When you’re ready to develop content for your website, one of the first things you’ll likely think about are SEO and keywords. Although, yes, keywords are important, there’s much more to writing engaging web copy than keywords alone.
Think of it this way: you’re not really writing for the web; you’re writing for your potential and current customer base. Sure, you want to include your main keywords a few times in your article or web page—that will definitely help out on Google’s side of things—however, you need to avoid the temptation to repeat keywords over and over throughout your site, as you’ll be creeping over the line into “black hat tactics” like keyword stuffing — the practice of inserting a large number of keywords into your site in order to artificially increase a page’s ranking in search results. Not only will keyword stuffing harm your website’s ranking, but a visitor to your site will have a negative experience, and most likely won’t be back any time soon.
How to Write Copy for SEO?
Keep these tips in mind when writing copy for SEO and when creating content for your website:
- Set yourself apart from the crowd. Start with identifying what sets your company apart from your competitors. Let’s say you run a ski shop. Do you offer discounted ski tune-ups? Free demo days? Are you the oldest ski shop in town? Do you have an easy return policy? Start with identifying the key feature/service that sets you apart, and then focus on providing a quality, positive experience for visitors to your site.
- Use keywords sparingly, and only where it makes sense. Don’t use the same keyword phrase three times in the first paragraph. Make sure your copy is long enough to accommodate using your keywords in a natural way. The easiest way to do that is to read your copy out loud — does it sound like you’re talking directly to a human, or do you sound like robot? Hopefully not the latter.
- Use keywords smartly, in all of your website’s pages. Keywords aren’t just for your main copy. Be sure to use keywords (where it makes sense) in your page title, description, alt tags and link titles.
- Coordinate your efforts both offline and online. In order to convert website visitors to actual real life customers, all of the pieces in your marketing strategy should fit together seamlessly. If you’re running a print ad campaign for your ski shop with the tagline “The Oldest and Most Trusted Ski Shop in the Region,” then make sure these key messages are reflected in your web copy.
- Keep your website content fresh and useful. Once your website is up and running, don’t ignore it. To attract new visitors to your site and keep current visitors coming back, make sure you update and future-proof your content marketing strategy. Keep it engaging, interesting and informative.
And lastly, when thinking how to write copy for SEO, get creative. It’s always helpful to include polls, tips, contests, testimonials, videos, articles, any anything that your current and potential customers might find useful.
Have fun! Lori Nelson-King | Copywriter, Savy Agency