SEO Copywriting: Writing Content for People & Search Engines

You know what SEO is: It’s a method of optimizing your content for search engines. The goal is to help it rank higher than content from other sites that target the same search terms.

Pulling this off means getting smarter with your content. Enter your secret weapon—SEO copywriting.

SEO copywriting is more than just stuffing an article full of targeted keywords and phrases. It’s about writing for people and search engines, not just one or the other. That means writing content that: 

1. Solves a particular problem or answers a question
2. Appeals to the end user (customers, clients, prospects, readers, etc.)

How do you create content that meets those goals? How do you strike the right balance of creating content that ranks well with Google and persuades people? 

That’s what SEO copywriting is all about. 

Don’t worry if you can’t afford an expensive SEO copywriter. You can do it on your own by following these guidelines and best practices.

Key Takeaways

• SEO copywriting involves creating content that’s both SEO-friendly and engaging for readers, offering valuable information that resonates with the target audience.
• Effective SEO copywriting strategically deploys relevant keywords and phrases in the body of content as well as in title tags, meta descriptions and header tags
• SEO copywriting also involves generating content ideas by doing keyword research.
• Incorporate rich media into content to break up text, encourage more interaction, and provide visual representations of complex information.
• Above all, good SEO copywriting is created for humans to read and not just search engines to crawl.

Table of Contents

• Key Takeaways
• What Is SEO Copywriting?
• Why Is SEO Copywriting Important?
• Elements of SEO Copywriting
• SEO Copywriting Best Practices
  • 1. Generate Content Ideas
  • 2. Turn Your Content Ideas Into Keywords
  • 3. Optimize Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, and H1s
  • 4. Create Comprehensive Content
  • 5. Consider Keyword Frequency and Placement
  • 6. Use Internal Links With Optimized Anchor Text
  • 7. Link to High-Quality External Pages
  • 8. Incorporate Rich Media
• Writing Useful Content for People
• FAQs
• Conclusion

What Is SEO Copywriting?

Copywriting is the art and science of creating content that prompts the reader (aka the end user) to complete a specific action. That might be buying a product, subscribing to a list, taking a test drive, or some other action that will improve your appeal to the end user (customers, clients, prospects, readers, etc.). 

Copywriting is salesmanship, says Bruce Bendinger. His definition of copywriting will make you smile:

So, what is it about SEO writing that makes it different from copywriting? It’s that SEO copywriting involves creating content that is both engaging for readers and optimized for search engines. It’s all about creating useful, compelling, and valuable content that targets specific keywords.

SEO copywriters strategically incorporate keywords into the text to improve the content’s visibility in search engine results. They understand people, know what their audience likes and needs, and can craft a story that will appeal to them. They write headlines, words, phrases, sentences, and paragraphs that ultimately persuade and cause readers to take a specific action while also optimizing them so search engines understand the content too.

Why Is SEO Copywriting Important?

SEO copywriting enhances your site’s visibility in search engine results, bringing in more organic traffic. Since Google prioritizes high-quality content, well-written copy can help your site rank higher in searches.

This not only increases traffic but also supports more engagement, builds credibility, and can increase your conversion rates. 

Users are also more likely to share helpful and interesting content on social media. And that can bring even more traffic and heighten your brand’s visibility.

But SEO copywriting shouldn’t be static—you must always pay attention to new keyword trends and tactics for optimization.

Elements of SEO Copywriting

Certain elements of valuable content, such as visual appeal and timeliness, are the hallmarks of SEO content writing. 

However, certain core elements consistently elevate your Google ranking and boost your conversion rate. They include:

1. Site speed. If your load time is more than 2 seconds, you should take steps to improve it. Site speed impacts user experience and conversions because users will likely leave if your website does not load quickly.
2. Title Tag. Your content may be valuable, but your rankings and potential click-through rate will suffer if your title is not optimized.
3. Content. The major reason why people conduct searches in Google and other search engines is that they’re looking for useful content. Therefore, you need to have strong content that meets the user’s needs.
4. Meta description. The meta description provides users with a brief summary about the content on the page. It supports the title and entices users to click to a website.
5. Keyword frequency. This refers to how many times your chosen keywords appear on the web page. This helps search engines understand the relevance of your content. 
6. Page links. Linking to reputable websites and pages tells Google (and your readers) that your content is well-researched and connected to valuable resources within your industry. 

SEO Copywriting Best Practices

SEO copywriting doesn’t always require special training or a degree. There are tons of tools and resources available to help you handle the fundamentals and create content that ranks.

These tips and best practices—from topic ideation to valuable AI SEO tools—can help you level up your SEO writing efforts.

1. Generate Content Ideas

Effective SEO copywriting starts with topics your target audience wants to read about. You can use Ubersuggest’s Content Ideas tool to see top-performing content based on keywords. You can use that info to brainstorm topics.

Let’s use the query “scuba equipment” as an example. Just type it into Ubersuggest and hit Search. It’ll take you to a Keyword Overview page. From there, click Content Ideas. 

So, looking at the ideas Ubersuggest generated, some topic ideas might be:

• How to properly clean and disinfect your equipment
• Top tips for newbies buying new equipment
• How scuba equipment has evolved throughout the years

And that’s just for a start. Ubersuggest generates thousands of content ideas.

You can also use AI SEO tools to generate content ideas, but make sure the results align with your audience’s interests. 

For example, prompting generative AI tools like ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini can uncover a wealth of content ideas you can then plug into Ubersuggest or another SEO platform to assess their SEO potential.

2. Turn Your Content Ideas Into Keywords

Conversely, you can turn content ideas into keywords to use in your SEO writing.

Starting with broad topics or themes related to your ideas, think of questions, terms, or phrases your audience might use to search for content on those topics.

You can then plug those into Ubersuggest’s Keyword Ideas tool to refine them. For example, here are some keyword suggestions based on “scuba equipment disinfect.”

Other tools can be useful here, generating suggestions, analyze competitors’ content, and identify emerging trends. Tools like Google Trends, AnswerThePublic, and Exploding Topics are a few options. Prompting generative AI platforms like ChatGPT can also be a good starting point.

Just note that some tools may not be using the most up-to-date data on keyword trends, so cross-check your findings on an SEO platform like Ubersuggest.

3. Optimize Title Tags, Meta Descriptions, and H1s

Optimizing title tags, meta descriptions, and H1s are important aspects of your strategy. These elements are valuable for quickly informing readers what your content is about.

Title tags appear in results, helping users determine the main topic of the page to search engines which will help them decide if they want to click to the website. The H1 tag is at the top of the page and helps Google understand the structure of the content on the page.

Meta descriptions provide a brief preview of the page’s content. They are not a ranking factor but they are still essential to SEO because they provide additional information to users, which impacts the click-through rate of the page.

All of these things, when written using SEO writing best practices, can get more eyes on your content and, ultimately, more conversions. Here are some quick tips on optimizing these elements:

• Title tags: These are like signposts in the search results, so make sure they accurately and clearly describe the content. Stick to 50 to 60 characters and weave in focus keywords at the start to drive clicks.
• Meta descriptions: Keep it brief — under 160 characters — and include relevant keywords (but don’t keyword-stuff). Use active language that’s to the point but still descriptive.
• H1s: For starters, use only one H1. That H1 should accurately describe what your content is about so it answers user intent (think about what the user wants when they open the article). Keep H1s roughly between 20 and 70 characters and include keywords. 

You can plug in your keywords into an AI tool and it will write relevant, engaging, and succinct copy for these important aspects of your copy. My AI Writer 2.0 tool, Copy.ai, and Frase are just a few of the many options to help with this.

4. Create Comprehensive Content

The major reason why people conduct searches in Google and other search engines is that they’re looking for useful content. Search engines also feed on fresh SEO content, which is why you must consistently update your site.

Effective SEO content writing not only targets keyword phrases users are searching for but is high quality. Google will penalize sites with low-quality copy (i.e., shallow, uses lots of words to say very little, or has lots of grammatical errors).

To create comprehensive SEO content, it’s essential to understand your reader. Then, niche down and focus on a particular problem that the reader is struggling with. Dare to solve that problem with your content.

I’m sure you’re already thinking about whether or not AI has value in the copy creation process. As it stands, we can’t ignore its presence, but there’s a right and wrong way to use what it brings to the table. Here’s some insight from Austin Cosler, Managing Editor at NP Digital:

“It’s AI’s world now; us content marketers are just living in it. But the algorithms haven’t fully won yet. Subject matter expertise, creativity, originality, emotional resonance, and a nuanced understanding of audience needs are the names of the SEO copywriting game. Search was already saturated with top-funnel copycat content before generative AI exploded—now, it’s far worse.

The foundational on-page SEO rules we all know still apply, but collaborating with experts who have real experience with real processes, products, and services is essential to creating unique, helpful content that provides real value to readers.”

5. Consider Keyword Frequency and Placement

Keyword frequency is how many times your chosen keywords appear on the web page.

For example, if your target keyword is “best London hotels,” how many times will this exact keyword phrase appear in your 300-, 500- or 1,000-word article? 

In contrast, keyword density is the ratio of “best london hotels” to other words on the same page.

Keyword frequency and density are no longer as effective as they used to be but are still important elements of SEO content. Still, you should avoid over-optimization errors like keyword stuffing, excessive keyword insertion, and header tag stuffing.

As for placement, keywords should be integrated naturally into content 

6. Use Internal Links With Optimized Anchor Text

Internal links—hyperlinks that point to other pages on your website—are helpful for two things:

• Search Engine Understanding: They help search engines understand your site’s structure and hierarchy, which supports better SEO rankings.
• User Experience: They guide users to related and helpful pages on the site, improving their overall experience on the site and can potentially get them to take action.

Use optimized anchor text in your SEO writing that include keywords and provide helpful context for what the linked content is about. This helps your users navigate the site more efficiently and find what they’re looking for faster.

7. Link to High-Quality External Pages

You also want to link to external pages in your SEO writing, which might provide useful resources like studies or statistics. Or you could link to content that provides more context or a different point of view on the topic at hand.

Just make sure you’re linking to high-quality pages, not spammy or questionable sites. This means choosing sites with industry credibility and high domain authority. 

Tools like Ubersuggest make it easy to check a site’s domain authority by simply searching a domain:

Linking to high-quality external pages can also help you get more backlinks. For example, the sites you link out to may reciprocate by linking back to yours. 

Linking to reputable sources also builds credibility. It shows you’ve done your research and might make your content more attractive to other websites looking to link to reliable sources.

Consider external links a valuable piece of your overall backlink-building strategy.

8. Incorporate Rich Media

Good SEO content writing means thinking about more than just the text. Your SEO copywriting should also integrate rich media, such as images,  infographics, and videos. 

This breaks up copy for easier readability and makes it more visually appealing. It can also promote engagement and increase the time users spend on the page.  

Plus, rich media like charts and infographics can present complex information in a more comprehensible way than a block of text. Take a look at the example below about the impact of web migrations on traffic and rankings.

Writing Useful Content for People

Words are powerful. Words drive engagement. But they can only do that if written with people’s needs, preferences, and behaviors in mind. Over-optimizing content with keywords and other tactics without focusing on its value is not a winning strategy.

In SEO copywriting, storytelling can set you apart—human beings love good stories. If you can weave your brand story into your blog post, article, or video, you have a better chance of grabbing their interest.

Your story shouldn’t be about your business alone. Find a way to make it appealing to your target audience. Touching on key concerns and universal emotions can resonate with their experience, potentially leading to a stronger reaction and more interest.

One way to do this is through case studies. These can make powerful content because they have a narrative that tells a story instead of just providing facts and statistics. 

A good case study shows the experiments, research studies, and interviews you conducted, as well as the results that you got. Potential customers can also relate to them because they show how your business addressed (and hopefully solved) pain points like theirs.

Over half of business-to business (B2B) marketers surveyed by the Content Marketing Institute say that case studies provide some of their best results.

Writing content that resonates with people takes time and effort—but it’s worth it.

FAQs

What is SEO copywriting?

SEO copywriting combines copywriting skills with SEO tactics and strategy. It involves researching what your target audience is searching for and creating compelling SEO-optimized content that answers their questions and concerns.

Why is SEO copywriting important?

SEO copywriting is important for several reasons: It helps increase your site’s visibility and SEO rankings, enhances your brand reputation, and provides useful information to your target audience, potentially leading them to take action.

Conclusion

Imagine your website as a marketplace packed with engaged visitors eager to discover your content. 

SEO copywriting can help make that vision a reality.

Following these tips can dramatically increase traffic to your site. And when you combine them with other SEO techniques, you might generate even more.  

Most importantly, you can establish yourself as the go-to resource in your target market—a trusted brand that consistently delivers useful, accurate information.
So, add SEO copywriting to your marketing toolbelt today and watch your online presence soar.