Optimizing copy for SEO can seem like a daunting task, but it does not have to be. You can do plenty of things to easily and quickly make your copy more web optimized. Keep reading for simple yet effective methods to achieve it.
Use Keywords Naturally and Within Reasonable Limits
You perhaps know that copy with organic keywords is what helps increase ranking position in the search engine results page. Google will penalize a website, which uses the keyword stuffing practice. This is a practice where a webpage is loaded with too many keywords than needed to manipulate that website’s ranking in SERP. The Google Penalty means that as a result of that practice, the website’s position in the search results will go down. In order to avoid this, use keywords naturally and evenly in your copy.
The key thing to remember is to write for your target audience, not the search engine. Instead of overloading your content with the same primary keyword, use alternative ones wherever you want it to appear. By alternative keywords, we mean variations of that primary keyword you plan to use. For instance, when writing for real estate your main keyword is “best builders in New York City”, use alternatives such as “top builders in NYC” and so on. Besides including many keywords organically in your content, also keeps the copy fresh for your readers too.
Create the Kind of Copy Many People Can Understand
It’s good to have creative writing skills, but make sure that that creativity does not come at the expense of accessibility. If you love to write with a creative flair, then save that skill for your personal blog. What is creative for you may not be easily understandable for readers, so always keep them in mind when writing copy. If it’s too high-brow or dense, it’ll possibly appeal to only a small number of people.
Readability affects SEO. It refers to the ease with which readers can understand online content. If they cannot understand your content, it will affect your SEO. So, it has to be understandable for the reader.
To make your content SEO-friendly, focus on two things: the kinds of writing style you use and the readability of words you use. Keep that aspect of readability in mind when you write copy. Aim for sentences with no more than 20 words to make such content for SEO. Write longer sentences only if you must a few times in your copy. The idea should be to limit such sentences so that these do not exceed 20% of the overall content.
Search engines value convenience and accessibility to the audience above everything else. As such, basic and readable copy will improve your ranking.
Relying On Tools
Seeking a little more help is okay to optimize your copy. There are numerous applications and tools out there to make that optimization task a bit easier. There is more to creating SEO-friendly copy than just keywords. There are tools that help you find useful and relevant content trending on the internet. Creating such content is sure to get engagement.
Besides, your ecommerce platform likely has many tools that you can use as well. Some platforms include numerous built-in SEO features and also offer various SEO plugins. There are also apps that help you find out top keywords, offer in-depth analysis of website content, and even help with AdWord campaigns.
However, not every online store builder offers unusually good copywriting SEO features. It is worth comparing CMS platforms. Web-optimized copy is one of the important features for ecommerce SEO that is worth considering when you decide on a platform.
Be Sure To Optimize Your Meta Description and Title Tags
When it comes to SEO, both of these elements are important, but some undervalue their importance. Those SEO professionals perhaps do not understand what these elements mean or the purpose for which they are used. These elements tell the reader what your content is all about.
A title tag is nothing but the HTML element specifying the title of content in a webpage. A title should be up to 65 words long, otherwise, the rest of the words will not appear in Google search. A full title gives the reader an idea about what that content is about. Conversely, if some words are cut away in Google search and the title does not make it clear what it is, the reader may not be tempted to click on it.
The same things apply to the meta description too. This is the short description or a summary of your content. A good meta description is one that persuades the user to open that site by clicking on the respective link. If the title says something, and the description says something else, your audience will likely be uninterested to read it.
Your title has to have your primary keyword in it, and your description should include your primary and secondary keywords. You cannot always include your keyword in the title, especially when your content is about something unrelated to it. This can be the case even when your keyword is not complete enough to be used in the title. In the latter case, it’s best to replace your incomplete primary keyword with a complete alternative one.
Pay attention to all of the above the next time you create copy for SEO.
