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Writing effective SEO copy

The major search engines are getting better at ‘reading’ your website and putting your keywords into context with the content on your site. They are responding to how much thought and effort you have put into presenting your idea, product or service to visitors.

Effective SEO writing has moved beyond “keyword stuffing”, which essentially was placing the same keyword phrases so many times into one page that by the time you had finished reading it the writing had lost all meaning and you were left feeling dizzy. This has been officially labelled “Web Spam” by Google and has been a target of algorithm updates since early 2012 although, locally the affects weren’t felt until May/June.

You should have your exact phrase keywords appear at least 2 times on-page but you can also add variations and combinations, giving you the flexibility to increase the number times your keywords appear without overkill or bad grammar.

The paragraphs below are; an example of bad SEO content writing and an example of good SEO writing.

The best laptop in the market. Our laptop have the lowest price. And the best quality. The best laptop for business and the best laptop for home. Buy our best laptop and get the deal for your life. Buy the best laptop in town. Showcase the best laptop for your friends.

When you’re deciding which laptop is best for you, you need to determine the types of tasks you’ll most frequently perform on your laptop. If you use it to check email, browse the Internet and listen to music then you don’t need a laptop that is too powerful. However, if you plan to edit video, design graphics, store a lot of files and use multiple applications at once, the best laptop for you will have a strong processor and adequate disc space.

Not only is the first paragraph grammatically bad but it takes you completely off-focus because you’re seeing the same exact phrase so many times that you become desensitised and exit the website.

The second paragraph makes you feel like someone has the answers to your questions and is willing to help you in the right direction. You want to stay and learn more about the company and what they have to offer.

Here are some tips for how you can write effective SEO content:

1. Give people the information they came for.

Online marketing is about developing trust in an untrustworthy space. Don’t lure potential customers or clients in with keywords about architecture and let them grit their teeth in frustration when you’re trying to sell them awnings.

2. Don’t force keyword usage.

Don’t think that you have to use all keywords immediately in the first sentence. On your page you have a number of opportunities; headings, sub-headings, navigation menu items, links to pages within your website. This helps you create more keyword variations which read naturally and have a good flow.

3. Use your headings.

A short headline which contains your keywords (and makes sense) tells visitors instantly that they’ve come to the right place and search engines place greater weight on words in the header. This is where visitors and search engines meet. Using our previous keywords as a basis:

Find the best laptop for you or We’re here to help you find the best laptop

4. Remember you’re a searcher too.

This is one of the best yet least used ways of writing great content that works for people as well as engines. Think of your experience when you search. What results do you expect when you type in specific keywords? What information are you looking for? How do you react when a company’s website provides you with that information?

As you can see, you should incorporate your keywords into your writing rather than trying to write around them. You will see better rankings in the search results pages for your keywords as the search engines clearly understand the relationship between your keywords and your website content and get positive feedback from visitors enjoying their experience on your website

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Michael Lam

Co-founder of Cornerstone and web junkie, Michael knows just how to diagnose your online problems and remedy the issue. An online enthusiast who believes in technology as an enabler of growth, Michael worries about all the details so you don't have to.