Since potential customers are using search engines to find content that meets their immediate needs, the quality of copywriting and how it is optimized will determine whether a blog article or webpage ranks first for a specific search term or whether it falls short of the first page.
As experts in SEO and copywriting, the team from FirstPage Marketing knows that great copy is written for both people and search engines. That is why, in the hopes of helping their clients create stronger content, they have put together some helpful tips on how to improve your copywriting for better search rankings.
Find out more information about how to write for search engines and humans.
1. Use Attention-Grabbing Headlines & Meta Titles
Every blog article and landing page should have a compelling headline and meta title in order to help increase the odds of generating more clicks from potential customers. Certain types of titles can help increase user engagement with your content, such as how-to articles and numbered lists.
When writing an attention-grabbing headline or meta title, it is also important to try to include the main keyword for the page or article; however, since writing a title that is attractive for readers should be your first priority, it is important not to sacrifice a compelling title for keyword inclusion.
2. Choose Relevant Keywords
Keywords are a vital part of helping content rank high on search engines. When selecting keywords to use in your copy, make sure to choose one main keyword that will be used the most throughout the content on the page (once per paragraph). Your list of keywords should also include additional keywords, such as long-tail keywords and LSI keywords, that will enrich the content, while also helping search engines understand the context of the copy.
Long-tail keywords are often made up of three or four words that are extremely relevant to what you are writing about. While long-tail keywords tend to have a lower search volume, they can help target your audience better than shorter keywords can.
LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) keywords are also essential for optimizing copywriting for search engines. LSI keywords are terms that are related to the context of your keyword and examples these can be found in the “Searches related to…” section at the bottom of the search engine results page (SERP).
Learn how to optimize a blog article for SEO.
3. Write Compelling Meta Descriptions
Meta descriptions are the short summary of the webpage that are displayed in search results and are an important part of convincing readers to clickthrough to a website. Writing compelling meta descriptions will not only provide readers with insights into what the page or article is about but it will also help them decide if your content is relevant to what they are looking for, increasing the chance that they will visit your website.
4. Aim to Outrank the Featured Snippet
Having your content appear on the first page of search results is great, but having your content appear as the featured snippet is even better. A featured snippet, also known as position zero, is the box of content that Google places at the very top of a results page.
In order to outrank the current featured snippet, you first need to understand what question that snippet is answering. That question should be the main focus of your content and you should try to answer it in a block of text about 40-60 words long. Make sure that the answer is straightforward, presented in the form of a paragraph, list, or table, and is naturally placed within the rest of the content on the page.
5. Create Long-Form Content
Search engine algorithms love long-form content because they believe that it will provide the highest value to readers. Writing long-form content can help your article or page stand out amongst competitors; however, it is important to ensure that the all of the content on the page is relevant to that page’s main topic.
Writing compelling copy that focuses on one specific topic or phrase can help boost the article’s or webpage’s search ranking results. To learn more about improving your copywriting for better search rankings, get in touch with the SEO and copywriting experts from FirstPage Marketing today.