SEO Copywriting Rules for 2023

As online technologies and search techniques change, some copywriting rules change as well. But there are also some best practices that remain the same, year after year. Here are our SEO copywriting rules for 2020.

How to Create Effective Copy for Your Target Audience

Use Related Search Terms

Using search terms related to your content will help you to speak in the voice of your target audience. For example, if you search the term “how to build a brand” on Google, you can scroll down on the page to find related terms that people have searched for in the past. Some of these include “how to build a brand identity”, “how to build a brand online”, and “creating a brand for yourself”.

Create Content that Aligns with Keyword Intent

There are a few general reasons why people search for content online. These reasons are referred to as keyword intent. For example, a searcher may be looking to buy a product or service online, they may want to gather information to make a decision, or they may want to land on a particular site.

When you create content for a page, it is important for it to be aligned with the keyword intent of the keywords that you want to target. This will help you to rank in search results. For example, if you want to target the keyword “how to build a brand”, then your page should focus on this topic. It should not be about something less related such as “how to build a website”.

Focus on Your Headline

The headline can be the most important part of your copywriting. Without a powerful headline that attracts your audience, people will not click through to even see the great content that you put together for them. The best headlines grab your reader’s attention and establish authority.

The good news is that you don’t have to guess about what headlines are likely to work. You can use a headline analyzer tool, such as the one by Coschedule, to get an idea of how well certain headlines will perform. Simply create a list of headline ideas and analyze each one. Finding a great headline will help to boost your click-through rates and page views.

Avoid Keyword Stuffing

Among the important SEO copywriting rules is to avoid keyword stuffing. Use your keyword and related keywords a few times in your content. This helps the search engines to understand what the focus of your content is. However, avoid keyword stuffing, which is adding an excessive amount of keywords to your content to try to boost rankings. Search engines, such as Google, frown upon this. Also, it does not make for a great user experience.

Optimize Your Content to Be Featured in Searches

If you optimize an article to answer a specific question, you have a higher chance of appearing in the top featured content section of a Google search. For example, if someone searches Google for the keyword “what is the oldest tree”, your article can appear at the top of the search in a featured box if it answers the searcher’s question well.

Also, for “how to” questions that can be demonstrated via video, such as “how to tie a bow tie” or “how to add a seat to a bike”, it works well to create videos because they often appear at the top of search results for these types of queries.

At Mission Web Marketing we do professional copywriting, including copy for websites, social media, blogs, and more. Get in touch today!