Save Your Money! Top 5 SEO Copywriting Mistakes

Writing for the Internet is a lot different than writing for print publication. Why is this? Mainly because most of us find content on the Web using search engines. Therefore, in order to get our content recognized by readers and ranked well by these search engines, optimization is key. This technique is called Search Engine Optimization (SEO).

If you are writing content to gain exposure for your business, you want to make it easy for readers to find you and click through to your website to learn more about your product or service. Otherwise, if prospects aren’t finding you,  what is the point of even having a website? What is the point in spending valuable money marketing a product or service that cannot even be found?

Here are the 5 top mistakes to avoid when developing SEO copywriting content:

Mistake #1 Create a boring title

An attention grabbing title will get readers interested in what’s next.  If your title isn’t interesting, who’s to say your content will be? The purpose of the title is to entice readers to explore further. Be sure your title is short and concise, speaking to the audience you are trying to attract. For example, your audience may be store owners looking for tips to improve their window displays. In this case, a title like “Top 10 Tips to Creative Window Displays” would be appealing.

Mistake #2 Develop long boring content

What better way to repel potential customers than with long boring content? Keep your readers interested from beginning to end. Make what you have to say relevent, grammatically correct and to the point. Your paragraphs should be no longer than two to three lines and your overall content should include your personality. Don’t be boring or too technical. Also be sure to include contact information such as your website, email and phone number.

Mistake #3 Create hard to follow content

Readers should easily and immediately understand the point of your content. It may help to include numbered lists or bullets as well as including short paragraphs. Long pages of information can leave readers confused, bored and looking elsewhere for the information they are seeking. 

Mistake #4 Misuse Keywords

The right keywords will get your content noticed by major search engines. It is therefore important to research and know what keywords will get you noticed and how many should be used on each page.

• Do not use keywords more than three or four times per page.
• In additon to your keywords, use their synonyms.
• Be sure your words flow naturally, therefore do not overuse keywords.

Mistake #5 Using Black Hat SEO

Black Hat SEO is the wrong way to cut corners when getting search engines to recognize your content. It is important to note that these techniques can get your content banned and should not be used. Black Hat SEO involves:

• Presenting content in a non visual way (hiding text and links).
• Keyword stuffing.
• Creating fake pages

Avoid these top mistakes to create effective content that will get you noticed and respected.  Developing rich content does take time, however, soon your efforts will be rewarded with traffic and prospects.

Published in Copy writing, Marketing