You cannot take your eyes of Swarovski’s website after the first glance. Of course it has a lot to do with the stunning jewels on display but think what else is grabbing your attention here. You cannot deny the fact that the mention of the 18th century did not grab your attention.
But why is that? Because sometimes there is a huge text being put right in your face and yet in front of those pearls and diamonds a simple text is being noticed
Well, that’s what we call copywriting and when it is done to rank on search engines it is called SEO copywriting and that is what we are going to dissect going forward. Along with that we are also going to explore strategies on how to learn SEO copywriting.
What and Why’s of SEO copywriting
Copywriting is the art of conveying more with less words. A good copywriting is when your readers feel like something is pulling them towards your content. An even better copywriting is when it appeals to search engines along with your customers.
When the latter happens, it is known as SEO copywriting!
Everytime you search a query, the results which are ranking, are because of SEO copywriting of the title of the ranking pieces. That is the power of SEO copywriting and here is how you can get that power as well.
SEO Copywriting – best practices, tips, & trends
Here are all the SEO copywriting basics along with best practices and techniques to help you rank your content pieces with copywriting SEO.
These are all personally tried and tested methods. I won’t be lying at this point if I tell you I am Google’s favorite because with these SEO copywriting tips my content not just gets indexed within 24 hours but also starts ranking and gaining some traction within the first 24 hours itself.
Here is how you can make it happen as well!
Crack the search intent
I cannot stress enough on the fact that you need to write content from the perspective of your audience. What are they searching for? Once you crack that, you are going to do wonders!
You know why you came across this particular article? Because I understood your intent and I leveraged that in my copywriting within this blog. Each heading has been carefully curated keeping in mind your experience as well as the keywords. Thus, making it an SEO copywriting example.
Well, that was a pretty random search by me but if you see all the top ranking results you would notice a pattern. The pattern being the intent. All the ranking pieces of content have one common thing and that is they are giving exactly what the user is looking for – Best Leather Gloves!
Every single copy is catering to the intent in its own way and thus, they are ranking with SEO and copywriting.
Address the pain point
I cannot stress enough on the fact that every copy you are writing is to provide a solution to a pain point of your customer. This is one thing you should not lose sight of in the process of SEO friendly copywriting.
Helpful content is one of the criterias to rank on Google so instead of focusing on doing rank worthy copywriting focus on helpful copywriting instead and you will eventually see that reflecting positively in your rankings as well.
You can address the pain points of your readers through SEO copywriting strategy of putting content step-by-step in a structured manner.
Step 1 – Put the problem right in their face along with the benefit of what will happen when the problem is resolved.
This is what we do at ZeroAdo as well for our copywriting too. In the above shared image you can see how we have addressed the pain point of “how to write catchy headlines” along with the benefit of “drawing attention and clicks.”
Step 2 – Give a direct solution! Every piece of your copywriting should convey the message. You see those headings in the above image? They are self explanatory and that’s one of the traits of good copywriting.
The reader does not even have to get in depth if the content to get a solution, it is right there!
Tell a story or share examples
What would this article be like without examples?
Bland!
That;s exactly what your copywriting is as well without some examples or a solid story. Even if that story is a lie, I am telling you that your users are going to want to read it. The power of stories and sharing examples is such that it keeps you hooked!
If you learn to leverage it with SEO copywriting in blogs content, nothing won’t be able to stop you from ranking on search engines and being loved by your readers as well.
The first few paragraphs in any piece of content need hardcore SEO copywriting because those are the ones that help you make your reader stay on the website and also send signals to the search engine about what the content piece is about.
A little story, an example, a scenario goes a long way because it adds the sense of reality to your copywriting thus making it intriguing as it pushes the reader to ponder.
In the above image if you read the first 4 sentences, you will notice that it has pushed you to imagine a situation and that is exactly what I wanted from my readers. Because of it, they chose to read further as well and thus, as we speak, even after 4 years of publishing this blog is ranking in the top 3 searches of google for the keyword “telecommunication facts.”
Feel free to go and check it out yourself!
Keep your copy crisp & interesting
Your copy should be as crisp and spicy as a wafer that leaves a taste behind even after you are done reading it. Do not beat around the bush, keep it precise, and interesting enough to hit the right spot.
A good copy is the one that makes the reader go, “WOAH!” and then pushes them to read further. The above share image is an example of that, Verloop truly ate their competitor, named Yellow, with website SEO copywriting and left no crumbs!
Test your copies and optimize as per data
When it comes to SEO copywriting, SEO Title and Meta Description are the only two things under this segment that hold the power to make your content rank. Test multiple versions of it, and finally optimize as per the data available.
Refer to the above image of top ranking blogs for the searched query. What do you observe? There are two types of titles working here.
One which is straightforward, just simply offering the solutions to increase productivity. The other one directly has my search query in its title, while the meta description is following exactly the same pattern.
If I would have been working with Business News Daily, then I would have optimized the title to be something similar to the searched query or synonymous to that.
Because the Business News Daily’s content is better in terms of quantity, from what we can see right in front of us, it is easily capable of surpassing the rankings of the other 3 content pieces above it (assuming that the quality is top-notch as well).
When done right, SEO website copywriting can get you tremendous results but for that you need to test your copies first, observe the patterns, and then optimize accordingly.
Use SEO copywriting techniques
Just like every other piece of content there are some techniques out there for SEO copywriting content as well which you can use to get started and to give a structure to your copy.
PAS
PAS stands for three things – Problem – Agitation – Solution.
So how does it play out? You start by finding the user’s problem or their pain point, or something they are struggling with. Once done, you then agitate them to let them know how deep rooted the issue is and how it is affecting them, and finally provide the solution.
Here is how the ‘Wolf of Wall Street,’ Jordan Belfort has used this trick in his copywriting.
- He starts by addressing the problem, which is, sales people and sales influencers claiming that cold calls are dead.
- He then agitates the reader by telling all the things that are going wrong because of this perception.
- And then he is ending his copy with a solution.
Now this copy is not only using the PAS technique but all the other strategies as well which we have discussed until now. It is precise, it is hitting the right spot, and it contains a reference from his own story as well.
No doubt it is one of the most liked posts on his profile.
BLUF
Bottom Line Up Front or BLUF technique is one of the SEO copywriting techniques that is often found in journalism. It can also be called the inverted triangle copywriting trick where you tell the conclusion first or where you address both the problem and the solution within the same sentence.
Here the AI music creator Soundraw is using the BLUFF technique by giving the most important information in the beginning by telling that you can create soundtracks with AI. What, why, how and all the other aspects have been saved to be explained in detail later.
Build an emotional connection
| “I’m against having emotions, not using them.” – Harvey Specter in Suits, 2011 |
This was one of the most famous dialogues from the series Suits that was loved for how raw it was. Here Harvey (a leading lawyer) is enhancing on the fact how he uses emotions in favor of his cases.
Well, that sounds conniving from the sound of it but not when you get into its depth especially when it comes to SEO in copywriting. You need to use emotions in your favor to build a connection with the reader through your copy.
Why?
Because, anything that has a triggering impact on anyone is hard to forget and that’s exactly what you want for your business.
Why is it that when you think of Tiffany & Co. engagement rings are the first jewel to come to your mind? Because they have been doing their SEO copywriting for years to establish a sentimental value of your rings.
[Source – Tiffany & Co.]
Words like “expression of love” and “enduring protection” all have an emotion attached to them and that is why you want to show your expression of love to your fiance with a Tiffany & Co. ring
Emotions are especially beneficial for website pop-up ideas because the copy you use for your pop-ups is what helps you get leads. So do not underestimate the power of it.
Little humor goes a long way
Who doesn’t enjoy a chuckle or two, it is even better if they got that smile from your copy. They would remember it for a long-long time benefitting your business only.
At times keep it light hearted, especially in SEO blog copywriting where one has to sit through a long article. A quick laugh would only make them stick longer there.
Pick ongoing jokes, or evergreen fun content to build your copy around. Here is how I have done the same in one of the blogs written by me where I referenced David and Victoria Beckham’s fun spar about Victoria saying that she belonged to the working class while her father drove a Rolls-Royce.
Well, that’s the kind of working class I would love to be a part of as well!
Keep it easy and conversational
Practical SEO copywriting involves knowing that you are writing for a human and not a machine. In the quest to rank on Google one of the things that copywriters forget is to keep their copy conversational.
Your copy’s content should flow! Every reader should feel like the content has been specifically written for them, so make it a point to do conversational copies because there is enough AI out there to write robotic copies and we do not need one more.
SEO friendly Copywriting [What NOT to do]
Now that we are through with all the things to-do, the next thing we need to explore in our SEO copywriting guide are the things not to do.
Keyword stuffing!
‘SEO Copywriting – An SEO Copywriting Guide with SEO Copywriting Techniques’
Did you have a good time reading that tongue twister?
Would you read this article if that would have been its title?
Did it sound natural and conversational while reading?
I am certain that the answer to all these questions is negative. It also must have felt very repetitive while reading that. Well, that’s what happens when you do keyword stuffing.
Of course having a target keyword for SEO copywriting is crucial, but that does not mean you have to constantly rub it on your reader’s face. Do not do keyword stuffing if you want to get clicks from your titles and copywriting.
Going OTT on details
SEO copywriting for beginners is not easy especially if you do not understand what copywriting even means. Writing 10 lines of details is not copywriting. It is about saying as much as you can but with as few words as possible.
So going over the top with details is only going to irk your readers. Give them only the details they are looking for and that would be more than enough!
I love Apple for how precise they are. In total 22 words, they have conveyed everything they wanted to. Best part about this? Even with such a few words you can make total sense out of the copy. One such offer with an even better copy promoting it – a cherry on top for sure!
Ignoring the prowess of bold words
Boring copies are not going to cut it anymore. Readers need spice. They need something that would give them a wow moment and conventional, politically copies are not it anymore. Raw is the new real. Give the uncut version of your copy to readers.
Let them know exactly what you aimed to write and convey and do not make SEO copywriting content writing a tedious job.
Who would dare to write ‘BS’ in the hero section of their website? Well, the ZeroAdo crew did, because we believe in being 100% transparent and real with our clients.
We go all in to help your business grow. We don’t just use bold words in our SEO copywriting but we also make bold moves for the benefit of our clients.
Making it to ‘tech-y’ or ‘tacky’
The more jargons you use the worse your SEO copywriting is. Keep it simple, your readers should understand things in one read. Avoid jargon at all costs because they not just make your copywriting technical but also tacky.
Have to give it to GitHub, copywriting so good that even after knowing nothing about coding, I am able to comprehend what they are trying to convey and I am sure you are too. Now that’s an example of top-tier web SEO copywriting.
Writing to just ‘rank’
If you are doing SEO copywriting just with the vision to rank then you are going to go nowhere. As harsh as it sounds, it is also a fact we cannot deny. Google pushes content that is helpful to the readers and only that content ranks that is value adding to the reader.
A piece written just with the vision to rank would probably be somewhere on the thousandth page of Google which is just as good as not writing.
Ignoring secondary or synonymous keywords
Last but not least, think it through, every single person will use a different keyword to search on the internet, so is it fair to not add synonymous keywords to your copywriting?
Well, that’s my pitch, I know you are smart enough to think of the rest!
Power of SEO copywriting can take your business to the next level!
Engaging SEO copywriting is not everyone’s cup of tea mostly because it takes a ton of creativity! You can write thousands of words of fluff content but the real test is when you have to explain everything within max 20-30 words.
As difficult as it is to build SEO copywriting content, it is also equally rewarding because those few words can get you crazy business growth.
So now that you have all the strategies at hand, go get started!!
