Nowadays, some SEO writing techniques are not only outdated, but they can also cause problems.
Since Google frequently changes its search algorithm, it is difficult to know which techniques are good and which are bad.
More businesses are going digital and it’s easy to get caught up in the many myths of running a successful SEO site.
Here are 14 common SEO copywriting mistakes
1. When using anchor text with keywords:
Get penalized for using this old technique of having keyword anchor texts.
Google prohibits this use, saying that optimized anchor text (using keywords that may rank high) violates their guidelines.
Instead, use strong anchors like naked URLs, branded URLs, and long phrases.
2. Do not personalize strategies:
Failure to customize SEO strategies can be detrimental to the site. All the clients to work with come from different industries, different mindsets, etc .; and they can communicate differently than how to do it.
The best option is to look through their published content, find out what specific copywriting technique they use when writing the content, and then use it as a guide to making the copy.
3. Not investigating:
When writing customer content, know everything about the products/services, potential customers, and who the customers are, so that one can say the right things and use the right keywords.
Use a keyword planning tool and it will show which keywords the readers use when they search Google so they can use them in the copy.
4. Poor quality links:
Link building was essential for SEO copywriting.
Building low-quality links or buying backlinks can be penalized today.
To make sure to post good content, make sure the backlinks are relevant.
Don’t worry about how many links are being created, because in this case, quality is more important than quantity.
5. Too many keywords:
It’s good to have the right keywords, but not too many. The audience must be people, not machines.
6. Build links quickly:
Building too many links at a fast pace can lead to a higher ranking for only a short time.
Imagine getting a quick energy boost from a caffeinated drink and then feeling the crash later – the same thing can happen with links.
7. Relying heavily on writing tools:
Although writing tools such as Grammarly and Hemingway can be used to help detect spelling and grammar errors (and also the text that may be flagged for plagiarism) before publishing, these tools are not perfect.
8. Writing mediocre content:
Make sure the work makes sense, make sure it’s not mediocre.
9. Focusing too much on link building:
Creating too many links will no longer keep the site afloat. In fact, people now turn to social media more than links to follow a company or brand.
10. Too many pages:
Adding too many pages to the site will not help one can get a good ranking.
Google uses Panda to target low-quality sites. So if having too many low-quality pages, get a mark.
To create high-quality content, not a million pages for the sake of it.
11. Sounding like a telemarketer:
People don’t like being sold or hearing the same tired infomercial script from a telemarketer.
They want quick solutions.
So, when working on SEO copywriting, make sure to speak their language – communicate with them as if they were friendly, not persistent, and robotic.
Once the reader is sure that one will solve their problems, they can be informed about the characteristics of the product/service that are promoting.
12. Have duplicate content:
Having duplicate content, or allowing authority sites to republish content, can lead to a Panda penalty from Google.
Make sure to use a canonical tag that points to the URL so that one is not marked as duplicate content.
13. Too Many Words:
Verbiage and statements can get out of control if one doesn’t know how to handle them.
This is especially common among novice word writers, as they tend to be wordy in their writing approach, as a means of sounding “smart” when in fact it sounds pretentious and complicated.
Instead, try to write in a way that is comprehensive for the eighth grade.
Get someone to trust to read the copy so one can determine which parts of the text need clarification.
14. Buying links:
Buying links is a bad thing if are on a tight budget.
In fact, there is no use buying links that will only attract bots, which can manipulate the rankings and make Google suspicious of the site.
So avoid buying links, if possible.
However, if are going to buy links, make sure one cannot follow them.
This way, search engines won’t count links and won’t hurt SEO, while still getting traffic and income.
When done right, SEO copywriting can not only help improve rankings but can also get more readers to take action.
As long as to use the right terms and hook them up with good content, one will start to see the right results.