SEO Copywriting Tips For Small Businesses 

You might have a limited budget, but don’t let that stop you from doing effective SEO copywriting that attracts new customers. 

Occasionally, you’ve come across the opinion that SEO is for the big boys. The notion goes that if you don’t have a budget to splurge, optimizing your content for SEO is pointless.

Well, is it? 

My years of SEO copywriting experience tell a different story. Small businesses stand a chance against the big boys if they can play it smart. The reward is often fulfilling, as the SEO game eventually draws search traffic consistently to your business without relying on ads. 

All it takes is writing, studying your customers, and understanding the fundamentals of SEO. 

Amid SEO lies content or specifically great content. Without great content, it’s almost impossible to rank your website on Google, regardless of other SEO efforts. This highlights the importance of SEO copywriting and why small business owners should at least know how to optimize blog articles, landing pages, or product pages for SEO. 

In this article, I’ll show you what SEO copywriting is all about and how you can start optimizing your business websites immediately. 

What is SEO copywriting? 

SEO copywriting is a process of writing text-based content that not only ranks on search engines but also engages the readers. The term consists of SEO and copywriting. SEO is search engine optimization – a collective implementation of strategies that increases the chance of a website gaining better search visibility. 

Meanwhile, copywriting consists of writing techniques relevant to marketing and sales material. A copywriter is more than an individual that writes grammatically-perfect content; but also one who understands human behavior and the marketing funnel. Copywriters know how to generate interest and keep the readers on your website. 

SEO copywriting is both a science and art. It combines SEO strategies, writing style, and effective communication with readers. The task might often involve storytelling, and there’s no better person than you to convey what your business stands for to the customers. 

How Should Small Businesses Approach SEO Copywriting?

Rather than mimicking the SEO strategy of a large corporation, small businesses should take a different approach to get the most out of their efforts. In other words, your SEO copywriting strategy must target hidden and overlooked opportunities. You give your customers what they want on the search engine but with better, well-written content. 

I’ll explain the crucial steps to optimize your website’s content for SEO. 

Conduct keyword research

Keyword research is about finding search phrases that your customers use on search engines for specific information, products, or services. For example, a wellness enthusiast may search for ‘yoga’ on Google. 

Now, a keyword that consists of one or two words is called a generic keyword. Usually, large brands rank for generic keywords. It isn’t wise for you to try and outrank these well-financed corporations for such keywords. 

Besides, targeting generic or short tail keywords might not lead to high conversion. This is because it’s hard to predict the buyer’s search intent when they search for ‘yoga’. They might be searching for a yoga class nearby or researching yoga’s history.

Go for the long-tails. 

You’ll want to focus on spotting long-tail keywords. Look for keywords that contain 4 or more words that your customers might search on the internet. These keywords often have low competition, are easier to rank, and have clearer buyer’s intent.

For example, ‘best yoga stretches for lower back pain’ is an excellent long-tail keyword. Based on the keyword research tool, people are searching for this keyword an average of 120 times per month. It is also relatively easy to rank based on the SEO score. 

You can also use the same approach when targeting keywords. For example, a yoga studio in Battersea wants to target ‘yoga classes in London’. But doing so might put the business in direct competition with other established studios that are promoting their businesses online.

Instead, be specific on what types of yoga classes you’re offering. For example, ‘yoga classes for beginners in London’ is more specific and less competitive. 

Here’s how to find low-competition keywords with SEO tools.

1. Sign up for a keyword research tool. ( I use Jaaxy, but I recommend KWFinder if you’re targeting local search phrases. )
2. Enter a search phrase that your customer might use.
3. Check out the search traffic and keyword difficulty for the keyword. You’ll want a long-tail keyword that people are searching for and are not overly difficult to rank. 
4. List all the keywords on a spreadsheet. 

Optimize existing content and write new ones

Being a small business, you might have written some content on your website. Be it product pages, blog articles, case studies, or other types of content, don’t let them go to waste. While drumming up new content ideas sounds exciting, you’ll want to revisit past content and optimize them.

Optimizing existing content can produce faster results than ranking new SEO-optimized articles. Step into your customer’s shoes and read the past content. Does the text add value to your experience on the webpage? Are they helpful in solving a problem or helping the customer make an informed buying decision? 

Satisfy your buyer’s need

Whether you’re writing new content or optimizing old ones, it’s essential to understand what your buyers are looking for. In the fancy words of SEO, you’ll want to ensure that the written piece meets the buyer’s search intent.

For example, if a customer is searching for ‘yoga techniques for beginners’, your webpage should contain descriptive text, video, and images of yoga pose for a new practitioner. If you turn it into a marketing pitch for online yoga courses, the webpage won’t rank despite bearing the targetted keyword. 

Ideally, you’ll want to include your personal opinion to create a sense of authoritativeness. Google and other search engines prefer unique content instead of rehashed information from the internet. 

Optimize On-page SEO

There are many aspects of SEO, but some do not require technical skills or months of in-depth learning. As the term implies, on-page SEO involves techniques you can perform directly when writing web content. 

When writing copies for your business website, pay attention to these elements:

Meta title and description

These are HTML tags or codes that the browser uses to understand the content within a webpage. The title tag is a minor ranking factor for Google. Meanwhile, meta description ceased to be a ranking factor but remains relevant in drawing search traffic to your website. Google might display the meta description on the search result or automatically use part of the content if you don’t provide any. 

Two important things about optimizing meta title and description. Length and keywords.

• Keep title tags to a limit of 60 characters and the description 160. If you go beyond these limits, they might be truncated on the search result. I use metatags.io to ensure that I stay within these limits when optimizing meta tags. 
• The title tag for product pages and blog posts should include the targetted keyword and describes the underlying content naturally. For the homepage, you can have your business’s tagline or related keywords in the title tag. 

Once you’ve written the meta tags, you need to insert them into a new or existing web page. 

If you use WordPress or an interactive web builder like Wix, you can modify the meta title and description. Otherwise, let your web developer know that you need those tags inserted into the web page. 

Headings

Instead of publishing rows of continuous text, use headings to break the article into small chunks of easily digestible paragraphs. With a decreasing attention span, consumers might not have the patience to read through endless lines of text to seek what they want. Also, some people would want to skim through an article when they’re in a hurry. 

So, use headings like what I’m doing to deliver various points across the article. As a rule of thumb, I limit the content for each heading to 200 -300 words. Most people tend to feel lost when the content exceeds the threshold. A well-structured webpage with proper use of headings is also easier to rank on Google. 

Internal links

Internal links are links that direct readers to another of your web pages. It differs from external links, which take users from your website to a 3rd party website. 

According to Google, internal link helps the search engine to understand how your webpages correlate to other. It is an important SEO ranking factor. Besides, adding internal links helps guide your customers to other relevant resources.  

For example, a business selling musical instruments can link to its piano product page on its tutorials for beginners blog. Rather than forcefully include the internal link, go through the article and find opportunities where you can insert such links naturally. 

Use AIDA in your copies

The ultimate goal for SEO copywriting is to turn search traffic into leads. This means getting the visitors to sign up on your email list, purchase a product, download an e-book or take other commercial-driven action. 

To do so, I suggest using the AIDA framework when writing a landing page or web page meant for funneling potential customers. 

AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. 

Basically, AIDA takes the reader through a sequence of psychological states before enticing them with a product offer. It is a more logical and practical model compared to hard-selling your readers right from the start.

Attention

In copywriting, the AIDA models start with grabbing the reader’s attention. It could be a controversial headline, thought-provoking questions, astonishing facts, or other non-conventional introductions.

Interest

Once you’ve got their attention, keep the audience interested by genuinely highlighting their pain points. Customers want to hear from a business that empathizes with their problems before exploring possible solutions. Let them know in no uncertain terms that you can relate to their issues personally and provide options to solve their problems.

Desire

Buying is an emotional decision. By now, the readers have an intellectual understanding of how your product or service might meet their needs. What’s missing is a little emotional nudge to notch up their desires. To strengthen their desire, use social proof such as testimonials, videos, and feedback from the past client in the copy.

Action

With the audience ready to take the leap of faith, it’s up to you to provide them with the means. For example, include an email subscription form, a bright-colored download button, or relevant links to your product pages at the end of the webpage. 

Final Thoughts

Don’t let good content goes to waste by leaving them in the pit of search engines. Apply some of the SEO copywriting tips I’ve mentioned in the article and start drawing new customers to your business.