Copywriting Firsts and Reminders for Beginner SEOs
admin, March 8, 2012
How would you rate the importance of copywriting on a scale to one to ten? If you didn't admit to eleven or above, keep reading. It's the core of communication. Content adopts a variety of online forms these days (video, infographics, sound bytes, etc) but to date, written content is a need for all online real estate.
So, your brand is new to the game. Nothing to be ashamed about, we all start from somewhere. You'll find a wealth of knowledge online regarding copywriting. Some is great, while some is not worth your time. I've come across a considerable portion of advice from both sides of the fence.
Here are a few points I've consistently observed being employed and suggested by those with experience.
Yes! I Got Them!
What does marketing mean to you? Is marketing a way to lure the innocent or inform your consumers? I understand your business exists to make money; but, you'll pay both figuratively and literally if your brand is not genuine. Are you writing for attention or to inform your public?
I'll ask again because it's that important; are you writing for attention or to inform your readers? I see a difference in advertising and marketing; the former is the 'commercial' side of getting attention (and needed); the latter is important in building a brand. Marketing involves proving you warrant the desired attention. There's no better way to do it than adding to your community, giving rather than expecting. Respect and attention is earned online; go ahead, disagree and give me a tweet in a short while; let me know how that's working for you.
Keyword Krazy
Does your brand have the most unique name and product/service on the market? If so, keywords may not be a huge problem for you (unless your meaning of the word contrasts from that of others – read about negative keywords); however, for the other 99.9 percent, keywords are needed to communicate to users and search engines.
There was a time when intense focus of particular words and percentages of on-page insertion were the obsessions of newcomers; those who greedily leveraged the tactic like it would never go out of style. Guess what? It did. These days, brands attract traffic in a number of ways; 'gaming' the SEs and keyword stuffing offers you nothing.
For one, even if you (temporarily) got away with 'gaming,' what happens when browsers come to a site (with great SE rankings) with little value to offer? They bounce (figuratively and literally). Secondly, a good-rankings-low-value dynamic screams, "ALERT!" to any consumer with a little bit of online knowledge.
Read up on LSI (latent semantic indexing). Search engines are getting smarter; new trends allow for a better read and a much more natural writing experience.
Amenities
By now, you've read the first sub-heading and pledge to always consider your user when copywriting. "Content is king" was a long-standing SEO mantra, and some in the industry still like to use it; however, if you traced new SEO trends, I think you'll agree with me; the contented user is king. What makes your target market content? Would added amenities augment the message contained in the copywriting? Consider producing infographs and short video clips as well as inserting tables, graphs, and high-quality pictures in your real estate. This benefits your market, compelling them to return.
Thanks for reading.
Additional Resources:
Writing
- 10 Super Easy Copywriting Tips for Improved Link Building
- Copywriting Tutorials for Crafting Effective Copy (if you want to keep on the pulse of copywriting, the copyblogger site should be in your toolbar)
SEO Process
- Wake Up SEOs, the New Google is Here
- The New SEO Process (Quit Being Kanye)
Being New and a Blogger
