When you are trying to apply common sense to you optimization efforts of your content so you can provide the best possible content for both SEO and your readers, there are always some myths that are good and bad that get shared and circulate. These can be rather confusing and seld-perpetuating especially when it comes to being new in copywriting or blogging industries. It can make it difficult to understand what will and won’t work.

SEO and other ranking factors are extremely important for websites, blogging, and copywriting, so it’s not really surprising that there are more than enough myths constantly being created. 

If you work in this industry, then it is likely that you will hear some of these myths on a daily basis, therefore, in this post, we are going to have a look at five of the most common SEO copywriting myths that we hear in NI and some of the ways you can steer clear. 

The Insistence Of ‘Keyword Density’ 

If you have been working in the industry then you will likely already be fed up of the number of clients that still ask for a certain percentage of keyword density, and if you are new, then you may not think that there is anything wrong with asking for this. After all, it makes sense, right? However, it’s really something that should be avoided, and you should suggest a different approach to any clients asking this. 

If you think about it logically, you will soon realise that Google isn’t likely to deem your content or site to be the most relevant in a search just because the targeted keyword has been used in the copy 5, 10, 20 times. Especially when there are many other essential SEO ranking factors that also impact Google returns. A copywriter really isn’t likely to produce their best work that is going to be engaging if they have to work to a strict, set amount of keywords. They are likely to mess up the flow of their work and risk the quality by editing to fit in a certain keyword the set number of times asked for. 

If look back at the copywriting and blogging world, then yes, a page may have been more likely to rank because of the repetition of a certain keyword, however, times have moved on, and so has the way that content and websites rank. The best thing you can do it to make sure that the main keywords are included in header tags and the title and then appear naturally in the body copy. Then a focus should be made to write an insightful, compelling piece of content that is genuinely useful and makes sense. 

Thinking That Longer Is Always Better

For certain searches, it may appear that Google is favouring longer website pages and blog posts, and yes, this may be true for certain topics, however, it certainly doesn’t apply to every single page, therefore this means that it’s not true that longer content is always better. 

For example, you are looking at an e-commerce website, having 1500 words written about a pair of earring is entirely inappropriate, unnecessarily, and difficult to write, even for the most talented of copywriters. However, a landing page for a law firm who specialises in family law, on the other hand, will need a good and decent amount of detail. This means that for each page and piece of content the length of the page will always differ as well depend on the context and subject. 

As a suggestion you could look at the following figures, however, there is no rule set in stone: 

• E-commerce category pages- between 200 and 300 words
• Product descriptions- between 100 and 200 words
• Brochure pages/services/about us/landing page/blog posts – anything 400 words+ as long as it appropriate. If you have an in-depth topic it will justify a long post, however, if it is a topic with a small amount of information, make it a quick and snapping piece that isn’t fluffed.

Force Ridiculous Anchor Text Into The Content

This is probably one of the most well-known myths in SEO, especially when dealing with agencies. Ok, so it is known that using an exact match anchor text can provide SEO benefits when copywriting and blogging, only provided it’s not repeated too often. This being said, you shouldn’t force your copywriter to write mediocre work by unnaturally forcing ridiculous anchor text into the content they are producing for you. Don’t force your copywriter to write clumsy, mediocre copy by shoehorning in a ridiculous keyword phrase. Instead, think about the keywords you are asking for and suggest keywords that can be written in naturally rather than standing out for being a high ranking anchor text. 

Below The Fold ‘SEO Copy’

There are a lot of sites out there, especially in the retail sector, that includes a section that contains poorly written and keyword packed SEO copy that is hidden in the footer or header pages. These may have worked back in the day, but they are now a waster of money and time. If you aren’t going to use SEO and copywriting to add value to a page, there is no point. Instead, you should use this time to include short, and succinct summaries of the content that is included on a page then place it near the navigation links.

A Zero-Tolerance Approach To Duplication 

Just like with many things including SEO, a little bit of duplication is absolutely fine. As long as there is common sense being used it will do no harm and should be expected, in moderation. Things such as quoted from a source article, or technical specifications from a manufacturer are highly likely to be duplicated, there are no issues with this. If you see entire paragraphs of text taken from another website, however, then you are certainly aksing for trouble. 

So, these are the 5 most common SEO copywriting myths that we hear in NI, what myths do you see? Let us know!