How much do copywriting skills help SEO?

15 replies
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Does the ability to keep people reading and engaged in the copy posted on your blogs affect your rankings?

Does the ability to keep them on the page longer reading help?

How much of a roll do you think these things play in ranking?
#copywriting #seo #skills
  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    This is one of those things where all you will get are opinions because Google has not explicitly said whether or not it is part of their algorithm.

    They have certainly hinted at user signals being part of their algorithm and engagement is certainly one of those things. How might a search engine measure those things? You might surmise that time on page would be a positive signal for a search engine to use as a measurement of engagement.

    Now, some will say that Google can only determine those things if people are signed into the Chrome browser or from sites using Analytics/Search Console, and that they certainly cannot know what people are doing when using other browsers. Not sure if the other browsers matter to Google. They get plenty enough data from Chrome to assume things are roughly the same with other browsers. Also, I'm not sure how they judge things when someone searches for something, clicks a result and then searches for the same thing 20 seconds later, regardless of browser. To me, that might indicate they did not find what they wanted from the initial click.

    Anyway, my OPINION, is that longer engagement on a page or site in general is the type of user signal that Google is using to judge the value of a page/site for any given search query. We have certainly noticed that creating stellar content on eCommerce websites - better than any of our competitors - has mysteriously helped with rankings - even for websites with zero backlink building to date.
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    • Profile picture of the author savidge4
      Originally Posted by dave_hermansen View Post

      They have certainly hinted at user signals being part of their algorithm and engagement is certainly one of those things. How might a search engine measure those things?
      I always see the discussion point of how would they track this - browsers and this and that and the other....

      #1 used search engine is? Google. so a user is on Google and searches X, there is then listings for X. the end user clicks on a website about X and say spends 5 minutes on said page. IFthe end user backs right out and clicks another link for the Serp pertaining to X you can then assume the visited website maybe didnt answer the question at hand.

      If the visit is seconds... and then return back to the Google Serp - that would be a "Bounce" right?

      As much as me, you, or anyone can look at out site log and see how many times a certain IP address visits our site, I would suggest Google is tracking this in real time as it pertains to the use of the Google search engine and the user experience back and for to the Serp, or maybe reading about X and then searching for X2 and clicking on a link and then back to Google Serp and searching for X3, and then spending an amount of time, and then comeing back to Google again and searching for Y.

      I would say forget about what Google may learn from a actual visit to a site from anywhere other than from a google search. I would even suggest that data retrieved from Chrome would be secondary. But the Data from a users ( IP Adress ) behavior back and forth using Google search would be its primary data set.
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  • Profile picture of the author m jack
    this is not directly answering your question, but i'd like to think that keeping users engaged on your blog is a big deal; the longer you can keep someone on a page the more likely they will click on something on that very page, and i am sure you want people to click something on your blog

    to answer your question, i am not sure if it affects ranking, but someone talked about this deeply
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  • Profile picture of the author annaalford
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      Visitors do not know your copy is strong before they land on your page, therefore, the quality of your copy has no bearing on this...



      Copy and content are not the same.


      Strong, well-written copy does not SEO. Strong, well-written copy or weak, poorly-written copy that's properly optimized can get you ranked higher in the results and, therefore, increase your chances of getting visitors to your page.


      Originally Posted by annaalford View Post

      Copywriting skills help SEO because strong, well-written copy can attract more visitors from search engines.

      Good copywriting is important for two reasons. First, good copy engages the reader and encourages them to stay on the page. Second, good copy provides keywords and phrases that search engines use to rank websites.

      Copy that is well-written and full of relevant keywords will help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), which means you'll get more traffic from potential customers.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alex Fountain
    Google puts a lot of weight into semantic search factors , which are majorly influenced by the quality of your writing. Good writing = visitors will stay for longer, less bounce rate etc. It's about making sure the content is providing exactly what the customer is looking for for that search query. Being a trusted authority on the topic is v important too. People always check the credibility of what they are reading. You could write some fantastic articles, but if you have no credibility people won't stick around.
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  • Profile picture of the author Haroon Ballim
    Its almost a case of Yes and No .
    No , because no matter how well written your sales copy is one first needs traffic to see that page .
    If no one sees your copy it will sit on the net unseen.

    Yes , in a sense because if your copy is engaging it will keep people on your page longer .

    Remember though , one first will have to drive traffic to your sales page .
    Copy on its own no matter how well written will not attract traffic on its own.
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  • Profile picture of the author BarbaraRogers
    There's no doubting that copywriting skills can help improve your SEO efforts. After all, good copy is key to producing quality content that people will want to read and share. But it's also important to remember that SEO goes beyond just good content. There are a number of factors that come into play when it comes to ranking high in search engines, and copywriting skills are just one part of the puzzle.

    That being said, if you want to Optimize your website for search engines, then you need to start with great copy. That's where our team of professional copywriters comes in. We create original, keyword-rich content that not only sounds great but also ranks high in search engines.
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  • Profile picture of the author blairquane
    Originally Posted by Phillip111 View Post

    Does the ability to keep people reading and engaged in the copy posted on your blogs affect your rankings?

    Does the ability to keep them on the page longer reading help?

    How much of a roll do you think these things play in ranking?
    It'll keep your time on page up and bounce rate down which is good for google. Also, if you have great copy, you'll get people returning to your site to read more and that's good. If your copy is rubbish then people won't return to read more.
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  • Profile picture of the author valina g
    This is something that people tend to have a lot of opinions about with no clear cut answer because Google has not come out and said whether or not user engagement is part of their algorithm.
    What we do know is that they have certainly hinted at user signals being part of their algorithm in the past. And we also know that engagement is definitely one of those things. So how might a search engine measure user engagement? A possibility is that time on page would be a positive signal for a search engine to use as an indicator of engagement.
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  • Profile picture of the author dave_hermansen
    One final thought ...if you are out their hustling, trying to earn high quality links from other websites, they have to link to something. What is going to be easier to get links to - a sub-par, thin page of generic who cares content or a fantastic, thorough, well researched and thought out piece?

    Clearly, stellar content is easier to get links to.
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  • Profile picture of the author ernestrategos
    So far, in this thread, I've read many interesting takes on this question.

    It's important to remember that in the future, search engines will care more and more about well-written text that satisfies user intentions and needs.

    Today, search engines follow certain guidelines to position this content. These signals are sometimes artificial and can rank a page high on the search engine results page. The trend is clear. The clock is ticking and great copywriting will rank higher and higher as time goes by.
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  • Profile picture of the author bobbyswinson
    Yes, because it'll help with user engagement.

    Suppose a search engine saw 2 sites, with same SEO quality:
    Website A has a bounce rate of 99% with an average engagement time of 1 second.
    Website B has a bounce rate of 20% with an average engagement time of 10 minutes.

    What's more relevant to the user?

    Even if Website A has more keywords than Website B, Google's pretty broken if it allows it to be ranked anywhere close to Website B for the same keyword. Things like TF-IDF and PageRank is old news, and search engines nowadays have much better signals for relevancy in conjunction with the old algos.

    Google's goal for ranking sites is relevancy. Which is why many times sites that have better SEO-structure on paper don't rank as high as sites that don't. Copywriting focuses on the audience = makes it more relevant = users stay longer = you get ranked higher.
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    • Profile picture of the author DABK
      What if I am an affiliate and want 5hem to rush to the product owner's buy page the second they land on one of my pages?

      Originally Posted by bobbyswinson View Post

      Yes, because it'll help with user engagement.

      Suppose a search engine saw 2 sites, with same SEO quality:
      Website A has a bounce rate of 99% with an average engagement time of 1 second.
      Website B has a bounce rate of 20% with an average engagement time of 10 minutes.

      What's more relevant to the user?

      Even if Website A has more keywords than Website B, Google's pretty broken if it allows it to be ranked anywhere close to Website B for the same keyword. Things like TF-IDF and PageRank is old news, and search engines nowadays have much better signals for relevancy in conjunction with the old algos.

      Google's goal for ranking sites is relevancy. Which is why many times sites that have better SEO-structure on paper don't rank as high as sites that don't. Copywriting focuses on the audience = makes it more relevant = users stay longer = you get ranked higher.
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      • Profile picture of the author bobbyswinson
        I guess there's a chicken/egg problem. If your copy is very good, and people leave your site to go to another in a few seconds, it'll be hard to rank for SEO. If your copy is very good and it takes a few minutes to convince the user to go to another website, I think it'll be easier to rank for SEO.

        But let's say you want something simple (like a list or a directory) where folks will go from your site to the main landing page in a few seconds, then I'd probably do PPC as opposed to SEO for that (it's much faster to scale).
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  • Profile picture of the author Janvi Arora
    Copywriting is essential to any SEO campaign, and skilled copywriters can help improve your site's ranking in search engines. Not only does good writing make your content more engaging and exciting for consumers, but it also helps to build trust and credibility with potential clients. In addition, effective copywriting can increase the click-through rate (CTR) on your website by helping searchers convert easier into buyers.
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