Optimizing online articles not only helps improve your search engine rankings, it can also increase reader engagement and business growth. That’s why every content team should prioritize strategic search engine optimization (SEO) copywriting to ensure their pages reach as many viewers as possible.

Read on to learn essential tips and best practices to improve your team’s copywriting and boost traffic. Also, discover valuable tools to help identify what readers want. 

What’s SEO copywriting?

The most successful sites boast strong SEO copywriting, which involves crafting content using targeted keywords relevant to your business or services for maximized search performance. 

Search engines use complex algorithms to determine which webpages to display at the top of search engine results pages (SERPs), based on relevance and authoritativeness. Google, for instance, has a three-step process to find and rank websites: 

• Bots crawl the internet to download web page content
• Google analyzes and indexes the content
• Google serves search results based on their indexing

To rank highly, you need to share website content Google considers relevant, authoritative, and helpful to the searcher.

11 tips and best practices for SEO copywriting

Follow these 11 SEO copywriting tips to improve organic search performance and increase reader engagement.

1. Choose effective keywords

Keywords are the terms people use to find answers to their questions. For each article you write, research topical and relevant terms that your target audience might search for. SEO tools like Ahrefs and Keywordtool.io are great resources for finding common search terms. 

Be sure to incorporate keywords early in each article — such as in the title, introduction, and meta description — as search engines prioritize pages that get right to the point.

Worth noting: Search algorithms can detect keyword stuffing (overusing terms in a blatant attempt to rank highly). This practice actually works against you, revealing your content as lower-quality writing. Rather than awkwardly packing in terms, incorporate them naturally into your copy for a pleasant read.

2. Optimize for search intent

Search intent refers to a user’s goal — what they hope to find when submitting a query. Intent typically falls into one of four categories: informational, navigational, transactional, or commercial. 

To capture your audience’s interest, you need to understand why they’re Googling something. For instance, if you’re a marketing agency, you’ll want to appeal to those explicitly searching for informational or transactional keywords around marketing services or techniques. Always align your content with your desired readers’ goals to increase the text’s relevance.

3. Use simple language

Google prioritizes helpful, people-first content — their SEO starter guide says copy should be “well written and easy to follow.” With that in mind, avoid complex jargon throughout your articles and use clear, simple, and concise language instead. For instance, tech writers could replace “CI/CD rollouts” with “faster software updates.” This simpler alternative appeals to a wider audience, encouraging higher engagement.

4. Offer in-depth content

The more time readers spend on your site, the more likely it is to rank well. Search engines often deprioritize web pages with high bounce rates. So, focus on creating relevant, focused, and comprehensive pillar content. This focus keeps readers on your website longer and improves your website’s engagement ranking.

5. Write compelling introductions

On average, website visitors spend about 54 seconds on a page, so it’s important to hook them quickly. Statistics, jokes, or stories are all interesting ways to begin an article. Compelling introductions encourage people to continue reading, reducing bounce rates. 

While Google’s algorithm doesn’t track bounce rates as a specific ranking metric, it does monitor engagement metrics like dwell time — the length of time people spend on a site before returning to the search results page. Hooking readers early and keeping them on your page boosts dwell time, contributing to your overall SERP ranking.

6. Structure articles logically

Following the introduction, the article’s content should flow naturally and incorporate headings, block text, and lists when helpful. For example, formatting the blog title as an H1 and then using H2s, H3s, and H4s (which get increasingly smaller but still stand out compared to normal text) creates a cascading hierarchy. This organization helps search engines and readers understand the content’s structure and each section’s importance. 

This tactic also makes content more scannable, improving accessibility and comprehension. Structuring copy so it’s visually appealing (say, by breaking dense sections up with bulleted lists) keeps people engaged and prevents them from leaving a site too quickly.

7. Use image alt text and captions

If you’re using visuals like photos and videos on your page, it’s important to pair them with alt text and captions. Web crawlers use this information to understand and index the picture’s content. Ultimately, taking these steps tells search engines more about your content, increasing the likelihood they’ll show it to the right audience.

8. Write SEO-focused meta descriptions

Meta descriptions are small snippets of text that appear under a page title within a search result, and they give readers a preview of what the article is about. If you don’t write a meta description, search engines will pull text from your article to put on the results page. 

It’s better to craft these messages yourself so you can write compelling descriptions that people want to click on. Descriptions should be about 150 characters long, so use clear and succinct language to convey your message.

The descriptions themselves don’t directly affect rankings, but they can increase click-through rates and organic traffic. Both of these factors tell search engines your site is useful, which can improve rankings. 

9. Use direct CTAs

Including clear next steps in your calls to action (CTAs), pushes your reader to further engage with your brand. CTAs could encourage someone to visit another article on your site, subscribe to a newsletter, follow a social media account, or purchase a product. The more they engage with your content, the better you’ll rank. 

When writing these messages, use clear directives and focus on the benefits of following through with the request. For instance, “Sign up to learn more” tells readers to input their email addresses to get more information. These CTAs can increase conversions and drive traffic to other parts of your website.

10. Balance SEO with the user experience

As important as it is to improve site rankings, visitors won’t remain on your site for long if it’s difficult to navigate, hard to read, or visually displeasing. Avoid keyword stuffing and stick to your brand and product messaging so visitors get an accurate understanding of who you are and what you offer. Regularly test your site to better understand how you can improve the user experience so people remain on the site longer and interact more often.

11. Monitor and update your content

Once your team publishes an article, measure its performance and traffic data. You can use that information to inform future posts and refine your SEO strategy to accommodate user behavior and algorithmic changes.

During these iterations, ensure your copy stays relevant and up to date. Refreshing previously written copy with new information and more recent references can improve your website’s authority, which search engines assess to rank query results. Plus, readers appreciate current sources with fresh statistics and information.

The best tools for SEO copywriting

Boost your team’s copywriting efforts with these helpful tools:

• Semrush — Semrush assists with SEO practices like on-page SEO, competitor research, and rank tracking.‍
• Ahrefs — Ahrefs offers a suite of SEO tools, including website audits and keyword explorers.‍
• Moz — Moz provides several free SEO features, such as link explorers and metric analysis. The platform also offers a premium plan with more in-depth features.‍
• Google Trends — Provided by Google, the search engine’s trend analytics feature comprehends queries and their popularity over time. SEO copywriters can identify common search terms to inform their topics.‍
• AlsoAsked — This keyword research tool identifies queries related to common search terms, helping generate site traffic by guiding users to content relevant to their initial question.

You can also incorporate AI tools for SEO to optimize content and amplify your brand's online visibility.

Optimize SEO copywriting with Webflow

Copywriting with SEO in mind makes content more useful, gives your site more authority, and improves SERP positions. But before writing articles, you need an engaging website — that’s where Webflow comes in. 

With Webflow’s visual-first composable CMS, your team can easily collaborate and optimize content at scale. Built-in SEO features — like the ability to automatically define title tags and meta descriptions — help your team increase page engagement, performance, and readability.

Unlock your SEO potential with Webflow and start building your dream website today.