Last updated on August 1st, 2012
We’ve talked here before about how Google’s updates – most recently Penguin – have raised the stakes on content quality in the copywriting world. Between new algorithms and the use of human evaluators, the folks over at Google have made it far more difficult for thin or irrelevant content to gain dominance in search results.
The greatest benefit: it’s much easier for useful, quality copywriting to rise to the top.
Copywriting that hits all of the right keyword notes while maintaining readability requires a delicate balance, but with some adjustments to your writing, you can keep your readers engaged and your sites at the top of the search results.
Eliminate wordiness from your SEO copywriting with a simple writing exercise
Wordiness is the enemy of keywords. Clean, tight copywriting makes the keywords the star, while thin, wordy content buries them behind a minimum word count. Having enough content to support a page and satisfy Google is important, but you should add more words by adding more information, not using unnecessarily long phrasings.
If your SEO copywriting suffers from wordiness syndrome, try this exercise:
- Choose a topic you know well and can write about easily, then write at least 500 words on it.
- Take your metaphorical red pen and start slashing it – without losing any facts or content. The goal is to take your 500 word article down to 350 or fewer words. Good SEO copywriting eliminates needlessly long phrasing like “such as” or “and so on.” If you still need to cut it down, try rearranging some sentences so that they use basic subject-verb-object construction. Don’t lose any keywords in the process.
- Now beef it back up with more information. Go to at least 600 words this time.
- Slash it back down to around 500 words.
You can repeat this copywriting process as many times as you need until you have eliminated all of the extraneous wording. It’s a simple exercise that will clean up your copy and allow your keywords and content room to shine.
Other Posts You May Be Interested In
Copywriting on Tight Deadlines – Telling your Story Part I
Copywriting on Tight Deadlines, Telling your Story Part II
Hooking your Reader – 7 Tips for Great Headlines
11 Steps to Increasing Keyword Saturation while Maintaining Valuable Content