Were you hoping to read a post about how to do SEO copywriting well?
Prepare to be disappointed. Mind you, if you’re desperate to know about that, you can read about it in my earlier post: The Absolute Truth About SEO Copywriting.
All I want to do here is create a short post that lists things that, despite popular belief, have nothing to do with successful SEO copywriting.
Ready?
Here we go.
- Values – things such as innovative, professional, approachable etc., are not keywords. They are values that should come across in your content
- Density –a word that should never be uttered especially when used in conjunction with ‘keyword’. Successful SEO has nothing to do with the number of times you repeat a word or phrase
- Repetitive words –similar to the above, rather than using the same terms, again and again, mix them up with synonyms and other related terms
- Stuffing –this is the third time I’ve mentioned this but under no circumstances should you cram x number of keywords into x number of words. I don’t care what your marketing guru or web designer says – IT DOESN’T WORK
- Don’t write for Google (other search engines are available) –when writing your copy focus on the needs of your readers and only them. They will be doing the buying, so write naturally
- Colours, bold and underlining –littering your content with highlighted words will make it look naff. If you have important information you want to draw attention to show it in a bulleted list
- A great wall of text– don’t create a solid page of text. Instead, use short paragraphs and subheadings that include your keywords
- Hyperlinking– yes, there is value in links but not if you dot them willy-nilly around your page. Only include a link if it’s necessary to further your readers’ journey
- It’s not static – SEO copywriting is an ongoing job. You must continuously update your content to maintain/improve your rankings
Sally Ormond is an international copywriter. With more than a decade of experience in SEO copywriting, she has the knack of finding the right words that satisfy both readers and search engines.