN to achieve the best results.
