If you’re a business with a website, then you’ll probably have heard the term ‘SEO’ bandied about. You’ll probably also have a strong opinion on this and may like the fact that the latest ‘word on the street’ says that SEO has had it.
Hmm, somebody had better tell Google then.
There’s an interesting article with a round-up of recent SEO statistics here, which you can peruse at your leisure, but suffice it to say:
SEO matters.
Keywords matter.
Headings matter.
SEO, or Search Engine Optimisation, does exactly what it says on the tin – it optimises i.e. improves the visibility of your website online. Quality content subsequently goes hand in hand with SEO and without it, your website and therefore your business, will suffer.
Of course, stuffing your text with keyword after keyword won’t help either. You might think that it would, but Google’s smart. It’s suspicious of forced content like this – it likes you to put in the effort and will actually penalise sites which look like they’re purposefully overloading their web pages with keywords to increase their rankings.
So, what’s the solution?
First of all – think about how you create your online content, be it business blogs, web content or anything else. Do any of the following apply to you?
– Copywriting is done in-house
– Online content is rarely updated
– Content is written organically/au natural
– Web copy is over-stuffed with keywords
– Headings? What headings?
They’re just a few pointers, but worth, er, pointing out…
Copywriting done in-house is great if you have professionally trained copywriters who know what they’re doing. If not, then this won’t do you any favours.
If you rarely update your website or blog (or if you don’t have a blog), then this too will not go in your favour. Google, as I always remind everyone, loves fresh, quality content. The more you post, the more Google rankings you’ll have. If the copy is well written, optimised for the web (that’s your SEO again) and engaging readers, then that’s also great. You’ll rank well. Google will be pleased. So should you be.
When it comes to creating content, Google likes to see that you’ve made the effort to deserve improved visibility. Update your site with quality copy which contains researched keywords (but isn’t stuffed to the hilt with them), post blogs with similarly well thought-out content and SEO, and use relevant headings and meta data, and you’re onto a winner. The copy must read well – read naturally – and this is where some people have decided that SEO no longer matters. The simple truth is: you must create compelling writing that threads in those keywords and phrases and doesn’t overdo it. You can’t have one without the other if you want to succeed online.
You may be the biggest brand in the country, but if your site has poor or no SEO, then don’t count on people finding you easily.
So, what do you need to do?
– Create quality content that’s informative, fresh, useful and relevant to your readership
– Use clearly identified keywords and phrases within the copy
– Write clear headings which incorporate keywords
– Create meta data
– Get your web pages edited/re-written if you have poor SEO
– Let your customers know on every page what you can do for them
For SEO to work, you mustn’t create content with just this in mind, nor should you just write content that’s interesting but isn’t optimised for search engines. Ultimately, when it comes to copywriting, SEO still very much matters, but it’s part of the bigger copywriting picture, so to succeed online, you’ve got to have it all.