These copywriting tips will help you avoid common errors that could weaken your writing.
I don’t recall the last time a website I worked on was delayed due to technical issues.
It is never the coding that causes delays.
It’s always the copy.
Everybody believes they can copy up to the point where they are presented with blank pages.
Your employees may be subject matter experts, but they don’t have to meet a deadline for copywriting.
Copywriting can be difficult.
It can be challenging to write SEO-friendly copy.
Even novice SEO copywriters could make a big difference by doing a few things.
1. Target 2-3 Keywords or Keyword Phrases
Many SEO copywriters are new and make the error of targeting too many keywords and keyword phrases on a single page.
My experience is that if you try to target more than two or three keyword phrases on one page, your copy will sound dispersed.
Focused copy is often the best type of sales copy.
Even in long-form articles, too many keywords, especially non-related keywords, can result in copy that isn’t engaging the reader.
Focused copy does not lead the reader to take the desired action, in other words, to convert.
Recently, I was bit of a Twitter conversation in which participants criticized a conference speaker for saying that blog posts should not exceed 2,500 words.
The conference speaker may be right.
The conference speaker may be wrong.
There is no magic word count that defines what a post should look like.
Your content should be as long and detailed as necessary to answer your visitors’ questions adequately.
You may only need 50 words if you can answer the question in 50 characters.
You should be fine if site visitors and search engine bots can identify the page’s context.
There’s no need to count your words.
Visitors don’t care about the lengths of your blog posts.
Contrary to what some conference speakers believe, Google doesn’t care how long your posts are.
Unfocused copy is a sign of a writer who writes too much.
Customers looking for information, or to be at the top of their buying funnels, will appreciate a long-form copy.
Visitors ready to buy or become leads have probably done their research.
It is more likely that visitors will lose their focus and leave if they are told the same information again.
Even the most experienced copywriters can benefit by using just a few keyword phrases.
Writing tends to be more precise and focused.
It tends to convert more effectively.
2. Get rid of your copy
On a website, large walls of words can seem intimidating.
A page with only pixels and text can frustrate visitors, causing them to abandon the page.
Graphic elements include pull quotes, bulleted lists, numbers lists, ample images, etc.
Web admins can transform intimidating walls of words into appealing web pages that convert visitors into buyers.
Simple adjustments to the page’s formatting can transform a page from being unable to convert anyone to anything into sales machines.
I find it incredibly strange that B2B marketers are reluctant to include images of living, breathing humans on their pages.
While we know that happy, smiling people increase conversions on B2C pages. However, we often forget that B2B clients are just B2B consumers at work.
Do you know that a picture of a happy, smiling customer can increase your conversion rate for a blog post?
No, I do not.
I want to try various combinations of graphic tweaks on an expanse of words to find the best variety.
A few days ago, I talked with fellow agency owners about our unique selling points.
My friend suggested that he believed his agency had performed more A/B testing than any currently operating agency.
This is a great selling proposition.
He knows that images of happy, smiling people aren’t just for consumer products.
3. Keep your keywords on a Post-it note
It is well-known that tracking your caloric intake can help you control your weight.
When writing copy with SEO in mind, it is essential to track the words that you write.
Knowing how often you use your keyword phrase in your copy is essential.
As with the word count overall, there’s no limit to how many times you can include a keyword in any given piece of copy.
Novice SEO writers often stuff their copy with keywords to make it look like a catalog entry.
This is not the right way.
Copy must be understandable by the consumer.
The copy must appeal to search engine robots to understand what it is about. However, the context does not need to be telegraphed.
It doesn’t mean you have to tell the search engine every signal that a page contains a particular keyword phrase.
Anecdotally, I advise writers to include every targeted phrase in a block at least twice.
There are many occasions when it is logical to repeat a phrase more often than twice.
It is best only to use a keyword phrase once.
You can rank pages with one keyword phrase mentioned for phrases that are not as competitive with other signals. However, more often, it will take more than one mention.
This brings us to the post-it note.
When I create SEO copy, I write down my keywords on a post-it note and place it beside my keyboard.
Each keyword phrase I use is checked as I write the copy.
However, I don’t count keyword phrases when writing the first draft.
Every time I use that phrase, I put a checkmark.
After finishing the first draft, I go through it again to ensure it is understandable. I also count all keyword mentions making sure I have included everything.
I will reorganize the document and begin again if everything is missing or the copy doesn’t flow around the targeted keyword.
Although it can be frustrating at first, eventually, you will be able to make minor adjustments to the draft and publish a final version.
4. Listen to the Copy Loud
If in doubt, you can read the copy aloud.
If you are still unsure, ask others to read it aloud.
You aren’t looking for ways to improve the copy if you’re reading it aloud. It should be great by the time you get to this point.
SEO experts and Webmasters can read the copy aloud to determine if it flows.
It doesn’t work if we try to fit a round peg in a square hole.
This is also true when we attempt to target keywords on pages where the context does not match the intended purpose of the targeted phrase.
It is almost impossible to tell if a page has too many keywords if it is if you read the copy aloud.
We found that it is possible to fit more keywords into your copy than you think. The flow of the document still works.
We usually find at least one/two additional instances in which we could logically use a keyword phrase within the copy by reading it aloud.
