SEO 101: The Great and The Not-So-Great

Let’s start with the basics. SEO stands for “search engine optimization.” It’s the practice of increasing both the quality and the quantity of your website traffic, as well as exposure to your brand. 

But no matter how many SEO tricks you have in your hat, content is still king. The secret behind great SEO is great copy. Think less about understanding the search engine, and more about understanding the searchers themselves. What are people searching for online, what words are they using, what type of content are they hoping to consume, etc. Write with your audience in mind, and the SEO will take care of itself. 

Well-planned website copy coupled with effective SEO will drive online traffic to your site for years to come. Cue the evil mua-ha-ha-ha. Time for website/world domination.

🏆 Four Great SEO Copywriting Practices

Be brief. Really brief.
Keep paragraphs short. Use lists and bullet points where paragraphs are unnecessary. Omit half of your words, then omit half of those. What the heck- omit half of those, too.

Talk like a person.
Write with clear, approachable language. Sprinkle in keywords and industry jargon where applicable. Think direct and informative, but write for people. Not for robots.

Frontload the good stuff.
Write with the Inverted Pyramid in mind. Start with the Need to Know, end with the Nice to Know.

Headlines and titles matter.
Create compelling titles that engage and inform. 

Best practices for meta titles: between 50-60 characters, every page should have unique title

Best practices for meta descriptions: between 50-160 characters, primary goal should be to provide value and drive clicks.

👎🏻 Four Not-So-Great SEO Copywriting Practices

Selfish writing stinks.
All of your content should be created with the consumer in mind, not your brand. Hold off on the vanity, and write in a way that relates to your audience.

Keyword stuffing.
Don’t be a know-it-all. Using too much corporate speak and industry jargon is not impressive. No one likes that guy at the party, so why would they like that website?

Long-winded? No, thanks.
You really can have too much of a good thing. Don’t give it all away just yet. Get your message across, but think less is more.

Too many voices.
An inconsistent tone is confusing. Website copy is often a collaborative effort, but if the writing style varies, your brand’s unified message will suffer.