What Is an SEO Copywriter and What Is SEO Copywriting?

Discover how words have the power to improve a website’s ranking

The written word is a key tool for developing any brand. Every business needs to use text to present itself to the world, to connect with potential customers, and strengthen its relationships with users.

Copywriters are content creators who write words and messages for media platforms and brands and speak directly to clients and customers.

In recent years, words have acquired a new purpose when optimizing a website. Nowadays, when it comes to creating texts, there are techniques and strategies that can improve the visibility of a website when a person conducts a relevant search. This is known as SEO, which stands for Search Engine Optimization.

Knowing the rules of SEO and applying them to a website enables a company to increase the organic (in other words, free) traffic they receive from search engines without having to spend money on advertising. This is especially important for those who sell services or products online.

What do SEO and copywriting have to do with each other?

SEO copywriters are experts in creating interesting texts using terms that people often search online. They build content around keywords or a key subject. Then, when a person conducts a search using these terms, the website hosting this content will be ranked higher in Google’s search results. Aside from improving a website's visibility organically, the content an SEO copywriter creates also has to sell a service or communicate information in a way that makes an impact. In other words, their main goals are to reach an audience and sell a product or service.

A good SEO copywriter does two things: firstly, they help search engines to understand what a website is for and what it offers, and whether or not it is useful for their users to visit. Then, when these users reach their text, a good SEO copywriter has the skills to either secure a sale or get the audience to visit a website.

How does text influence ranking?

It works as follows: large search engines "read" the content of a webpage, which is filtered by their algorithms to decide whether it should be included in their search results. Google makes its decision based largely on whether texts are semantically correct, include keywords, and are structured in a certain way.

It is not just a question of creating a text about a certain subject, but also how certain terms are used, knowing how many times these terms have to appear, and how to insert them in a way that seems organic to the reader. The SEO copywriter knows how to do all of this. They also know the importance of metadata–data that tells search engines what a web page is for.

What should you study to become an SEO copywriter?

Today, many marketing and journalism professionals have reinvented themselves as SEO copywriters, working alongside advertising professionals who carry out this role for advertising agencies and media agencies. Increasingly, brands and companies are looking to generate content for their social media channels and blogs. Usually, you will receive basic training in these two fields. You can then opt to specialize in specific techniques.

If you want to learn more about the world of SEO, sign up for the course, Basic Principles of SEO, taught by Natzir Turrado, a tech and strategy consultant.

English version by @eloise_edgington.

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