Copywriting & SEO – How To Combine Them Successfully

While search engine optimization is one of the most popular methods of online marketing, there may come a time when you need to enlist the help of another to present your information in the best way possible. A website copywriter or SEO copywriter aids a wide range of clients, including webmasters, business owners, marketing managers, and individuals looking to launch their own personal endeavors across the Internet.

When it comes time to select and hire a copywriter for your site, careful preparation and effective relationship-building helps client and copywriter come to a better understanding regarding a website. Below you will find some of the things to consider when choosing the best copywriter for your needs:

1) SEO Understanding

If your SEO copywriter is not well versed in the ways of search engine optimization, then you will not enjoy a long and prosperous business relationship. A good copywriter should recognize that ranking is an essential part of the process and is influenced by inbound links (signifies importance) and keywords (identifies the relevance of a website). While there are plenty of other factors to take into consideration, if your SEO copywriter is unfamiliar with keywords and inbound links – you're going to have problems.

2) Experience

This isn’t the time to hire someone trying to get their feet wet in the business when you are putting all your hopes and dreams into the success of your online marketing campaign. While some SEO copywriters speak a good one, they have to be able to meet your expectations. Asking for sample websites of work they have done in the past is a good way to judge the kind of job you will receive if you decide to hire them.

Crosscheck the ranking of sites to see how well they were able to boost the popularity of previous assignments. The diamond in the rough is the SEO copywriter that is experienced in both keywords and link generation that is also able to write well.

3) Understanding of Keywords

A website that is filled with too many targeted keywords will fail, as it weakens relevancy and decreases the level of readability. Test your SEO copywriter by asking them how many keywords they recommend you should target per page. If they suggest no more than three with emphasis on two – then you have found a winner, but if they answer with "however many you want," you should take it as a sign of inexperience.

4) Clear Arrangements

When it comes to providing keywords, there needs to be a clear agreement as to who will perform a keyword analysis and who will determine the kind of words to target a high ranking. While a decent SEO copywriter should be more than capable of completing this task, someone else you trust should take on this task, as it will turn out to be cost-effective in the end.

Overall, an agreement with your SEO copywriter should be made so there is no confusion as to who will take on this part of the process. Some website owners make the mistake of assuming their copywriter is responsible for this, but this is not always the case.

5) The Issue of Specific Keywords

A SEO copywriter should be able to offer sound advice as to how specific you should approach your keywords. Within the industry, the competition regarding keywords increases with each year, which depending on the subject matter of your website – could force you to concentrate on extremely specific keywords if you wish to rank in search engines.

For example, if your website focuses on dog grooming, you should already know (without a copywriter telling you) that targeting the word 'dog' is not a good idea. Instead, you may want to specifically target something like "dog grooming kits inexpensive." Your SEO copywriter should help point you in the right direction.

6) Word Count Agreements

Before a SEO copywriter begins an assignment for you, you must be specific in certain aspects of the job. This is especially true when it comes to how many words you wish to have on each page. Some clients often meet with their copywriters to iron out the details regarding how many words are too much. This part of the process is influenced by the kind of industry a website represents, the main goal of the page, and the needs of interested parties. High ranks usually focus on only 100 to 200 words per page. If a copywriter tries to persuade you into using more – this is a sign they are trying to swindle you or are simply inexperienced.

7) Density

When it comes to SEO, there is no guesswork involved. An effective SEO copywriter is familiar with density measures and should mention this part of the process to you. Density simply deals with the number of times a keyword phrase appears on the page. The final results are calculated as a percentage of the total word count of the page.

Therefore, a page consisting of 100 words with a keyword phrase that appears 10 times is 10%. This is way too much for effective copywriting, as most writers aim to keep the density around 5% for a primary keyword phrase and 3% to 5% for secondary keywords. Density measures any higher will only detract from the readability of the page. Certain search engines also perceive this tactic as spam. This is an important part of SEO and your copywriter must be clear on the ins and outs of targeting effective keyword densities.

8) Keyword Placement

SEO copywriters will approach the topic of keyword placement in many different ways and the issue is often debated within search engine optimization circles. Most people believe that keywords are most effective when they appear in bolded text, headings, links, and positioned towards the beginning of a page.

9) Don't Be Fooled

Since SEO copywriters possess the power to greatly affect search engine rankings, a lot of writers may include hype or over-the-top promises to potential clients. Don’t be fooled, as a copywriter does not have the capacity to dramatically increase your ranking in a couple of hours or days.

Overall, an SEO copywriter offers a great chance to boost your marketing dreams, but it is important to select one that makes the best fit in regards to your needs, requirements, and website goals.