When starting a copywriting project for our clients, I am often provided with keywords and phrases which the client would like used for SEO purposes. Sometimes these words and phrases are relatively simple to weave into a quality blog post or article, but other times the phrase is not so amenable. Worse, the chosen 
phrases can make no grammatical sense whatsoever leading to clunky, unfriendly sentences which spoil the article in general.
As a service provider, I am duty bound to fulfill the wishes of clients, but I also offer advice when I suspect that the quality of the finished copy is at stake. Here are three things I suggest will help ensure your website is stocked with tip-top content, rather than something which reads as though it has come straight out of a content mill:
1. Quality trumps keywords
Keywords may help attract the attention of search engines, but the same is not necessarily true of website visitors. Focus on delivering quality content and readers are much more likely to pass your links on to their contacts, helping to raise your profile and reputation in the process. Search engines rankings are not as convincing or persuasive to real people as a well written article.
2. Limit the number of keywords
I recognise the importance of keywords but advise clients that keywords are best used sparingly to ensure copy reads well. Choose a key phrase or two and stick to that. If you want to cover more keywords, then save them for another web page or blog post (I can write as many as you like after all!). Approaching keywords in this way helps your copy remain more reader-friendly and feels less like a sales pitch at Google.
3. Choose the right keywords
It might sound obvious, but rather than creating an article into which are crammed loads of different keywords, try choosing the most pertinent phrases and sticking with them. Pick those which best relate to your product and services and I will then optimise content around these. Your content is instantly more focused and meaningful to your readers, boosting the chances of a successful conversion exponentially.
My key piece of advice is always think of your reader. Search engines may help increase websites clicks, but compelling, readable copy is what actually equates to sales. So if you would like a hand creating content people actually want to read and pass on, why not avail yourself of my copywriting services?
You can get hold of us using our nifty contact form. And you can read more about why I refuse to write “SEO copy” here.
