If content is King, who gets the other throne?
While it’s easy to create content, it’s not easy to create stellar, highly sought-after content that readers can’t help but love.
While this is bad news for most people, it’s great news for writers and marketers alike.
The secret? You have to be willing to learn and adapt to great SEO writing tips. Think of it like royal decrees. These are the guidelines that will help you vanquish the dragons of poor form, and claim a rightful seat as the King or Queen of royal SEO content.
Read on for the royal decrees.
Defining the Art of SEO Writing
SEO writing is the practice and art of writing online copy that is optimized for Google and other search engines.
While this does mean doing technical things like including target keywords and ensuring that all links come from high-authority sites, it also means mastering stylistic things like spacing, format, layout, and content structure.
As SEO has changed in the last several years, SEO copywriting has become more advanced, and today the practice is all about providing quality for people and search engines without sacrificing relevance, ease, or beauty.
When optimized copywriting is done well, it can help a company draw readers to a page.
This, in turn, results in higher numbers of leads and conversions, and can go a long way toward completely overhauling a company’s online success rates.
10 SEO Writing Tips for Conquering Content
Now, time to learn our best tips for vanquishing and conquering your SEO content to be proclaimed triumphant ruler over your content empire.
1. Understand your subjects
Any good ruler knows their subjects, and the same thing goes for SEO. To produce high-quality, relevant content, you need to understand who you’re writing to and why it matters. Case in point: the copywriting you do to market to teenagers will vary vastly from the kind you do to sell household products to retired middle-class women on a budget. With this in mind, understand your audience as thoroughly as possible.
By researching your viewers, polling them for answers to questions, and developing outstanding target personas, it’s easy to build a solid foundation for good SEO copywriting.
2. Produce prodigious headlines
Both meanings are good, really…
If you can’t craft a royal headline, you can’t expect people to bow down to your writing.
Because of this, it’s essential for any content queen or king to take the time needed to learn how to write compelling headlines.
This includes things like learning to integrate target keywords, understanding how to use action language and power words, and learning about Google’s best technical standards for good headlines and meta titles.
3. Don’t be afraid to try someone else’s headline formats out
Think about viral sites like Upworthy and Buzzfeed.
What are they doing to garner thousands of clicks, likes, and shares each day? The answer is in the headline, and it’s okay to take a hint from their formula. Great headlines are very formulaic, and one of the best things you can do to boost your SEO copywriting success is to take a look at headlines you love, and then try to emulate them.
4. Include numbers in your copywriting
People love numbers, and they have since the time of olde.
Because numbers communicate things like brevity, solidity, and actionability to a would-be reader, they improve the click-through rates of your content.
While numbers in and of themselves may not boost your content’s SEO, the increase in clicks and conversions that including numbers creates will. With this in mind, add numbers to your content headers to make the most of your readers’ views.
While there are many ways to include numbers in copywriting headers, one of the most effective is in the form of lists. By providing 5 Simple Tips for X or 10 Ways to Y, you can help your readers learn something new, solve a problem, or address a concern, all while also boosting your conversion rates and making your content more irresistible than ever before.
5. Make long-tail keywords your friends rather than your foes
Long-tail keywords are some of the most powerful SEO copywriting tools available.
Ideal for ranking in Google, providing targeted value to readers, and tailoring your content to be as specific and unique as possible, long-tail keywords can help you rank, help you maintain your rankings, and help you draw new readers. With this in mind, don’t shy away from long-tails because they can be confusing to get started with.
Instead, take the time to learn about why you need long-tail keywords, and how best to integrate them into your content.
6. Update your content kingdom often
Nobody likes a stale, stinky content kingdom, and you’ll lose followers if you let yours get stagnant.
While readers love fresh content, Google loves it even more, and publishing new website, blog, and social media content on a regular basis can go a long way toward helping you rank well and stand out as a leader in your industry.
Every time you publish a new piece of SEO copywriting, you give Google another page to index and your followers another page to love.
Plus, writing fresh content on a regular basis allows you to hone your writing skills, learn from SEO mistakes, and become a stronger force in the world of SEO copywriting as a whole.
7. Don’t neglect your meta content
Meta content often lives on the outskirts of the content kingdom – forgotten and alone.
When you learn how to craft outstanding meta content, though, you grant yourself admission into a new kingdom where everyone works together to create a prosperous and highly visible content strategy.
With this in mind, bring your meta content in from the cold.
While meta descriptions may take some additional time to write, there’s no denying that a compelling meta description is worth its weight in gold when it comes to encouraging clicks and driving engagement for your site.
8. Use images to draw royal attention
Images are a fantastic way to draw additional views to your content and boost its position in online SERPs.
While many people don’t associate the inclusion of images with SEO, colored visuals increase a person’s desire to interact with or read a piece of content by a whopping 80%.
With this in mind, it’s clear that visuals deserve to be a significant component of your content strategy.
Whether you hire an infographic designer, take your own photos, snap screenshots, or use high-quality stock images, including visuals in your content is key to ruling the content kingdom shortly.
9. Link, link, link your crowns
Learning how to link your content properly is a critical SEO writing tip that any good content king or queen will get to know.
By employing useful internal and external links in your copywriting, you not only communicate to Google that you’re using reliable sources (and hence that your writing is reliable) but you also communicate to your readers that sources are important to you, and you want to connect them with the best info possible – be it on your site, or someone else’s.
10. Be yourself: a personable king or queen!
At the end of the day, SEO copywriting is as skilled as it is creative.
While it’s important to understand things like best practices for meta content or why using images is essential, it’s also important to simply be yourself!
Without a healthy infusion of personality, online content risks feeling stale and similar to virtually everything else on the web.
When this is the case, the material you create fails to meet your readers’ needs and likely will not rank as well in Google as it could have were it made more original.
With this in mind, take the time to learn what makes good copywriting, but don’t be afraid to showcase your own voice and personality (as long as it’s appropriate for the topic at hand).
This helps you define your unique brand and become the best-loved content king or queen in all the land!
SEO Copywriting Tips to Achieve Content Royalty
If you’ve always dreamt of going down in the history books as a person who truly reigned in the world of online content, these ten online copywriting tips will help you meet your goals.
While great SEO copywriting is something that escapes many people, the few who take the time to sit down and learn the best practices and most important tips are the ones who will ultimately craft quality, online content that terrifies enemies, pleases followers, and earns the author a place on the glittering throne of quality content creation. No time to handle your crown? We know busy kings or queens need royal support – and you may trust us! Visit our Content Shop to order crown jewel content and sustain your royal kingdom.
It’s natural that even the best copywriters make mistakes.
What you should know, though, is that some mistakes are more dangerous than others.
If you’re a professional copywriter, avoiding the ten deadly mistakes that most copywriters make can benefit your career and help you earn clients.
Copywriters Beware: The 10 Worst Mistakes of Online Copywriting
Read on to learn more.
1. Plagiarism
Believe it or not, plagiarism can happen… even if you don’t mean for it to.
According to Google, plagiarism is simply, “the practice of taking someone else’s work or ideas and passing them off as one’s own.”
While most copywriters believe that plagiarism only happens when you copy, word-for-word, an entire article from someone else’s page, it can be much more insidious than that.
In many cases, plagiarism can happen when copywriters are tired, busy, or stressed, and as a result, aren’t paying enough attention to properly citing their sources or re-phrasing ideas they’ve gleaned from other online content.
Unfortunately, plagiarism is deadly no matter how it happens. Google isn’t particularly concerned about why you plagiarized a piece, and they’re happy to de-rank yours or your client’s content if they stumble upon copied text.
Because of this, it’s essential to keep a close eye out for plagiarism.
One of the best ways to do this is to use an online plagiarism checker, like Grammarly or Copyscape. While it may seem like one more step in your copywriting pursuits, it’s a valuable one that can protect you from serious trouble down the line.
We’re currently building the world’s MOST POWERFUL online duplicate content checker (plagiarism finder)! Check it out and sign up to test it at beta.Copyfind.com!
2. Taking pictures directly from the search results
Including a colored visual in a piece of content increases a person’s willingness to read it by a whopping 80%, so it’s understandable that you want to include images and videos in your content.
Be careful how you do it, though, since simply pulling visuals directly from the search engine results page could easily wind up in a lawsuit.
Online content is protected by copyright laws, and violating these laws by using someone else’s work without their express permission can result in a significant problem.
Because of this, it’s critical to be careful about the visuals you use.
To be on the safe side, pull visuals from high-quality stock image sites like Pexels or take your own screenshots or pictures.
Whatever you do, be sure that the images you include are clear, quality, and relevant to your text. This keeps them interesting rather than confusing.
No matter how precise you are, typos are inevitable, and failing to read through your content before you publish it results in mediocre results that damage your personal brand.
While most copywriters believe that a simple once-over with the Microsoft Word spelling & grammar checker is sufficient, this couldn’t be further from the truth.
While this software will help you catch misspelled words, it won’t often catch misused words (“there” instead of “their,” for example) or chunky, confusing writing.
Because of this, it’s critical to read back through everything yourself. Proofreading is a skill that’s essential to the success of copywriters everywhere, and it can indeed spell the difference between quality content and a disappointing turnout.
For added confidence, you may even want to run your content through a grammar-checking software like Grammarly, which will pick up on things like passive voice and misused commas. While this is a simple tip, it can help your content stand out from all the rest.
4. Getting the voice wrong
In many ways, copywriters are masters of transformation.
In addition to being able to write well and produce content quickly, they must also be able to transform their voice to cater to a client’s specifications: formal one day, conversational the next.
Unfortunately, many copywriters miss the mark on this.
Developing a myriad of voices is a little bit like bodybuilding – it requires time, effort, and some degree of skill.
If you haven’t taken the time to develop your various voices and tones, you’re going to lose clients to the copywriters who have.
Because of this, it’s essential to master a variety of voices and to ensure that the one you’re currently writing in is indeed the one that your client wants.
5. Being too wordy
Modern copywriters know that less is more, and it shows in their online content.
Today, brands want simple, succinct content that helps them convey a brand message and connect with their consumers.
They’re less interested than ever in verbose, drawn-out content that loses the marketing message and makes it difficult for readers to discern meaning.
Because of this, today’s copywriters need to focus on keeping it short and to-the-point.
Content that is too wordy makes it difficult for the reader to focus and, over time, can result in decreased conversions and leads for the client.
Because of this, simplicity is key and the copywriters who know how to cut the fat are the ones who will ultimately succeed in the world of online content creation.
6. Forgetting the CTA
Aside from the headline and opening sentence, a call-to-action is one of the most important lines in a piece of content.
When copywriters forget to include it, then, the entire piece of content loses its authoritativeness and fails to adhere to the goals of the sales funnel.
Meant to drive users to action, a call-to-action is a simple line that essentially tells viewers what to do next – be it click, download, share, or buy.
Without it, readers are less likely to take a given action and the success of the content declines rapidly.
In light of this, copywriters must know how to craft compelling, clickable CTAs that drive readers to want to act. This improves the efficiency of the content and helps to ensure that it performs the way a client wants it to.
7. Writing so-so headlines
So-so headlines do nothing to pull the audience in, and they can easily result in the content being completely overlooked by a significant portion of readers. The horror!
Because of this, modern copywriters must strive for compelling, attention-grabbing headlines that draw people in and inspire interest.
Here are some of the traits that make up an award-winning headline:
It’s informative and concise
It contains power words that evoke emotion in the reader
It is optimized for keywords and current meta content standards
It showcases the brand voice and helps readers connect with the company
When copywriters take the time to foster these skills, they’re better able to serve their clients and ensure that the content they’re populating the web with is worth its weight in gold.
8. Ugly, poorly-formatted content
For copywriters, it’s all about brains and good looks.
In addition to being relevant, informative, and valuable, good online copy also needs to be laid out in a way that invites readers in rather than sending them running for the hills.
This means utilizing H1, H2, and H3 headers, breaking long blocks of text up into shorter pieces and using bulleted or numbered lists to showcase important points.
When copywriters understand how readers make their way through content, these things fall into place much easier and the online copy performs better and meets user needs more efficiently.
9. Rushing
Rushing can kill the best content, from the best copywriters.
When you rush, you’re more likely to make mistakes that impact the relevance and authority of your content.
This, in turn, decreases the trust readers will have in you and makes it more difficult for people to connect with your material.
Because of this, it’s essential to take your time and understand that deliberate content is good content. All good copywriters know that.
10. Not optimizing for SEO
Long-tail keywords and good meta content can make a huge difference in the way a blog post performs in Google’s SERPs, and it’s wise for copywriters to understand this.
By optimizing online copy for SEO, copywriters can help their content earn the attention it deserves.
This helps produce leads and secure a good spot in Google’s ranking mechanism.
Contact us for the Best Copywriters with the Best Skills
Finding skilled copywriters can be tough, and it’s all too common for copywriters to make these ten deadly mistakes.
Luckily, Express Writers is here to help. If you’re looking for expert copywriters for all of your online content needs, give us a shout today. Our skilled team is happy to help!
If you love copywriting, you’re likely always looking for ways to improve your craft and become more efficient.
Luckily, we’re here to help.
If you’ve been looking to improve your writing skills and boost your expertise, read on to learn more.
7 Smart Mantras to Make You a Copywriting Guru
1. I will never stop reading
Reading is essential to good writing.
In addition to building your vocabulary, instilling new ideas, inspiring you, and helping you learn more about the industries and environments you work in, reading is a great way to keep the brain active and get more out of you day-to-day life.
Yet, many copywriters simply breeze over the articles, books, and blogs that are most relevant to them.
What a shame!
If you want to improve your copywriting: commit to reading.
While we hope you’re reading for fun, you should also be devouring everything you can about the art and skill of copywriting. CopyBlogger, QuickSprout, and HubSpot are all fantastic places to start.
By reading everything you can get your hands on about copywriting and content marketing, you’ll grow your skill and knowledge in no time.
2. ‘I think’ is not a strategy
Precision pays in the world of copywriting, and it applies to virtually every facet of this fascinating industry.
To be a successful copywriter, you can’t go into anything without knowing exactly what you’re doing.
For example, posting a blog just because you think it will be interesting to a company’s clients is never a good idea.
Instead, you should do the research required to know that the audience will love the topic and to understand exactly why that’s true.
This involves good target personas, keyword research, topic mining, and much, much more.
Shunning the mindset of “I think” will also help you create more relevant and authoritative content.
Instead of citing blurry statistics (“many marketers do the following…”), you’ll be able to blow your audiences away with solid statistics (“70% of marketers lack a content strategy…”).
This, in turn, helps to make your content more authoritative and ensures that all of your writing hits the nail on the head.
3. I will be known by the content I create
If you want to improve your copywriting, quality has to be your priority.
Your reputation is your best form of marketing in the world of copywriting, and the web’s top brands aren’t going to want to work with someone with a reputation for sloppy content or less-than-reputable sources.
With this in mind, aim to produce the best-quality content you can at any given moment.
This means reading, editing, and proofing your content, and being vigilant about learning everything you can about new trends in the industry and the climate of copywriting as a whole.
4. I will measure and improve my performance
If brands are going to hire you, they want to know why you’re the best choice, and if you can’t tell them, you’ll likely lose the potential client.
Because of this, it’s essential to measure your performance.
For example, how many of your content pieces have made it to the front page of Google? Have you ever drastically improved a company’s views or traffic in a given month? How many shares and comments does your most popular piece of content have?
While there are dozens of different metrics by which you can measure your performance, committing yourself to keeping tabs on the outcomes of your work is a great way to ensure that you’re meeting the goals you’ve set for yourself and exceeding client expectations at every turn.
5. I will handle criticism professionally and promptly
Let’s face it: copywriting is a job that comes with a fair level of responsibility.
If you write a bad piece of copy, you’re going to hear about it.
If your client is unhappy with your work, you’re going to hear about it.
If you cite an irrelevant or incorrect statistics, you’re going to hear about it.
While the gut reaction for many people in these situations is to get defensive, a copywriter that’s genuinely committed to improving their copywriting skills will understand that the only real way to handle these situations is to approach them professionally.
Everybody makes mistakes, and ultimately it’s the professional who handles them the most efficiently who will succeed in the world of online copywriting.
With that in mind, resolve client concerns when they appear, aim to produce the best possible content at all times, and double-check everything.
Criticism alone doesn’t spell the end of your career, but the way you choose to handle it can.
6. I will connect with my readers on a real level
In the world of copywriting, storytelling is a crucial aspect of success.
Why is storytelling so important in copywriting, you ask? Great question.
Think, for a moment, about a brand like Freeze. Today, the fabric-odor removal spray brand is worth upwards of $1 billion. Just a few short years ago, though, the brand was on the verge of bankruptcy. Try as they might, Proctor & Gamble, the parent company of Freeze, simply couldn’t figure out how to market the fabric spray effectively. Until that is, they discovered the power of storytelling.
No longer was Freeze just something that the mothers of teenagers used to de-stink shoes or the backseats of family station wagons. Now, Freeze is a must-have home good that can transform even the ickiest spaces into a tropical-smelling getaway.
Need proof?
Check out this commercial:
As a copywriter, it’s not enough to just tap up a piece and send it off to a client. Instead, copywriting has to merge with storytelling.
What’s the best way to appeal to a reader’s emotions and why? How can you weave elements of storytelling into a brand or marketing message?
By asking yourself these simple questions as you create your copy, it’s easier than ever before to boost your copywriting skills to epic levels.
7. I will keep it simple
The copywriting of today is a little bit like modern home design – it’s simple, elegant, and to the point.
If your readers need to break out a dictionary or corporate handbook to make their way through one of your blog posts, you’ve gone astray.
With this in mind, repeat the mantra, “I will keep it simple.”
This applies to everything from your sentence structure to your word choice. Short, simple sentences and words that don’t exceed an eighth-grade reading level are the best choices for online copy and will go the furthest in terms of boosting your reader engagement levels.
When it comes to copywriting, simple is better, and the copywriter who produces the cleanest, easiest copy is ultimately the one who will win readers.
The Case for Great Copywriting
Let’s face it – we live in a text-dense world.
Right now, every brand that has an online presence also has a need for great online copy, but few know how to create it themselves.
This is the main reason that the importance of great, not just good, copywriting has skyrocketed in recent years.
In addition to conveying a message of quality and brand originality, great copywriting is also essential for any brand that wants to define itself as an original in its industry or attract new and more engaged customers.
As businesses everywhere turn their focus to the importance of copywriting, copywriters that are dedicated to improving their skills are being placed in positions of increasing demand.
Today, it’s possible to make a full-time living as an online copywriter, but only if you stay committed to learning and improving at all times.
Luckily, copywriting is a fun thing to improve on.
From learning new techniques to keeping up with trends in the copywriting industry, there are dozens of ways to boost your skills and stand out as one of the go-to copywriters in your given industry.
As you seek to improve your copywriting skills, keep these seven helpful mantras in mind.
By helping you focus on what’s truly important in the world of online copywriting, these simple mantras can boost your skills and capabilities in no time at all.
For expert copywriters and world-class copy, check out our Content Shop today!
It’s easy to approach online writing the same way you would school papers.
Your first instinct may be to keep your language formal, professional, and terse. You want to sound like you know what you’re talking about and establish your credibility.
Mistake number one.
It’s equally as easy to approach writing online as if it’s your personal sounding board. You have a domain and a content platform – the world needs to know your opinions about your industry and anything else that rolls off the top of your head, gosh darn it.
Mistakes number two and three.
If you have fallen prey to these easy blunders, it’s time to get your head back in the game – the content marketing game. The above methods will not win you any ROI, so what will?
The online writing gods require certain things from you if you expect to get anywhere with your search rankings and traffic.
Follow these 10 commandments of online writing and you’ll get leaps and bounds closer to the ROI you need and want for your hard work.
The 10 Commandments of ROI-Worthy Online Writing
1. Thou Shalt Write for Humans, Not Search Engines
Yes, online writing needs to be optimized for search engines – but it needs to be written for humans.
If the people in your audience aren’t top-of-mind every single time you sit down to write, you’re breaking the most basic commandment of web content creation.
It’s really just simple logic: If you want to reach your target users, you must write for them. The rest should fall into place.
Why is this true?
David Risley for Search Engine Journal puts it like this, and he’s spot-on:
That means you’re not adding keywords wherever you can, or sneaking them in where they don’t belong.
It means you’re not wondering “How can I make this more search-friendly?” while you’re writing.
It means you’re setting out to write content that answers human questions or solves human problems.
It means you’re striving to be informative, helpful, and logical.
Ironically, if you set out to write for search engines above all instead of humans, you’re going to get burned. Don’t do it.
2. Thou Shalt Use Keywords Strategically
Keywords – those magic words and phrases that search engines glom onto. If you use them correctly, you’ll probably look like this:
Without the strategic use of keywords, though, you’re going to be like the kid sitting alone in a crowded cafeteria. No one is going to join you at your content table and partake in your content feast.
Keywords are the little flags that let search engines understand your content and index it. Unless you use them strategically, you won’t draw the organic traffic that can be so vital to leads and conversions.
3. Thou Shalt Not Neglect Thy Meta Data
Metas, A.K.A. meta titles and meta descriptions, may seem inconsequential to your overall content strategy, but you’d be a fool to ignore them or gloss over their importance.
Here’s a big reason why they matter: They can encourage more click-throughs for your content in search results. This is because search engine results consist of nothing BUT metas:
Writing strong metas can persuade users to click. That’s powerful – ignore them at your peril.
4. Thou Shalt Proofread and Edit Thy Online Writing
Look at the two short paragraphs below. Which one looks more credible, trustworthy, and professional? Which one is easier to read and understand?
Proofreading your work and taking the time to edit is just one part of producing high-quality content. Neglect these steps, and you’ll not only hurt your chances of ranking – you’ll also inhibit your audience’s ability to understand you.
5. Thou Shalt Not Forget Thy Audience Niche
Speaking of your audience, are you remembering their specific needs, wants, desires, and preferences at all times while you write?
It’s easy to fall into the trap of writing what you think they want to hear versus what they actually want to hear. As a result, the content you write will be less relevant to them. This is something search engines will pick up on.
Avoid this by conducting regular target audience research, referring to your personas often, and writing directly to them in your content, like you’re having a conversation.
6. Thou Shalt Research Thy Online Writing Topics
For better content and online writing, research matters. A LOT.
To be blunt, making claims without backing them up with facts, data, studies, and sources destroys your authority and credibility.
Everyone’s knowledge depends on everyone else’s knowledge. When you add research to your online writing, you’re participating in this public conversation and showing you did your homework to come to your conclusions. You’re proving the accuracy of your work.
Even more importantly, you’re giving credit where it’s due and avoiding plagiarism. These things are huge online, where it’s incredibly easy to steal content.
7. Thou Shalt Publish Regularly
The most successful online writing, the kind that builds authority for a site and grows its search rankings, is published consistently, on the regular.
Google is hungry. It wants fresh helpings of your content on a constant basis. It doesn’t like stuff that’s stale, outdated, or served sporadically.
Along with freshness, successful online writing also requires some juice to help build its clout in the SERPs.
To be more specific, it needs some link juice.
Link juice does a few things:
It helps search engines crawl your site
It helps your audience navigate/browse your pages
It adds value to your content
This includes smart internal linking within your written content. What do I mean by that?
Deep-link to relevant pages within your site in your content. Include links to older blog posts and pages that can’t be reached from your homepage.
Don’t link to pages randomly. Make sure they always help the user in some way.
Create the anchor text for your links on relevant keywords. Mix it up – do NOT use the same word or phrase to link to a specific page over and over.
9. Thou Shalt Not Write in Third Person
Unless you’re a bonafide academic who writes formal, scholarly articles, you should never use the third person in your online writing.
I repeat: Never.
In content marketing, the third person voice is a death sentence for your written content. Why?
It’s too formal.
It’s too stiff.
It’s harder to read.
It doesn’t talk directly to your reader/audience.
If you’re worried about sounding unprofessional in your writing, guess what? You can still maintain your clout and authority by writing in the second person (directly addressing the reader as “you”).
Want proof? Look at one of the most respected sites in the industry: Content Marketing Institute. All of their articles and posts are written in the second person.
Need I say more?
10. Thou Shalt Not Give Up Too Soon
If your online writing is going nowhere, you may be tempted to throw up your hands and quit.
In content marketing, this is probably the biggest mistake you can ever make.
The truth is, you’ll only get better (and see results) if you keep on keepin’ on.
Writing requires practice, just like any other skill. Writing online, in fact, takes a particular skill set that you can only develop and hone with practice, patience, and more practice.
As you keep working at it, pretty soon…
Researching and using keywords strategically in your writing will get easier
Your writing voice and perspective will flow more naturally
You’ll find it easier to keep up with online writing musts, like interlinking and posting regularly, because you’ll see exactly how they work
You’ll set up routines, strategies, and workflows that succeed in your lifestyle and writing style
You’ll start seeing results like higher search engine rankings, more organic traffic, more leads, and more conversions – it’s proven!
