Do you sometimes wish your web or marketing copy was more persuasive, engaging and SEO-optimised without sounding jargon-y?

Is it possible to have all the sweet spots of excellent SEO copywriting in one go? That is, to master the art and science of writing content that Google loves and your target audience gets hooked on? 

Yes? No? Errr… Maybe? Not so sure? 

Simple answer? Yes – It’s possible. And I’ll show you how.

More specifically, I’ll show you how to avoid some costly mistakes business owners make when trying to attract web visitors and convert them to buyers. 

Fact is, you cannot rank for quality keywords and convert visitors into buyers without SEO copywriting. That’s why it’s is one of the most valuable things you can do for your business today.

SEO content is the bread and butter of any digital marketing campaign. Before you can start generating traffic to your website, you need quality SEO content that will rank well in the search engines. 

In this complete guide, you’ll discover 20 powerful, fail-proof SEO copywriting techniques that will help your product, service, brand or website rank well in the search engines.

What is SEO Content Writing?

SEO copywriting is the art and science of finding the perfect balance between writing copy that both Google and your target readers will find and love. 

It is writing focussed on enticing the reader while also being optimised for search engine algorithms. This means the content must be readable, persuasive, sharable, original, and built around keywords.

Put simply: It compels, converts, and sells. 

And don’t forget, search engines have come a long way in understanding how to rank content on the web. The days of spammy titles and descriptions are over. 

So, if you want to get results with SEO copywriting, you must focus on creating content that has relevance and value to the reader while meeting on-page search engine optimisation (SEO) requirements. Forget keyword stuffing and spammy techniques.

Why is SEO Copywriting Important for Your Brand Online?

Websites that rank in the top of search results are considered hot property, which means ranking in the top of search results is super important!

In fact, if your content doesn’t pop up on Google’s first page, then your content is practically blinking in the dark. See some interesting stats from Backlinko. below

• In Google’s organic search results, the #1 result has an average click-through rate (CTR) of 31.7%.
  
• Content that shows on Google Page 1 is 10X more likely to receive a click compared to content on Page 10.

Do you get the picture? Now, let’s hit the ground running. 

Top SEO Copywriting Techniques That Work Every Time

1. Know and understand your target audience

Every good copywriting starts with defining and determining the buyer persona.

A buyer persona is a fictional representation of your ideal target audience. Understanding this person is essential for creating effective content because it allows you to tap into the right mindset while writing the copy.

The creation of a buyer persona can be simply achieved by posing questions like; who are my customers? What do they like and dislike? What does their typical day look like? 

The goal is to create a believable character that makes your customers feel like they know you. It’s not about selling to them using technical jargon, but rather making them care about you enough to want to do business with you.

2. Brainstorm your keywords and keyphrases

Before you start writing, make sure that you have done your keyword research first. You can do it using the Google Keyword Planner or any other keyword analysis services online.

Basically, the idea is to determine what keywords and phrases your target audience are typing in the Google search bar when finding products or services your business is offering. 

Remember, when people use search engines they typically aren’t thinking about specific words, but looking for ideas and concepts based on their query. It takes time and effort to do keyword research with correct analysis, but it will be well worth it in the long run.

3. Do a competitor analysis

A thorough analysis of the competitor’s SEO strategy will reveal what kind of content they have published, how they have optimized it, and, most importantly, what keywords are ranking for them.

When you’re doing a competitor analysis, it is important to take the time to dig deep and not just skim over the surface. You want to look at what they’re doing and why they’re doing them to fully understand how to improve your own content marketing. 

By also looking from the view of the audience, you can gain a better understanding of what resonates with them. These insights will be valuable and guide you in creating content that is better than what your competitors are offering.

Some useful keywords research and competitors analysis tools you can explore are Google Analytics, MOZBar, Ahrefs, SEMRush and BuzzSumo.

4. Create a reader-focused, benefit-driven headline

A headline is arguably the most important element in your sales copy. If you get the headline right, up to 80% of your sales are done before your prospect reads a single line.

Your headline should be benefit-driven. This suggests using action words that will capture the reader’s attention. A great headline makes people stop and take notice. When they pause, you have a chance to tell them why your content is interesting. Good positive, emotional reactions are the best way to attract readers.

So, don’t just settle for an eye-grabbing headline – rather, craft one that speaks directly to your target audience by including what you want them to think, feel, or do after reading your content.

5. Ensure the title includes your keyword

Creating a title for your content can be tricky as you want to make sure it’s catchy and has the best chance of being ranked well in the Search Engine Result Pages (SERPs). But here’s something you might not know, if your title contains your primary keyword, Google is more likely to rank that page higher in search results.

Showing up in search results is important because it gives you your first chance to engage the potential buyer. You only get one shot at that, so don’t blow it. They see your title and either click or don’t click.

6. Include power words in your headline

This is one of the most powerful SEO copywriting techniques. Using power words in your title tag can increase your click-through rate, which leads to more traffic and sales. 

A power word is a word that is loaded with meaning and is used by copywriters and marketers to provoke an emotional or psychological reaction. 

According to RankMath, there are essentially 3 categories of power words: Seductive Power Words, Emotional Power Words and Sensory (or visual) Power Words. They include:

Read also: 16 Costly Website Mistakes That Are Hurting Your Brand Right No

7. DON’T underestimate the power of the first sentence

You only have a few seconds to captivate your readers and get them to stick around. Getting this first sentence right can be a make or break moment for your article.

Your article will never be read if it doesn’t grab the reader within the first 3 sentences. That’s why step 1 in any SEO content strategy, is to capture your reader’s attention with an article intro that will make them want to take action; whether it’s clicking through to the second paragraph, or sharing your content with their social network (or both).

8. Write short, descriptive paragraphs

Writing paragraphs that are long and full of content is ideal for websites and online brands, but Google doesn’t like it. These days you need to be writing short, descriptive paragraphs. The goal should be an average of 55 words per paragraph. 

This way you can have a lot of paragraphs on your page and still rank well with Google. If you have a 5 paragraph article, your article breaks down to about 1150 words which makes a single article a good length for a blog post.

In addition, you should write your content with the reader in mind. Make it easy for them to read and understand what you’re trying to convey with short, descriptive paragraphs. This way you can create a load of useful content without clogging up your site with text that doesn’t really say much at all.

9. Break up your content with logically flowing and compelling subheadings

When thinking about writing effective content it is an easy mistake to jump straight into writing without thinking about the structure of the content. However, you should always start your super-SEO content by establishing what you are going to cover before you begin writing. 

At this stage, it is important to decide what the main topics are that your ideas will be based around. One of the most important things when writing SEO content is to make sure you break up your content in a logical and compelling way. 

While you want your content to flow coherently, it’s also important to make sure that the individual paragraphs and sections in your content make sense and don’t confuse your readers.

10. Use the right keyword density

One of the oldest tricks in the SEO book is keyword density. By sprinkling your keyword throughout your copy, you help the search engines understand what your post is about.

But don’t overdo it. Remember, ‘sprinkling’, not ‘stuffing.’

Keyword stuffing in the wrong places makes the search engines think that you are trying to manipulate page rankings with inauthentic content, which can get your website penalized.

So, how much keyword density will help your SEO rather than hurt it? Is there a magic number?

Most SEO experts suggest between 1-2% keyword density (once or twice in every100 words) This rate will allow search engines enough information on what the page is about without keyword stuffing.

11. Use anchor links

Anchor links are subtle yet effective for improving your blog’s user experience. They are the cornerstone of SEO and overall content optimisation. They help the reader navigate to other posts or pages that will give them more information about the topic. 

Note that Google favours backlinks to your site with at least one internal link over external links alone. But ensure the links open in a new tab. 

You should be aiming for 2-3 anchor links per article. These can be internal links to other blog posts or pages on your own website (inbound links) and external links to authority citations on other websites and/or PDFs (outbound links). 

12. Use numbers in headlines to skyrocket CTR

Search engine users and Google’s search algorithms prefer data-driven and researched content and they’re more likely to read it if the headline tells them what to expect. Also, people like to see numbers in headlines because figures provide a simple, quick way to quantify the topic.

13. Write for featured snippets

This is a crucial part of SEO these days as featured snippets have been adopted as a main ranking factor. Featured snippets are used by Google to show quick answers to users’ questions directly in the search results. 

As easy as it may sound, featured snippets are an opportunity that needs to be taken seriously because it offers businesses one of the highest returns on investments with more traffic/link juice while improving SEO.

14. Use a grammar & spellchecks

Search engines like Google find content that is well-written more trustworthy than bad grammar. This will not only visually enhance your message but will help the reader better understand what you are writing about. Write with proper punctuation, grammar, and spelling.

It will be difficult for people to trust you and your brand if they can’t even trust what they read on your website or in an article you wrote. Grammarly is a great tool that checks for grammar and spelling errors to ensure you always win the battle against basic mistakes.

15. Use relevant and eye-catching images and graphics

The importance of images and graphics in SEO copywriting can hardly be understated because we really do judge a book by its cover. First impressions count and having a powerful and eye-catchy image to go with your title and metadata is like icing on the cake. 

Just like headlines, images can boost your search engine rankings, especially if they are relevant to the content of your page. In fact, businesses that use visuals in their content are 2X more likely to attract traffic than those without media. 

Writing good content goes beyond grammar and spelling; it also means telling a story and having a hook for your audience. And as they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

16. Compress your images

The benefit of compressing your images is a timeless classic. It’s a timeless classic because it works. Simple as that. Big, uncompressed images can slow download times, and this is a big no-no in the world of SEO.

I’d recommend you use something like Gimp (for free) to compress them for you which will easily reduce the image size with no loss in quality. 

17. Title tags and meta descriptions

Google reads the title tags and meta descriptions on your website and uses these as a secondary search result. Meta descriptions are also helpful for giving users an idea of what they can expect when they click on the link to your site.

Here is a great and easy-to-remember tip: keep both your title tag and meta description under 160 characters – it’s easier to read. Ensure it is engaging and clickable with your focus keyword in there.

18. ALWAYS include a CTA

Although it should go without saying, make sure you include a CTA (call-to-action) in your writing. When you place a clear and well-structured CTA within your copy, you create a highly targeted source of traffic which can skyrocket your conversion rates and increase your website traffic.

Whether it’s asking someone to “download your free ebook” or asking them to “call us for more information”, etc, you should always tell your audience what action you would like them to take.

19. Finally, think like Your target audience 

If you want to persuade someone to do something, you need to understand what motivates them. And if you want to use copywriting techniques that work every time, start by asking yourself what your buyer is after. What’s in it for them? 

If you can answer this question, then you can write copy that will persuade them to take the next step – And this is one of Google’s top-ranking factors.  

In summary, you have to understand your readers. Always think from the buyer’s perspective, and try to offer them a solution or a service that will help them. Also, focus on benefits. Benefits are the real reasons why people buy a product. Your job is to persuade them to look beyond just the features of a product.

20. Don’t forget to spread the word!

Don’t wait for Google’ to do all the SEO juice boosting for your content 

Always go the extra mile. Whether you’re sharing your content on Facebook, Twitter, Linkedin or Reddit, make sure that you tell people that it is there.

Also,  if you’ve mentioned anyone in your content, it’s a great gesture to let them know. This will make them more likely to link back to your content/page which will do wonders for your rankings! 

Conclusion

Following these techniques will help you write content that’s optimised for search engines, so it’s found when people do searches. When the right people find the page, your audience will be highly engaged with your content and want to share it with their friends.

However, savvy businesses are hiring professional and experienced SEO copywriters like NaijaCopy to help stand out from the crowd. They know that for modern consumers, information is just a click away. 

At NaijaCopy, we can transform your website’s SEO strategy into a real winner by writing quality content that appeals to your target audience. We’ll help you forge stronger bonds with customers and even attract new ones through well-written and optimised content. 

This means you will see significant positive changes in not only your search ranking but also your site’s organic traffic, engagement and sales conversion.