SEO copywriting is the practice of writing promotional material (or “copy”) in a way that optimizes it for search engines. Ideally, effective SEO copywriting should help the web page achieve a high search result ranking, while convincing potential customers to buy a product or service. Here are some more details on what SEO copywriting is and how to best apply it.

Some characteristics of SEO copywriting include appropriate keyword density, the use of keywords (or phrases) that people search for, and search engine (SE) optimized formatting. Attractive and SE-friendly META tags should be used. The copywriting must be in text format; it will not be indexed in results if it is inside an image or animation.

Good SEO copywriting doesn’t compromise clarity for the sake of optimization; it is best to avoid redundant or awkward phrases. Even if it is well optimized, poorly-worded copy has some drawbacks with regard to sales. Customers may question the quality of a company’s services or suspect that the words were translated from a foreign language.

Using bold text and/or H1 (large font) tags for important keywords in SEO copy will help search engines identify the web page’s topic, potentially producing higher rankings. These tags shouldn’t be used excessively and only ought to be applied to words directly related to what the page is about. They also must be words or phrases that people actually search for.

What about using links in SEO copywriting? This is acceptable, but they should open in a new window so that readers are less likely to leave the current page. When the link points to a competitor’s web site (perhaps to compare prices or features), consider utilizing the “nofollow” tag/attribute to prevent the link from giving SEO benefits to the other site.

Any images accompanying the copy/text should include relevant ALT tags. Some SE “spiders” take these into account; people with images turned off or text-only web browsers can also see these tags. It is best if the page containing the SEO copywriting is still fully usable and provides all of the necessary information without images.

To sum it up, SEO copywriting emphasizes relevant search keywords and uses search engine optimized formatting to enhance its ranking in non-paid SE results. At the same time, the copy must be persuasive and hold the reader’s interest, which can often be achieved using the same techniques as effective email or print copywriting.