Do copywriters need to learn SEO?

Bijgewerkt: 30 July 2023

Most copywriters find it important that the reader takes the desired action. That is also important because a high conversion means a high turnover. What many copywriters forget is that SEO forms the basis of good copywriting. You can write such a beautiful text, but if the audience cannot find your text, it will not yield anything.

Someone asked me what I prefer: a thousand people who find my page and do nothing, or two people who see my page and take an action. I replied that I would rather have the former, because building brand awareness is the basis of success.

It wasn’t the answer he had hoped for, because he didn’t say anything anymore. Probably because he knew I was right. This allows me to answer the question of whether copywriters should learn SEO.

Appearance in search engine results

When you only write sales texts (such as advertisements), SEO is not important. The focus is on sales, not online visibility. Many sales pages do not appear in search results. But is that really that smart?

No, actually a sales page should also rank high in the organic search results. As a result, less money can be spent on advertising. So even if you only write sales texts, it’s good to learn SEO.

For blogs, articles and web texts it is always important that you do search engine optimization. When a search query matches the keyword you used, it is nice when people come to your page. Or the page you wrote for your customer.

The results of SEO

When a page is in position 1 for a given query, it is very lucky. Pages with a number one position can attract up to 45% of search traffic. On average, this is somewhere between 25% and 45%, depending on the niche.

Learning from Google

There’s another reason copywriters should learn SEO. Thanks to Google, they get their hands on a lot of consumer data. By gaining insight into the search intent and search terms, you learn a lot about the target group. Everything you learn can be applied in future texts you write.

Basic knowledge or in-depth SEO knowledge

Not every copywriter needs to have in-depth SEO knowledge. This is only for the real SEO copywriters. These are the writers who specialize in search engine optimization, on the content part.

For most copywriters, basic SEO knowledge is sufficient. This includes knowledge about search terms and a keyword research, optimized content and which tools are useful. In addition, a copywriter may be tasked with creating meta descriptions.

When a copywriter doesn’t need to learn about SEO

Some copywriters don’t need to learn about SEO at all. Are you a copywriter who specializes in writing emails or brochures? Then SEO knowledge is of no use to you at all. Even if you only write advertising texts, so no sales pages, SEO is unimportant.

Some agencies work with an SEO team. The team conducts audits and develops a keyword strategy. The copywriter from the team has the task of writing a text according to the keyword strategy. Little SEO knowledge is required for this. So there can certainly be situations where the writer does not need to follow a course or training.

Write great content for yourself or for clients

Whether you write for your own website or for clients: basic SEO knowledge makes your texts better. When you know a lot about SEO, you automatically take the target group and competition into account. You think about the big picture.

A good SEO copywriter knows how to compete for important keywords. This enables the SEO copywriter to rank high on popular and relevant searches.

Knowledge of link building

While link building is often the job of an SEO specialist, copywriters need to know what this entails. They should be aware of internal links and how they are built. Within SEO, external links also play a role. Backlinks, which are referral links from other websites, are the most important.

By having knowledge about link building and backlinks, the copywriter is better able to write optimized texts. But also to focus on anchor texts.

Effective collaboration with SEO specialists

Copywriters who know a lot about SEO are better off working with SEO specialists. Together they can create effective content that performs well in search engines. This allows a website to attract more traffic.

Build brand awareness

There is yet another reason to delve into SEO: it is good for building brand awareness. Let’s go back to the beginning of my article. Someone asked me if I’d rather be seen a thousand times than two visitors taking action on my website. As a true SEO expert and entrepreneur with more than 25 years of experience, I chose the former.

Every successful business builds brand awareness first. People need time to trust your company or brand. You cannot ask them to spend their money with an unknown company.

That is why it is important to build notoriety and authority first. Online, people need up to ten touch points to become land with you. A touchpoint is when a person interacts with a brand. For example, by visiting a company’s website. Or leave a comment on social media.

What many copywriters forget is that the appearance in organic search results is also a touchpoint. But only when a user clicks on the search result. At that time, the brand has come to the attention of this user.

Of course it would be nice if the user buys something on this website. But even if he doesn’t, it’s positive that he visited the website. Google remembers the surfing behavior of this user. When he searches for something in Google last time and matches the previously visited website with his search query, it will appear higher in the search results. That’s another touch point.

SEO training

Not sure where to learn about SEO? My individual training SEO & Social Media is for copywriters and for entrepreneurs who want to apply SEO themselves. With the training you will learn how to increase your online visibility. You turn your website into a customer magnet. You do this by directing people to your website via social media, but also by attracting a lot of traffic from search engines.

The training consists of two videos, followed by two individual sessions. We do the sessions through video calling. You will receive tips, guidance and advice that is specifically tailored to your company or your activities.

People who took the training saw their positions in organic search increase. They also received more attention on social media. Ultimately, this resulted in additional traffic and increased sales for their business.

You can find more about the training here. It is currently only in Dutch, but will later also appear in German and English.

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