As a writer, are you tasked with helping a client's website appear at the top of search engine rankings? Are you confused about what is a short tail or long tail keyword? Are you bored to death with the long, drawn-out lectures about SEO or search engine optimization?

We've put together this easy guide to get you up to speed.

What is SEO copywriting?

SEO copywriting is a part of search engine optimization, which utilizes different ways to make a site rank higher and make web pages search engine friendly.

SEO copywriting is the process of writing that enables content to be found by search engines easily. It is useful for your viewers and gives them the answers to the questions they are searching for in their search results. 

SEO copywriting can boost page rankings and keep the target audience satisfied.

In short, SEO or search engine optimization copywriting incorporates keyword-optimized content that is appealing to search engine algorithms and, at the same time, useful to human users.

Then what is SEO copyrighting?

This is just a typo. Many people accidentally misspell copywriting as copyrighting when searching on Google.

Copyrighting is the right of an individual over their original piece of work. It's a completely different subject and is not related to SEO copywriting.

What are some great SEO copywriting tips?

There are a number of SEO copywriting tools and SEO copywriting tips employed by SEO copywriters to improve the authority and relevance of their content and get their web page easily found by a search engine.

They do this by using specific target keywords so that search engine users will readily find the content. When Google sees its relevancy, it ranks that site higher.

Here's some SEO best practices to rank content in the top 10 of Google and increase traffic to a site.

1.  Site speed for web pages, landing pages, and category pages

Studies have revealed that nearly half the people who click on a page in their Google search will abandon it if it takes more than 3 seconds to load.

In the last decade, website loading times have made a huge impact on site ranking. Even if you have labored for hours to produce useful, interesting content, if the site loading time is more than 3 seconds, you'll find people will quickly leave. These days, the attention span of users is very short.

First, analyze the site’s speed by utilizing standard speed tests and Google Analytics tools. Then take action to decrease loading time below 3 seconds. Next, check the speed history again to see if the loading time of the web page has improved.

2.  Attention-grabbing headline or title tag

Only one in five people will read past the headline of a piece of content. The rest will coast away if they find a headline boring. Around 80% of a blog post’s success depends on an attention-grabbing headline.

The key element of SEO copywriting is, therefore, its headline. Keep these factors in mind while crafting one:

• In today’s marketing world, the headline should prompt the viewers to click and read further. 

• It should be clickable and attractive. The headline should have the relevant keywords that people search for.

• If you want to be a successful SEO copywriter, create the headline first and then move on to the body of the blog post. This will help the content to be found by search engines faster.

• Convey a specific message to the target audience in the headline.

• Include a number or figure if possible

• Keep your title under 72 characters to increase click-through rates.

Following the above tips will attract organic visitors to your client's site.

3. Quality Content 

Content is an essential element of SEO copywriting success. Instead of focusing just on keyword stuffing, a copywriter should focus on the quality of the content of their SEO writing. You can improve the content for content marketing by paying attention to the following:

• Content should be fresh and useful for humans (and not just geared towards search engines).

• Use competitive keywords and keyword phrases (and don’t stuff keywords).

• Put the relevant keywords in your headline.

• Make your headline readable from an SEO perspective.

• Understand the user intent of your readers and target them.

• Blog posts should be longer than 1000 words.

• Write content that understands and solves the problem of your readers.

• Write a compelling introduction that draws the reader in and makes them want to stay on the page.

• Optimize your SEO copy by downloading a WordPress plugin called Yoast SEO. It will help you to get a site ranked higher on Google if you follow its prompts.

4. Meta Title and Meta Description

The role of meta description is to help search engines understand the content. A meta description is used by Google as a snippet. The snippet copy will help search engine users to see if the page is relevant to their search query.

The role of meta description is to help search engines understand the content. A meta description is used by Google as a snippet. The snippet copy will help search engine users to see if the page is relevant to their search query.

If you want to rank high on Google and catch people’s attention, follow this checklist for writing a meta description:

• Make sure the keyword intent behind your keywords is correct. The intent of your client's business should be clear in the keywords.

• Keep your meta description under 150 characters (including spaces).

• For mobiles, keep it under 113 characters (remember, more searches are done on mobile than any other device, so it's best to optimize for mobile over anything else).

• Along with a short description, include a call to action.

• Target keywords should be included (they will be bolded in a query and help the page rank).

• Your meta description should be unique to the page.

5. Frequency of targeted keywords

The number of times specific keywords appear on the page determines the keyword frequency.

In recent times keyword frequency has lost a lot of its importance due to changes in the Google algorithm, but it still stands in the top 200 ranking factors.

It's best to avoid having a keyword density of more than 5.5%. Doing so will flag your blog posts as 'spammy' to Google and other search engines, which means they could penalise it.

6. Links

The building blocks of a web page are links. Link building will help a website rank higher in Google searches and increase search volume. Here are the types of links useful for SEO copy:

• Internal page links that link to more useful, relevant content.

• Links to social media platforms to give Google relevancy and social clues (google pays attention to social media marketing)

• External page links show you value other people’s content.

The primary mission of search engines like Google is to organize all the online information in the world. Links help search engines understand the content marketing strategy so they can send the best visitors to your site.

However, to be successful in link building, you need to make sure your content creation is focused on human users first and search engines second.

For example, internal links to other existing content on the site are a great idea, but only if they're relevant. Don't just link to any page for the sake of it.

Linking to external sites is a great way to show Google the intent of your content. However, you should not link to any site you find.

Some sites are 'low value' in Google's eyes as they're spammy or 'thin' on content that humans want to read. Linking to sites like these will not help you're standing with Google. In fact, it could even harm your Google ranking.

Stick to well-established, authority sites. Ideal sites to link to are those that end with .gov, .edu, or .edu.

What are the different approaches to SEO copywriting?

Write useful content

One of the best SEO copywriting tips is to write useful content for human that is also great SEO content. There is no other way around it. People love good and useful content that flows naturally and are likelier to stick to your blog post if they find it interesting. 

Rather than mere keyword stuffing, this is the best way to generate leads for your brand. Studies have proven that along with being useful, content should have these four features:

1. Write high-quality content that is fresh (don't regurgitate information that's already out there, give it a fresh spin).

2. Optimize your content with well-researched keywords where you've studied keyword intent.

3. Gain sufficient, relevant backlinks (this is where other sites link to your site). 

Use keyword research and search intent.

Keyword research is an important aspect of the approach to SEO copywriting. Along with keyword research, you should also be aware of its intent. Before you solve your target audience's problems, you should know what the keyword used stands for and whether it fulfils the search intent of viewers.

Pay attention to the classification of keywords also. There are generally two types of keywords: 

• Informational keywords are used by people who want to search for useful information for free without paying for it. They are generally how-to words. People using these keywords are generally not buyers. It's best to use these keywords in your title tags to cultivate an audience, guide them to your brand, and encourage them to buy a product or service. 

• Commercial keywords are used by people when they intend to buy something. They are used by the searcher when they are desperate to take action to buy a product. Some examples of commercial intent keywords are review, buy, order, free, comparison, best, fast, etc. The person who is searching with a commercial keyword usually wants to buy a product, or they may sign up for an email that will lead them to convert as buyers.

Here are the three steps to using a target keyword in your copy:

1. Use the target keyword in the title. 

2. Use alternative keywords in the meta description as well as in your introduction. 

3. Write the content naturally for human readers and keep an eye on keyword density (don't stuff keywords)

4. Write the conclusion with the primary keyword inside. 

Use long-tail keywords and short-tail keywords

Short-tail keywords are three words or less, while long-tail keywords are more than three words. SEO firms use long-tail keywords to get your page to the top of search engine results.

The advantage of using long-tail keywords is that as they grow longer, the search volume gets lower but more specific or relevant.

For example, if someone searches for 'Ford Ka,' they could be looking to buy a car, or they are just looking for information. If you're writing for a car dealership, someone just searching for 'Ford Ka' does not mean they want to buy a car. Even if they do, they could be hundreds of miles away.

Now, if someone searches for 'Ford Ka in Birmingham, UK,' that's far more relevant. Yes, there will be far fewer searches than 'Ford Ka,' but those searchers will be far more relevant to your car dealership client. Quality of searches trump quantity from a commercial point of view.

Therefore, long-tail keywords have higher conversion rates than short-tail keywords. They are highly recommended by WordPress plugins like Yoast SEO. 

Use storytelling

Stories have eternally been loved by humans. As an SEO copywriter, if you can weave your client's brand story into your content, viewers will find it more appealing. They are more likely to stick through to the end of the blog post and more likely to push the call-to-action button. 

Use the element of storytelling in a natural way and use high-quality content to make the maximum impact on your reader. The Lego Movie is a successful brand story. It does not just sell Lego bricks. It sells possibilities. 

 Benefits of SEO copywriting

What are the benefits of great SEO content and SEO copywriting? 

• Most people only click on the first two to three search results when searching on Google. Good SEO content that is pleasing to both humans and Google will mean your client's website will rank higher than a competitor's website, and hopefully get into those top search results.

• Great content creation that's based on good SEO copywriting principles and search intent will gain valuable and qualified traffic to your target site. Remember to use focus keywords in title tags and meta descriptions in your writing process.

• If you write content that provides useful information to your audience by answering their questions and providing a solution to their problems, you'll create trust which leads to sales and brand loyalty.

• You can inspire your readers to take action, e.g., to buy your product, subscribe to the blog, listen to the podcast, etc. 

• You can gain authority over time through link building as other sites link to your content when relevant.

• A great SEO strategy will not only benefit you in terms of search engine optimisation, but you'll find it benefits other digital marketing forms, such as social media marketing.

Conclusion

Writing content that's optimized for both humans and search engines is the biggest challenge that content marketers face.

Writing smarter content is the key to building your blog audience. SEO copywriting is not difficult so long as you remember that you need to write for people and not just search engines. It's all about:

• Understanding the target audience so you're clear on search terms and search intent.

• Using a focus keyword and then creating relevant short tail and long tail keywords.

• Using your content to answer questions and solve problems for your reader.

• Using things like incoming links, title tags, meta descriptions, etc. to signpost to Google without disrupting the human experience (keep it relevant).

Just follow the above principles of successful SEO copywriting to create high-ranking web content that excites people to buy your clients' products and services and take their site to the first page of Google.