Q: Dear Alice, I recently entered into a partnership as a copywriter for a new SEO site on the web and realized that I need to know more about SEO in order to provide the best copy for my clients.

So, I came to your site via a search for information on copywriting for the web. Little did I know that I would find such a treasure trove of information here. There is so much on your site, and all the great links you provide, that I have been busy reading about SEO ever since!
Although I have gained quite a bit of knowledge, it is a bit overwhelming for a newcomer to SEO. It would be a great help if you could clarify the roles of copywriter and SEO provider, as these roles seem to overlap. In short, I am wondering how much technical knowledge is required of the copywriter and how much accountability is reasonable.

Thanks for your wonderful site! Nanette

A: Excellent question, Nanette! Interestingly, my point of view on this question has changed over time and it is largely due to the brilliant advice provided by John Reese when it comes to SEO vs. Copy.

Now, if you are working with a specific company, you’ll need to work within their guidelines. What I’m about to say may be quite different from the way the company works, so you’ll need to figure out how you fit in.

(Side note before I share my opinion: Remember, much of SEO depends on “off-page” factors such as incoming links and the text – i.e. “anchor text” – in the links. You can still optimize a page without messing with the content too much. You can also use graphics to depict some sales text you don’t necessarily want search engines to read. )

Overall, when it comes to SEO and writing sales-producing copy — they are at odds. Yes, there are ways to creatively incorporate SEO into your copy, but you will often do this at the risk of diluting your sales message.

For me, SEO is a lead generator. I create pages of content that drive traffic and they may recommend products. My main goal is to provide good content that people are searching for. However, when people click the links to my sales letter, there is no SEO involved. I simply concentrated on selling my product.

There are many ways to drive traffic and SEO is just one of them. I can have organic traffic going to a content page and I can also bid on the same keyword and drive that traffic to a sales letter. If I’m trying to sell…I’m trying to sell. If I’m trying to get free traffic…I focus on that. That’s just one example of how this can work.

I do hope that’s helpful and if it seems simple or if it contradicts what you may have read elsewhere, I have to tell you since I’ve made this shift in thinking – my sales (and even my traffic) have increased tremendously.

Further Resources

Copywriting Sweetie: My easy to follow course that teaches you how to write sales-producing copy.