SEO copy is one of those contentious things which can divide opinion.  Is it really necessary to write targeted SEO content? Are on and off page SEO techniques using optimised copy really effective?  Isn’t it just spam?  I believe that the very much maligned and misunderstood art of effective SEO copywriting is something which can be key to a successful SEO campaign when implemented appropriately, and here are the reasons why:

1) SEO Content Is Good For The Internet

We all know that in such a saturated online market, being seen is a battle.  Unless your business is in a very unusual niche industry, competition is rife and who decides which websites come out on top? The search engines of course. Anything which can help search engines to see an honest representation of your website’s content and worth is helpful, which effectively is what any optimised copy on your site is there to do.  Long gone are the days of keyword stuffing and high percentage densities to promote your pages but to the detriment of your users. Well written and useful content is perfectly capable of telling search engines what they need to know without the spam. What is good for human website visitors is good for search engines too, which is why SEO works.

2) SEO Blogs Are A Useful Resource

Business blogs have become ever more popular but for them to be as advantageous as possible to your SEO campaign, they must first and foremost be something that people will find useful and informative.  SEO Blogs are a great tool to target long tail keywords, but keep the user at the centre of what you write. Blogs are a great way to connect with customers and site users, they can comment and feed back and see the human side of your business.  Write them in the first person and make sure you have something worth saying. Using blogs as just another sales pitch will inevitably be a turn off to readers, but announcing a new product in an innovative way can be a great thing to blog about.

3) SEO Articles

In a similar way to blogs, articles can go either way when it comes to SEO. Articles created and submitted willy nilly have little effect and if anything they just add to the ever-growing pile of trash which clogs up the Internet.  However articles which are well written and actually offer something worthwhile to readers, such as handy hints or tips and tricks, can really help to drive appropriate traffic back to your site if they are submitted to relevant categories and with clever use of keywords/anchor text so they are visible to searchers.

4) Press Releases Boost Your Online Profile

Are you starting to sense a theme here? Press releases are only worthwhile when you have something interesting to say, which is why the title and first paragraph are vital when it comes to retaining your reader all the way through.  Short and sweet is best, but linking to more information is fine and obviously a good way to build inbound links. Targeting some keywords using appropriate anchor text is also fine, but don’t go overboard. The general rule when it comes to press releases is that anything more than a hyperlink per 100 words of text is on the verge of crossing into spam-world – which is a place you don’t want your reputation to go. Third person narrative only, with the sales pitch limited to a brief quote is the best way to write an effective PR. Distribute to appropriate, industry relevant press release portals – finding the right audience is half the battle.

Effective SEO copywriting is the result of finding the balance between writing for people and writing in a way that search engines understand. Fortunately the two camps are closer now than ever, but despite this, ignoring one side when you write content for your website, blogs, articles or press releases is a dangerous game and probably won’t work in the long term.  If you focus firstly on the user, give a significant nod to the search engines and write about things you are passionate about then you probably won’t go far wrong.

Why not discus this in the SEO forum?