The Best SEO Copywriting Tips

Not everyone is a writer. That said, no one is born a writer – let alone an SEO copywriter. I know when I first had a pen in my hand, search engines, let alone the World Wide Web, was a pipe dream.

Even so, the art and science of copywriting has evolved over time – and now we have SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation copywriting.

SEO copywriting analytics from Google Search console

Google Search Console.

What is SEO Copywriting?

SEO copywriting is straightforward – it’s writing copy, or text, for your website or webpages and optimising it as much as possible for search engines. That means picking relevant keywords without “stuffing” them and getting penalised, adding the right metadata, headlines, internal links, and title tags.

SEO copywriting is finding a balance between what algorithms like and what people actually find useful.

To be successful at SEO copywriting, you need to research keywords and the competition.

Keyword research

Content writing for the sake of it doesn’t help anyone. Google, DuckDuckGo, Bing, etc. categorise websites by relevance. If you search for copywriting, the webpage should explain copywriting in detail to help fulfill your query. You can see what your website already ranks for by using Google Search Console. This takes a few minutes to set up. After a few weeks, you’ll see what incoming search terms your site or pages rank for.

Analyse the competition

Not all keywords are created equal. Some keywords are highly competitive. An industry insider once told me that “lawyers” or “compensation lawyers” as a long-tail keyword would cost upwards of $100AUD per click on Google Ads! Use SEMRush or SearchAtlas to see what content ranks and how to leverage that to your advantage.

What are other people searching for?

Another way to look at keywords and searches is to use Google Trends and see the volume of searches for long-tail queries such as “how do I write better?” or “who can write a blog post for me?” and go about answering those questions as best as possible – better than your competition.

Journalistic rigour and creative flair

You don’t need to be a journalist first to be a copywriter – but it helps. Articles online need to be timely, relevant, and factual. Disinformation and misinformation is rampant; so don’t add to it by being lazy in your research. Think and write like a journalist: if possible, try to cross-verify claims by finding two independent sources for your content (e.g. two primary sources, not secondary sources that may reference one another). Above all, be creative! Just don’t open the forbidden door: plagiarism. Plagiarism is not only IP theft but a known SEO penalty. If you’re unsure, use a plagiarism checker.

What is Google passage ranking?

Google’s algorithm is smart enough to rank certain parts of pages for relevant content – so everything in your page needs to be informative and relevant. Separating subjects into sections by using headings and paragraphs can go a long way in helping rankings. For more information on Google Passage ranking and how it works, click here.

Off-Page SEO

Many modern Content Management Systems such as WordPress, SquareSpace (which is what I use!), or Kajabi offer off-page SEO tools such as creating custom headlines, snippets or excerpts, title tags, metadata, and social images. Use these to your advantage. Don’t pack your off-page metadata with keywords and hope for the best: use strategic keywords so your content ranks better!

What’s next

Does the thought of filling up a blank screen fill you with dread? Contact me and get Melbourne’s best SEO copywriting and content done for you! Click here to contact me.

Differences Between Technical vs Creative Copywriting

Technical copywriters and creative copywriters may perform the same action - writing words for others to read - but serve two totally different functions.

Put simply, a creative copywriter is here to persuade, while a technical copywriter is in the business of informing or instructing.

Read More

Advanced Books on Writing

For seasoned writers who rely upon clear and concise prose to get their point across, here are some more advanced texts on improving one’s writing craft.

To the Point: A Dictionary of Concise Writing by Robert Hartwell Fiske

When writing, simplify. If you can’t, read this book.

Edit Yourself: A manual for everyone who works with words by Bruce Ross-Larson

A comprehensive style manual including suggested edits and alternatives. I use this manual for my own editing.

Help! For Writers by Roy Peter Clark

210 tips, exercises and lessons for writers. If you’re stuck on a plateau and want a comprehensive program that’ll light a firecracker under your fingers, this is the book to get.

Language in Thought and Action, by S. I. Hayakawa

This book’s for thinking about words and how they create meaning rather than word choices, structure and what have you. Also handy for discovering your own biases and the biases of others. Essential for anyone who writes non-fiction or wants to get involved in the media. Also recommended: Amusing Ourselves to Death, by Neil Postman.

I Always Look Up the Word ‘Egregious’, by Maxwell Nurnberg

A vocabulary builder for people that don’t need one. A good start to expand your vocabulary and in time, your entire palette of meaning.

The Elements of Eloquence, by Mark Forsyth

aka, “How to turn the perfect English phrase.” A rundown of the elements of rhetoric and other embellishments that turn your copy into poetry, sweet poetry.

Hemingway App

A free app aiding concise and clear writing. It’s not perfect, but goes a long way helping you tighten copy.

The Sense of Style: The Thinking Person's Guide to Writing in the 21st Century, by Steven Pinker

A new approach to style in the modern era. Cognitive scientist and linguist Pinker dissects language structure and form, different and differences between styles, and how to think more clearly and accurately about writing. Best read after you’ve absorbed the more “prescriptive” texts such as Elements of Style, etc.

Vex, Hex, Smash, Smooch by Constance Hale

Verbs power writing, and this book features a boatload of exercises to rev your verb-writing engines. You’ll scratch your head after reading, wondering why your laurels ever rested on lazy adverbs!

Elementary Books on Writing

The first in my series of resources for writing clear and concise copy

If you've contemplated improving your writing by clearing it up and trimming the fat - you should do it. Clear and concise communication improves chances of saying what you mean and meaning what you say. Here are some of the elementary books on writing that I use and recommend.

The Elements of Style, by William Strunk, Jr. and E.B. White

If your writing resembles a frothing sumo wrestler, get this book and swallow down its advice every day like a regimen of vitamins. The most fundamental of fundamentals to good, clear copy are in this book.

Good Grammar, by Graham King

Does what it says on the spine.

If You Can Talk, You Can Write, by Joel Saltzman

One of the clearest, sharpest and most helpful books on writing there is. Packed full of fun vignettes, exercises and eye-openers. You’ll read it in a day and return to it constantly.

Choose the Right Word, by S. I. Hayakawa

A thesaurus of sorts, this book explains the precise shades of meaning for any word you’re struggling to come up with. Also recommended: Roget’s Thesaurus.

A Dictionary, by whomever

Get one that’s at least as big as your head. Refer to it often.