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The best headline ever written? A copywriter’s query. - AOU Creative Group

As an SEO copywriter, I work daily to create thought-provoking, interesting, and action inspiring headlines that drive traffic and peak curiosity enough to get readers to read. Has all of this work been in vain?

According to a recent New York Times article,  the best headline that has ever been written – ever – has now been created

Like all great headlines (keep reading and we will look at some good and not-so-good ones) it is catchy, curiosity building, and tells you what the story is about. Bonus points that it even rhymes while doing all of that.

But let’s say that you want to create headlines for your SEO copywriting that – even if not the best ever written – are good enough to get the attention of the people you want to read the work.

Here are a few examples of headlines that are really good – and ones that are fine, but maybe not as effective:

GOOD: Do Some Foods “Explode” in Your Stomach?

>GOOD: Fried foods reportedly bad for health

GOOD: You’ll Never Get Hired if You Say This in a Job Interview

>GOOD: Find a job using these steps

GOOD: Proven System: Master a New in Language in 10 Days

>GOOD: You can learn a new language

GOOD: How to lose 5 pounds in 8 days – and keep it off!

>GOOD: Lose weight using this tool

GOOD: How I sold $10k as a freelancer this month

>GOOD: Make money as a freelancer

GOOD: Speak Spanish this summer

>GOOD: You can learn a new language

So what makes some of these really good? In a word…action. A good headline makes people want to read more. A great one inspires action. Think about it, wouldn’t you rather know what would make you explode than read a report?

SEO copywriters work to write content that includes optimization and keywords. The goal of this type of work is to create written material that is interesting to both search engine crawlers and human readers. It is a delicate balance and takes time to learn.

Writing great headlines adds another element. The next time you write one keep these tips in mind:

Choose action words

Consider asking a question (and then answering it in your piece)

Clever is good but be sure that the reader knows what they are going to read

Consider using numbers (8 best ways…)

Can you do it in 5 words? If so – do.

Creating SEO copywriting, whether for your own business or for a client, takes time and intentional use of certain keywords. Writing headlines gets the attention of readers and can increase conversions and time on your blog.

The bottom line? Take time to work on your headline…it matters.

Want to know more about how to create SEO copywriting for your business? Reach out and we will be happy to share the top secrets to creating content that can transform your business.

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Grow your business with AOU Creative Group. We provide result driven seo copywriting, technical seo, web design & corporate communication services.

https://aoucreative.com/

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10 Reasons why SEO and Copywriting go hand in hand - AOU Creative Group

It isn’t a surprise that many business owners think about content marketing, copywriting, and SEO. It also probably will not shock you to hear that they think about these topics separately, but almost never as one thing.

That is a huge mistake that costs these owners time and money.

SEO (search engine optimization) is the term used for the optimization of websites, content and copy so that search engines will find them and rank them (preferably on the first page of search results). Great SEO helps you get organic, or unpaid, traffic and generate leads from your website.

Copywriting is defined by Wikipedia (not always the best source, but a good one for this need) as “the act or occupation of writing text for the purpose of advertising or other forms of marketing. The product, called copy or sales copy, is written content that aims to increase brand awareness and ultimately persuade a person or group to take a particular action.”

You create copy when you post on social media, write a sales page or create any written piece that aims to drive immediate action or sales. It is the action that makes it copywriting.

Content, on the other hand, is another form of written communication. It encompasses written work that is created to offer value, education, inspiration, or to share expertise. Content includes blogs, articles, whitepapers, and even brochures (on- and offline versions). This blog is a piece of content.

To create a successful content strategy, you need all of them to work together – and that is where things can get tricky.

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Here are the top 10 reasons why SEO and copywriting go hand-in-hand and what you can learn from the best SEO copywriting services:

It keeps you from wasting time. Creating written content and copy takes work and you want your customers (or potential customers) to read it. Without optimization, that won’t happen.

It keeps you from wasting money. The time that it takes to write content and copy costs your business money. Optimization (in the form of SEO) saves you money as it helps drive people to your content/copy.

It gets you in front of new customers. SEO is intended to “tell” search engines what your written piece is about.

When you use it in copy/content, search engines may choose to rank it so that new customers learn about your business.

It generates revenue. See above! If you want new potential customers to see your content/copy, you must optimize it to be found. Don’t make them work for it — get the information to them and your revenue will grow.

It builds brand recognition. To generate customer loyalty, you have to stay at the top of mind of your people. This means consistently posting optimized content that offers real value to your reader. People are 76% more likely to buy from brands they know.

You can dominate a niche. For every business, there are a limited number of customers to go around. Plenty for everyone, but the number is not infinite. Plus, as I mentioned above, people like to buy from businesses they perceive as the best and brands that they know. Optimized content helps you get more attention online, leading to the ability to dominate in your niche.

You can become a thought leader. Dominating your niche is important for sales – both short and long-term. But to build your brand, being seen as “the go-to” in your industry is key. Content is especially good for this effort, and when it is optimized it gets in front of more people, thus getting it read and you (and your business) seen.

You can increase conversions. SEO can drive traffic to your website. Great content and copywriting keeps them there. The more valuable information for your website visitors – the longer they stay — and the more likely they are to convert into customers. The first step is getting them to the website.

You can use multiple channels to speak to your customers. Optimizing for findability means that you are not only using SEO on your blogs or articles, but also on your product descriptions, your images, your social posts, and more. “Speaking” your message to your customers on multiple channels keeps them engaged and your business at top of mind.

It creates a transformational content strategy. You need a content strategy to build success online. Your content strategy needs to employ SEO, content and copywriting and work across multiple channels. Doing this focused digital marketing can transform your business through increased conversions and revenue in a matter of months.

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There are multiple elements to an effective content marketing strategy. The more that you employ, the more likely you can see the transformation that can occur in your business. It takes focus, planning, and time to do well.

Remember that Google says that it now (reiterated in the June core update) gives weight to customer experience and usefulness as it ranks content and copywriting online. This means that you should create written content that shares valuable information, answers your customer’s questions, and offers solutions to the problems being shared in an online search.

The moral of the story? Don’t sell all of the time in your content and copywriting. Share value, inspire, and sometimes drive action.

That and optimize your content and copy for best results online.

Not sure that you have time or energy to create a transformational content strategy? That is the time to consider hiring an SEO copywriter. A certified SEO copywriter can help you create all elements of your communications marketing including both copy and content.

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SEO COPYWRITING & THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

THERE ARE 400 MILLION WEBSITES ACTIVE IN 2021. NEARLY HALF OF THEM WON’T GET EVEN 1 ORGANIC CLICK THIS YEAR.

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Why Freelance writing works - AOU Creative Group

It is not breaking news to tell you that the gig economy is growing every year and that companies big and small are using freelancers to fill in gaps when needed.

This growth is happening for many reasons, but first among them is the hard truth that having employees is expensive, challenging, and in some cases, unnecessary.

Unnecessary? That sounds harsh even as I read what I have just written.

But, yes, unnecessary. This is the reason that freelancing works — for businesses and for the freelancer, especially at an executive skill level.

Hiring an employee means that you, as a business owner, must find talent and create a culture that keeps them, you have to pay your worker the agreed-upon consistent wage, you have to handle taxes and benefits for the employee.

The process takes a great deal of time and energy — and can eat into precious resources of both.

In the case of freelancing, a business owner gets to hire the best talent they can afford at a price that the freelancer offers (or you negotiate). The engagement is project-based and when the work is over, you and the freelancer choose if there is a next opportunity to work together.

The fact is that great talent is hard to find, hard to hire, and even harder to keep for many small to mid-sized businesses.

Freelancing works at the executive level because companies can take advantage of the talents of highly skilled freelancers — while the freelancer is able to diversify their work, giving them the agility to choose projects, hours worked and clients accepted.

Copy and content writing are areas where freelancers and businesses partner to great success.

“To be the most effective, a content strategy has to be consistent. And to build brand authority, it has to be expert, and authoritative.”

SO WHY DOES FREELANCING WORK FOR WRITING?

Though certainly not the only skill that is easily freelanced, writing is one that many people can do — but few do well. Especially at the executive level needed for brand development and SEO.

Most small to mid-sized businesses have a great need for professionally written content, but not the budget for a full-time writer on staff.

That is where freelancing comes into play.

A highly-skilled freelancer can offer a business:

Well written, engaging content. When you hire a professional writer, especially at the executive skill level, you can be assured that the work that is created is high quality, original, and crafted to engage your reader.

Authoritative articles that build brand reputation. A great article or blog requires research and offers education or information to your reader. It isn’t designed to only “sell” to your customer, it offers them an experience that keeps them on your website and builds customer loyalty. This, in turn, increases your website search rankings.

Technical skills that add SEO integration into copy. Executive-level copywriting requires more than just a way with words. It requires technical skills to integrate tools that improve the SEO of your website. Structured schema, headings, keywords are all parts of a technically integrated blog/article that must be included to make the work more effective in search rankings.

A FREELANCER WHO WRITES FOR BUSINESS BENEFITS TOO

As a freelancer, a highly-skilled writer can earn a solid income (even 6-figures) by crafting interesting and professional work for clients.

Freelance writers have a skill that is in demand as the economy moves more and more into the digital space.

Writers can specialize in emails, blogs, video scripts, books…or they might niche in a particular industry such as financial services or technology.

For a freelance writer, the world is open and the sky is the limit on how much you can earn, at least at the executive level.

THE BOTTOM LINE

Engaging a highly skilled freelancer (or freelance company) makes sense for businesses that do not have the budget to hire a full-time writer.

A freelancer can save a business the time and money that it takes to hire employees and keep them.

A more efficient way to create a content strategy that is aimed at searchability, brand development, and lead generation is to contract with executive-level freelancers on a per-project basis.

This also works best for the freelance writer. You can name a price for the project and have the flexibility to select not only the work you want to write but also the hours you wish to work.

As a freelance writer, you have freedom.

In the end, content creation is an ideal situation for a freelance-business relationship. Both parties win.

What more could you ask?