How to Blend SEO and Copywriting to Please Both Humans and ‘Bots’

Crafting compelling, informative content that can rank highly (and get noticed) on search engines often seems like a tightrope for B2B professionals. You want to inform your readers, make an argument or explore something more complex with a long-form piece, but that doesn’t always translate into an accessible read that your audience can discover with ease.

However, by combining the art of copywriting with the science of SEO, you can satisfy both needs. So, without further ado: let’s explore how.

Understanding SEO and Copywriting

Search Engine Optimization, or SEO as it’s commonly known as, has one grounding principle: making sure Google can find your page and rank it. It can often seem complicated because it involves different variants, such as technical SEO (one for a different article) as well as how visible the content of your website or page is. Optimizing content as part of SEO involves using relevant keywords, creating high-quality backlinks, optimizing your meta descriptions, and more.

Copywriting, on the other hand, is about crafting persuasive and engaging content that compels readers to take action. Traditionally copywriting was all about getting audiences to buy a product, whether through direct encouragement or word-of-mouth. Typical copywriting would be catchy or memorable advertising campaign slogans and ideas, like Aero’s “Adorabubble” or Kodak’s “Share moments. Share life.” 

In today’s digital landscape that’s still true, but ‘copywriting’ can also sit under the umbrella of digital content creation: blogs, e-books, whitepapers, web pages and pay-per-click ads all have to be written by someone. The goal is still to drive conversions and sales, but the strategy will vary. For instance, writing a website blog to compel your readers to subscribe to a company newsletter, download an eBook or white paper, or contact your sales team for a quote, product demo or other material. 

But the bottom line is this: in a digital marketplace, you need to be seen to succeed. All online content must therefore be merged seamlessly with your SEO strategy.

The Importance of Keyword Research

Keywords are the backbone of SEO because they help search engines understand what your content is about. But keyword stuffing can turn off human readers. Indeed, the nefarious practice of inserting irrelevant keywords into content purely for the sake of SEO has led to us drawing the distinct between ‘black hat’ and ‘white hat’ SEO. The most important thing is to use keywords in your copy in a way that has a clear purpose and reads naturally. 

Tips for Effective Keyword Use:

1. Conduct Thorough Research: Tools like Google Keyword Planner or Ahrefs will help you find any keywords which are relevant to your product, industry or strategy.
2. Focus on Long-Tail Keywords: These are less competitive and more specific, making it easier for your content to rank and thus more likely to attract quality leads.
3. Integrate Keywords Naturally: Make sure your content reads smoothly, i.e. don’t try to shoehorn keywords where they’re irrelevant or otherwise don’t belong.

Crafting High-Quality Content

Just like the human eye, Google’s algorithms prioritize high-quality content. If you’re investing time creating valuable, informative and compelling content then the pay-off is two-fold: Google should reward you for providing a good user experience along with the keywords you include. 

Strategies for High-Quality Content:

1. Know Your Audience: Understand their needs, challenges, and interests, and ask: what value will they get from this article?
2. Solve Problems: If you’re stuck on good ideas, the first place to think about is the common pain points your target readers experience. What practical solutions can your content provide them with? 
3. Use Data and Examples: Always support your claims with reputable sources to build credibility and authority in any given topic area.

On-Page SEO Best Practices

Optimizing individual pages can boost your content’s search engine performance significantly. Here’s how:

Key On-Page SEO Elements:

1. Title Tags and Meta Descriptions: These should be compelling and include your primary keyword.
2. Headers and Subheaders: Use keywords naturally in headers, as this will help with readability and SEO.
3. Alt Text for Images: Describe your images with keywords to make them more discoverable in image searches, discoverability in image searches.
4. Internal and External Links: Link to other useful content on your website and reputable external sources to provide even more value to your readers.

Engaging Headlines and Introductions

Your headline and introduction are the first things readers see, so they need to be captivating enough to make people want to keep reading.

Crafting Compelling Headlines and Intros:

1. Address Pain Points: Cut to the chase by speaking directly to a problem that your audience faces or is concerned about. Use Numbers and Data: Research shows that headlines with numbers perform better on search engine results pages—according to studies by Conductor.
2. Be Clear and Concise: The average audience reading age is around 12. That doesn’t mean that you have to dumb anything down or oversimplify. But it does mean that your points need to be direct and succinct. Even if you’re writing an introduction on a highly technical or complex subject, if you can’t explain your points in accessible terms, it might mean that you don’t really understand it or that the ideas are too ambiguous.

Maintaining Readability

Search engines consider user engagement metrics such as bounce rate and time on page. Content that’s easy to read and digest encourages longer visits.

Enhancing Readability:

1. Short Paragraphs: Keep them brief and digestible—like this one!
2. Bullet Points and Lists: Break down complex information into lists.
3. Keep it Simple:: Avoid jargon and use plain language suited for quick reading.

Expert Insights and Advanced Strategies

Beyond the basics, there are other advanced strategies available which serve to elevate your content’s effectiveness even further.

Semantic SEO: Enhancing Contextual Understanding

Search engines increasingly use semantic search. This seeks to understand the context and intent behind a query, rather than just matching keywords.

Implementation:

1. LSI Keywords: Use Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI) keywords, which are terms related to your primary keyword. These help search engines understand the context.
2. Contextual Content: Develop in-depth content that covers a topic comprehensively so you can signal to search engines that your page is an authority on the topic you’re writing about and that audiences are searching for.

Content Clusters and Pillar Pages

Building content ‘clusters’ (groups of content around a specific topic) around a central pillar page (a fundamental ‘explainer’ guide, for example) is an effective SEO strategy. Pillar pages cover broad topics comprehensively, and these link to ‘cluster’ pages  link to cluster pages that dive into subtopics.

Benefits:

1. Enhanced Navigation: From a UX (user experience) perspective, the easier it is to use a website to find information, the more likely it is that they want to explore the rest of your site.
2. Increased Authority: Search engines view your site as an authoritative source on the broader topic, and this helps to boost your overall SEO.

Blending SEO with copywriting involves balancing keyword optimization with readable and engaging content. When executed well, this approach can enhance your search rankings while also delighting your audience. The result? A win-win for attracting both search engines and human readers.

By following these guidelines and continually refining your strategy based on performance metrics, you’ll be well on your way to creating content that captivates and converts.

Featured image credit to Possessed Photography on Unsplash