SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION (SEO) COPY
This is a page of SEO copy about Search Engine Optimisation, written to optimise this site for search engines. You may think it’s just a blatant attempt to improve Google ranking by banging on endlessly about copy, being a copywriter and copywriting. And you’d be right.
To improve results ranking I can’t, of course, simply write reams of copy containing relevant search terms multiple times. Google and other search engines run algorithms that, among other things, identify gratuitous repetition and penalise it. If I transgress they will act like a virtual copy of a Liam Neeson character: they will find me out and, when they do, they will kill me. Metaphorically. Ranking-wise.
There are several other algorithmic copy traps I’ll need to avoid. I’ll write about them in unnecessary detail, eschewing the discipline of writing concise copy for the sake of a little SEO. While I’ll try to keep the tone of voice bright and breezy with writing that informs, entertains and perhaps even amuses, this copy is inevitably going to be extremely long-winded and somewhat discursive. You’re welcome to read on, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you’re looking for a definitive guide to SEO copywriting that tells you all you need to know in a writing style that’s brief and to the point, I can write one for you - but this isn't it.
If you’re still reading, I really should get on with writing about SEO copy, so here goes:
There are several other algorithmic copy traps I’ll need to avoid. I’ll write about them in unnecessary detail, eschewing the discipline of writing concise copy for the sake of a little SEO. While I’ll try to keep the tone of voice bright and breezy with writing that informs, entertains and perhaps even amuses, this copy is inevitably going to be extremely long-winded and somewhat discursive. You’re welcome to read on, but I wouldn't recommend it. If you’re looking for a definitive guide to SEO copywriting that tells you all you need to know in a writing style that’s brief and to the point, I can write one for you - but this isn't it.
If you’re still reading, I really should get on with writing about SEO copy, so here goes:
LOOKING FOR AN SEO COPYWRITER?
If you’re seeking a copywriter who specialises in SEO copy, that's not me - though I can (and do) optimise copy for search engines. My approach is writing first, optimisation second. Searching for an analogy, the best I’ve come up with is that the process is a bit like building, then tuning, an engine. The engine is obviously represented by the copy, the optimisation by the tinkering that can be done to optimise its performance.
If you know nothing about search engines and how their algorithms determine a site’s page ranking, you just might find this informative. If you know all there is to know about SEO and just want someone to write copy for you, don't consider this as an example of the kind of copy I'd write for you. The lengthy style suits its purpose for this site, but it probably won't suit your needs.
Over the next few hundred or thousands of words (let’s see how it goes) I’ll be exploring the dos and don’ts of SEO, gratuitously using search terms relevant to this site and, as I go, trying to keep this readable by avoiding laborious repetition of those terms.
If you’re seeking a copywriter who specialises in SEO copy, that's not me - though I can (and do) optimise copy for search engines. My approach is writing first, optimisation second. Searching for an analogy, the best I’ve come up with is that the process is a bit like building, then tuning, an engine. The engine is obviously represented by the copy, the optimisation by the tinkering that can be done to optimise its performance.
If you know nothing about search engines and how their algorithms determine a site’s page ranking, you just might find this informative. If you know all there is to know about SEO and just want someone to write copy for you, don't consider this as an example of the kind of copy I'd write for you. The lengthy style suits its purpose for this site, but it probably won't suit your needs.
Over the next few hundred or thousands of words (let’s see how it goes) I’ll be exploring the dos and don’ts of SEO, gratuitously using search terms relevant to this site and, as I go, trying to keep this readable by avoiding laborious repetition of those terms.
WHAT IS SEO?
Yep, I’m starting out that basic. Anyone who doesn’t already know what Search Engine Optimisation means is pretty unlikely to be on this page. However, if only for the benefit of my robotic readership, I’ll answer the question. SEO is the process of optimising the content of a website to improve its ranking on search engines’ results pages when people use search terms relevant to whatever it is the site provides.
WHO NEEDS SEO COPY?
Anyone who wants to attract more visitors to their website. This site, for example, doesn’t really need the copy to be optimised for search engines. As a freelance copywriter, I pretty much know who’s likely to hire me and can contact them directly. Nonetheless, I may as well bang out – I mean lovingly craft - some SEO copy on the off-chance someone who needs a copywriter will find this site on a search engine.
If you have a site selling something very niche, such as miniature ceramic figurines of deceased Welsh poets and writers, you probably don’t need much SEO. Anyone searching for ‘Dylan Thomas figurine’ or using a similar search term will probably find you quite easily (providing you’ve described the dead Welsh writer’s figurine as such on your site, of course).
The more competitive your market, the more important having copy that’s optimised for search engines becomes. If you’re in a crowded market, it may be worth using Google Adwords, whereby you bid on search terms to promote a sponsored link to your site. In markets dominated by big players with deep pockets, however, you can quickly burn through your advertising budget if you bid on the most popular (and expensive) search terms. That’s when clever use of SEO copy comes in… but more on that later.
Yep, I’m starting out that basic. Anyone who doesn’t already know what Search Engine Optimisation means is pretty unlikely to be on this page. However, if only for the benefit of my robotic readership, I’ll answer the question. SEO is the process of optimising the content of a website to improve its ranking on search engines’ results pages when people use search terms relevant to whatever it is the site provides.
WHO NEEDS SEO COPY?
Anyone who wants to attract more visitors to their website. This site, for example, doesn’t really need the copy to be optimised for search engines. As a freelance copywriter, I pretty much know who’s likely to hire me and can contact them directly. Nonetheless, I may as well bang out – I mean lovingly craft - some SEO copy on the off-chance someone who needs a copywriter will find this site on a search engine.
If you have a site selling something very niche, such as miniature ceramic figurines of deceased Welsh poets and writers, you probably don’t need much SEO. Anyone searching for ‘Dylan Thomas figurine’ or using a similar search term will probably find you quite easily (providing you’ve described the dead Welsh writer’s figurine as such on your site, of course).
The more competitive your market, the more important having copy that’s optimised for search engines becomes. If you’re in a crowded market, it may be worth using Google Adwords, whereby you bid on search terms to promote a sponsored link to your site. In markets dominated by big players with deep pockets, however, you can quickly burn through your advertising budget if you bid on the most popular (and expensive) search terms. That’s when clever use of SEO copy comes in… but more on that later.
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION BASICS
The easiest and most effective thing you can do to increase your site’s chances of being found by potential customers is to include what you offer in your URL.
If I specialised in writing SEO copy and was only interested in that kind of copywriting work, it would have made sense for me to have a URL such as “thatSEOcopywriter.co.uk”, “SEOcopywriting4U.co.uk”. Either of those domain names would help to improve this site’s ranking when people search for “SEO Copywriter”. The second example, however, would have gone some way to disproving my claim to be a Creative Copywriter.
The second most effective thing to do is to include what you do or offer in webpage titles. This page is thatwriter.co.uk/seo-copy – so for that I get a big tick and a biscuit, albeit only plain one. Including keywords in HTTP headers, written in HTML is actually the most effective way of doing this. I'm a copywriter, not a code writer, but I have written HTML headers for all the pages on this site. Well, I actually just copied and pasted an example of the HTML format required, replacing the title text to suit my needs.
The third thing to do is use metatags as much as possible. These are the words you can use to describe the contents of a page or an image that are ‘seen’ by search engines but not by visitors to your site. More on writing those later…
The easiest and most effective thing you can do to increase your site’s chances of being found by potential customers is to include what you offer in your URL.
If I specialised in writing SEO copy and was only interested in that kind of copywriting work, it would have made sense for me to have a URL such as “thatSEOcopywriter.co.uk”, “SEOcopywriting4U.co.uk”. Either of those domain names would help to improve this site’s ranking when people search for “SEO Copywriter”. The second example, however, would have gone some way to disproving my claim to be a Creative Copywriter.
The second most effective thing to do is to include what you do or offer in webpage titles. This page is thatwriter.co.uk/seo-copy – so for that I get a big tick and a biscuit, albeit only plain one. Including keywords in HTTP headers, written in HTML is actually the most effective way of doing this. I'm a copywriter, not a code writer, but I have written HTML headers for all the pages on this site. Well, I actually just copied and pasted an example of the HTML format required, replacing the title text to suit my needs.
The third thing to do is use metatags as much as possible. These are the words you can use to describe the contents of a page or an image that are ‘seen’ by search engines but not by visitors to your site. More on writing those later…
HOW DO YOU SET OUT TO WRITE SEO COPY?
You don’t. Do that and you’ll invariably fall into the trap of clumsily repeating the search terms you want people to find your site through. Even the most creative of copywriters can stumble into that particular pitfall.
Set out to write copy that engages, informs, entertains or even moves people and, as long as you’re writing copy that pertains to what your site offers, it’s naturally going to include relevant search terms. Then it’s just a matter of going back and seeing which parts of it can be improved – optimised, if you will – to boost the website’s ranking in search engine results.
The clue’s in the name. ‘Optimisation’ means making something that already exists as good as it can be (for search engines, in the case of SEO).
Sacrifice readability for the sake of SEO and you may get more visitors, but they probably won’t stay very long. They’ll soon get irritated by your crass copy and go away, never to return. Probably.
A CASE IN POINT:
I recently stumbled on a fellow copywriter’s website. For reasons that will soon become obvious (I’m going to be a tad critical here) that copywriter shall remain nameless.
SEO had clearly been thought about as I found the site on page two of Google using the search term ‘Copywriter, London’. The trouble was that the site was littered with the words ‘copywriter’ and ‘copywriting’ to such an extent that reading the copy was a painful chore. For example, he or she posed the question: “Do you need training in copywriting to be a copywriter?” (or words to that effect). To answer this question the copywriter had enlisted another copywriter as an interviewee (allegedly). The transcript of the interview read like a conversation between two people with some bizarre form of Tourette’s Syndrome that makes those afflicted blurt out the words ‘Copywriting’ and ‘Copywriter’ rather than expletives.
It went something like this:
“As an experienced copywriter, would you say that anyone can write copy or is it essential to train in copywriting?”
“When I started out in copywriting most copywriters were trained, but these days…”
It continued in that vein for – well, I don’t actually know how long it continued because I got irritated and stopped reading.
The (over) use of relevant search terms worked as far as SEO was concerned but, to my mind, the writer had shot his or herself in the foot by writing copy that was practically unreadable.
I’m in danger, of course, of doing the same thing here. Like the example above, this copy is a blatant attempt to convince Google’s robotic inspectorate that this site is an authoritative source on (and of) copywriting. The difference is that I’m being upfront about the fact that this copy is here purely for the purposes of SEO. You may see it as a cynical ploy, but at least it’s an honest cynical ploy.
Now, where was I? I’d better break up this text a bit by introducing a new topic or I might get penalised by the algorithms. They don’t like reams of uninterrupted text, apparently.
You don’t. Do that and you’ll invariably fall into the trap of clumsily repeating the search terms you want people to find your site through. Even the most creative of copywriters can stumble into that particular pitfall.
Set out to write copy that engages, informs, entertains or even moves people and, as long as you’re writing copy that pertains to what your site offers, it’s naturally going to include relevant search terms. Then it’s just a matter of going back and seeing which parts of it can be improved – optimised, if you will – to boost the website’s ranking in search engine results.
The clue’s in the name. ‘Optimisation’ means making something that already exists as good as it can be (for search engines, in the case of SEO).
Sacrifice readability for the sake of SEO and you may get more visitors, but they probably won’t stay very long. They’ll soon get irritated by your crass copy and go away, never to return. Probably.
A CASE IN POINT:
I recently stumbled on a fellow copywriter’s website. For reasons that will soon become obvious (I’m going to be a tad critical here) that copywriter shall remain nameless.
SEO had clearly been thought about as I found the site on page two of Google using the search term ‘Copywriter, London’. The trouble was that the site was littered with the words ‘copywriter’ and ‘copywriting’ to such an extent that reading the copy was a painful chore. For example, he or she posed the question: “Do you need training in copywriting to be a copywriter?” (or words to that effect). To answer this question the copywriter had enlisted another copywriter as an interviewee (allegedly). The transcript of the interview read like a conversation between two people with some bizarre form of Tourette’s Syndrome that makes those afflicted blurt out the words ‘Copywriting’ and ‘Copywriter’ rather than expletives.
It went something like this:
“As an experienced copywriter, would you say that anyone can write copy or is it essential to train in copywriting?”
“When I started out in copywriting most copywriters were trained, but these days…”
It continued in that vein for – well, I don’t actually know how long it continued because I got irritated and stopped reading.
The (over) use of relevant search terms worked as far as SEO was concerned but, to my mind, the writer had shot his or herself in the foot by writing copy that was practically unreadable.
I’m in danger, of course, of doing the same thing here. Like the example above, this copy is a blatant attempt to convince Google’s robotic inspectorate that this site is an authoritative source on (and of) copywriting. The difference is that I’m being upfront about the fact that this copy is here purely for the purposes of SEO. You may see it as a cynical ploy, but at least it’s an honest cynical ploy.
Now, where was I? I’d better break up this text a bit by introducing a new topic or I might get penalised by the algorithms. They don’t like reams of uninterrupted text, apparently.
IS COPY STRUCTURE IMPORTANT FOR SEO?
Funnily enough, it is. The algorithms can detect whether or not web copy has a coherent structure – whether it contains a narrative that moves forward or a reasoned argument - and will penalise sites that don’t have such structured copy.
How do the algorithms do that? Search me – but they can’t be as all seeing and all-knowing as Google and other search engines would have us believe. As I write this copy there are 1.75 billion indexed web pages. The search to find that statistic on Google took 0.57 seconds and returned 1.14 million results. Advanced as they may be, there’s no way that algorithms can actually ‘read’ web pages – they just look for patterns.
As long as your website copy’s structure is similar to that of sites trusted by Google and you don’t repeat your search terms too often, you should be able to avoid incurring the wrath of search engines and getting pushed down their rankings.
If you just want SEO copy purely for the sake of SEO, as I’m writing now, you may be tempted to copy and paste copy about your subject from other sources. Don’t.
That’s plagiarism – which will be picked up and penalised by Google. Copying other people’s copyrighted content is not nice (nobody like a copycat). As it’s also illegal, copying content could end up costing you a lot more than paying a professional copywriter to write bespoke, well-structured SEO copy for you.
With good copy structure in mind, it’s time for another topic:
Funnily enough, it is. The algorithms can detect whether or not web copy has a coherent structure – whether it contains a narrative that moves forward or a reasoned argument - and will penalise sites that don’t have such structured copy.
How do the algorithms do that? Search me – but they can’t be as all seeing and all-knowing as Google and other search engines would have us believe. As I write this copy there are 1.75 billion indexed web pages. The search to find that statistic on Google took 0.57 seconds and returned 1.14 million results. Advanced as they may be, there’s no way that algorithms can actually ‘read’ web pages – they just look for patterns.
As long as your website copy’s structure is similar to that of sites trusted by Google and you don’t repeat your search terms too often, you should be able to avoid incurring the wrath of search engines and getting pushed down their rankings.
If you just want SEO copy purely for the sake of SEO, as I’m writing now, you may be tempted to copy and paste copy about your subject from other sources. Don’t.
That’s plagiarism – which will be picked up and penalised by Google. Copying other people’s copyrighted content is not nice (nobody like a copycat). As it’s also illegal, copying content could end up costing you a lot more than paying a professional copywriter to write bespoke, well-structured SEO copy for you.
With good copy structure in mind, it’s time for another topic:
HOW IMPORTANT IS IT TO INCLUDE SEARCH TERMS IN SEO?
Yeah, I know, it’s a stupid question. The whole point of ‘SEOing’ copy is to cram it with as many relevant search terms as many times as possible (without, as discussed, attracting unwanted attention from the virtual copy police).
Deciding on which search terms to include in your SEO is crucial to success. Your competitors’ sites are bound to feature the same key words that you’re using, so it pays to think beyond the obvious.
In my case, as a Freelance Creative Copywriter, there’s a hell of a lot of competition out there. If I wanted to write copy that would optimise my chances of being found on search engines – which, by an amazing coincidence, is what I’m actually writing now – I’d have to do better than simply make liberal use of the words ‘Copywriter’, ‘Copywriting’ and ‘Freelance’. My competitors’ web copy will have those words in abundance and the various agencies out there will be bidding on them through Google adwords. If my site content only includes those popular search terms I’ll have little chance of climbing up the greasy pole of Google rankings.
GETTING CREATIVE WITH COPY
To get more potential customers to visit your site you need to get inside their heads. Why might they want what you have to offer? What might they actually type into a search box in order to find it?
Let’s take this site, rather conveniently for me, as an example. Let’s assume for a moment that I’m incredibly keen to bring in more SEO copywriting work. Someone whose site is appearing on, say, page 8 of Google may not know much – or anything – about SEO. They might enter “Why is my Google ranking so bad”, “Poor Google ranking” or “Why does Google hate my site?” as a search. Including phrases like that, as I’ve just done, might attract a few more site visitors.
As I’m not an actually an SEO copy specialist and, in fact, want to attract clients with all kinds of copywriting needs, I need to think about the specific types of copywriter for whom potential employers might search. I could mention on this site that I’m a content writer, a scriptwriter, a ‘digital writer’, a social media writer, a blog writer and a conceptual copywriter. Including those terms – as I just have – will cast my copywriting job-catching net a bit wider. I must admit, though, that I find ‘Conceptual Copywriter’ to be a strange term. It sounds like a copywriter who exists only theoretically. Still, some people like to use it so it stays in. Twice.
Think long and hard about what your potential customers might write (or copy and paste) into their search engine’s search box and you’ll come up with all sorts of phrases. Briefing your copywriter to include them in your website copy (or to come up with them in the first place) should ensure you attract visitors who write searches in vague terms. Should you wish to bid on such multiple-word search terms on Adwords, you’ll find them considerably cheaper than shorter, more popular terms.
Everyone else in your market will probably be thinking along the same lines, of course, so it pays to think (and write) outside of the search box. If you sell men’s hats, for example, you could consider using a phrase such as ‘losing my hair’ in your web copy. Not a brilliant suggestion, I’ll admit, as you’ll be using the same terms of hair-loss clinics’ web copy – but it does illustrate the principle.
Yeah, I know, it’s a stupid question. The whole point of ‘SEOing’ copy is to cram it with as many relevant search terms as many times as possible (without, as discussed, attracting unwanted attention from the virtual copy police).
Deciding on which search terms to include in your SEO is crucial to success. Your competitors’ sites are bound to feature the same key words that you’re using, so it pays to think beyond the obvious.
In my case, as a Freelance Creative Copywriter, there’s a hell of a lot of competition out there. If I wanted to write copy that would optimise my chances of being found on search engines – which, by an amazing coincidence, is what I’m actually writing now – I’d have to do better than simply make liberal use of the words ‘Copywriter’, ‘Copywriting’ and ‘Freelance’. My competitors’ web copy will have those words in abundance and the various agencies out there will be bidding on them through Google adwords. If my site content only includes those popular search terms I’ll have little chance of climbing up the greasy pole of Google rankings.
GETTING CREATIVE WITH COPY
To get more potential customers to visit your site you need to get inside their heads. Why might they want what you have to offer? What might they actually type into a search box in order to find it?
Let’s take this site, rather conveniently for me, as an example. Let’s assume for a moment that I’m incredibly keen to bring in more SEO copywriting work. Someone whose site is appearing on, say, page 8 of Google may not know much – or anything – about SEO. They might enter “Why is my Google ranking so bad”, “Poor Google ranking” or “Why does Google hate my site?” as a search. Including phrases like that, as I’ve just done, might attract a few more site visitors.
As I’m not an actually an SEO copy specialist and, in fact, want to attract clients with all kinds of copywriting needs, I need to think about the specific types of copywriter for whom potential employers might search. I could mention on this site that I’m a content writer, a scriptwriter, a ‘digital writer’, a social media writer, a blog writer and a conceptual copywriter. Including those terms – as I just have – will cast my copywriting job-catching net a bit wider. I must admit, though, that I find ‘Conceptual Copywriter’ to be a strange term. It sounds like a copywriter who exists only theoretically. Still, some people like to use it so it stays in. Twice.
Think long and hard about what your potential customers might write (or copy and paste) into their search engine’s search box and you’ll come up with all sorts of phrases. Briefing your copywriter to include them in your website copy (or to come up with them in the first place) should ensure you attract visitors who write searches in vague terms. Should you wish to bid on such multiple-word search terms on Adwords, you’ll find them considerably cheaper than shorter, more popular terms.
Everyone else in your market will probably be thinking along the same lines, of course, so it pays to think (and write) outside of the search box. If you sell men’s hats, for example, you could consider using a phrase such as ‘losing my hair’ in your web copy. Not a brilliant suggestion, I’ll admit, as you’ll be using the same terms of hair-loss clinics’ web copy – but it does illustrate the principle.
WAYS OF OPTIMISING COPY
USING LONG-TAIL KEYWORDS.
A Long-tail keyword is actually a few words that are particularly relevant to specific content on your site. Rather than yet again use this site as an example, let’s consider a site that sells books. With Amazon’s dominance of the book market, we’ll make it a specialist bookseller. Let’s say it only sells books written by former advertising copywriters, such as Salman Rushdie and Fay Weldon. Finally let’s say it only sells paperback copies of those books. That would give a very specific long-tail keyword of ‘Advertising copywriter book paperback copy’. Copy that?
CONSIDERING PARTICULAR AUDIENCES
Spelling is a good place to start here. People often spell things differently. The word ‘optimisation’ is written with an ‘s’ in English but with a ‘z’ in American English. As I don’t expect to get much, if any, interest from Americans looking for SEO copywriting (or any other form of copywriting), the copy on this site is written entirely using English spelling. If I wanted to seek SEO copywriting work from US-based clients, I should have written ‘optimization’ liberally throughout this site – but if I’d also used ‘optimisation’ the copy would inconsistent. That wouldn’t be a big problem if this site was not, in effect, an advertisement: my showcase as a Creative Copywriter. A site selling, say, coloured pencils in the UK and US markets could have copy containing both the words ‘coloured’ and ‘colored’ (the American way of writing the word) and escape criticism – but not a copywriter’s website. It’s a minor problem, so let’s not dwell on it.
It’s a fact that some people are lazy, clumsy, ill-educated or, sometimes, all three (not that I’m including you among them, dear reader).
When looking for a copywriter, the lazy might just write ‘copywri’ in the search box, before hitting return. The clumsy mightaccidentally hit keys adjacent to those they intend to press and end up writing ‘viotseorwe’ instead of ‘copywriter’ (particularly likely if, like me, they have a small phone and fat fingers). The ill-educated, or those who have slipped into the habit of writing everything phonetically, in text-speak, might search for a ‘coppiriter’, ‘Kopi riter’ or similar.
The point is that, for whatever reason (perhaps copying the way someone they look up to writes), people can use all sorts of misspellings on search engines. Google will usually spot when the writer has used an incorrect spelling and offer the closest ‘real word’ alternative’s search results, but not always. However, putting misspelled words in web copy just to attract lazy, clumsy and ill-educated potential customers will make you seem equally lazy, clumsy and uneducated. Not a good impression to make, especially if you’re a Creative Copywriter. The only misspelled word I can really get away with writing here is ‘Copyrighter’, which isn’t actually a word but is conceivably how some people might write ‘Copywriter’.
All is not lost though – you can capture the incapable-of-writing-search-terms- correctly market by hiding erroneously written terms in metatags.
USING METATAGS TO BOOST SEO
As mentioned earlier in this copy, metatags are words that are used to describe pages, images and other elements of a website that only get ‘read’ by search engines – not by site visitors. This makes them the perfect place to hide commonly misspelled search terms and get found by the literarily challenged without coming across as being similarly afflicted in the writing department.
Metatags are best used, however, to accurately describe the content of an image or page, so I’d use only one or two badly written words per tag.
USING LONG-TAIL KEYWORDS.
A Long-tail keyword is actually a few words that are particularly relevant to specific content on your site. Rather than yet again use this site as an example, let’s consider a site that sells books. With Amazon’s dominance of the book market, we’ll make it a specialist bookseller. Let’s say it only sells books written by former advertising copywriters, such as Salman Rushdie and Fay Weldon. Finally let’s say it only sells paperback copies of those books. That would give a very specific long-tail keyword of ‘Advertising copywriter book paperback copy’. Copy that?
CONSIDERING PARTICULAR AUDIENCES
Spelling is a good place to start here. People often spell things differently. The word ‘optimisation’ is written with an ‘s’ in English but with a ‘z’ in American English. As I don’t expect to get much, if any, interest from Americans looking for SEO copywriting (or any other form of copywriting), the copy on this site is written entirely using English spelling. If I wanted to seek SEO copywriting work from US-based clients, I should have written ‘optimization’ liberally throughout this site – but if I’d also used ‘optimisation’ the copy would inconsistent. That wouldn’t be a big problem if this site was not, in effect, an advertisement: my showcase as a Creative Copywriter. A site selling, say, coloured pencils in the UK and US markets could have copy containing both the words ‘coloured’ and ‘colored’ (the American way of writing the word) and escape criticism – but not a copywriter’s website. It’s a minor problem, so let’s not dwell on it.
It’s a fact that some people are lazy, clumsy, ill-educated or, sometimes, all three (not that I’m including you among them, dear reader).
When looking for a copywriter, the lazy might just write ‘copywri’ in the search box, before hitting return. The clumsy mightaccidentally hit keys adjacent to those they intend to press and end up writing ‘viotseorwe’ instead of ‘copywriter’ (particularly likely if, like me, they have a small phone and fat fingers). The ill-educated, or those who have slipped into the habit of writing everything phonetically, in text-speak, might search for a ‘coppiriter’, ‘Kopi riter’ or similar.
The point is that, for whatever reason (perhaps copying the way someone they look up to writes), people can use all sorts of misspellings on search engines. Google will usually spot when the writer has used an incorrect spelling and offer the closest ‘real word’ alternative’s search results, but not always. However, putting misspelled words in web copy just to attract lazy, clumsy and ill-educated potential customers will make you seem equally lazy, clumsy and uneducated. Not a good impression to make, especially if you’re a Creative Copywriter. The only misspelled word I can really get away with writing here is ‘Copyrighter’, which isn’t actually a word but is conceivably how some people might write ‘Copywriter’.
All is not lost though – you can capture the incapable-of-writing-search-terms- correctly market by hiding erroneously written terms in metatags.
USING METATAGS TO BOOST SEO
As mentioned earlier in this copy, metatags are words that are used to describe pages, images and other elements of a website that only get ‘read’ by search engines – not by site visitors. This makes them the perfect place to hide commonly misspelled search terms and get found by the literarily challenged without coming across as being similarly afflicted in the writing department.
Metatags are best used, however, to accurately describe the content of an image or page, so I’d use only one or two badly written words per tag.
HOW MUCH COPY DOES A SITE NEED?
Google likes a site to have lots of copy. It indicates that something of substance is being said. Admittedly that’s not really the case here. I’m just writing and writing until I run out of things to say (and protracted ways of saying them). It’s a bit of an insult to Google’s artificial intelligence, I know, but I’m not in any danger of hurting an algorithms feelings. But I digress...
The minimum length of copy for a website to be taken seriously by Google is around 250 words. As this site already had well over that before I started writing this SEO copy, you may wonder why I’ve bothered with this. Well, the copy examples on this site don’t mention copywriting (or the fact that I’m a copywriter) at all. The website text does feature the terms a few times, but not enough to make much of an impact on this website’s search engine ranking.
Search for an ‘SEO copywriter’ and you’ll get 3.25 million results. Search ‘Copywriter’ and that number goes up to 27.5 million. Even with this copy, the chances of this site being found by a potential client are pretty slim, but who knows – it might be worth the effort. I’ll just have to wait and see.
If you found this site through a search engine while looking for a Creative Copywriter in London (and have bothered to read this far) please let me know. Even if you don’t want to hire me right now it would be nice to hear from you and know that this SEO copy actually has optimised this site for search engines.
This copy is now running at 3,169 words. I’ve actually written 3,179 if you count this sentence. That’s enough. You’re probably tired of reading it and, to be honest, I’m getting pretty tired of writing it. I’ve reached the bottom of my SEO copy barrel and can offer no more observations on search engine optimisation. There are, no doubt, many more pearls of SEO copy wisdom available out there, but that’s your lot from me… except for one last thing.
Google likes a site to have lots of copy. It indicates that something of substance is being said. Admittedly that’s not really the case here. I’m just writing and writing until I run out of things to say (and protracted ways of saying them). It’s a bit of an insult to Google’s artificial intelligence, I know, but I’m not in any danger of hurting an algorithms feelings. But I digress...
The minimum length of copy for a website to be taken seriously by Google is around 250 words. As this site already had well over that before I started writing this SEO copy, you may wonder why I’ve bothered with this. Well, the copy examples on this site don’t mention copywriting (or the fact that I’m a copywriter) at all. The website text does feature the terms a few times, but not enough to make much of an impact on this website’s search engine ranking.
Search for an ‘SEO copywriter’ and you’ll get 3.25 million results. Search ‘Copywriter’ and that number goes up to 27.5 million. Even with this copy, the chances of this site being found by a potential client are pretty slim, but who knows – it might be worth the effort. I’ll just have to wait and see.
If you found this site through a search engine while looking for a Creative Copywriter in London (and have bothered to read this far) please let me know. Even if you don’t want to hire me right now it would be nice to hear from you and know that this SEO copy actually has optimised this site for search engines.
This copy is now running at 3,169 words. I’ve actually written 3,179 if you count this sentence. That’s enough. You’re probably tired of reading it and, to be honest, I’m getting pretty tired of writing it. I’ve reached the bottom of my SEO copy barrel and can offer no more observations on search engine optimisation. There are, no doubt, many more pearls of SEO copy wisdom available out there, but that’s your lot from me… except for one last thing.
HOW SITE LINKS HELP SEO
Linking to other sites doesn’t really fall within the remit of what an SEO copywriter might be asked to do, but it’s worth mentioning. That’s mainly because doing so allows me, as a Creative Copywriter, to write my keywords a few more times.
While including links to other sites in your web copy will help to boost your search engine ranking, having other sites carry a link to yours is doubly effective. If someone writes glowingly about your site in another site’s copy and includes a link to your site, it must be good, right? Google believes so.
Generally speaking, the more links your site has (to and from it), the better its search engine ranking will be. Unfortunately this site doesn’t have any links. Not yet, anyway. As this is a portfolio website I want people to stay and read my copy, not clear off somewhere else. It’s not in my interests to have external links. As for links to this site on other sites – well, that’s not up to me.
ANYTHING ELSE TO CONSIDER?
Probably, but don’t ask me what those things might be. I’m just a copywriter.
Linking to other sites doesn’t really fall within the remit of what an SEO copywriter might be asked to do, but it’s worth mentioning. That’s mainly because doing so allows me, as a Creative Copywriter, to write my keywords a few more times.
While including links to other sites in your web copy will help to boost your search engine ranking, having other sites carry a link to yours is doubly effective. If someone writes glowingly about your site in another site’s copy and includes a link to your site, it must be good, right? Google believes so.
Generally speaking, the more links your site has (to and from it), the better its search engine ranking will be. Unfortunately this site doesn’t have any links. Not yet, anyway. As this is a portfolio website I want people to stay and read my copy, not clear off somewhere else. It’s not in my interests to have external links. As for links to this site on other sites – well, that’s not up to me.
ANYTHING ELSE TO CONSIDER?
Probably, but don’t ask me what those things might be. I’m just a copywriter.