SEO
4 SEO Copywriting Tips For Sharper, More Effective Copy
I can’t remember the last time a website I worked on was delayed for technical reasons.
It’s never the coding that causes delays.
It’s always the copy.
Everyone thinks they can write copy until they are presented with a blank page.
The people in your organization may be subject matter experts – but that doesn’t mean they can meet a copywriting deadline.
Copywriting is hard.
Writing copy that is SEO friendly can be intimidating.
But even novice SEO copywriters can make a huge difference by doing a few simple things.
1. Target 2–3 Keywords Or Keyword Phrases
Many new SEO copywriters make the mistake of targeting too many keywords or keyword phrases on a page.
In my experience, if you are trying to target more than two to three keyword phrases on a single page, your copy will sound scattered.
Focused copy is typically the best sales copy.
And even in long-form pieces, targeting too many keywords – especially non-related keywords – results in copy that doesn’t grab the reader.
Copy that is not focused does not move the reader to the desired action – in other words, the conversion.
I recently was part of a Twitter conversation where the participants were lambasting a conference speaker for saying that a blog post should be 2,500 words.
The conference speaker may be right.
The conference speaker may be wrong.
There is no “magic word count” number that a post should be.
Your content should be as long as it needs to answer your site visitors’ questions adequately.
If you can answer the question in 50 words, you may only need 50 words on that page.
As long as both site visitors and search engine robots can determine the page’s context, you should be golden.
No need to count your words.
Your visitors don’t care about the length of your blog post.
And contrary to some conference speaker opinions, Google doesn’t care how long your post is either.
Writing copy that is too “big for its britches” tends to be unfocused.
Long-form copy is great for customers looking for information or at the top of the buying funnel.
But visitors ready to buy or become a lead have most likely done their homework.
Rehashing information they already know is more likely to cause the visitor to lose focus, leave, and not become a sale or lead.
But even the most grizzled copywriting pros benefit from targeting just a couple of keyword phrases in their writing.
The writing tends to become crisper and more focused.
And it tends to convert better.
2. Break Up Your Copy
Large walls of words can be intimidating on a web page.
When a visitor encounters a page that is nothing but pixels and pixels of copy, it can be off-putting enough to procrastinate, thus causing the visitor to leave the page.
Using graphic elements such as bulleted or numbers lists, pull quotes, ample images, etc.
Webmasters can turn intimidating-looking walls of words into attractive web pages that actually convert visitors into buyers.
I’ve seen a page go from not converting anyone into anything to sales machines merely by making simple adjustments to the formatting of the page.
One thing that baffles me is the reluctance of B2B marketers to put any images of a living, breathing human being on their page.
We know that images of smiling, happy people typically increase conversion rates on B2C pages, but we forget that B2B customers are merely B2B consumers at work.
But do I know that an image of a real, happy smiling customer will increase the conversion rate of your blog post?
No, I do not.
In fact, I’d want to test several combinations of graphic tweaks on a wall of words to figure out what works.
The other day some fellow agency owners and I were talking about the unique selling points of our agency.
My friend said he thought his agency may have performed more A/B tests than any other agency currently in business today.
In my opinion, that’s an amazing selling proposition.
He certainly knows that images of smiling, happy people aren’t just for consumer products anymore.
3. Keep Your Keywords On A Post-it Note
Everyone knows when you are watching your weight, one of the most beneficial things you can do is track your caloric intake.
When writing copy with an SEO focus, it’s important to keep track of the words you are writing.
Specifically, it’s important to understand how frequently you use your keyword phrase throughout your copy.
Just as with the overall word count, there isn’t a hard and fast limit on how many times you can use a keyword in a specific piece of copy.
Novice SEO writers tend to stuff the copy full of keywords, so it reads like a repetitive catalog entry.
This is not the way.
The copy must make sense to the end consumer.
The copy needs to appeal to the search engine robots, so they know what the content is about, but the context doesn’t need to be telegraphed.
You don’t have to hit the search engine over the head with signals that a page is about a certain keyword phrase.
Anecdotal, I tell writers to try to include each targeted phrase in a block of copy at least two times.
But there are many times it makes sense to use a phrase more than two times.
I would caution just using a keyword phrase one time.
For phrases that aren’t as competitive, with other signals, you can rank a page with just one keyword phrase mention, but more often, it takes more than just one mention.
But that brings in the post-it note.
When creating SEO copy, I write my keywords down on a post-it note that I place beside my keyboard.
As I write the copy, I make check marks for each keyword phrase as I use it.
But I try not to count the keyword phrases as I write the first draft.
I just put down a checkmark every time I use the phrase.
Once I finish my first draft, I read through it to make sure it makes sense and I count my keyword mentions to make sure I’ve gotten everything in.
If everything isn’t included, or if I found that the copy didn’t flow around the targeted keywords, I re-organize and start again.
It can be a frustrating process at first, but eventually, you’ll get to where you can just make tweaks to the draft to go live with a final version.
4. Read The Copy Out Loud
When in doubt, read your copy out loud.
If you still aren’t sure, read it aloud to someone else.
When you read the copy out loud, you aren’t necessarily looking for ways to make the copy better – it should be good by the time it gets to this point.
Reading the copy aloud helps SEO specialists and Webmasters understand if the copy flows.
When we try to stick a round peg into a square hole, it doesn’t fit.
The same is true when we try to target a keyword on a page where the context doesn’t match the intent of the targeted phrase.
Reading copy out loud will almost always uncover if a page is over-stuffed with keywords.
What we find is that you can actually fit a lot more keywords into the copy than you think – and the flow still works.
Usually, by reading the copy out loud we find at least one to two more instances where we could logically use a keyword phrase in the copy.
In Conclusion
There are simple steps any copywriter can take to make their content more SEO friendly.
And those steps don’t take years of training to perfect.
Always be testing, and realize that if the search engines understand the copy’s context and users are persuaded to take some sort of desired action, you are golden.
More resources:
Featured Image: YoloStock/Shutterstock
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SEO
brightonSEO Live Blog
Hello everyone. It’s April again, so I’m back in Brighton for another two days of Being the introvert I am, my idea of fun isn’t hanging around our booth all day explaining we’ve run out of t-shirts (seriously, you need to be fast if you want swag!). So I decided to do something useful and live-blog the event instead.
Follow below for talk takeaways and (very) mildly humorous commentary. sun, sea, and SEO!
SEO
Google Further Postpones Third-Party Cookie Deprecation In Chrome
Google has again delayed its plan to phase out third-party cookies in the Chrome web browser. The latest postponement comes after ongoing challenges in reconciling feedback from industry stakeholders and regulators.
The announcement was made in Google and the UK’s Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) joint quarterly report on the Privacy Sandbox initiative, scheduled for release on April 26.
Chrome’s Third-Party Cookie Phaseout Pushed To 2025
Google states it “will not complete third-party cookie deprecation during the second half of Q4” this year as planned.
Instead, the tech giant aims to begin deprecating third-party cookies in Chrome “starting early next year,” assuming an agreement can be reached with the CMA and the UK’s Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO).
The statement reads:
“We recognize that there are ongoing challenges related to reconciling divergent feedback from the industry, regulators and developers, and will continue to engage closely with the entire ecosystem. It’s also critical that the CMA has sufficient time to review all evidence, including results from industry tests, which the CMA has asked market participants to provide by the end of June.”
Continued Engagement With Regulators
Google reiterated its commitment to “engaging closely with the CMA and ICO” throughout the process and hopes to conclude discussions this year.
This marks the third delay to Google’s plan to deprecate third-party cookies, initially aiming for a Q3 2023 phaseout before pushing it back to late 2024.
The postponements reflect the challenges in transitioning away from cross-site user tracking while balancing privacy and advertiser interests.
Transition Period & Impact
In January, Chrome began restricting third-party cookie access for 1% of users globally. This percentage was expected to gradually increase until 100% of users were covered by Q3 2024.
However, the latest delay gives websites and services more time to migrate away from third-party cookie dependencies through Google’s limited “deprecation trials” program.
The trials offer temporary cookie access extensions until December 27, 2024, for non-advertising use cases that can demonstrate direct user impact and functional breakage.
While easing the transition, the trials have strict eligibility rules. Advertising-related services are ineligible, and origins matching known ad-related domains are rejected.
Google states the program aims to address functional issues rather than relieve general data collection inconveniences.
Publisher & Advertiser Implications
The repeated delays highlight the potential disruption for digital publishers and advertisers relying on third-party cookie tracking.
Industry groups have raised concerns that restricting cross-site tracking could push websites toward more opaque privacy-invasive practices.
However, privacy advocates view the phaseout as crucial in preventing covert user profiling across the web.
With the latest postponement, all parties have more time to prepare for the eventual loss of third-party cookies and adopt Google’s proposed Privacy Sandbox APIs as replacements.
Featured Image: Novikov Aleksey/Shutterstock
SEO
How To Write ChatGPT Prompts To Get The Best Results
ChatGPT is a game changer in the field of SEO. This powerful language model can generate human-like content, making it an invaluable tool for SEO professionals.
However, the prompts you provide largely determine the quality of the output.
To unlock the full potential of ChatGPT and create content that resonates with your audience and search engines, writing effective prompts is crucial.
In this comprehensive guide, we’ll explore the art of writing prompts for ChatGPT, covering everything from basic techniques to advanced strategies for layering prompts and generating high-quality, SEO-friendly content.
Writing Prompts For ChatGPT
What Is A ChatGPT Prompt?
A ChatGPT prompt is an instruction or discussion topic a user provides for the ChatGPT AI model to respond to.
The prompt can be a question, statement, or any other stimulus to spark creativity, reflection, or engagement.
Users can use the prompt to generate ideas, share their thoughts, or start a conversation.
ChatGPT prompts are designed to be open-ended and can be customized based on the user’s preferences and interests.
How To Write Prompts For ChatGPT
Start by giving ChatGPT a writing prompt, such as, “Write a short story about a person who discovers they have a superpower.”
ChatGPT will then generate a response based on your prompt. Depending on the prompt’s complexity and the level of detail you requested, the answer may be a few sentences or several paragraphs long.
Use the ChatGPT-generated response as a starting point for your writing. You can take the ideas and concepts presented in the answer and expand upon them, adding your own unique spin to the story.
If you want to generate additional ideas, try asking ChatGPT follow-up questions related to your original prompt.
For example, you could ask, “What challenges might the person face in exploring their newfound superpower?” Or, “How might the person’s relationships with others be affected by their superpower?”
Remember that ChatGPT’s answers are generated by artificial intelligence and may not always be perfect or exactly what you want.
However, they can still be a great source of inspiration and help you start writing.
Must-Have GPTs Assistant
I recommend installing the WebBrowser Assistant created by the OpenAI Team. This tool allows you to add relevant Bing results to your ChatGPT prompts.
This assistant adds the first web results to your ChatGPT prompts for more accurate and up-to-date conversations.
It is very easy to install in only two clicks. (Click on Start Chat.)
For example, if I ask, “Who is Vincent Terrasi?,” ChatGPT has no answer.
With WebBrower Assistant, the assistant creates a new prompt with the first Bing results, and now ChatGPT knows who Vincent Terrasi is.
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023You can test other GPT assistants available in the GPTs search engine if you want to use Google results.
Master Reverse Prompt Engineering
ChatGPT can be an excellent tool for reverse engineering prompts because it generates natural and engaging responses to any given input.
By analyzing the prompts generated by ChatGPT, it is possible to gain insight into the model’s underlying thought processes and decision-making strategies.
One key benefit of using ChatGPT to reverse engineer prompts is that the model is highly transparent in its decision-making.
This means that the reasoning and logic behind each response can be traced, making it easier to understand how the model arrives at its conclusions.
Once you’ve done this a few times for different types of content, you’ll gain insight into crafting more effective prompts.
Prepare Your ChatGPT For Generating Prompts
First, activate the reverse prompt engineering.
- Type the following prompt: “Enable Reverse Prompt Engineering? By Reverse Prompt Engineering I mean creating a prompt from a given text.”
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023ChatGPT is now ready to generate your prompt. You can test the product description in a new chatbot session and evaluate the generated prompt.
- Type: “Create a very technical reverse prompt engineering template for a product description about iPhone 11.”
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023The result is amazing. You can test with a full text that you want to reproduce. Here is an example of a prompt for selling a Kindle on Amazon.
- Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {product), capture the writing style and the length of the text :
product =”
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023I tested it on an SEJ blog post. Enjoy the analysis – it is excellent.
- Type: “Reverse Prompt engineer the following {text}, capture the tone and writing style of the {text} to include in the prompt :
text = all text coming from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/google-bard-training-data/478941/”
Screenshot from ChatGPT, March 2023But be careful not to use ChatGPT to generate your texts. It is just a personal assistant.
Go Deeper
Prompts and examples for SEO:
- Keyword research and content ideas prompt: “Provide a list of 20 long-tail keyword ideas related to ‘local SEO strategies’ along with brief content topic descriptions for each keyword.”
- Optimizing content for featured snippets prompt: “Write a 40-50 word paragraph optimized for the query ‘what is the featured snippet in Google search’ that could potentially earn the featured snippet.”
- Creating meta descriptions prompt: “Draft a compelling meta description for the following blog post title: ’10 Technical SEO Factors You Can’t Ignore in 2024′.”
Important Considerations:
- Always Fact-Check: While ChatGPT can be a helpful tool, it’s crucial to remember that it may generate inaccurate or fabricated information. Always verify any facts, statistics, or quotes generated by ChatGPT before incorporating them into your content.
- Maintain Control and Creativity: Use ChatGPT as a tool to assist your writing, not replace it. Don’t rely on it to do your thinking or create content from scratch. Your unique perspective and creativity are essential for producing high-quality, engaging content.
- Iteration is Key: Refine and revise the outputs generated by ChatGPT to ensure they align with your voice, style, and intended message.
Additional Prompts for Rewording and SEO:
– Rewrite this sentence to be more concise and impactful.
– Suggest alternative phrasing for this section to improve clarity.
– Identify opportunities to incorporate relevant internal and external links.
– Analyze the keyword density and suggest improvements for better SEO.
Remember, while ChatGPT can be a valuable tool, it’s essential to use it responsibly and maintain control over your content creation process.
Experiment And Refine Your Prompting Techniques
Writing effective prompts for ChatGPT is an essential skill for any SEO professional who wants to harness the power of AI-generated content.
Hopefully, the insights and examples shared in this article can inspire you and help guide you to crafting stronger prompts that yield high-quality content.
Remember to experiment with layering prompts, iterating on the output, and continually refining your prompting techniques.
This will help you stay ahead of the curve in the ever-changing world of SEO.
More resources:
Featured Image: Tapati Rinchumrus/Shutterstock
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