Search engine optimization copywriting

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Copywriting is textual composition for web page marketing that emphasizes skillful manipulation of the page’s wording to place it among the first results of auser‘s search list, while still producing readable and persuasive content.

The text appearing at specific locations, such as in the title tag and the Meta Tag of the page’s code, gets special attention during SEO, because search engines compare information found there with other pages to determine relevance. However, SEO copywriters also strive for unique written content on the page, distinguishing it from similar pages competing for placement in the search results. Other factors that determine relevance during a search are the page’s Keyword Density, the placement of the keywords, and the number of links to and from the page from other pages.

SEO copywriting is most often one of the various jobs of a copywriter. However, there are freelance copywriters who hire out their services solely for SEO, agencies and firms that specialize in SEO (including SEO copywriting), and copywriting agencies that offer SEO copywriting as part of comprehensive writing and editing services.

While an obvious goal of SEO copywriting is to cause the business’s or product’s web page to rank highly in a search, most experts in the field would argue that it is of secondary priority. The foremost goal of SEO copywriting is to produce succinct, effectively persuasive text for a well-written web page. Writing that “optimizes” a search, but which offers little useful information or only weak persuasion, is frowned upon in the profession as at best ineffective. At its worst, it becomes a costly resource inducing potential buyers to turn away from the site rather than generating sales.

SEO copywriters often work with “optimizers” who are more expert in the technical aspects of SEO. Together they will not only rewrite text but also alter the code to design a page that is most favored by search engines. It is not a clear, scientific process, however. Attempting to keep themselves competitive and defending against the composition strategies of so-called black hat SEOs, search engine designers today do not disclose the complex algorithmic processes of their search engines. In spite of the insights of optimizing technicians, SEO copywriting requires finesse and repeated experimentation to assess how the team’s page revisions will fare in a potential customer’s search.

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