It really gets my blood pressure up. SEO copywriting has begun to get a poor reputation all due to carelessness. How so? Because too many people claim to know what they are doing. In reality, they simply shove keywords into copy without any concern for how the copy flows. Copy that sounds mechanical or stiff is a sure sign that an amateur writer has had his/her hands in things.

When you write SEO copy, you should take the time to find out what works and what doesn’t. There are two mistakes almost every amateur search engine copywriter makes. Let’s take a look at each one.

#1 – The List

Let’s say you visit the home page of a website that sells beauty supplies. As you read the copy, you keep coming across a string of items: hair salon supplies, hair salon equipment and professional manicure tables. The copy reads something like this:

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The Best Selection of Hair Salon Supplies, Hair Salon Equipment and
Professional Manicure Tables On the Internet

When you’re shopping for hair salon supplies, hair salon equipment and professional manicure tables, you need a vendor who offers great selection as well as great service. Because buying hair salon supplies, hair salon equipment and professional manicure tables can be an expensive venture, you also want a company that delivers the lowest price.

Trust ABC Beauty Supply to bring you the widest selection of hair salon supplies, hair salon equipment and professional manicure tables in stock every day. Orders are shipped within 24 hours and – for all hair salon supplies, hair salon equipment and professional manicure tables orders over $100 – shipping is absolutely free!

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Do you see how that flows (or doesn’t flow) when you use all your keyphrases in a row every single time? One time, sure. That’s fine. Even twice, depending on the length of your copy. But to put all your keyphrases in a list and use them every time you have the smallest opportunity is just far too repetitive. What do you do instead?

Discuss each one in its own section. Talk about the various types of hair salon supplies. Review the reasons your hair salon equipment is better than that sold by others. Or even list the features and benefits of the line of manicure tables you offer.

#2 – Substituting Keywords for Generic Terms

This technique (just like the one above) is perfectly fine IF you use it in moderation. However, to replace every instance of a generic term with a keyphrase will cause your copy to sound downright silly. Let’s have a look at an example from a Web design site.

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New Orleans Web Design

Our New Orleans Web design firm offers a high level of creativity to businesses located in the general area. Our New Orleans Web design styles are never made from templates. Each New Orleans Web design is a custom creation just for your site.

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If you walked into a Web design company’s office and the employees began to talk like that copy is written, you’d most likely think they were on drugs! So why in the world would you write your site copy that way? The reason is because most amateurs mistakenly think they can’t write for both the search engines and the site visitors. I’m delighted to say they are wrong! You can most certainly write for both with great success.

Try this:

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Progressive, creative, upbeat. Those are phrases that best describe many online businesses based in New Orleans. Web design for your organization should match your style. Never created from templates, the site designs you’ll receive will be truly reflective of your corporate personality. Because we work exclusively with companies located in or near New Orleans, Web designs retain that Big Easy feel.

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Did you see it? The phrase was broken up using punctuation. That won’t hurt your rankings one bit, but it will make your copy sound a LOT better.

These are not all the mistakes. I wish they were! But most of the mistakes made by amateur writers can be fixed using one simple test. Read it out loud. If the copy sounds ridiculous to you when you re
ad it out loud, it is going to sound equally ridiculous to a site visitor.

Take your time. Learn the ins and outs of SEO copywriting before you begin to create the text for your (or your clients’) pages. Then you can rest assured that your copy will convert better while it contributes to your high rankings.

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Writing for the web is the same as any other type of writing, except that it’s different. That is, web readers expect the same quality of writing as print readers do, but they want it presented differently.

Your customers and potential customers approach the Internet like an information buffet. They skim… they scan… if they find a website that appeals to them, they sample the content. If they like it, they stay. If they don’t find what they’re looking for… click! They’re off to sample another.

The best way to attract customers and keep them coming back for seconds and thirds is to serve up website content that is satisfying and visually appealing.

Appetizers

Whet your reader’s appetite with a headline that gives them a reason to stay on your website. A good headline catches attention and tells the reader what they will gain by reading further: “Ten Tips for Closing More Sales”. “Packaging That Inspires. Packaging That Sells”. “Write Better Web Site Copy”.

The Main Course

Apply the fundamental rules of good writing. Craft and edit your website content to ensure that your writing is:

Purposeful, compelling and clear

Lean and active

Free of spelling, grammar and usage errors

Unlike print readers, who almost always read columns or pages in sequence, web readers skip from page to page and site to site. Accommodate your readers by summarizing early and often. Include your main points in the first paragraph of your site and the first paragraph of each page, so that visitors find relevant information anywhere on your site.

Serve bite-sized pieces. Organizing your website content into small clusters of information makes it easy for site visitors to digest information quickly. Lists, bullet points and side bars are useful for highlighting key points and maintaining visual flow on a website.

Some website content is difficult to divide into small sections. Use intra-site links to direct readers to other pages of your site for deeper exploration of select topics.

Although web readers generally prefer content that is divided into short pages, it is more important that your page divisions make sense. Don’t truncate your presentation of Internet marketing strategies just to make it fit on one page. Web readers are more concerned with ROI than word count. If your website content is relevant and well-written, you don’t need to worry about page length.

Dessert

Entice your readers with special offers, informative newsletters, or up-to-the-minute industry news. Make it deliciously easy for them to subscribe or contact you directly.

Providing links to other relevant, non-competitive websites such as professional organizations and educational institutes reminds website visitors that you are a valuable resource.

Lastly, always sample your own work. Use as many browsers and platforms as you can to check your website pages after uploading. No matter how good your website content is, if customers can’t read it – it’s spoiled!

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