Search Engine Optimization or SEO is probably the most misunderstood topic with regards to online content. Essentially, it is a process which makes your business’ content rank higher than your competitors’, when users type certain keywords into a search engine. It directly affects the number of views and shares that your website link gets.
So without good copywriting, you remain in a stalemate where you might have good content but no one gets to read it. There is always the option of using external copywriting services to optimize your content and make it SEO-friendly. So here are a few tips to help your business optimize SEO ranking through good copywriting:
Understand your readers
Many businesses fail to understand their readers and instead have content stuffed with keywords in the hopes of getting a higher SEO ranking. Don’t do this. Focus on making your content interesting for your readers and use the keywords naturally. Don’t change phrases just to fit in as many keywords as possible. Readers can tell the difference between when you’re marketing and when you’re writing naturally and they tend to be more interested in the latter.
Keywords
When choosing your keywords for your website don’t choose obvious keywords that already have thousands of posts about them. The chances of getting a good search rank decrease significantly when competing against more popular trusted websites that already have thousands of shares. Choose long-tail keywords instead.
For example, if you choose a keyword such as “weight loss” then there will be millions of articles about it but if you make it more specific by saying “weight loss tips for women” then you are more likely to get clicks. Also use keywords in image titles, descriptions and alt attributes, so that they reflect the topic of your website.
Meta description and title tags
Meta Description and Title tags are HTML tags that allow search engines to understand what the topic of the site is. Title tags contain the title of the website that actually appears during a search. Meta descriptions are one or two line descriptions that are shown right below the title and give the user a basic idea about your site.
Both these tags ultimately control the number of clicks, views, shares and likes your company’s website gets. The title and meta description must be creative in order to compel a user into visiting your site.
Headline
The homepage headline or title has to be enticing enough to draw viewers. Write a headline for the percent of your traffic that is bound to be happy with the product. Headlines that convey a specific idea or question the reader, get the most number of views. Use keywords in your headlines and make sure you stick to the ideal length of 6-12 words per headline.
Introduction
The introduction comes right after the headline so it has to be intriguing to catch the readers’ attention. It acts like the back of a novel – if it is interesting, readers will read it. If it isn’t, they’ll move on. The introduction must be short, precise and creative. Make sure to keep the introduction limited to 5-6 lines and have at least 1 keyword phrase in it.
Content
Content is everything. A catchy headline with crappy content will drive users away. The main reason people use search engines is to get helpful content. When users do not find what they are looking for in the first glance, they’ll leave the website. So make sure that your site has well researched content that is easy to understand. The newest Google update is aimed at penalizing content that is shallow, so beware.
Page links
Page linking is very important on your website. Add links to other pages on your website that will direct visitors to a particular service or a product, or take them to the contact page where they can get in touch with you. But don’t overdo it. Google is coming down hard on link schemes which could also lead to a penalty.
The best way of linking a page is to let it flow naturally in your text. You can use naked URLs, long-tail phrases, or branded URLs to make sure that the text doesn’t sound forced.
Social media marketing
Use social media marketing to your advantage. If your website offers services then join forums like Quora or Yahoo Answers and make a name for yourself. If your site offers visual content then join Flikr and publicize it there. Most organizations these days use Facebook and Twitter to connect with their existing consumers and also gain new ones. But while you do this, remember not to spam your followers.
Page speed
If your page takes too long to load then users will likely move on to another site. Make sure that your page loads within a maximum of 30 seconds. Remove all unnecessary material that slows your page down. These could be large images, music players, flash animation etc. Use tools like Google Page Speed tool to check your website’s speed and make sure that it ranks around 85-90.
Capture attention
All the above tips are used to achieve a basic goal – capture attention. Use these tips to bring attention to your work but also remember to captivate your site visitors once they’ve clicked on your website. Story-telling is a powerful tool for this.
Don’t create irrelevant or offensive material. A lot of companies might do this, but shock value can only get you so far. Users will figure out that your company’s material is not worth their time and will not want to re-visit your website.
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