SEO copywriting tips to improve your content

What is SEO copywriting? In a nutshell, it’s about creating SEO-optimized content that ranks well in search engine results pages and answers users’ questions.

In this guide, we’ll go over the basics and give 10 tips that will help you become a top-notch copywriter.

What is SEO copywriting?

Before diving into the specifics of copywriting, let’s start at the beginning: what is SEO?

SEO, or search engine optimization, is the ongoing maintenance of your site’s presence on the web so that it ranks well in search engines.

SEO encompasses many subcategories, including local business directories, technical fixes, and—you guessed it—content.

Writers typically create a variety of content deliverables based on client needs, including:

Blog posts
Webpages
e-books
Announcement texts
Website content

Is SEO important in copywriting?

SEO writing is the process of using keyword research and SEO services to create web content for users.

Search engine crawlers prioritize content that is useful to users, and that’s where copywriting comes in.

Does a copywriter need to know about SEO?

While copywriters don’t need to have in-depth knowledge of technical SEO, they do need to know SEO best practices.

From keyword research to crafting curated and optimized content, a copywriter’s work can have a huge impact on a page’s performance.

How to write for SEO

SEO copywriting is not just about writing a text and sprinkling it with a few keywords. Since search engines favour content that meets user needs, writing “ for SEO ” and “for users” is essentially the same thing.

So how do you become an SEO copywriter? If you want to learn how to write for search engines, being a good copywriter is a good start.

But you also need to keep user experience and SEO best practices in mind when writing your copy. For example, it’s best to keep paragraphs short and make information stand out visually with bulleted lists and graphics when you can.

If you don’t have the time to write your own content or don’t have enough experience in this area, it makes sense to hire a professional copywriter with solid knowledge of SEO and content strategy.

Here are three good reasons to invest in SEO copywriting for your business:

Attract qualified traffic based on the keywords targeted by your content.
Build trust by providing answers to the questions your audience is asking.
Convince readers to take action (download your app, subscribe to your podcast, make a purchase, etc.)

10 steps to successful SEO copywriting

Great content isn’t just about what you see. We will cover all the points, from the choice of keywords to the identification of the search intention, through the creation of the text.

1. Find the right keywords

The first step for any writer is to identify keywords before writing.

Targeting the right keywords while keeping search intent in mind is a great start to any copywriting job.

Keyword Magic Tool can help you find accessible keywords in your industry:

Start by entering a primary search term, or “root” keyword
Apply filters to organize results based on search volume, keyword difficulty, or other metrics
Check the intent of the keywords you’ve chosen (more on that later) to see if they match your goals

2. Find the questions people are asking

The main idea of a search engine is to find information as easy as possible. This is why Google continues to develop SERP Features; users don’t even have to click on a page to get results.

Predicting your users’ questions is a great way to organize your content.

However, it’s also a great way to target SERP features, like the Other Questions Asked (AAP) section.

There are several SEO tools that can help you find questions related to your topic and your keywords:

AlsoAsked
AnswerThePublic
Quora

You can also use our Topic Research tool, which provides titles, related questions, and more based on the keyword you enter.

Once you’ve identified the most popular topics, develop content that provides more value than your competitors’ pages.

Do you need to add all results to your page? Not at all, just those relevant to the business.

For example, not all car dealerships offer repairs. So a car dealership without this type of service doesn’t have to create auto repair-oriented content.

3. Identify and map search intent

User content and intent should vary depending on where the user is in their customer journey. So your keywords should also vary for different intents.

Finding “keyword intent” simply means identifying why a user is entering a particular search term.

One of the benefits of our tools is that we have automated this step for you. You can visualize keyword intent in the following Semrush tools:

Domain overview
Organic search
Position tracking
Overview of keywords
Keyword Opportunities
Magic Tool
Keyword Manager

But first, let’s take a look at the four types of search intent:

Informational : Users want to find more information about a specific topic, product, or industry. Example: “the best coffee machines”.
Navigational : Users intend to visit a specific site or page. Example: “types of Nespresso coffee machines”.
Commercial : Users are considering a purchase and want to explore their options. Example: “Comparison of coffee machines”.
Transactional : Users wish to purchase a product or service. Example: “buy a new Nespresso coffee machine”.

Say your business sells tomato plants and tomato plant accessories. You want customers to come to your site with the commercial intent of comparing and eventually buying.

Then do a broad search for “tomato plant” in Keyword Magic Tool. You will find a lot of information including search intent and difficulty.

Use the business intent filter. But you can see that “where to find”, “producer” and “different” are the top three keywords searched by users.

Armed with this information, you should target these keywords to match the user’s business search intent.

Also Read: Important SEO Insights for Better Ranking in Search Results