Writing content, running an online shop, hitting conversion goals — all of this takes a lot of hard work and manpower. And unfortunately, that effort could be all for naught without the proper SEO practices. The reality of today’s digital-first world is that websites constantly compete with thousands (really, millions) of other sites for that coveted first-page position in a search engine. This prime locale can’t be secured without first mastering SEO copywriting.
What Is SEO?
SEO, or search engine optimization, is the process or practice of boosting a website’s traffic from search engines (think: Google, Bing, etc.). With strong SEO tactics, marketers can improve their site’s visibility when people search for products or services related to your business. Put simply: more visibility = more traffic and potential conversions.
But now let’s put some context behind this idea. Take a company that sells high-quality workout leggings. When someone opens up their laptop or phone browser and types in “best workout leggings,” websites with strong SEO practices will be the first links to show up on the search pages. The first page of search results is the prime spot to be in, but that also means that it’s highly competitive to get there.
So How Exactly Does SEO Work?
Well, it starts with search engine bots — a fancy way of saying that search engines scan pages on the internet, collecting information, and create an index. Next step: algorithms come into play. These algorithms analyze the collection of webpages, taking into account several factors that go into a site’s SEO status. The algorithm then determines how “searchable” that site is for users. And voila … a webpage has its rank.
Yes, it sounds complicated, but good SEO practices are essential for any and all marketers looking to boost organic search and drive traffic to their website. There are roughly 5.6 billion Google searches a day, and standing out among that sea of content without any regard for SEO is virtually impossible. So, strong visibility and a high search rank can be the difference between hitting your marketing goals or not.
SEO and Copywriting: A Trusty Duo
And this brings us into how SEO and copywriting go hand-in-hand. So we know what SEO is and why it’s an essential part of any online marketing campaign … but how do we actually become SEO pros? Two key elements come to mind: Strong SEO copywriting and searchable keywords.
It’s one thing to write amazing landing page copy or a well-researched, high-value blog post. It’s another thing entirely to write copy that’s well-searchable on Google. A high quality piece of content can still fail when it comes to SEO. But that doesn’t mean you have to throw in the towel.
Just like with any type of copywriting, we can use a few trusty best practices to make our content as searchable as possible.
- Use keywords, but be natural with them. Even content optimized for SEO should be user-friendly and readable. Be sure that your chosen keywords flow naturally within your sentences and can go virtually unnoticed to the untrained eye.
- And speaking of keywords — these vary depending on your content and audience.
- Use optimized headers and subheadings. What does this mean? When writing long-form content, always make sure to break up big chunks of text with headlines (bonus points if these headers include a keyword or two.)
- Always write a meta description that concisely and accurately describes what your content is about — and also make sure to include your main keyword here as well.
The Best SEO Copywriting Tools
SEO copywriting comes with its own special set of challenges and rules. But marketers, content creators, and business-owners alike don’t have to figure it all out themselves. Luckily, there are several SEO copywriting software platforms we can use to make search optimization a breeze.
SEMrush
Finding the right keywords and knowing how to analyze and organize SEO results is a difficult task for anyone to manage — let alone a small business owner. That’s where SEMrush comes in. SEMrush’s SEO toolkit holds a slew of features for anyone looking to boost (or start) their search optimization journey. This toolkit allows you to uncover both local and national keywords, analyze the backlink profile of any domain, run SEO audits, as well as tracking the all-important SERP positions. Basically, it’s a one-stop-shop for a marketer’s SEO needs.
But SEMrush doesn’t just stop at SEO. Conduct topic research, use writing assistance, and have access to social media ad templates all with this content marketing tool.
Ginger
Since SEO really is all about having the right words in the right place, sometimes your existing copy just needs a slight makeover. Meet Ginger — an AI-powered writing assistant that corrects existing copy and provides synonyms for any word with just a click. For anyone looking to add clarity to their text or find alternative SEO keywords, Ginger is worth a try.
Plus, Ginger operates as a browser extension, so you can work directly on your own webpage and make improvements in real time.
ClearScope
When you’re in the middle of writing an article or blog post, you don’t want to have to stop and think about the best SEO keywords to use. With ClearScope’s browser plug-in, you can get real-time keyword suggestions as you write. Say goodbye to copy and pasting, adding in keywords after the fact, or forgoing SEO all together! In addition to term recommendations, ClearScope also offers a Content Grade showing how well your content scores, as well as a live word count.
CopyScape
Unfortunately, sometimes the copy and content we work so hard perfecting becomes subject to theft. Plagiarized or stolen copy can not only negatively affect your reputation as a brand or company, but it can also ruin your SEO rankings. Enter CopyScape. This site provides powerful plagiarism detection, offering free warning banners that ward against potential plagiarists.
Additionally, CopyScape lets users compare two websites or articles to check for any harmful similarities.
Anyword
Imagine a tool that lets you input the proper SEO keywords for your product description or service, allows you to change and customize the tone and style to best suit your needs, and generates copy for a wide range of formats and platforms. This would make maintaining strong SEO practices a lot easier, right? Well, all of the aforementioned is possible with Anyword’s AI Copywriting Platform.
Specify which keywords you’d like to use and choose from a variety of tones of voice and sales formulas, click a button, and voila — you have several copy options right at your fingertips. Not sure which one to pick? Anyword thought of that too. This copy is accompanied by a Predictive Performance Score that gives you insights into the conversion potential of each variation.
With Anyword’s AI by your side, you can create social media ads, landing pages, entire blogs posts, and more in just a few clicks — essentially all assets needed to keep up a successful SEO presence. Start (or improve) your relationship with SEO free of headaches and confusion with Anyword’s 7-day free trial.
Expand Your SEO Toolbox for Better Rankings
Not only will these platforms speed up the writing process itself, but they’ll also help streamline your SEO process, and ultimately drive favorable results. With the right tools by your side, you have the power to excel at your SEO strategy.
