Let us start with a simple question as usual: Who among you would like to have your WordPress websites ranked highly in search engines’ results?
Do I need to count the hands raised? I assume no, right? We all know how vital it is for your WordPress website to have a high ranking position in search engines’ results since it can affect the traffic flow into your website. And what follows that traffic flow that we have to care so much about? My fellows, they definitely are recognition and money!
So, how to make them all happen?
Well, the fastest, easiest and most effective way is to master SEO and product copywriting skills! Being equipped with such skills will help you produce content that meets the two necessary requirements: first, capable of attracting targeted audiences, i.e. readers, visitors, clients, etc.; and second, gives solutions to a specific problem. Sounds like the exact content you would love to have on your site, yes?
If the answer is yes, it is high time you sat down and learned, starting with two fundamental pieces of knowledge: 1) What is SEO copywriting to be exact? Well, to put it simply, it is the process of creating useful, appealing and valuable content that targets particular keywords so that people will deliberately share it on social media platforms. Then, 2) How does it help? It improves the content’s ranking in Google for the selected keywords, eventually allowing you to attain greater SEO content results.
You think it sounds difficult? No worry, because here I have just the right thing you need: The 10 Tips to Master SEO Copywriting Skills, which are:
- Understand the Elements of SEO Copywriting
- Know Your Audience Clearly
- Write Useful Content
- Make Full Use of Sub Headlines
- Use Numbers in Headlines
- Remember that Fonts Matter
- Pay Attention to Trending Topics
- Try Utilizing Videos
- Link In and Link Out
- Stimulate Social Sharing
A quick look that is! Now, keep on scrolling and see my efforts to give you the full grasp of SEO copywriting skills in just 10 tips! Trust me, and let’s go!
Understand the Elements of SEO Copywriting
First thing first, mastering SEO copywriting skills is basically the same as mastering any other skill. In order to top it, you must at all costs understand the basic requirements of it! Having said that, you see, there are several elements of SEO copywriting we need to prioritize. Therefore, if you wish to rank highly on search engines and have your conversion rates increased, do remember to put these elements of SEO copywriting in the first lines of your priority list!
Here are the 6 elements we have to keep an eye on:
- Headlines: These are so important since they determine whether the visitors will click and read your posts or not! Thus, headlines should play the role of attracting attention, getting people to notice the post! Several tips regarding how to rock your headlines include: a) Create the headline first before working on the body; b) Write positive headlines that express strong emotions; c) If you find it difficult to think up a good headline, try these resources for writing headlines!
- Sitespeed: Considered a ranking factor since 2010, sitespeed is a big actor when it comes to SEO copywriting! If your website takes long to load, it is likely that your visitors will go away! Thus, in the case your site takes longer than 2 seconds (which is the average loading time) to load, you should consider improving it! To test the page’s loading time, Pingdom Website Test Speed can help.
- Meta Descriptions: Google use meta descriptions to give searchers a glimpse of your content, so make sure yours act like a hook! How? Well, here are some suggestions: a) They should be around 150-160 characters; b) You may either start with a question or go straight into the topic to catch attention; c) For a blog, installing the All-In-One SEO Pack can assist you with your titles and meta descriptions!
- Keyword Frequency: Keyword frequency/density is believed to be one of the ranking factors also, thus, it should be taken into account. Note that stuffing keywords into the content (~5.5% or more) shall harm the ranking of your posts.
- Page Links: The act of linking out will earn reward from Google as it fits with Google’s mission of “organizing the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful”. So, what are the right ways to link? There are three places you should link to, including relevant pages within and out your website; more in-depth content and appropriate anchor text.
- Content: This definitely is the utmost element of SEO copywriting. Since there is so much to talk about, including why’s and how’s, we will come back to it later down here!
Know Your Audience Clearly
I myself consider it the second most necessary thing to do, as you see, just after the elements above! Knowing who you are writing for will guide your way through the process since your posts will obviously be neglected if it targets no one! Therefore, it will never be a waste of time to do some homework and get yourself to know about your audience. How? There are many measures, some of which you have to carry out yourself, some others you can rely on tools.
Google Analytics, for example!
The Audience section of Google Analytics can give you more knowledge on those who make up your site’s traffic, their demographics and attributes. Get it installed and read its guide on the Internet, you will be enlightened!
Write Useful Content
No matter how many times I repeat this, it never seems enough: Content is of the utmost importance when we talk about SEO! If you manage to produce valuable content, your visitors will keep coming back for more, and I assure you that nothing can help promote the product better than the quality of the product itself! So, how can you drive traffic to your website with content? Easy, say a big NO to such harmful content types as low-quality content, keyword-stuffed content and duplicate content. Though many people will tell you the opposite, saying they actually make a good SEO strategy, the truth is no, it cannot help anything with your ranking!
Besides, try to make your posts fascinating by featuring different types of writing. For example, one day, you may try storytelling by doing a blog post, a sequences or video; then, another day, you could present a case study to give your visitors in-depth knowledge on something they care about!
Make Full Use of Sub Headlines
This tip is actually research-based, which gives the idea that our brain will not take interest in reading disorganized texts. How is ‘disorganized’? Well, for example, a full-page article with just one headline while all other texts look the same! In such cases, our brain tends to avoid reading the article. Even if we try to, we shall get tired very quickly and quit. You can consider professional help, such as financial services copywriting.
Therefore, my friends, if you write a paragraph that contains around 250 – 400 words, it must definitely have a sub-headline. Don’t you fight me on this!
Use Numbers in Headlines
Numbers steal our attention! Well, if you notice, 9 out of 10 titles to my articles include a number, and it works perfectly well! Don’t think so? Look and compare between the two titles: “Reduce Bounce Rate for Your WordPress Website” VS. “10 Ways to Reduce Bounce Rate for Your WordPress Website”. Don’t you think the first title sounds vague and disoriented, while you totally know what to expect after reading the latter?
That is how numbers work!
They trigger curiosity while giving readers enough information to make them interested in your article! Explaining it in a scientific way, numbers brighten up the mathematical part of our brain, making the post look more appealing! Furthermore, having numbers in the headlines or the lists also allows us to structure the content more reasonable and orderly.
Don’t usually use numbers in previous posts? Start now!
Remember that Fonts Matter
It is quite easy to understand that the right font and font size surely make your content easier to read and more appealing, hence improving engagement to the post. Many copywriters spend so much time on copy cosmetics due to this reason. In addition, some fonts are believed to be “web-safe”, meaning they are supported by a wide majority of systems. For example, we have Arial, Helvetica or sans-serif, etc. Using these fonts will minimize the risk of your content being shown to the public in a way you do not expect!
Pay Attention to Trending Topics
One simple way to earn a high rank on search engines results page? Cover the hottest issues in town (I mean in the industry)!
Since we all love to catch up with the latest news, you may use this to your advantage by featuring the most searched topics of the week on your WordPress website! As we talk about trending topics, content curation may also be helpful when it comes to SEO. In case you have no clue, content curation is the act of exploring, compiling, and sharing already-existing content with your followers, instead of creating something new. However, it can get risky if done poorly. So, if you have any intention to begin your curated content route, just be careful!
Try Utilizing Videos
Several marketers may argue that using videos does not help SEO much, it cannot be denied that videos contribute greatly to the boost of conversion rates, engagement, and sales! Why? Because they offer some advantages no other type of content can, the most substantial three of which are:
- Make your WordPress website stand out from the crowd;
- Target a whole other body of audience who would like to watch videos rather than read texts;
- Conquer different online channels, such as YouTube, bringing home more fans and followers!
Link In and Link Out
Apart from adding value for visitors and improving user experience, both processes of interlinking the pages of your own WordPress website and linking out to relevant resources and references could be a great help to SEO because:
- As for linking in: your internal link structure will have influence on the ‘crawlability’ of your site in search, hence affecting the ranking;
- As for linking out: search engines consider websites with more outbound links to other trusted sites as more worthy!
Stimulate Social Sharing
Why social sharing? Because it increases traffic, earns backlinks and most importantly, makes your content go viral, which is so crucial for SEO! Knowing the benefits of it is one side of the story, the other side is how we do it. Well, to encourage people to share the content, try using widgets or putting share buttons in easy-to-notice spots. While doing that, remember to mind which social media platforms are most used by your visitors, and focus on them. Avoid handing out too many options, your visitors may get dizzy and decide not to hit any at all!
As you see, SEO copywriting is not so hard of a skill after all, right? Many people hear the word and jump to the false conclusion that only the pros can master it, but the truth is we all can, with a little patience and all the tips above!
Have any more suggestions? Don’t hesitate to comment and share with us!