SEO Copywriting and Why It’s Important

Prominent ranking on Google has become imperative to most businesses’ marketing strategy.

Way back when I started out as a copywriter before the internet even existed (yes, I’m that old), most of the copy I wrote was for magazine ads and brochures. Those were the dominant media forms for businesses that wanted to attract customers, particularly in the business-to-business arena.

Once the internet came along, that all changed. Getting a prominent ranking on Google quickly moved to the #1 spot for most effective marketing techniques. To be successful, companies needed both quality and quantity of copy on their websites/blogs. As a copywriter, this boded well for my business. Suddenly every business had an infinite need for copy.

Over the years, ranking high on Google has become far more difficult. The competition has increased dramatically and also Google has become more sophisticated in how it evaluates websites. Here then are some questions and answers about writing web copy that gives you the best possible chance of a favorable ranking.

I understand that a big part of writing effective web copy/content is search engine optimization (SEO). Can you explain what that is?

First you need to figure out what keywords to prioritize. You have to try to put yourself in the shoes of the searcher. What are they seeking? What words are they using?

Then you have to come up with content that utilizes those keywords but in a way that isn’t awkward or stiff. These days too, because SEO has become so competitive, you need to write longer pages. Two hundred words on a topic is not enough to get ranking. You need to shoot for 1,000-1,500 words to see results in a competitive category.

Achieving a favorable ranking for your main keywords often requires that you produce high quality, comprehensive copy.

Given your experience and the continuously changing landscape of SEO, how has your work evolved over the years?

In the early days of Google and SEO, many people tried to game the system. They would use what today are called black hat techniques.

For example, they’d use hidden text. They’d write their keywords hundreds of times in white ink, which the search engines could see but visitors could not.

They’d also over-optimize the copy and meta-data. Their theory was that they’d rank higher for their chosen keywords if the keywords appear in the copy say 20 times instead of 10. That’s not necessarily true, and it can result in your copy sounding contrived. Overdo it with the keywords and Google can catch on and penalize your site.

Because having inbound links helps with ranking, another black hat technique was buying links or exchanging links, as opposed to obtaining links organically because your content was high quality.

Often the site giving you the link had no relevance to your subject matter or was a sub-standard site set up strictly for link exchanges. Google has figured this out too and now penalizes sites (or at least doesn’t reward them) for questionable links.

Google strives to provide searchers with the information they seek. Use SEO best practices to be included in its search results.

My approach to SEO has always been to create quality content, and lots of it. I create well-researched, carefully-crafted web pages and meta-data, and Google has rewarded me (and my clients) well. It worked back in the early days of Google, and it still works now, although I’m no longer one of the few who knows this secret. The level of competition in that regard has increased substantially.

Have you seen any significant changes in how search results are handled?

One major change comes to mind. In the early days of Google, I could get 2-4 listings on page 1 in the search results for the keywords I was targeting. In other words, if I was marketing say “Orlando condos,” I could write several different pages on the subject and have them all rank high in search results. I could totally dominate page one and two, which drove a big chunk of the traffic to my website.

It used to piss off my competitors that I grabbed most of the spots on page 1 and they often couldn’t get a single spot for their site. My copy was better. Some of them would actually call me and tell me what I was doing wasn’t fair. I would explain that I don’t control Google’s results. They should contact Google with their complaint. And then I’d think to myself, “Good luck with that!”

Nowadays, the competition is such that there are thousands and sometimes millions of relevant sites that Google ranks for a particular keyword. Therefore, to give the searcher the best possible and most varied results, Google typically doesn’t offer up more than 1 or 2 listings for a single site in search results for a specific keyword.

Have you changed how you target specific keywords over the years?

I have. It used to be you needed an exact match. So, for example, someone searching for “dog shampoos” would only see results that included sites with those exact keywords – “dog shampoos.” And if I were writing copy to rank for those keywords, I’d be sure to use them repeatedly in that exact form.

Fortunately, Google has gotten smarter. It now uses latent semantic indexing, which studies and compares relationships between different terms and concepts. These keywords can be used to improve SEO traffic and create more visibility and higher rankings in search results. In other words, you don’t have to keep saying “dog shampoos” over and over to rank for dog shampoos.

To rank for keywords such as “yoga,” use a wide variety of related terms in your copy.

Let’s look at another example. If you’re trying to rank for the keyword “yoga,” you want to write copy that includes related terms such as meditation, relaxation, stretching and downward dog.

I think being able to use related terms adds color and interest to your copy, and it means you don’t have to say “yoga” 30 times to get ranked because those related terms are also scoring you SEO points.

Another big change is that it’s much harder to rank for broad general terms. So, for example, if you want to promote an antique shop, you can’t just target “antiques” and think you’re going to get placement on page 1 of the results. You need to narrow your focus. You have a better chance of ranking for say, “antique Black Forest furniture” or “antique sewing machines made by Singer in the 1920s.”

Are there specific events or updates that were particularly influential?

As I said, my approach has consistently been to focus on quality content. I never bothered with tricks or the trend-of-the-month. I just keep creating good content.

I will say, however, that my definition of good content has evolved. My pages these days, as opposed to the early days of Google, are longer. They’re better researched with more supporting data and authorities quoted and with more photos and videos. They’re designed to give the visitor a more comprehensive understanding of the subject matter.

Any business that ignores SEO when writing copy for its website, is missing out on opportunities to attract web traffic.

I am continually trying to improve my copywriting and my knowledge of SEO, and I’m sure that’s reflected in the work I produce. I certainly hope I keep getting better at my craft. And as Google makes changes to its algorithms, I’ll continue to adapt.

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Figuring out what to charge is something that new and even experienced copywriters often find difficult. However, a large part of your success will depend on your ability to set prices that clients are willing to pay and that allow you to make a profit. Check out the final blog post in this series, Pricing Your Copywriting Services.