By Kurt Freudenberger
Ahh, copywriting, the highly-vaunted art form that has existed long before a search engine was ever a thing. But the reality is that we are now in the days of SEO, and thus, the days of needing to focus on quality SEO copywriting.
Copywriting can already be hard enough at times, but having to weave SEO elements into a well-crafted piece on top of other marketing copywriting best practices can be daunting.
If you’re not careful, working SEO keywords into your copywriting can make your writing sound robotic, bland, and unengaging. Fortunately, there are some easy ways to avoid this and make your copy engaging while still checking those SEO boxes.
But first, let’s reexamine why we pay such close attention to SEO target keywords in the first place.
SEO is More Important Than Ever
SEO services matter. A lot. If you want your blog/article/whitepaper/homepage/movie review/slow cooker recipe/goth makeup tutorial to rank on the search results page, you have to cater to the search engines and their ever-changing rules. If you don’t, there’s a pretty good chance you’ll never break past the 26th page of Google’s search results. You have to play by the rules if you want people to see what you’ve written.
Two Methods for Achieving Good SEO Copywriting
The Freeform Writing Method
I may be a purist, but in my experience, the easiest approach is to focus on writing good copy first instead of inserting SEO elements as you go. I find it distracting from the main goal, which is to write compelling copy that accomplishes a specific goal for a specific audience.
With this method, once you’ve written the best copy you can, review your SEO objectives and then identify ways to insert your keywords in all the usual places: the meta, title, first paragraphs, H2’s, and so on. This may involve some retooling of the copy in some areas, but you have the right foundation to work with, and that’s what matters—both to the reader and to the search engines.
2. The SEO-As-You-Go Method
If you like to integrate SEO elements as you go, that’s certainly a valid approach, so long as the engaging quality of your copywriting doesn’t suffer. Here are some steps to encourage natural writing with SEO baked in.
First off, pull up those best practices and your brief.
Whether you have a cheat sheet from a digital marketing agency or simply reference SEO best practices found on reputable websites, it’s a good idea to have them handy before you start writing. Pull up the brief for your assignment as well, as it should contain the target keyword and any secondary keywords you are focusing on. Reviewing these first can have a subconscious effect that can help you naturally integrate keywords while you’re writing.
Make an SEO-laced outline.
I like to use outlines when writing almost anything. I need placeholder H2’s and H3’s and bullet points to guide me along the way and keep me within the boundaries; otherwise, I can veer off track in absurdly dumb ways.
If you use a rough outline for your content and deliverables, add in your SEO elements at this stage.
Put keywords in all of your placeholder H2’s
Create a placeholder sentence that contains the keyword
Keep the keywords—primary and secondary— visible throughout your outline, so you’re constantly thinking about them and implementing them.
Everyone Loves Examples
If I were to be tasked with writing a buying guide for circular saws, and my primary keyword phrase was “best circular saws,” while the secondary keywords were “circular saws for beginners” and “circular saws under $100,” my outline may look something like this:
Title: The Best Circular Saws for 2022
Intro section:
KW: “best circular saws” - first paragraph
KW: “circular saws under $100” - if possible
H2: The Best Circular Saws Under $100
KW: “circular saws under $100”
H2: Circular Saws for Beginners: What to Look For
KW: “circular saws for beginners”
H2: Conclusion - TBD
Mention “best circular saws” again
With this outline in place, I've designated where the right keywords are going to be placed, and I can check them off as I go.
Some Final Thoughts
The best SEO copywriting happens when the reader can’t tell what the keywords are. You aren’t cramming them in the reader’s face or creating awkward sentences to fit them on. You’re simply integrating them in the most natural way possible while staying focused on the content's actual quality.
The real lesson here is not to make SEO the center of your writing. Think of it as the wax you put on your new car after you’ve spent all that time washing and detailing it first—only the wax is required before you can actually drive the car around and get everyone’s attention with it.
Good thing search engines don’t penalize you for lazy metaphors.
Yet.
If you think your organization could benefit from engaging content that still manages to sneak in all the important SEO elements, we’d love to talk to you.