Written content is imperative for a website to have any likelihood of ranking well in search engine results pages (SERPs). Even if you have the most visually captivating website, featuring eye-catching images and compelling videos, without written content that delivers for both human audiences and search engine algorithms, you’re going to struggle to rank and be seen online.
Despite this, a lot of business owners start out wishing to keep their sites devoid of written content, seeking minimalist pages with limited or even no text.
This is a mistake.
Why? Because search engines NEED written text to understand your website’s purpose and determine whether and how to rank it in SERPs.
Moreover, most visitors to your site will be looking for information – and all the images in the world are not going to provide the nitty-gritty your audiences are likely looking for.
Written content is imperative and an SEO-optimized website will take a specific approach to copy published on a site’s Home page, landing pages, onsite blog, and more.
How Do Search Engines Rank Pages Online?
While there are many diverse factors influencing page ranking, Google (and other search engines) determine page ranks based strongly on two particular aspects of the written content:
- Relevance – which is considered based on content analysis and specific ways in which focus keywords are used.
- Authority – this is determined by the number and quality of inbound links pointing to a specific page.
The Importance of SEO-considered Website Writing
Website copywriting is not the same as marketing or other text. It is an art and science combining to deliver persuasive content that compels human audience action while also meeting specific, dynamic criteria of search engine ranking algorithms.
It needs to:
- Comply with Google’s algorithm by meeting specific requirements
- Provide a solution its audience seeks
- Captivate, engage and persuade the target audience to act – by subscribing, clicking through, booking, purchasing, etc.
- It must be original, unique, useful, engaging, of high value, relevant, well-written, and shareable.
How Much Copy Does Your Website Need?
Google requires that each landing page (including your Home page) has a certain amount of copy. Without this, there is nothing for the search engine to rank. In this case, your website will be ignored for organic reach and you will be unable to drive organic traffic to your website.
You need to strike a balance between creating adequate copy for Google to rank while also optimizing the volume of content you provide for your human audience.
Yes, indeed, most people are not interested in reading copious amounts of text. You do, however, need to provide the information your audience seeks.
Generally:
- Home pages require at least 350-500 words
- Landing pages should have no fewer than 300 words
- Page overviews need 150+ words
- Product descriptions should be of approximately 150-200 words
Moreover, having an onsite blog is advised. It’s a great way to keep your website dynamic (as long as you post new articles at least once per month). Blog articles should be at least 350-500 words each, more is better, but keep below 1000 words where possible as many audiences won’t read excessively long articles.
Keywords
You also need to use relevant focus keywords in the text on each landing page; all should appear on your home page. Use these carefully, as “stuffing” the content with each keyword too many times can lead to being penalized by search engines. Aim for no more than 2-3% keyword volume.
Top Tips for Writing Good Website Copy
- Undertake keyword research. An expert SEO provider can help you with this. Which keywords will your targets most likely use to find your offering online? They must be relevant, competitive, and potentially based around your location if you offer local services.
- Landing pages matter. These are the pages your keyword searches will point users to, and include your home page and all relevant pages that will be internally linked from your home page. Every keyword needs its dedicated landing page.
- Written content needs to be of high quality, relevant, crafted for and easy to read for its target audience, concise, and not repetitive. You don’t want “word salad”! It MUST be unique and original – no copy-pasting across your website or from other sources.
- Your onsite blog (or “news” page) can function as a landing page.
- Every landing page (including Home) needs to have a meta title, meta description, and H1 tag that incorporates relevant keyword/s.
- Feature a concise, compelling headline, edit carefully, proofread again, and get another person to put fresh eyes on it before publishing if you need to.
- Link to other pages within your website to trigger click-throughs.
Need Help? The right marketing company near you, such as a top marketing agency in Newport Beach, will offer an array of services including website content writing services and SEO. Do a little research and get in touch today to get the ball rolling on improving your online footprint and crafting better website content for your business.