Please don’t freak out, but…we’re going to talk about SEO.
More specifically, website SEO.
Because if you’re going to have a website, and invest alllll that time, money, full body sobs, and brain cells into getting the thing launched, you might as well make sure the search engines know what the heck it’s for.
SEO is the abbreviation for search engine optimization, which is a fancy way of saying: “make my website find-able for people looking for my services.”
Here’s where the whole “be clear not clever” line is spot on. It can be easy to negate communicating to the search engine in one’s mission of speaking to humans.
But there is a way to balance both, I assure you.
How To Appease the Search Engine So Your Website Gets Found
A helpful analogy is to think of your website like a book in a library. That library follows a standard procedure of categorizing, filing, and sorting its books and so, you want to make damn sure you’re labeled correctly.
Start by identifying the main search term you want a particular page to be associated with.
For example, if you’re someone who writes website copy, your main search focus might look something like this:
Homepage: website copywriter
Website Copy Services: website copywriting services
Blog: website SEO, website copywriting, etc.
But search engines don’t stop at the title of the book.
Align Your Website Copy to Support Your Keyword or Phrase
You want to make sure that the content on your website support the keyword by including information that’s relevant to that topic.
For example, a website copywriter would want to include information on website copywriting services, pricing, client testimonials that support those services, and blog articles on website copywriting queries.
All of these pieces support the keyword and tell the search engine, “See? I told ya so.”
The more consistently and accurately you support your keyword claim, the more credible your website becomes, and the more likely it is to be shown to browsers looking for what you offer.
Optimizing Your Website Makes It More Buyer-Friendly
Is this a hot take? I don’t know, you tell me. I’ve audited enough websites and messaging documents to know that. sometimes, we lose the plot. Meaning, we try to make things overly clever, cheeky, or off-the-cuff, that we lose sight of what it is we’re promising people. Whether it’s naming service packages with titles that are undeniably fun, but generally confusing.
Especially, if someone is landing on your website fresh from a Google search. The assumption, especially with modern marketing, is that people will consume our social content before going to our website. And while most of the time, that may be true, I find it’s best practice to assume anyone landing on your website doesn’t necessarily know who you are.
Now, this isn’t to say you shouldn’t be yourself. It just means, make sure your objective (why you have a business in the first place) and your point (what you’re trying to communicate to your audience) doesn’t get lost in the bit.
How to Balance Communicating to a Search Engine and Speaking to a Human
If you’re a business owner offering services, packages, and buyable things to your audience through your website, it’s shockingly easy to naturally weave relevant words into your copy without compromising your personality, cadence, or charm.
That’s because you don’t want to just stuff the keyword everywhere. But you do want to put it where it makes sense.
For example, a website copywriter would naturally have what they do in their meta title, meta description, and the main headline (H1), on their homepage.
They’d also likely mention it when describing their services, who they are, and in their closing section when they’re reminding the browser why they’re there in the first place.
The misconception is that in order to make your website “SEO-Primed” you’ve got to repeat your keyword or phrase a million times, but the truth is, you just have to make sure it’s obvious your website has the relevant information it’s saying it has.
Structure Your Website Copy to Be SEO-friendly.
Lean in. Each website page gets ONE main headline (H1), okay?
Subsequent headings are (H2), (H3), and so on.
Your headings need to follow that order. You don’t have to have H3’s, H4’s, etc. But you can’t put an H3 before an H2.
Think of it like stacking those rainbow plastic rings you might have seen at the dentist. You have to follow the correct order, otherwise, they won’t all fit on the white spike.
What you put within that structure is also important.
Use the headlines to tell the overarching story of the page. Basically, if someone is skimming your website, they should be able to walk themselves through the main points simply by reading those headlines.
Think of the search engine like a giant light, scanning the sea, and your website copy structure as a series of rocks poking their heads out of the waves. The headlines are the big rocks and the first thing that search light is going to see. So when you’re telling the search engine that your site is about “website copy” it’s going to be checking out those rocks to see if you’re telling the truth.
Don’t Let SEO-Awareness Deter You From Getting Your Website Copy Written
This is a lot of extra information to have swimming in your head whilst trying to write deliciously clever, on-brand, enticing, website copy for your audience. So, don’t bother.
You heard me.
Get that first draft out, then edit.
[Download Your SEO-Checklist for Zero Dollars HERE]
Honestly, that works for everything. Make it exist first, and then make it better, and better, and better.
And if you want expert guidance getting your website copy written, I’ve got resources for you:
Do It Yourself with The Editorial Studio;
Get a strategic website copy audit by a professional website copywriter; or
Hire a professional website copywriter to write SEO-informed website copy in your voice.
Happy writing!
