SEO Copywriting i.e. search engine optimization copywriting is the technique of writing the viewable text on a web page in such a way that it reads well for the surfer, and also targets specific search terms. Its aim is to rank highly in the search engines for the targeted search terms.

SEO Copywriting also optimizes other on-page elements for the targeted search terms. These include the Title, Description and Keywords tags, headings and alt text.

The idea behind SEO Copywriting is that search engines want genuine content pages not the “doorway pages”. Therefore, the engines cannot possibly view SEO copywritten pages as undesirable, and the rankings they achieve tend to be as stable as those that are achieved by other search engine optimization techniques.

It is recommend that there should be around 250 viewable words per page, with one, or at most two, targeted search terms strategically placed within the text and other on-page elements.

SEO Copywriting strengths

Search engine optimization copywriting works for suitable websites and for suitable search terms. SEO Copywriting can achieve rankings that tend to do well across the search engines, although no page can rank equally well in all engines.

It is sometimes said by practitioners of search engine optimization copywriting, that the method tends to maintain its rankings as the engines tweak and change their algorithms, whereas other methods produce less stable rankings. This can't be true. If 2 pages are in the top 10 search results; one getting there by the SEO copywriting method and the other by different search engine optimization techniques, they are both there because they match the engine's requirement quite well. When the criteria is changed, the match that each of them had is necessarily changed. The matches could become closer to, or further from, the engine's criteria. Whether each page goes up or down in the results depends on what changes have been made to the engine's criteria. It is a matter of chance and not a matter of whether SEO copywriting was used or not.

SEO Copywriting is good when:-

• there are not many search terms to target
• the search terms are on the low to middle end of competitivene
• money isn't a problem, or if it is your own website
• you don't mind the text on your pages being frozen (if money does matter

Otherwise, 'search engine friendly' techniques should always be done as a first measure, and real search engine optimization should be done for the search terms for which 'search engine friendly' techniques are unsuccessful.