A common problem bloggers face is creating content with a delicate balance between search engine requirements while engaging their audience. This dual challenge to write content that ranks while also satisfying the reader seems to overwhelm most writers.
To build up your blog audience, you have to follow the principles of SEO copywriting. SEO copywriting involves creating relevant and compelling content with targeted keywords for your audience.
The key to SEO copywriting, though, is not in an over-abundance of keywords or keyword stuffing; instead, it's about solving a problem or query of users. As most content marketers know, writing compelling pieces is about writing for your audience, not for Google search engines.
But what does it mean? How to write persuasive blogs and articles that satisfy Google and your audience simultaneously?
The single answer to the questions mentioned above is in SEO copywriting. It's not rocket science; it's just smart work.
But before we go into the basics of SEO copywriting, let's take a look at what SEO is.
Most people today know what Search Engine Optimization is. SEO is optimizing or tailoring your website, blogs, or landing page content so that it appears on top of search results whenever a user types in a query. The search result list displayed by search engines like Google is the product of SEO.
Now you may be thinking about the criteria used by Google and other search engines when displaying results. Google has evolved into an extremely intelligent search engine that evaluates content based on several factors. These factors come into play as Google selects the most relevant results on your search
Essentially, Google evaluates the following when ranking content:
How likely is it that your content is the answer that the user is looking for? This is determined by the relevance of your content, which is determined by Google based on certain parameters like the number of times a keyword is used in the content, which might be what the user searched for.
Authority in SEO copywriting means the number of links pointing towards the content in question through external sources. These incoming links make your content trustworthy and tell Google about the authority and genuineness of your content.
Link popularity refers to the amount of traffic received by the web page to be ranked. You can improve link popularity by compelling your readers to share your content on social media platforms and increasing your reader base.
Data Hosting means storing data on secure and stable servers that can be trusted. Google takes into account the reliability of the web-connected platform when ranking content. Several factors contribute to the ranking of your content. Google constantly updates its ranking mechanism, which means you have to be proactive to stay ahead in this game. To master SEO copywriting, you must excel on all fronts. You have to be a jack of all trades rather than the master of one when it comes to SEO content.
As established earlier, search engines look at many factors based on which they rank sites. So, there are various elements that come into play here:
The average attention span of online readers is short, probably too short. As per multiple user research, it was found that if a web page does not load in 2-3 seconds, it is highly likely that many of your visitors would leave your site and move onto your competitors to get the answer they were looking for.
You can check your site speed at Sitechecker, an SEO assisting online platform which helps identify many issues about search engines, site speed is one of them.
An improved site speed leads to increased conversions, as your website would receive much more traffic if the load time is less.
When it comes to SEO, content is king. Content is what drives a user to take action and feeds them with the information they need. To write SEO-effective content, you must focus on two things; keyword phrases and appeal.
Keyword phrases are the related terms to the topic you're writing on, a list of possible words that a user might type to access the information or content they are looking for. Content that ranks high on search results, you have to identify and use keyword phrases.
The second is an appeal. Before you create any kind of content, it is essential to understand your audience and identify problems they may face. Once you've understood their problem, you can solve that issue through your content.
In its 2014 update, Google rewarded lengthy content over thin content. However, this isn't a one-off rule, as blogs and articles with over a thousand words struggle to rank high on Google.
But, it's also not just about word count and keyword placement; Google's algorithms now focus on 'keyword intent' or the information conveyed by the use of keywords. A well-written piece of content would contain keywords that are used in a way that satisfies the reader and is also conducive for search engines. Avoid stuffing keywords at all costs.
Search engines also prefer fresh content, so keep updating your blog posts and articles to woo search engines to your site.
Lastly, remember to write a well-thought-out introduction, which would appear just below your title. The intro should be compelling enough to make your readers want to read on. As a thumb rule, you should include your primary keyword in the introduction at least once.
Headings are the title to your content, the single sentence that your audience will read before deciding whether they should read the body or not. Many writers make the mistake of not paying much attention to their headings, which is a huge folly
Headers give structure to your blog and inform the reader what you are talking about. More importantly, search engines prefer your focus keyword in the heading. But this does not mean that you start stuffing your keywords on the header. Remember, poorly written content will be penalized by Google.
Your content header makes your content easier to understand for the reader. The headline will make readers interested in your content and encourage them to click and read further. The header should be catchy and noteworthy, e.g., How to start a business that will give you instant profits.
Recent research also outlined the success of including numbers in your title. Including numbers like '10 ways to work out like a pro' is also a proven method to attract readers. Headliners kike these are more likely to be shared on social media, which will ultimately improve your rankings.
It is noteworthy to remember that your headline should be under 72 characters if you want it to be visible in search engine results.
Metadata or Meta Tags is the information that appears on search result pages. While metadata does not appear on the website, they're still a critical part of your optimization effort. Users and search engines access this information to know more about your website or page.
Meta Tags contain a Meta Title and a Meta description. As can be seen above, the meta title is the header 'Best football stadiums to visit in Barcelona,' while the meta description is the paragraph explained below the meta title.
Search engines use metadata as a snippet from your content, which guides readers searching for related keywords into your site. Remember, that meta description beyond 150-160 characters will not be displayed in full by Google, so keep it short and sweet.
We've established that keywords are necessary to rank your content high in search results. So as a general understanding, more and more keywords would mean better rankings, yes?
No!
There was a time when content marketers would stuff in keywords as much as they could, to the point where their content made no sense at all. Such over-density of keywords led search engines like Google to pick up the keywords and rank such articles high.
But this is no longer the case, thanks to the various updates rolled out by Google in these past few years. However, keywords still play a major role in ranking your content, and so an organic-based approach should be used when including keywords in your content.
Links are the URL, the building blocks of websites. As an SEO copywriter, you should always include links in your content through anchor texts. Anchor texts are words that have a URL embedded in them. When the reader clicks on the text, they are redirected towards that link address and access further information on the topic.
This content could be your own or from an external site. Page Linking adds value to your content and tells Google that you value the content created by others.
Remember, when you write for your audience rather than search engines, you will automatically get a two-fold benefit. If you understand your reader's pain points and address them in your content, you don't have to worry much about page links, social shares, and keyword density. These things will follow naturally once you've written compelling content with organic use of focus keywords.
As a digital copywriter, you should try and incorporate all these actions into your writing process. Don't fixate on them, as the Google machine cannot be predicted. It does not sit in a single tone, rather keeps evolving continuously. Google's algorithms are constantly changing as the internet matures.
In the end, there is no alternative to writing high-quality content. If you can craft magic with words and weave a story that your audience loves to read and share, search engines like Google will love you too.