SEO Copywriter, Web Copywriter, Digital Copywriter - What's the Difference?
If you're currently looking for a UK copywriter, you may be slightly confused by the array of different types of writers out there. If you don't know your digital copywriters from your SEO writers, perhaps a little clarification and 'myth busting' may be in order...
What is an SEO copywriter?
SEO copywriters specialise in the 'optimisation' part, producing keyword-rich content that has the primary purpose of pushing your page up the Google rankings. They understand what the search engine 'bots are looking for, they know the latest search terms used by human visitors and they know exactly what terms to include in your content to make it work effectively. SEO content interests both the search engines and your all-important visitors (ie, customers).
What is a web copywriter?
A web copywriter structures your content and produces engaging, fresh and original copy that encourages human visitors to interact with your website rather than bouncing to a rival. They also know about keywords and strategic positioning to encourage search engine 'bots...
Just a minute, isn't that what SEO copywriters do?
Okay, so what is a digital copywriter?
A digital copywriter doesn't just write web content. They have a broader range of skills that can include social media positioning, email copywriting, creating press releases, writing blogs, Tweets or Facebook updates, as well as how that copy interacts with your SEO content... and there we are again - are you seeing a pattern emerging here?
We keep coming back to those three letters - SEO. However, let's bust a myth right here - SEO doesn't just mean 'search'. Optimisation means making every line of copy, every keyword and every piece of online content work as hard as possible. Yes, it's there to push you up the rankings, but page rankings are nothing without conversions. A website that gets thousands of visits every day might be high up on Google's rankings, but unless those visits are converting into sales, your SEO is failing to do its job properly.
So what is the difference?
The truth is that these days, there is very little difference between web copywriters, SEO copywriters and digital copywriters. They are basically the evolutionary steps that copywriting has taken as the Internet and its demands have evolved. Now, digital copywriters (whatever title they give themselves) produce the kind of content that you need to succeed in today's social, connected world, taking into account all aspects of SEO.
For years, the assumption was that all you needed for your website to succeed was good SEO. Now things have changed. Keywords, while still vital for search engine success, are only part of the picture. The key now is:
smartest SEO
Working with social media channels like Facebook and Twitter, knowing how to use jargon and expertly exploiting technological advancements like video to drive your content is the most essential skill of the new generation of SEO copywriters. Social media is not a Bystander-level event. It's a conversational f conversation that has to be had with every piece of content to even have an influence on your readers. Knowing how to develop this content is the only way to rank well and generate more traffic to your website.
We're pretty sure that video hasn't helped. In fact, when we looked at the top 10 results for a key search term online, only one of them had videos. frankly, if you're going to use all these media forms to boost your website's performance and rankings, why would you categorise videos as a separate 'bounce' or 'rah effect' for your website?
Why Is SEO Copywriting Important These Days?
More than ever, SEO is not just about keyword density and keyword placement. SEO has broadened to include things like the structure of your website, how links are constructed, and the types of content you're putting out there.
SEO is becoming more sophisticated and holistic in the way that it's being done. In fact, the most important aspect of SEO these days is delivering your content in a way that encourages human engagement.
While keywords are still critical to driving search traffic to your website, they're only part of the picture. The real SEO experts are looking at more holistic and sophisticated ways to boost your site's performance.
The way your text is structured, littered with intelligent SEO copywriting technique, and expert on editorial photography may boost your site's search engine rankings but they won't do your site any favors at all on the user's subjective experience.
Google and other search engines are starting to take into consideration not just the relevance of your keywords but the quality of your content as well.
While the specific technical elements that Bing and Google use may be different, content and SEO are starting to truly become symbiotic.