If you want your business to do well in the digital market, search engine optimization (SEO) is a must. We’ve found that when we make interesting, interactive content, Google promotes those pages, which is good for you. If more people visit your website, you have a better chance of turning some of them into paying customers.
But there’s more to writing SEO-friendly content than throwing in a few keywords and crossing your fingers. SEO is an art that, like any art, gets better with practice and a little bit of originality. Here is a guide to using search engine optimization in your writing to get higher search engine rankings.
First Understand SEO Copywriting
SEO copywriting is the process of making content with the goal of ranking for relevant keywords in search engines. The process can be used on your homepage, product pages, blog posts, and even your profiles on review sites. When SEO copywriting is done well, it can increase the number of keywords for which your content ranks.
SEO Copywriting Essential For Ranking Websites
Google relies on natural language processing (NLP) to understand what users are searching for and what our content is about. Over the years, NLP models have gotten far more advanced.
Google’s advancements in NLP have led to the evolution of SEO copywriting, which now focuses more on producing user-friendly content than it once did on instant fixes. But Google is still a robot. Besides, when SEO copywriters write their content, they should first understand how search engine technology works and leverage this information.
- 1. Think Hard While Crafting Your Headline
Don’t underestimate the power of headlines; they need their own section in this article. So, let’s be honest here, if you are looking for something on Google, you probably will not click on a website with the mediocre headline. Headlines can grab your audience’s attention, so it’s important to make sure you use them well for better SEO. They are also a simple way to tell Google and your visitors what your page is about.
When it comes to writing headlines, many writers lack focus. Writers have the bad habit of spending hours on a 1,000-word blog post but only 30 seconds on a mediocre headline. If your headline is bad, no one will click on it to visit your website. Set aside a considerable amount of work to come up with ideas for headlines. It may seem like a waste of time at first but you’ll be glad you did it when your organic Click-through rate (CTR) goes up and your page views are on the higher side. Lastly, be mindful of headline length. Headings with more than 60 characters get cut off by Google. So, to avoid having your headline cut off, keep it short.
- 2. Metadata Gives Wider Context
The most important metadata comprises page titles, page descriptions, and alt text for images. The page title needs to summarize what the page is about clearly, and the page description needs to provide a longer introduction. It can show up in searches, so make it good.
Google needs to know what an image is, so you need to describe it in the alt text. How much time you should invest in your metadata is context-specific. You can use appropriate primary keywords to increase traffic to blog posts on wide topics (mainly if the keywords are of niche interest). But if you want your content to stand out on search engine results pages (SERPs), you’ll have to work harder to ensure your meta descriptions make people want to click through.
Giving clear and strong instructions and a convincing summary of what the reader can expect are two strategies for writing meta descriptions that drive click-throughs. The bottom line is that good metadata won’t guarantee more clicks, but lousy metadata will definitely get you less of both.
- 3. Structure Is Very Important
To introduce important ideas right away use the inverted pyramid style for your copy. Google pays more attention to the information at the top of a page or article, so place your most important points there.
A well-organized page makes it easy for both humans and search engines to navigate. Headings 2, 3, and 4 (H2, H3, and H4) should be updated with each new idea. Our data shows that 36% of articles containing H2 and H3 tags receive more traffic, shares, and backlinks.
Your content will be more accessible to readers and easier to index by search engines like Google if you take the time to organize it properly. So, in order to maximize its usefulness for featured snippets, you want crawlers to dissect it (which can send you even more visits).
Separate your content with paragraphs and use subheadings, and graphics to break up your text rather than writing everything in one long piece. Every subheading should clearly explain what it is about, which will make that section more valuable to Google and help the page rank higher.
Even if your article is well-written and provides significant value to the reader, it may not succeed in attracting any visitors. The reason for this is that not every subject will be discussed. Put yourself in the shoes of your potential readers and ask yourself if the subject is interesting to you. Is it intriguing enough to make you want to click? If it doesn’t, you may want to rethink your commitment to the piece.
Furthermore, there is already an overwhelming amount of content available online for certain subjects. For instance, term insurance is a competitive keyword because the sector is so massive and so many major companies are investing much in advertising to drive people to their sites. If you want to succeed in a specific niche, you need to give some careful thought to the themes you cover in your work.
- 5. Create Organized, Easy-to-Read Content
Most people only read the first few paragraphs of an article. Only 16 percent of readers will read your copy word for word, according to a survey by the Nielsen Norman Group. One in two Americans cannot read below eighth grade level. However, this does not preclude them from reading more advanced content.
In their quest for knowledge, people often turn to search engines. Many people use search engines to locate particular pieces of information or to get a professional opinion on a matter. If your content is difficult to navigate, it is unlikely to generate many comments, shares, or sales. So you need to figure out who you’re writing for first.
Although industry experts in a given field may require more detail, it is nevertheless essential that the content be easily understood by the general public. Here, anything up to a 12th-grade reading level would suffice.User may make use of the following points:
- Write Precise and Informative Content
- Use Bullet Points and Numbered Lists
- Write Subtopics Within the Copy
- Use Simple Vocabulary
Articles in the style of questions and answers, written to look like a transcript of an interview with a brief introduction, can be a good place to start. They demand an interview with a single source as opposed to several sources, they adhere to a fairly precise format, and they are appealing to readers since they lay greater emphasis on the subject’s voice.
Discover an interesting subject. Monosyllabic does not make for compelling reading. To make a good Q&A, you need to start by finding someone with a unique perspective. The interviewees whose work deserves attention benefit from interviews with people who have in-depth understanding of their field.
Don’t just ask about what’s being talked about. When a person gives a lot of interviews, the same questions are asked over and over again. Because of this, they often have a lot of canned answers.
Make it more like a conversation than a questioning. If you make it like a conversation, the source, whether they are famous or not, will give you much more information. When people are at ease, they are more willing to talk and tell you more. This always makes both story interviews and Q&A interviews better.
- 7. Write For Homo Sapiens
Above everything else, keep the user in the forefront of your mind. As it might be tempting to get carried away when writing SEO copy with formulas, hacks, and top suggestions when, in fact, writing for humans is a great strategy. Content that is created just for search engines can never prevail over writing that is interesting, distinctive, and informative. The objective should be to provide users with the valuable information they need, not just website ranking. Google’s main goal is to deliver the most relevant results to users for their search queries. If you can provide information in a way that is more in-depth, distinctive, and interesting than your rivals, you will undoubtedly rank well.
Ask yourself: Are you writing as a robot or as a friend? Besides that, are you thinking like a person or a machine?
The worth of an article is determined by the seamless combination of helpful information for the reader and an honest, genuine tone. We want to feel drawn into the story, and into the universe, the author has created. Even if you are writing about motivational tips, freelancer problems, or increasing your revenue, you are still crafting a narrative. It is the author’s responsibility to make these tales as captivating as possible.
So how do you write a captivating story? How do you attract readers like a magnet and keep them engaged until the conclusion? Simple, write like you talk. Describe things as if you were conversing with a friend. Avoid employing technical jargon or highly professional terminology.
The Bottom Line
Structuring your content correctly is a huge component of successful SEO copywriting and search engine optimization. Although the process starts with crafting your Headline, Metadata for broader context, Structure of your copy, Topic Viability, Creating Organized, Easy-to-Read Content, writing in a Q&A format, and writing for humans AKA Homo Sapiens can seem tedious at first, it a skill that becomes second nature over time.
Keeping these points in mind while you write or modify your SEO copywriting will dramatically enhance your chances of climbing in the ranks and gaining more traffic. It will take some effort to generate SEO-friendly content for your website, but it will be worthwhile in the long run.
Follow these guidelines to create SEO-friendly content and maximise the value of your copywriting efforts. They will assist you in ensuring that strong content results in more shares, leads, links, and attracts return of your customer. After you’ve taken the first step, you may focus on optimising the other SEO aspects. Consequently, you’ll attract a sizable audience. But no matter what, enjoy the thrill of the chase.
