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Ahhh, yes, the dreaded three words…SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMISATION. 

You love the easy traffic it brings in and how it gives you the ability to put your marketing on autopilot. BUT what you don’t love is TRYING to incorporate it into your website copy. 

It leaves your well-written masterpiece sounding like something a dodgy AI bot might spew out. 

Not to worry, this simple SEO copywriting checklist will show you easy ways to incorporate it into your website text.

SEO copywriting checklist – here to simplify things

We want both things: good copy that converts, and SEO keywords that help you get found. You can’t have one without the other when it comes to websites.  

But, HOW do you mix the two together?

It’s something I STILL struggle with, but have found ways to make it easier. 

And, if you are a bit behind on the play and are sitting there going…I have no idea what SEO is? OR what the hell SEO keywords are, then check out my ‘Nailing the basics’ masterclass, where it breaks it all down. 

Because, as a small business owner, you need to know about SEO otherwise, you’re missing out on the EASIEST way to market your business.  

And if you need more convincing…check out what happens on Google every minute, EVERY DAY 👇

Look at that number as how many opportunities you could have been a part of. The amount of times your business could have been discovered. The possible clicks your website could have received. The eyewatering amount of transactions that could have occurred.

AND to cement my point even further, check out these other eye-opening stats from SemRush. (You can thank me later.)

If you already know how important SEO is and you’ve been already dabbling in the basics, then let’s talk about how to not sound like a numpty when incorporating SEO Keywords. 

Your SEO Copywriting Checklist

1. Meta Description, Title Tag, and URL
Alright, we’re starting with the non sexy bits first. 

Before you make sure your on-page SEO is looking like a suave crisp business suit smelling like 100-dollar bills, you want to make sure its foundations are sorted, because THESE are the number 1 things that get forgotten. 

Without fail 🤦🏻‍♀️

• URL = We are more concerned about the slug part of the URL, which is what you put after your domain name, i.e. yourseosista.com/learn-seo (/learn-seo is the slug to go after the URL). Instead of just going with the prescribed norm or what your website provider tells you to do, assess if it makes sense to use your keyphrase in the URL (it doesn’t always, but if you can, another lovely SEO tick).
• Title Tag = When you perform an internet search, and you see the list of results, the title tag is the blue link that you click on in the search options (see image below). Make sure you’ve included the page keyphrase here. It’s also a space to get creative. I like to think of it as the email subject lines of SEO. 

• Meta Description = Again, referring to the image above, the meta description is the blurb of text underneath the title tag. Something that explains what the page is about AND also contains the keyphrase. PLUS a small taste of your writing skills for potential clients.

These backend princesses help you send the message to search engines that this is the keyphrase you want to be found for.

2. Eyebrow copy (the copy ABOVE a headline)

I love sneaky eyebrow copy on a website. You can leave a snarky comment or not so subtly lead on to something ‘important’. 

BUT my favourite way to use eyebrow copy is to tick off my keyphrase. 

That’s right.

I cheat.

Instead of trying to write it within the body copy, I slap an extra tiny heading in, so I don’t affect the genius that is my writing.

What the hell is eyebrow copy? 

Let me show you via my home page banner (see below 👇).

Eyebrow copy in this case is ‘SEO Agency’ and it’s also my current keyphrase for this page at the moment, which DID NOT fit into the copy that was created for this portion. So, instead of doing the horrid thing of making it work, I used my stylised eyebrow copy to incorporate it in.

It’s also kind of genius. 

You’re clearly telling Google what you are and how you want to be found, BUT you are also low-key letting your audience know who or what you are, AND it doesn’t distract from the sales pitch. 

3. CTA (Call-To-Action buttons)

This one comes with a ‘Use with caution’ sticker. It doesn’t apply to all keyphrases. Why? Because it would be ridiculous if I had written one saying ‘SEO Agency’, they’ve already found the SEO Agency. 

That’s numpty territory right there.

You need to consider the user experience as well (yes, there is a lot to weigh up). Because if you make it sound weird or hard, people are going to think that’s you…weird and hard to deal with.

No thanks. 

HOWEVER, it works for ones like ‘SEO services’ because they want to know more about said services. So, use where applicable. I haven’t done it on all pages and not for all CTAS, but it helps to use the odd one. As everything you do is telling not only your potential new client, but Google as well, who you are and what you do.

4. File names and ALT Text

BONUS = One that I ummed and ahhed as to whether I added it in.

This doesn’t affect your copy, but it helps nail in all the hard work you’ve done trying to incorporate SEO. You might have sacrificed a better phrase for this key phrase, so you may as well make the most of it. 

When you add images to your webpage, you want to make sure that the image’s file name and alt text incorporate your keyphrase and have dashes between each word. Here’s how I write mine: 

Nicole-Nelson-Your-SEO-Sista-SEO-Agency. 

The dashes aren’t musts, but Google says in their many how tos that it just makes it easier for their bots to read. Anything to make it easier for Google is a win in my books!

You need to be found in order to be read

It’s pretty simple, really. As a business owner, you want to become buddies with SEO, so people know how incredibly talented you are are what you do.

BUT, you don’t need to sacrifice your art in order to get the impressions. 

You can be clever about it. 

Want more tips like this? Come follow me on Insta or sign up to my mailing list where I give random weekly tidbits.  

Happy SEOing!

SEO Info

Page Title: Your SEO Copywriting Checklist: Where you DON’T sound like a numpty

SEO Title: Your 4-Step SEO Copywriting Checklist

Keyword: SEO Copywriting Checklist

Slug: seo-copywriting-checklist

ALT Text: seo-copywriting-checklist

Meta Description: Feeling like an AI robot when you try to incorporate SEO into your copy? Try this SEO Copywriting Checklist on for size to help you do it effortlessly.