Okay, so maybe there aren’t that many steps when it comes to SEO copywriting. But, we do have 9 in mind that may help jumpstart the process and allow you a better understanding of what it all entails.
1. Conducting keyword research
Without the usage of keywords, there would be no need for SEO. It’s important to do your keyword research before creating your content. You need to know what your audience is searching for in Google, in order to get the desired traffic results that you want.
We discussed the process of conducting keyword research in our blog about How To Create a Content Strategy Plan. In addition to a primary focus keyword, you may want to have related keywords in your content to help show that you understand your subject.
2. Knowing your audience
You’ll also need to have a basic understanding of the intent of your audience. Why are they interested in a specific keyword? Are they wanting to make a purchase? Or, are they just trying to educate themselves better about a product or subject?
Are they trying to learn, trying to buy, or trying for something else? These are things to consider before creating your copy for the web.
3. Creating a Content Strategy
Content strategy is the act of researching your topic and audience, and organizing a plan to use specific content to drive traffic to your website. It’s your overall game plan. From realizing what keywords to use, to the posting times of your blog, creating a content strategy will help you and your team be more organized in your efforts to become successful with SEO copywriting.
4. Constructing an outline
Oftentimes, constructing an outline before creating your new piece of web copy is more important than the copy itself. Putting your ideas down ahead of time will allow you to see the bigger picture at hand. Gathering your thoughts on what the piece is about, what bullet points to hit, and what to include or not include will make the process easier when it comes time to start writing. Much like packing before a big camping trip, it is always important to be prepared.
5. Creating your copy
Creating web copy that is both as informative as it is engaging is no easy task. That’s why it’s important to utilize the research you’ve done beforehand in your work. Stick to the topic of discussion. Are you creating a blog post about your grandmother’s apple pie recipe? Make sure to link to relevant content on your site that may pertain to that.
Does your company sell candles? What about these candles makes them better than the rest? How could using your product or service help make your customer’s life better? Including this type of helpful content can increase the likelihood that your copywriting will be both approved by Google, and shared by your audience.
6. Editing your work
Before posting, it is important to make sure your content is not only relevant to your audience, but legible as well. It’s easy to get carried away while SEO copywriting, but taking time to double check your work will be beneficial to not only you, but your readers as well.
7. Have another set of eyes
It’s also important to be sure there is someone else available that can review your work. Having another set of eyes is helpful when it comes to copywriting because that person may be able to offer up suggestions on how to make the piece better. They can provide feedback as well as inform you of certain things you may have missed. Then can tell you when you missed something small, like baking Grandma’s “eyes” instead of pies…
8. Utilize yoast (or other SEO testing tools)
Yoast is a plugin for WordPress sites that helps you see how your copy ranks in terms of SEO. Its main focus is on the SEO quality and readability of your work. Start off by placing your written copy into the available space, then input your keyword of choice, title and meta description into the designated fields down below.
Yoast will give you feedback on why your content isn’t working and how to improve it. If your site isn’t built in WordPress, you may want to search for other tools that can help, or setup a test site in WordPress (for free) that you can use to evaluate your copy without actually publishing it.
9. Sharing your work
Once you’ve published your work, figuring out which social media sites are best to share your content is crucial in making sure your work is seen by your target audience. This goes back to the content strategy you created. Does your target audience use Facebook or LinkedIn more? What are they searching for with regards to the topic at hand?
If you conducted the appropriate research, you will have no trouble figuring out where to post your content in order to be seen.
We hope we’ve given you a glimpse into the SEO copywriting process, and all the work that comes with it. It can be a tricky concept to grasp right out of the gate, but following these steps should help you on your way to success.
However, if you are in need of some assistance we can help! Visit us at Oyster, where we help people just like you increase their web-traffic volume and improve conversion rates. It’s more than SEO, it’s about engaging your ideal visitor online, on your terms.
Writing for ecommerce and need a data-driven strategy? Check out Midnight 20, the data-science company behind Oyster.
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