If you want to generate leads online, you’ll have to have fantastic SEO copywriting skills. SEO copywriting is where you write content that targets a specific keyword or keywords to assist Google in understanding the material and rank it highly.
To rank in Google, you’ll have to follow the technical elements of SEO but you’ll also need to ensure that you create good, legible material for your potential consumers. Gone are the days where you might compose posts packed with keywords that didn’t read well.
So exactly what can you do to enhance your SEO copywriting skills? Here are 7 things you need to do when you’re writing material for your site.
1. Select your title carefully
Title tags are one of the most essential on-page ranking aspects. That suggests that you need to ensure that the keyword you’re targeting remains in the title. Ensure it includes in between 50-60 characters so it’s not cut off in searches.
2. Usage headings and subheadings
H tags are HTML attributes that you utilise to define headings in order of value. For example, H1 headings are crucial, followed by H2 and so on. To rank in Google, you must have just one H1 heading on each page.
The best thing to do is to include your primary keyword in your H1 heading, followed by associated keywords in your H2-H6 subheadings.
3. Use your keyword in your URL
It’s a small factor, however using your keyword in your URL slug is a smart idea. Google will read and understand the URL, so it is worth doing. Keep the slug short and ensure it’s understandable.
3. Do not overuse your keywords
As mentioned above, keyword stuffing no longer works. Google ranks material that is appropriate and legible, and content that excessively uses keywords will not rank well. Best practices consist of using related keywords throughout your short article and in headings. Likewise, attempt to include terms that other top pages in Google use.
5. Use outbound links
Using outbound links to relevant and authoritative sites is a must to rank in Google. Ensure the links make contextual sense though, and that they include value for your readers. Once again, it is essential that you do not pack links into short articles as this might backfire.
6. Craft a fantastic headline
Headlines aren’t a direct ranking element, however they motivate someone to click on your post. So you should ensure you’ve got the very best headline you can create.
A research study by Moz discovered that numbers headlines work best – similar to the heading of this article!
7. Add a meta description
There’s a bit of dispute about meta descriptions. They are the descriptions that appear under the title of the article in search engines. Some sites that do incredibly well do not utilise them, and some specialists state you can still rank without them.
But given that they take a few seconds to write, you might as well include meta descriptions to your articles. Ensure they fit the area, which is around 155 characters (Google recently reverted back to this size after increasing it back in December 2017). It’s likewise a good idea to add emotive words and a call to action, and make it relevant to the search intent of your target keyword.
If you take these SEO copywriting ideas into account when you’re constructing your content, you’ll soon see yourself ranking higher in Google. Ensure you pick your keywords sensibly and you’ll start seeing the free leads rolling in.