What is SEO Copywriting?

[Cricket]

SEO Copywriting Made Simple
http://www.copyblogger.com/seo-copywriting/

SEO copywriting has traditionally been about writing web page copy that targets keyword phrases in certain frequencies and densities. And yet research shows that almost 85% of the total factors that determine how a web page is ranked in a search engine is based on things that happen off the page itself.

In your own opinion, what is SEO copywriting and how does it differ from other styles of writing? Why is it even necessary? Shouldn't the guy writing marketing copy understand at least the basics of SEO?

[AmySueN]

Skipping ahead to the last question - IMO SEO should be at the back of your mind whenever you work on your site so ANY web writing should include at least the basics of SEO.

[juliensimon]

I think having a copywriter who understands SEO can make the biggest difference in the world regarding your SEO strategy and SERPs.

Why pay a "regular" copywriter and try to add keywords yourself? Let the pro do it right right away!

[bizminder]

Of course web page content writing is different from mere article writing. The reason is, in content writing you are serving information and you cannot play around with facts, content writing has to be done very carefully. Whereas when you write for some magazine or may be some newspaper, the story is different. You can be lenient with your content and style of writing.

[mjtaylor]

A skilled SEO copywriter weaves targeted search terms into a seamless fabric that serves fresh, appealing copy to the reader and search engine alike. Keywords should be unobtrusive to the mind's ear while perfectly placed for the bot.

Composing optimized content requires not just a way with words, but SEO skillls: the ability to research popular search queries and a clear understanding of where to place the keywords. For example, terms will be :

• carefully woven into the first sentence or at least the first paragraph;
• somewhere in bold;
• in anchor text to another page or website;
• in italics if that makes sense;
• in a bulleted list, perhaps, or quotation marks.

The use of different forms of the keywords (-ing, plural and singular, past tense, etc.) as well as synonyms and related terms will also be part of the mix in well optimized "SEO copy."

Truly optimized copy goes beyond simple text on the page to include construction of the title tag, meta description, headings, anchor text, and perhaps even the alt tags of graphics or titles on links.

The best SEO copywriter will also have an understanding of sales writing and will find ways to describe benefits, make a call to action and close the deal.

Or at least the post.

[Jim Gillum]

I have to agree with MJ....think she nailed it.......at least in my opinion.....

[Benleem]

MJ, you are a SEO goddess. You should be a teacher, I tell you!

[mjtaylor]

Thank you! <== will work for praise.

[iwillguide]

she is right but writing optimized content for a web site is really hard work.i think we need to aware of keyword density while writing .

[mjtaylor]

Originally Posted by iwillguide

she is right but writing optimized content for a web site is really hard work.i think we need to aware of keyword density while writing .

Honestly, I don't think we should be at all aware of KWD. I believe that the writer should be familiar enough with the material that it isn't necessary. Ideally, one writes naturally and worries about keywords later.

Personally, I don't believe in "keyword density" as a factor. I do believe that there is a point at which the density exceeds what is appropriate and becomes 'keyword stuffing.' I do believe there is a negative factor for that.

So, I would suggest you write a first draft without concern for keywords. Then edit and polish, adding keywords and related terms where they fit and where they are helpful for SEO.

For example, you might finish writing your copy and then decide that you really would like to include a bulleted list somewhere with keywords (keywords in lists are considered to be SEO friendly). Things like that can be added later rather than worrying about your keywords while writing. It's during editing that I think about where I could use a keyword in an -ing form, for instance. But when I'm writing, I just do that.

It's a good idea to let someone else read the copy to make sure it sounds natural to a fresh ear, too.

Writing gets easier, in my experience, too. The more I write, the more it flows. If I haven't been writing for a while, it comes like sludge, slowly and in need of much refinement.

But when I am writing *something* every day, copy tends to flow more and more like a babbling stream.

[sarahberra]

SEO copywriting is writing with targeted keywords and SEO titles.

[Komkom]

Originally Posted by juliensimon

I think having a copywriter who understands SEO can make the biggest difference in the world regarding your SEO strategy and SERPs.

Why pay a "regular" copywriter and try to add keywords yourself? Let the pro do it right right away!

Hi... I actually had an experience with an SEO copywriter, and did what you suggested here. The thing is, it's just different to have a SEO-written copy and just plain copy.

What am saying is that SEO copy seems to be unnatural...

[vnviews]

What is SEO Copywriting? Answer is below:

[mjtaylor]

Originally Posted by sarahberra

SEO copywriting is writing with targeted keywords and SEO titles.

Surely it's more than that ...

Originally Posted by Komkom

Hi... I actually had an experience with an SEO copywriter, and did what you suggested here. The thing is, it's just different to have a SEO-written copy and just plain copy.

What am saying is that SEO copy seems to be unnatural...

Then it's not good SEO copy.

The card above is a great example of bad SEO copy - though probably extreme. There is good and bad in every field. Sounds as though your friend hired a copywriter without seeing enough of his or her work to find out whether their copy is good.

Great card, btw, thanks for sharing it!!

[micoblanco]

Originally Posted by Cricket

In your own opinion, what is SEO copywriting and how does it differ from other styles of writing?

For me, SEO copywriting is a style of writing in which you pay special attention on SEO principles as well as the SE's guidelines. Unlike other form of writings, SEO copywriting tends to disregard some of the writing rules.

Originally Posted by Cricket

Why is it even necessary?

Simply because SEO copywriting is a form of writing for a specific field/area ; the Internet/Web.

Originally Posted by Cricket

Shouldn't the guy writing marketing copy understand at least the basics of SEO?

If the marketing copy is for the Internet, definitely it would be a big plus; on the other hand, if a copy is written on print, no SEO points would be merited for you. Nevertheless, SEO teaches us how to sort, categorize, and organize ideas.

[leahmarie]

for me SEO Copywriting is a form of writing according to the principles or guidelines of the SEO process. Having good and quality content, can have a high probable cause of ranking high in the search engines.

[Jayne]

Originally Posted by mjtaylor

A skilled SEO copywriter weaves targeted search terms into a seamless fabric that serves fresh, appealing copy to the reader and search engine alike. Keywords should be unobtrusive to the mind's ear while perfectly placed for the bot.

Composing optimized content requires not just a way with words, but SEO skillls: the ability to research popular search queries and a clear understanding of where to place the keywords. For example, terms will be :

• carefully woven into the first sentence or at least the first paragraph;
• somewhere in bold;
• in anchor text to another page or website;
• in italics if that makes sense;
• in a bulleted list, perhaps, or quotation marks.

The use of different forms of the keywords (-ing, plural and singular, past tense, etc.) as well as synonyms and related terms will also be part of the mix in well optimized "SEO copy."

Truly optimized copy goes beyond simple text on the page to include construction of the title tag, meta description, headings, anchor text, and perhaps even the alt tags of graphics or titles on links.

The best SEO copywriter will also have an understanding of sales writing and will find ways to describe benefits, make a call to action and close the deal.

Or at least the post.

That's the trick you have to master with SEO copywriting, isn't it? You should be able to put in chunks of keywords into a copy and make it seem like it belonged there. But some keywords are just so ridiculous that it stretches your creativity. Like for example, we had a long tail keyword like "one of the best horse" for a company that sold thoroughbreed horses. I tell you looking at that alone you'd know that it's grammatically incorrect, but "one of the best horses" was also included in their keywords list. SO what do you do with the singular form? You add a qualified: One of the best horse BREEDS, or one of the best horse CARE PRODUCT.

[ExquisiteWriter]

I would have to say any writer that wants to successfully write for the web should understand SEO. Why? Simply because SEO is one of the primary factors in opening up jobs for online writers.

Sure, you don't have to use your SEO knowledge in all pieces of content, but it's critical that one understands it before the time comes.

[txshellie]

A quick addition to this thread, which is a really good one, by the way.

I think that with SEO copywriting you have to keep all of these technical items in mind but you also have to imagine that you are a customer surfing the web looking for whatever you is the topic or your article.

I try to keep copy for the web lighter and friendlier. I try to paint pictures and answer questions that I think my customers may be trying to answer.

Sometimes I even start my copy with a question related to the product that is on that page or I'm trying to generate buzz for.

Ultimately, the best copy in the world isn't worth much if it doesn't cause the person reading it to take the action you'd like them to take.

So, I think it's a tricky skill creating copy that will appeal to both google and the end user. (I think people are suspicious of that stilted bad SEO copywriting that we've all seen on the web and they back out out of sites that look like that and shop somewhere else.)

[snakeair]

*Additional Information*

I just came accross this article that i thought would be useful in this thread.

There's a time and a place for everything. The place for sweat pants to be worn is at home, not at the airport; the place for cigarette butts to be thrown is an ashtray, not out your car window; and the place for the Twighlight movies to be watched is on the corner of nowhere and never again.

When dealing with your online content you have to find the right keywords and the right place for them on the page. SEO 1997 was all about throwing keywords anywhere and everywhere on the page in hopes to claim those top spots on AltaVista, WebCrawler, Excite and the six other search engines you were gunning for. (Ahhh, remember the days!)

In today's world SEO has meaning beyond getting rankings, 'cause, you know... people are gonna see that stuff. Your content has to read, not like a keyword laundry list but more like information that actually helps sell your product or services, or provide information the reader finds helpful to them.

Continued at: Put Your SEO and Copywriter in Their Place

Perhaps i should of made a better title and achor text. Feed back about this article would be more then welcomed.