Search engine optimisation (SEO) copywriting is a vital component of any successful SEO strategy, and quality content is known to boost search engine rankings significantly. Creating page upon page of SEO content won’t count for much if it’s not well-written, focused on industry-specific keywords and appealing to search engines and human readers alike.
If your website content is more wallpaper than “wow”, consider the SEO copywriting tips below. They’ll help you transform bland, ineffectual content into copy that informs readers, boosts rankings, and makes your site look pretty intelligent too!
- Write it well
Certainly, the primary aim of SEO content is to boost a site’s rankings on the search engines by including highly searched, popular keyword phrases. And while it is essential to utilise these keywords frequently throughout the content, the copy must, at all times, remain readable.
Quality content gains the respect not only of the search engines, but also of Internet users. And it’s these users who are likely to link to well-written copy – further boosting rankings and bringing more traffic to the site.
Senseless, keyword-crammed content does nothing for your site. Do not sacrifice the quality of your content for the sake of keyword inclusion. Excellent content gains recognition – and recognition, ultimately, generates traffic and enhances rankings.
- Consider keyword densities
Including keywords in your SEO copy is absolutely vital – after all, keywords mark the fundamental difference between “unoptimised” content and search engine-friendly copy, and indicate the level of relevancy of the page.
The keywords you’re targeting should be included in your H1 tag, as well as in H2 and H3 tags where possible and applicable. They should appear in the first 200 words of your content, and throughout the remainder of the article. Remember to add weight to your copy by using variations of your keyword(s).
That said, resist the temptation to “stuff” your content with keywords. Keywords should be used frequently throughout your content, but not so much that the search engines consider the content to be spam. Keyword stuffing irritates readers (who you are relying upon to link to your site), and is also likely to get your site penalised by search engines.
- Go for bold
Using so-called “strong” tags in your content is a good way of indicating to the search engines what your primary keywords are. You should aim to highlight primary keywords (and their variants) towards the beginning and end of the text. Don’t highlight every keyword and variant throughout the text, as this is unnecessary. Also, don’t bold words that aren’t keywords, as this dilutes the effect of highlighting keywords.
A few extra tips for creating quality SEO content
- If your website covers a range of topics or themes, try to stick to one topic per page. Devote at least one page to each product, service or theme being discussed, and keep different topics separate.
- Include relevant outbound links in your content. In general, SEO content that contains high-quality, pertinent outbound links ranks higher than content that lacks links. Remember to link out only to reputable websites that haven’t been penalised by the search engines, or your site, too, may be penalised.
- Try to place your primary keyword within the first three words of your headings – particularly in your H1 tag
- Always include a call-to-action in your content, so that readers are able obtain more information about your products, sign up for your service or become members.
High quality SEO content is integral to your website’s success on the search engines. Purple Cow specialises in creating SEO copy for a broad spectrum of products, brands and services. Contact us to find out more about our SEO copywriting services.