SEO content copywriting is a skill that takes practice and thought—especially if you still want engaging content, blogs, and posts that an audience wants to read. Although some say it's okay to ditch the SEO altogether--if content is good it will get found, that is a bit of a myth. SEO still plays a major part in today’s marketing landscape. The key is writing content that balances the reader’s desires along with SEO. How do you do it? You have to understand what both content writing is and SEO, and then formulate pieces that include great writing that’s enhanced with SEO.
What is Content/Copywriting?
Content is a big part of today’s marketing. It’s creating posts, articles, website content, and more that inspire the target audience to take some sort of action. A copywriter (or content writer) must have several skills:
- Being able to identify a target audience’s wants and needs
- Creativity
- The ability to write content that stands out from the crowd and utilizes a “brand” voice
- Formatting skills that draw the reader’s eyes down the page
- The ability to inspire a target audience to act upon wants and needs
What is Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
Search engine optimization is the process of identifying and using commonly searched keywords and phrases people are using to find products, services, information, and more. Anytime someone uses a search engine to enter a term and then hits enter, that is a potential keyword/phrase for businesses and marketers. In today’s world, there are tools to find the most frequently searched terms as well as other commonly searched formations of it. When you are infusing content with SEO, you are basically adding those terms so that search engines find your content. The goal is to create SEO rich content that people want to read that ranks high (for example, the first page of Google search results).
The process of SEO includes:
- Researching keywords and phrases using a number of tools available
- Looking at competition scores and deciding which keywords and phrases you want to use
- Formulating content around those keywords and phrases
- Adding the keywords and phrases naturally while also optimizing them within the content
Content and SEO
People may wonder why content and SEO are so important. The best answer is that SEO content often covers issues, questions, and information your audience is specifically looking for. In essence, it is meeting their needs. SEO content is content that will get found in online searches. Writing SEO-rich content should cover a few things. Here are the steps you’ll take:
Step 1: Brainstorm topic ideas
Use your keywords and phrases to generate a list of topic ideas. For example, if a popular keyword in your industry is “best dog brush,” create topics like “4 Steps to a Stellar Dog Groom” or “The Best Ways to Keep Your Dog’s Coat Beautiful.”
Step 2: Write an excellent headline
The first thing you’ll want to do when creating the content is write a headline that engages readers. Statistics say poorly written headlines will deter readers from the get-go.
Step 3: Write fresh content with excellent formatting
Your content is essential. It needs to speak to readers, answer their burning questions, offer them crucial information, and be written in an engaging and well-thought-out style. Formatting is just as important. Subtitles, bullets, bolds, and other features help draw the reader right down the page. Study popular content and how the professionals do it so that you can start writing quality content with SEO.
Step 4: Combine content and SEO
An important task is to bring the SEO into the content in a way that doesn’t feel awkward or overly salesy. This optimizes the SEO as well so the search engines find it.
Step 5: Analyze the results
As you get better at SEO content, you’ll also get better at determining its effectiveness. You can see how many hits a blog post gets, or how many people land on a certain page. With weaker content, work to optimize it better. Also, you can’t get lazy with content. Consistently updating and posting is essential to success.
Content and SEO go hand in hand in online business marketing. The more you understand it, the better you’ll get at creating it.
