Simple copy hacks to maximise your website performance
We know that great copy forms the foundation of a great website. It engages, nurtures and converts readers into customers.
But your website also needs to attract visitors in the first place. Which is why a working knowledge of SEO is essential if you’re writing your own website copy.
Search engines process billions of search queries every day, directing traffic to websites all around the world. And most people don’t scroll past the first page of their search results.
It’s more important than ever to write content that attracts search engines. Over time, this can improve your organic ranking and attract the right customers.
Here are our simple SEO copywriting tips for improving your website content.
Use targeted keywords
There’s always a lot of debate around keywords and how important they are for search engine ranking. In terms of SEO, keywords are what people enter into their search bar, and Google goes looking for websites that match that search.
But it’s not as simple as adding any keyword to your website. Search engines don’t often deliver one or two relevant pages in their results. There can be hundreds, even thousands of pages that rank for a particular word.
Just think about simple words like ‘hotel’ or ‘restaurant’ and what chance you would have ranking number one in the results. With tough competition, it can be difficult to rank organically.
So, how can you make keywords work for you?
Use keywords that describe the body of your content. You want your site to be easy for Google to crawl and understand its purpose.
Think about using long-tail keywords rather than singular. For example, ‘flamingo-themed hotel with swimming pool’. The combination of terms becomes not only more competitive during a search, but more clearly defines what your content is about.
Think about keywords that answer the questions on your customers’ mind. For example, ‘where can I find remedial massage that bulk bills near me?’ can easily be turned into a keyword phrase for a web page.
Make sure you use a unique keyword for every web page on your site, not the same keyword over and over. You want each page to rank well individually, not compete with one another.
Include unique metadata
Metadata is what describes your web pages to search engines. It’s also the content that displays on a search engine results page (SERPs) and gives people a taste of what your website is about.
For every result, there’s a page title at the top, followed by a brief summary known as a meta description. You need to know how to create these for your website or have a developer add them for you.
Make sure you add your target keyword or phrase into your metadata. You can add it to the page title or description.
Keep your page title between 60–70 characters and your meta descriptions around 130 characters (disclaimer: character length is always being modified so make sure you check the latest specs).
And look, Google may not use your meta description and pull a random snippet from your webpage (I’m pretty sure nobody can tell Google what to do). But at least you can give yourself the best chance to represent your business how you want.
Optimise your images
Many people don’t realise how important images can be for SEO. Visual search is becoming more popular, and with the right images, you could drive extra traffic to your website.
To make sure your images are working for you, here are a few tips:
Use unique and original images that best illustrate to your reader and Google what content is on your page.
Use captions if available and relevant—this is another opportunity to layer your keywords and engage your audience.
Add a filename that describes what the image is and uses your keyword. For example, brisbane-copywriter-at-desk.jpg. You should separate multiple words with dashes, not underscore, to make sure Google recognises the individual words.
Use quality images with high resolution, and be thoughtful about the file type. JPEGs tend to provide the best quality for the smallest file size.
Minimise page loading time by resizing your image to scale. You don’t need a high-pixel image if it will only be displayed small on your website. There are several online tools available to resize and compress your files before use.
Maximise your H1s
Or more plainly, headings. H1s are considered the most important type of heading on a website because:
They are usually the most visible and noteworthy heading on a page
Google crawls H1s and uses them to determine your search engine rank.
Here are some tips to make sure your H1 makes an impact:
Your H1 should clearly and succinctly describe the topic of your page.
Use one H1 per page to make sure that Google doesn’t get confused about your page content.
Use your keyword in your H1, provided it fits in naturally and still provides a good user experience.
Write engaging content
At the end of the day, it’s the actual content that’s most important for SEO, not technical trickery. It’s important that you always write for your reader rather than what pleases search engines.
Engaging with your audience will keep them reading, revisiting and sharing your content with others. And without copy that converts, there’s no point driving traffic to your site in the first place.
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If you’re looking for brand-focused copy that can generate search engine leads, why not get in touch?