I think I’ve heard them all. You know those jokes that start, “How many _____ does it take to change a light bulb?” How about, “How many definitions can there be for SEO copywriting?” I figure now’s as good a time as any to toss my 2 cents worth into the ring.
What Others Are Saying
Luke Hardiman, in his blog, wrote, “Editorial content is poorly presented and stuffed to bursting point with keyword after keyword. SEO copywriters spend their days trapped in a warped episode of Countdown where they have to use the words “South Africa” and “Safari” 27 times in an easily digestible sentence.” He continued, “Don’t even get me started on the old ‘lets mis-spell the same keyword 27 different ways on one page’ technique.”
Unfortunately, he’s right. Novice copywriters (or those who just don’t care about quality) think it’s all about sheer volume. This is the one extreme. That practice has really given SEO copywriting a bad reputation.
It makes me mad because it doesn’t have to be that way. When I ask prospects whether they want SEO copy or not, they often tell me they don’t like the way SEO copy sounds. That’s pitiful! SEO copy shouldn’t sound any different than non-SEO copy to the average person if it’s written correctly.
One guy on Jill Whalen’s High Rankings Forum said that SEO copywriting was about writing with no regard for the search engines whatsoever. Oh course you’ll have some regard for the engines when writing, otherwise it would just be plain ole copywriting. Even Google’s Webmaster Guidelines tell us, “Think about the words users would type to find your pages, and make sure that your site actually includes those words within it.” Plus, Google’s 2005 patent filing states that, as part of its evaluation process, it, “…identifies relevant documents based on a comparison of the search query terms to the words contained in the documents.“
The Happy Medium
Somewhere between “stuff ’em if you’ve got ’em” and completely ignoring the engines lies the true definition of SEO copywriting.
According to Karon Thackston, SEO copywriting is:
Copy that supports chosen keyphrases and is written in such a way that those unfamiliar with search engine optimization will find nothing unusual about the flow or content.
So. There you have it 😉
Want quality SEO copywriting that impresses the search engines and converts visitors? Visit Karon’s online copywriting site at https://www.marketingwords.com.
I’m trying to find a good SEO copywriting course to familiarize my team of writers/editors with SEO best practices so they can write better pagedata and microcontent for our sites. Any advice on the best programs?
Welcome! It really depends on what you’re looking for. If you’ve got copywriters that already know how to write great copy, but struggle with using keywords naturally, you can get Writing With Keywords. It’s a quick-read (less than 40 pages) that’s got 11 creative ways to use keywords. Lots of real-world examples, too.
If you have beginners that need help with web copywriting AND SEO copywriting, you’ll want the Step-by-Step Copywriting Course.
There are others that offer still different aspects. Here’s a copywriting course comparison chart I created that may help you choose what’s best for you.
Let me know if you have any questions. I’ve read a good many of the courses available.