Just as there are different ways of writing for novels, for advertising and for films, there is a way to write for the Internet. To find content on the web we use search engines. To make sure the search engines find our content we optimize it. Search Engine Optimization (SEO) copywriting is writing content that the reader wants to read and will be easily found and rank well with search engines.

The object of writing for the Internet is to get the reader to use your content to click through to your website. If they don’t get to your website, they can’t look at your products or services and you will have lost a potential customer. Here are a few mistakes that you’ll want to avoid.

Mistake #1 – Have a Boring Or Vague Title

This is a very important mistake not to make. If they don’t even look at your article, all your time and effort are wasted. If you provide an attention grabbing title, one that makes them curious enough to open your article, you’re halfway there.

Here are just a few ideas to get you thinking: Use titles that describe the content of your article but are short and concise; Use keywords in your title that people might be searching for; People can’t resist articles with lists or tips such as, "Top 10 Copywriting Mistakes" or "Top Tips on Getting Your Articles Read"; and "How to" articles are popular as well.

The bottom line here is to put some thought into your title. Think about how to get a reader’s attention.

Mistake #2 – Create Bland Content

From beginning to end – try to keep it interesting. Make reading your article a pleasurable experience for your reader. Here are a few suggestions.

Make it fun, relevant and grammatically correct. Nothing pulls the reader out of a story more than bad grammar and misspelled words.

Use short sentences and try to limit paragraphs to two or three lines. Concentrate on writing rich and appropriate copy rather than just practical words.

Have a sense of humor. This gives your articles personality. Don’t give a sales pitch – use a call to action. The purpose of your article is to get your reader to get to your website. Your writing could include a reason for them to find more information, either from another article that you’ve written or from your website.

"Content is king". If you keep this in mind, you’ll be ahead of the game. Search engines love well-written and useful content. So do readers.

Mistake #3 – Make Your Article As Hard To Read As Possible

Every post should be easy to scan. That means your reader should be able to easily scan your article and find headings that will tell them what the section is about. You can use numbered lists and bullets to organize your ideas so they are quickly read. If you italicize, bold or underline a word, the search engine assumes that it’s a keyword. You can use this to your advantage. However, if you use these tags a lot or if you use them on non-keywords, you’ll confuse the search engines and lose any advantage you would have gained.

The other thing that makes a page easy to scan is short paragraphs. When you look at your copy on the page, you should see a lot of white space. Looking at a page that’s completely filled with words is intimidating to a reader. You want to make it as friendly and welcoming and as easy to read as possible.

Mistake #4 – Misuse Keywords

Keywords are at the core of writing for the web. You should research and know your keywords. Here are a few suggestions about keywords:

• Target a set of keywords in every post but don’t use them more than three or four times on a page. If you use the same keywords again and again, search engines can tell that the article isn’t very useful.
• Use a wide variety of words that pertain to your topic.
• Use synonyms of your keywords in addition to the keywords.
• Don’t stick to a standard keyword density for every article or post. You want your words to flow naturally, and overuse of keywords makes your copy sound forced.
• Review your keywords every so often. Sometimes your business changes and you want your articles to change also.

If you provide your reader with content that lets them learn or experience something, you’ll have a happy reader. If you provide the search engines with good keywords and a variety of them, you’ll have a happy search engine.

Mistake #5 – Try To Trick the Search Engines

Practicing questionable tactics like cloaking and using hidden text is a bad idea. The last thing you want is to get your site banned. These kinds of tricks will do it. So can using hidden links, link farms, linking to bad sites, distributing viruses and sending spam. Don’t try to trick the search engines and don’t work with any companies that use these techniques.

Overcoming these common mistakes can give you head start when creating effective content on the Internet. SEO copywriting requires effort. Putting content on your site and distributing it on the web takes time. If you work at it over time and create lots of valuable content, effectively "brandcasting" your site, you’ll be rewarded with more traffíc.

About The Author: Enzo F. Cesario is a Copywriter and co-founder of Brandsplat, the only online marketíng and advertising company employing Brandcasting, the most effective way to brand your company on the web. Brandcasting uses informative content and state-of-the-art internet distribution and optimization to build links and drive the right kind of traffic to your website. The approach is simple, highly effective and affordable. Learn more at: Brandsplat.com and www.brandsplatblog.com .

Related posts:

1. Avoiding Top SEO Mistakes Following are the 9 Biggest SEO Mistakes which Web Designers & Web Developers should avoid. Splash Page I’ve seen this mistake many times where people...
2. Top 10 Don’ts for SEO Copywriting Following in the footsteps of Rand Fishkin and Guy Kawasaki, I decided to come up with my own list of don’ts. There is no shortage...
3. Four rules for strong SEO Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is a best way to result in more traffic to your site. It is vital in search engines to guarantee that...
4. Using Keywords as Part of Your Internet Marketing Strategy About the Author: TJ Philpott is an author and Internet entrepreneur based out of North Carolina. For additional online success tips and a free guide...
5. Do keywords in URLs improve your search engine rankings? source: Axandra.com Should you use your keywords in the URLs of your web pages? Do search engines look at the keywords that are included in...
6. Nine factors that affect your website usability and SEO Optimizing web pages for search engines does not mean creating special pages for search engines. Optimizing web pages for search engines is often the same...
7. How Google analyzes the top keywords on your website Source : Axandra.com Google recently filed a patent application that deals with the keywords that Google finds on your web pages. Google’s new patent filing...
8. Search Engine Optimization May Not Be As Hard As You Think Being found on page one of the major search engines is one of the number one marketing techniques you can use. It’s all about bringing...