Heather Murata

Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet SEO Magnet Template Writer Name: Heather Murata Client Name: American Writers & Artists Institute (AWAI) Date: July 8, 2020 Customer Persona Name: Wanda the Web Writer Chapter 1 Next Update is Scheduled For: October 10, 2020 Keyword: intent-based seo keyword research Title Tag: Intent-based SEO Keyword Research | AWAI Meta Description: Learn how to research and choose SEO keywords based on one of four main search intents. URL: https://awai.com/intent-based-SEO-keyword-research H1 Tag: How to Research and Choose an Intent-based SEO Keyword Body Copy: Page 1 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Graphic illustrating intent-based SEO keyword research [Note to designer: snagged this from https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/271935-seo-search-engineoptimization for illustration purposes. It’s not a free graphic.] The most fundamental building block of SEO copywriting involves researching and choosing keywords. But there's a caveat. You need to figure out what the searcher wants. And that's where intent-based SEO keyword research holds the key. But a study on this topic wouldn't be complete without first setting the stage. So, let’s define some foundational concepts. What is SEO or Search Engine Optimization? According to Moz, a recognized leader in the world of SEO: [Definition Block] "SEO is the practice of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search results." According to Hubspot, another leader in the industry: [Definition Block] "Organic search results are the unpaid results that appear on a search engine results page after a query." Page 2 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet The paid results are ads that businesses buy. They often appear at the top of the search results page, though they sometimes show up at the bottom. What is Intent as it Pertains to the World of SEO Keyword Research? [Definition Block] Intent refers to the searcher's reason for researching a specific word, phrase, or topic online. Intent is one of the most important terms in SEO keyword research. Why is he searching? What is he trying to do? What is the Search Engine's Role? Let's take a look at Google. Google centers its search results on satisfying its users. What does the searcher want? What's his intent? It's essential for Google to accurately guess the user's intent and steer him to the right content. Because, in the end, this is how Google makes money. Google satisfies its users' intent, and that keeps them coming back to the Google platform. When Google entices more searchers to use its platform, Google ad space value increases. More people are going to see those ads. And this encourages businesses to buy ad space. How does Google steer searchers to the right content? It focuses on keywords and keyword phrases. Google sends out its bots to crawl every website on the internet. The bots find and soak up commonly-used keywords and phrases written on web pages. Google stores that information in its database and uses it to offer search results based on a searcher's keywords. What is the SEO Copywriter's Role? The SEO copywriter also focuses on the searcher's intent. He uses keywords to tell Google what's important on a web page. When the Google search engine sees that a searcher needs the information on that page, it tells the user the page exists and gives them the road map straight to it—the URL. Your role is to tell Google that your client has the information their users need. You do this by "putting up signposts" that search engine bots recognize. Those signposts are Page 3 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet intent-based SEO keywords. The SEO copywriter wants Google to steer quality traffic to the pages she writes for her clients. She helps Google do this by choosing keywords based on intent and writing content that satisfies that intent. The Four Types of Search Intent Image Alt: The 4 types of search intent: research, compare, buy, and succeed Research If you look at the buyer's journey from start to finish, the journey begins with research. The consumer might not even be aware that he needs a particular product or service. He might have a need but isn't sure if there's anything he can buy to meet that need. Search query keywords for this type of intent could include: • • • • • • Do I need…? Do I want…? What is…? Why does…? Is there a _____ that does this _____? How can I ______? Compare In this internet search mode, the consumer is aware that he has a need. He's aware there are products or services he can buy to meet that need. But he isn't quite sure which product or service would satisfy the need in the best way. How can he find out? Reviews Reviews influence buyers and potential buyers. People want to know what other people think about a product they're considering. The internet is full of peer reviews. So, it's Page 4 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet easy for a searcher to find a review for almost any product or service. Comparisons People also seek to compare one product against another product. If they're researching washing machines, they might want to compare two brands. Or even two models within the same brand. • How does Kenmore compare with Whirlpool? • How does the Kenmore model ____ compare with the Kenmore model _____? • Which Kenmore washer is the best? Buy Farther along on the buyer's journey, the consumer focuses on features, price, and purchase options. Search queries at this point of his quest could include: • • • • • Can ___ do this ____? How much does ______ cost? ____ near me? ____ pricing ____ free trial Succeed The buyer's journey doesn't end with purchasing a product or service. After the sale, the buyer is intent on using the product or service to satisfy his need. If he can't figure out how to do this, he might return the product or cancel the service. What's one of the first things a savvy consumer might do to solve his problem? Search for the answer on the internet! Searches could include: • • • • How to use my _____ How do I create a ______ with _____? How to _____ Troubleshoot my ______ Of course, businesses don't want customers returning items and canceling services! An SEO copywriter could gear an entire business around creating succeed-intent pages for her clients. Page 5 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet SEO Optimized Succeed-Intent Web Content Benefits to Business Owners • • • • Takes some of the load off the support desk Reduces the number of support tickets Reduces return rates Reduces the number of cancellations Bottom line? The business keeps more of the money it earns by selling products and services to customers! The stage is set. You have the fundamental building blocks. It's time to outline the steps involved in researching keywords for intent. 4 Steps to Researching and Choosing Intent-based SEO Keywords Step #1: Know Your Audience Consumers have needs and desires. They have problems to solve. Where do they go to meet these needs, satisfy these desires, and solve their problems? More often than not, people rely on the internet. That's where you come in! But how do you know what keywords to target? To write effective SEO content for your client, you have to know your audience. This is one of the fundamental rules of copywriting. And it's just as relevant in the world of intent-based SEO keyword research. The more you know about the prospect, the easier it will become to write SEO content that gives him what he needs. The Customer Persona One of the first steps in determining the right keyword(s) is developing a customer persona. A customer persona is a snapshot of the most important details about your client's audience. You can do this on your own or with your client. Page 6 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: The Customer Persona Canvas for intent-based SEO keyword research Some of the information included in a useful customer persona: • • • • • Demographics Professional Information Personal Traits Information Sources the Customer Uses Goals & Challenges This information, especially goals and challenges, helps you and your client understand the customer's needs. It's a more intimate peek into your client's prospective customers. And it will help you gear your writing for that audience. Step #2: Think About Your Audience’s Intent Do they need more product support? Do they need accurate comparisons between your client's brand and a competitor's brand? Are they trying to find a model with the features they need? Determine their intent, and you'll be half-way there. Step #3: Choose a Seed Keyword Let's say your client is the owner of a photography store. He sells cameras and camera accessories, and you're SEO-optimizing his website. The customer persona you created is a professional photographer who's always looking to upgrade his equipment. The "seed" keyword is the starting point. It's the main word that would make sense for anyone interested in a particular topic. In this case, camera seems like an appropriate Page 7 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet choice for a seed keyword. But if you optimize a page for a basic keyword like "camera," that's going to pull in all kinds of searchers. Neither you nor the search engines can determine the intent of a searcher who simply types "camera" in the search bar. Your client needs quality, qualified traffic. He's targeting the persona you created—the pro photographer looking to upgrade his equipment. The CVI Formula and How to Use it to Get Qualified Traffic to a Client's Website CVI stands for: • Competition • Volume • Intent When you enter a keyword or keyword phrase into Google, you'll see something like this at the top of the page: About 14,400,000 results… 14,400,000 is the number of web pages Google is serving up to you for that query. Millions or billions of results means that competition and volume are high for that keyword. Many people search for that term, and many websites cover it. But how intent-based is that keyword or keyword phrase? The Power of the Long Tail Keyword How do we know a searcher's intent? When they search for more specific information. To search for specific information, they need to add extra words to their seed keyword. We call those extra words, "modifiers." And they're essential words in intent-based SEO keyword research. Every time you add a modifier, you're extending the keyword phrase. When you do this, you're creating a “long tail keyword.” There are two types of modifiers: • Branded • Unbranded Page 8 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Branded modifiers include brand names. Unbranded modifiers can add specificity to a search without targeting brands. [Bold] Example Keyword Modifiers for Intent-Based Keywords Research [Keyword] information List of [Keyword] Learn [Keyword] Sony [Keyword] Compare Buy Succeed [Keyword] vs Buy [Keyword] How to [Keyword] [Keyword] [Keyword] best [Keyword] near me Fix [Keyword] [Keyword] features [Keyword] store Install [Keyword] Sony vs Nikon Sony [Keyword] Set up Sony [Keyword] store [Keyword] [Caption] The more specific the modifiers, the more intent-based the search. The Search Demand Curve These graphics illustrate the power of the long tail keyword. Image Alt: The Search Demand Curve illustrating the importance of long tail keywords in intent-based SEO keyword research Page 9 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: The Search Demand Curve with example keywords expanding from shorter to longer tail keywords - important concept in intent-based SEO keyword research We see the number of monthly searches on the Y-axis and the number of keywords % of traffic on the X-axis. As the number of searches for any specific keyword goes down, the volume and competition also go down, but intent goes up. We find 70% of long tail keywords in that high intent zone. Those are the keywords we want to optimize for. The more specific the keyword modifiers in the search phrase, the clearer the searcher's intent becomes. The SEO copywriter's mission is to build pages for these long tail keywords with HIGH intent and LOW competition. There are fewer monthly searches for those keywords. But those consumers who are using these phrases are qualified prospects. They're focused on what they want and are looking for the right product/brand to satisfy their need. You can help lead them to your client. Let's look at some examples. Remember, when competition and volume are high, intent is low. Let's take the seed keyword, camera, for example. Page 10 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results for seed keyword, “camera” About 4,830,000,000 results… We can see that competition and volume are high for that keyword. And the first page Google tries to send us to is a page to download a Google camera app! Google has no idea what we want. Camera is a seed keyword. It's a starting point. Let's take it one step further and add a specific modifier. We'll search for "digital camera." Page 11 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results for seed keyword, “camera,” plus the modifier keyword, “digital” About 3,730,000,000 results… The numbers came down by over 1 billion, but it's still a lot! We have no way of knowing what the searcher's intent is here. They might be writing a paper on digital cameras, and they need some technical jargon. We don't know if they want or need a digital camera. So, we have no idea whether they intend to buy one in the near future. Your client needs qualified leads—people who are serious about purchasing a digital camera—preferably, your client's digital camera! Let's look at digital cameras again. We'll use the keyword digital camera, but add another specific modifier—the type—mirrorless digital camera. Page 12 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results for seed keyword, “camera,” plus two modifier keywords, “mirrorless digital” Now we’re down to: About 98,200,000 results. That's certainly a lot better than the billions of results previously. Now that we've done preliminary research let's add some brand comparison modifiers. Nikon vs. Sony mirrorless digital camera Page 13 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results for long tail keyword brand comparison modifiers: Nikon vs Sony mirrorless digital camera About 44,200,000 results… After that search, our prospect is narrowing things down. He wants to focus on a specific brand and model. So, he adds specific brand and model intent modifiers: Sony Alpha a7r iv mirrorless digital camera… Page 14 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results for long tail keyword with specific brand and model intent modifiers: Sony Alpha a7r iv mirrorless digital camera About 4,090,000 results… He likes what he sees. He's moving more towards buying now. He adds specific buy modifiers that target price options and where he'd like to find the item: Sony Alpha a7r iv mirrorless digital camera deals in Hawaii… Page 15 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results for long tail keyword with specific buy modifiers that target price options as well as location to buy the item: Sony Alpha a7r iv mirrorless digital camera deals in Hawaii About 44,700 results… Let’s narrow it down further and target a city. Sony Alpha a7r iv mirrorless digital camera deals in Honolulu Hawaii… Page 16 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results for long tail keyword with specific buy modifiers that target price options as well as location to buy the item in a targeted city and state: Sony Alpha a7r iv mirrorless digital camera deals in Honolulu Hawaii About 21,000 results… The intent is clear and high. The searcher knows exactly what he wants, where he wants to go to find it, and he's looking to buy. One of those places is going to sell a camera today! Page 17 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Now that's the kind of traffic your client wants to see. You want quality, qualified highintent customers to find their way to your client's website. The best way to make that happen is to use specific keyword modifiers that create "long tail keywords" just like the ones our camera searcher used. Step #4: Use Keyword Research Tools to Explore Intent-Based SEO Keyword Modifiers Keyword research tools are invaluable resources that can help you target your long tail keyword to your audience. These tools provide a peek into search trends. What are people asking in their search queries regarding the topic you're writing about? If you can answer those top questions for your audience, you'll draw that audience to your client's page. So, let's get researching! 8 Free Keyword Research Tools 1. Google’s Autocomplete Function Type a keyword or keyword phrase into Google's search bar and look at the dropdown list it provides. Image Alt: Image of keyword dropdown list for Google’s Autocomplete Function as it’s being used for intent-based SEO keyword research 2. Google’s “People Also Ask” Section “People also ask” is a section Google often includes on a search results page. They Page 18 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet designed it to offer suggestions to expand the search query. You'll find it below the first set of search results. Image Alt: Google search results page showing the “People Also Ask” Section—a free tool for intent-based SEO keyword research 3. Google Related Searches Google Related Searches is another of Google's attempts to help the user expand upon his search. Scroll down to the bottom of the Google search results page to find searches that Google believes are related to your keyword. Page 19 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results page showing the Google Related Searches section—a free tool for intent-based SEO keyword research 4. Keywords Everywhere (Google Chrome Extension) Add this extension to your Chrome menu bar. Currently, you can use it to obtain a keyword density analysis of a web page for free. Image Alt: Web page analysis by Keywords Everywhere (Google Chrome Extension)—a free tool for intent-based SEO keyword research And it gives you more keywords and keyword phrases to consider when conducting intent-based SEO keyword research. Look on the right-hand side of the search results page: Page 20 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Search results page with a suggested list of keywords and keyword phrases on the right-hand side, displayed by Keywords Everywhere (Google Chrome Extension)—a free tool for intent-based SEO keyword research If you want more substantial SEO analysis tools, you need to obtain an API key and purchase credits. 5. Answer the Public Answer the Public is a web-based tool that spins out keyword phrases related to any keyword you enter. You can only use this tool three times per day for free. Page 21 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Answer the Public sample keyword suggestions—a free web-based tool for intent-based keyword research 6. Also Asked Also Asked is another web-based tool that provides a genealogy-like results tree. It takes the keyword phrase you enter and connects it with other search words and phrases that people have used. Page 22 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Also Asked sample keyword suggestions—a free web-based tool that provides a genealogy-like results tree for intent-based keyword research 7. Google Keyword Planner The Google Keyword Planner has become less user-friendly and, ironically, less sensitive. And that means it's less useful for keyword research. Its main goal is to show businesses how valuable specific keywords are. And it lets them know how much they'll have to pay per click if they buy ad space for that keyword. That said, you can still use it for keyword research if you adjust the filters. Just remember the entire tool is set up for businesses that want to purchase keywords. Adjust the filters with that in mind. Image Alt: Google Keyword Planner—a free tool for intent-based keyword research 8. Common Sense [Note to Designer: Downloaded this free clipart here: https://www.pngkit.com/view/u2e6e6y3y3t4o0q8_thinking-brain-png-png/ ] Page 23 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: A cartoon thinking brain clipart image juggling 4 light bulbs When all else fails, use your brain! Learning the rules for writing good SEO content is essential. But sometimes you need to break the rules! Sometimes, as you're researching keywords, you won’t find any on the topic you have in mind. That's okay! You should still write the page. If you've determined that your client needs a particular page on his site, go ahead and write it. Good content is human-friendly content! We're not just writing for search bots. For instance, let's assume your client's support team tells you that customers regularly call in asking how to do a particular thing. Wouldn't it be better if they could answer this simple question on the website? Of course! So, write the page. Chapter Summary In this chapter, you learned the fundamentals of intent-based SEO keyword research. You also learned how to use that knowledge to choose SEO keywords that target your specific audience's needs. Key Concepts Taught in this Chapter • Why it's essential to focus on the intent behind the searcher's query • The four main types of intent • The CVI formula and how to use it to draw qualified traffic to your client's website Page 24 of 69 Heather Murata- • SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet The four steps involved in researching and choosing intent-based SEO keywords Using intent-based SEO keyword research to guide the web copywriting you do for your client benefits the SEO world's four critical players: 1. Your Target Audience: They have needs that your client can satisfy. 2. Your Client: Their success depends upon satisfying their customer base. 3. Search Engines: They’re instrumental in steering customers to your client. 4. YOU: Your value to your client increases when you learn SEO. We encourage you to practice these intent-based SEO keyword research skills and use them to help your clients. Remember, all of us here at AWAI are rooting for your success! Please let us know how The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing has helped you on your SEO journey. And if you'd like to take your SEO copywriting skills to the next level, take a look at our SEO Copywriting Success and SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification programs. What’s inside this Ultimate Guide? Introduction — The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing Chapter 1 — How to Research and Choose an Intent-based SEO Keyword Chapter 2 — Technical SEO Engineer vs. SEO Copywriting Artist Chapter 3 — 11 Key Elements of an Example SEO Optimized Web Page Chapter 4 — Google Featured Snippets and How to Optimize for Them Page 25 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Chapter 2 Next Update is Scheduled For: October 10, 2020 Keyword: technical seo vs seo copywriting Title Tag: Technical SEO vs. SEO Copywriting | AWAI Meta Description: Learn the difference between the SEO technical engineer and the SEO copywriting artist. URL: https://awai.com/technical-seo-vs-seo-copywriting H1 Tag: Technical SEO Engineer vs. Copywriting SEO Artist Body Copy: Image Alt: Graphic illustrating various aspects of SEO (technical SEO engineers vs. copywriting SEO artists) [Note to designer: I snagged this from https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/271908-seo-search-engine-optimization-keywordresearch-market-research-flat-vector-illustration for illustration purposes - it’s not free] Page 26 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet In Chapter One, we mentioned that the SEO copywriter writes for humans, not just bots. In this chapter, we'll cover the differences between the SEO technical engineer and the SEO copywriting artist. In the process, we'll delve a little deeper into the importance of writing for humans! We'll start by taking a closer look at the SEO responsibilities of the technical engineer. Let's get to it! Technical SEO Engineer Technical SEO involves the coding behind the scenes of the website. Most SEO copywriters don't need to concern themselves with this aspect of SEO. Still, it helps to have more than a passing understanding of it. Several on-site SEO elements help search engines find and index your client's content. If any of those elements break, your client's organic search engine traffic will suffer. We'll start with the critical elements. The 4 Critical On-Site Technical Engineer SEO Elements 1. Accessible Website If Google bots can't get to the information, it won't get indexed. There are a variety of technical issues that can crop up. We call them brick walls and speed bumps. When a bot comes up against a brick wall, it can’t get in. Speed bumps just slow it down. 2. Mobile-optimized Is the site optimized for cell phones and other mobile accessories? 3. Site Architecture [Note to designer: This is not free clipart. I snagged it at https://www.iconfinder.com/icons/-/map_navigation_site_site_map_website _icon for illustration purposes.] Page 27 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Website page hierarchy clipart Some aspects of a site, such as the page hierarchy, help the bots find the information they're seeking. 4. Secure Website The website owner should secure the site to keep visitors' personal information safe. Hackers can also wreak havoc with the content on the site. For example, they can insert spam links that can hurt SEO rankings. 7 Important On-Site Technical Engineer SEO Elements 1. Clean Code Clean code improves SEO in many ways, including: • It ensures accessibility for search engine bots. • It improves site speed. 2. URL Structure One technical element the SEO copywriter can affect involves making the URL readable by humans. If it's friendly to humans, search engines like it too. 3. Use of Schema.org What is schema.org? According to the schema.org website: [Definition block] Schema.org is a joint effort, in the spirit of sitemaps.org, to improve the web by creating a structured data markup schema supported by major search Page 28 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet engines. On-page markup helps search engines understand the information on web pages and provide more dynamic search results. 4. Duplicate Content [Note to designer: Image snagged from page-seo-dealduplicate-content ] Image Alt: Graphic illustrating duplicate content and its effect on SEO Duplicate content occurs when the same content shows up on the internet on more than one website. This happens for a variety of reasons. And it undermines a website's SEO because it is difficult for the search engines to decide which one to offer their users. One example in which the SEO copywriter can resolve this issue comes in the area of product pages. Companies that sell products often copy and paste the manufacturer's product description. Because more than one website employs this practice, duplicate content issues arise. You can resolve duplicate content issues like these by rewriting product description pages. 5. Page Load Speed There are a variety of causes for slow page-loading, including images. Technical SEO Engineers can seek out and remedy any page-speed loading issues. 6. TF-IDF [Quote block] "(TF-IDF) measures the importance of a keyword phrase by comparing it to the frequency of the term in a large set of documents." ~ Cyrus Shepherd — More than Keyword: 7 Concepts of Advanced On-Page SEO 7. LSI (Latent Semantic Indexing) Page 29 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Semantics and related terms found within the content help search engines determine a website's theme. Both TF-IDF and LSI SEO elements take care of themselves if the copywriter covers the topic in depth. But the web developer can run reports on the back end to check for gaps in coverage. A good SEO copywriter: • Provides good depth of coverage. • Writes or rewrites to cover the topic more fully if needed. Important Off-Site Technical Engineer SEO Elements Natural Link Profile (online reputation): This also takes care of itself if your writing covers the topic in depth. When you do that well, others might link to your pages. These "referral" links tell Google and other search engines that your content is worth ranking. Copywriting SEO Artist SEO copywriting is all about content…words and media content, optimized for various keywords and keyword phrases. This is your domain! [Quote block] "The artist's job is to use signals to show Google exactly what a page is about, and do it in a way that doesn't sacrifice the quality of the writing." ~ Russ Henneberry These eleven SEO copywriting elements cover those signals. Let's get started! The 3 Critical On-Site Artist SEO Elements 1. Keyword in Title Tag Page 30 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results showing keyword in title tag The title tag is the information that Google pulls into the heading on the search results page. You want it to be compelling, but make sure the keyword or keyword phrase is part of it. 2. Long Clicks vs. Pogo-Sticking [Note to designer: Graphic source: googlerankbrain-seo ] Pogo-sticking looks a bit like this: Image Alt: Clipart image illustrating long clicks vs. pogo-sticking The searcher opened a web page on the search engine results page. A few seconds later, he backed out of it, jumping right back to the search results page. Google sees this as a failed attempt to serve the user what he was looking for. Page 31 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet If this happens a lot, Google will assume the page does not deliver the type of content it promises. That will hurt a page's SEO ranking. The SEO copywriter wants to create pages that get "long clicks." She wants the site visitor to come onto the page and look around. They should see right away that they're in the right place and stick around engaging with the site. She accomplishes this in several ways, including things like: • Writing engaging content • Formatting the page for readability (easy on the eyes) • Writing content that delivers on the promise the headline makes • Providing depth of coverage 3. Freshness Old, outdated web pages are irrelevant in today's fast-paced information-technology world. People need fresh, relevant content. They want to read a page about retirement account management and successfully apply what they’ve learned. They don't want to find out the information was outdated and no longer works. That kind of scenario looks bad for your clients. SEO copywriters can help their clients avoid this type of negative customer experience. They can update and rewrite as needed, making the content relevant again. 3 Important On-Site Artist SEO Elements 1. Keyword in H1 Tag The H1 tag is your headline on the web page. It's the signpost that says, "Hey! Here's what this page is all about!" It's best if your H1 tag includes the keyword or a variation of it. Page 32 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Web page section showing keyword in H1 tag 2. Internal Link Structure Adding links to other pages and articles on the website signals to Google that those pages are also relevant. Image Alt: Web page section showing internal linking Think of these internal links as referrals from one of the site's pages to other pages. These referrals lend those pages the same type of authority as the original page that is linking to them. It looks like this in Google's eyes: [Note to designer: I snagged this image from https://neilpatel.com/blog/the-complete-guide-to-internal-linking/ ] Page 33 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Clipart illustrating internal link structure 3. Depth of Coverage For every writing project, the SEO artist should ask, "How thoroughly have I covered this topic?" Depth of coverage will help with SEO ranking. Google wants to know that your content will satisfy the user's need for information. Depth of coverage will also go a long way toward eliminating pogo-sticking. If the reader finds everything she needs on your page, she'll stay on the page—for as long as it takes to learn what she wanted to learn when she clicked on your link. An example of depth of coverage: Page 34 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Mayo Clinic web page section on breast cancer illustrating depth of coverage 5 Nice to Have On-Site Artist SEO Factors 1. Keyword in Image Alt Image alt descriptions help the visually-impaired site visitor know what the picture represents. The accessibility software will read the description to that site visitor. If appropriate, adding the keyword into that image alt is helpful for SEO. Again, doing something useful that helps the reader goes a long way toward improving SEO—even if you can't justify adding the keyword. 2. Keyword in Meta Description Think of the meta description as a free ad to sell the web page to the searcher. It shows up in the search results. Treat it like an ad and make it compelling to encourage people to click on the link and visit the page. Page 35 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search results page showing keyword in meta description 3. Keyword in URL The web page address should include the keyword. Note: You should not have your client change URL's on their website unless they know how to create a 301 redirect. If you don't do that, the page "disappears." Google doesn't know where it moved. But when you're writing a new page, make sure the keyword is in the URL. Image Alt: Google search results page showing keyword in URL 4. Reading Level Page 36 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Make sure your audience can read and understand your content. Keep in mind the issue of pogo-sticking. If your content is too difficult to follow, the reader will likely not stick around! The Hemingway app is a free, online resource for checking readability level. Image Alt: Hemingway app page showing readability score 5. Use of Media Quality content often contains multiple sources of rich content. Google looks for the best, most relevant, high-quality content. This often includes multimedia such as: • Images • Video • Audio Wherever applicable, use these types of media to enhance reader experience and understanding. These elements can improve depth of coverage, another way to avoid pogo-sticking. Critical Off-Site Artist SEO Factors Page 37 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet • Number of Linking Domains • Quality of Linking Domains When websites link to your web page, your credibility increases. It's like a referral network. Other sites are referring your site to their readers. It improves your site's credibility even more if the websites linking to your page are also high-quality. Websites that Google already knows, and likes, are recommending your site. Important Off-Site Artist SEO Factors Link Relevancy This is similar to quality. When Google sees relevant content pointing to your content, it adds authority and credibility to your page. All this external linking looks like this to Google: [Note to designer: Snagged from http://linkaudit.co/blog/ ] Image Alt: Graphic depicting the density of external linking from website to website Linking Anchor Text When you click on a link online, you're clicking on code. The code looks something like this: Page 38 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: HTML code example of linking anchor text Although it's not essential, it's nice to have the anchor text match the keyword of the URL you're linking to. If you're curious, this is an online text editor showing an anchor link and its HTML code: Image Alt: HTML editor illustrating linking anchor text Chapter Summary The differences between the technical SEO engineer and the copywriting SEO artist center on coding (software) and content. Content that covers a topic in depth can include multimedia-rich content: • Images • Video • Audio Few SEO specialists perform both jobs. However, as an SEO copywriter, you now have a basic understanding of the technical aspects of SEO. If you collaborate with web developers, you'll be standing on solid ground! But with all this talk about the technical aspects of SEO, it's sometimes easy to lose sight of one of the most critical players…the consumer. Yes, you need to focus on intent-based keywords and other aspects of SEO. That's what helps search engine bots find and index your content. But remember, in the end, your content needs to speak to the audience you intend to reach. Page 39 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet If you apply the SEO concepts you're learning in this guide; you’re well on your way to providing high-quality, relevant content for consumers. Here at AWAI, we'd like to know how The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing has helped you achieve your goals. Reach out to us and share your stories! And if you're thinking about improving your SEO skills even further, remember to check out our SEO Copywriting Success and SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification programs. What’s inside this Ultimate Guide? Introduction — The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing Chapter 1 — How to Research and Choose an Intent-based SEO Keyword Chapter 2 — Technical SEO Engineer vs. SEO Copywriting Artist Chapter 3 — 11 Key Elements of an Example SEO Optimized Web Page Chapter 4 — Google Featured Snippets and How to Optimize for Them Page 40 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Chapter 3 Next Update is Scheduled For: October 15, 2020 Keyword: key elements of seo optimized web page Title Tag: Key Elements of SEO Optimized Web Page | AWAI Meta Description: Learn 11 key elements of a perfectly SEO optimized web page as we analyze this example. URL: https://awai.com/key-elements-of-seo-optimized-web-page H1 Tag: 11 Key SEO Elements of a Well-Optimized Web Page Body Copy: Image Alt: Graphic illustrating Key Elements of an Example SEO Optimized Web Page [Note to designer: snagged this from https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/272416-seo-searchengine-optimization for illustration purposes - it’s not a free graphic.] In our last chapter, Technical SEO Engineer vs. Copywriting SEO Artist, we covered the on-site and off-site SEO duties of the technical engineer and the copywriting artist. Page 41 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet In this chapter, we'll put all the pieces together. We'll analyze the 11 key elements of a well-optimized Wikipedia web page on Helen Keller. Remember, writing excellent SEO copy involves writing for search engines and humans. As we tour the page, we'll check out the search engine bot signals that Wikipedia handled well and the human-friendly nature of the article. Let's get started! Key Element #1: The Title Tag The title tag is a brief 50- to 60-character description of the content on the page. It gets pulled into the SERP (search engine results page) as a headline. So, it needs to be wellwritten and compelling, like any headline! A standard formula for the title tag is: Keyword(s) | Brand Name or Keyword(s) - Brand Name Let's see if the Helen Keller Wikipedia page covers this essential element. Image Alt: Google search results page showing Wikipedia’s title tag for the Helen Keller article Key Element #2: Long Clicks vs. Pogo-Sticking Page 42 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Your copywriting skills are instrumental in encouraging site visitors to stick around. You don't want your visitor to click onto your page from a search engine result, then click right back out of it. Remember, Google sees this as a failed attempt to serve its user what he wants! Use your copywriting skills to produce well-written, well-formatted content. Your goal is to encourage site visitors to scroll down and spend time on the page. Aim for short, punchy, compelling copy from the beginning. In this busy world, web visitors have short attention spans. Not surprisingly, many readers appreciate summaries at the beginning of an article and conclusions at the end. For the body copy, make sure you break up the page by keeping your paragraphs short. You don't want a wall of dense text that intimidates the reader. And, don't worry about breaking grammar rules. Write to improve your reader's experience and encourage consumption of the content, not to get an A+ in English class! Let's see how our Wikipedia Helen Keller article stands up: Image Alt: Section of Wikipedia’s Helen Keller article with arrows illustrating various formatting, table of contents, and images—some of the key elements of an SEO optimized web page Long Click Tips Focus on the Headline and Introduction Page 43 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Pull the reader in with a compelling headline, then keep him hooked in the introduction. Get to the point as quickly as possible, avoiding warm-up copy and fluff. Break up the Text Keep in mind that there are two paths readers take when consuming written content. Some read from top to bottom, start to finish. But most people are scanners. They're busy and want to know as soon as possible if they're in the right place to answer their questions. Scanners need signposts that help them get at the meat of their question as soon as possible. 6 SEO Copywriting Signposts for Scanners 1. Sub-headlines 2. Bullets 3. Numbered Lists 4. Block Quotes 5. Line Breaks 6. Bolding and Other Formatting as Needed Key Element #3: Freshness You don't want Google discounting your web pages due to age. If your page is outdated and untended, Google thinks it's no longer relevant. It's essential to tend to your web content regularly. And it's much better to freshen up existing pages than to keep adding new pages. Freshness Tips • Plan to routinely update existing pages. • Improve the content (add sections, remove sections, change media…). Page 44 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet • Update the publish date (not the URL) with the new date. • Promote the updated content using email, social media and paid traffic ads. Wikipedia has freshness down to a science as they consistently revise and republish articles. Let's take a look at one of the oldest versions of the Helen Keller article and then the version that stands today. From 56 words and no multimedia… Image Alt: Early version of Wikipedia’s Helen Keller article page—only 56 words on the page ...to just over 4050 words plus rich multimedia. Image Alt: Current version of Wikipedia’s Helen Keller article page—over 4000 words on the page plus multimedia-rich content Page 45 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Key Element #4: Keyword in H1 Tag The H1 tag is the headline for your article. It's displayed at the top of your page and should be the largest headline on the page. Examples of headline formatting: [H1-size] This is the headline of the page [H2-size] This is a lower level sub-headline [H3-size] This is an even lower level sub-headline H1 Tips • There should only be one H1 tag per page. • Because it's your headline, it's more vital to be compelling than to contain the keyword(s). If you put some thought into it, however, you can achieve both goals. • Use an exact match of the keyword(s) if it's compelling, otherwise, use a variation. • You can use the H1 as the title tag as well. It's often the same if not similar. • Meet the searcher's intent. You want the searcher to know they've landed on the right page…they're in the right place to satisfy their search intent. Is the keyword, Helen Keller, in the H1 tag? Image Alt: Top of Wikipedia’s Helen Keller article page showing the keyword, Helen Keller, as the H1 tag (headline) Page 46 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet That's an example of a big, bold headline that assures the reader they've come to the right place! Key Element #5: Internal Links — Crosslinking Internal links from one page on the website to another page on the website are like referrals. They're signals to Google that you believe the linked page is just as relevant for the user's keyword search. Referrals lend authority and credibility from one page to another, which is very good for SEO. Crosslinking is helpful to the site visitor as it can enhance and expand his search for information. Tips for Internal Links • The page contains links to pages on the same domain that site visitors and search engines would find useful and relevant. • The internal links use descriptive anchor text (and contain exact match keywords whenever possible). [Bold] Example of Descriptive Anchor Text: Image Alt: Example of descriptive anchor text—a key element of SEO optimized web page • Link to another page when it makes sense to do so—it's a natural, not forced, referral. • If there are no obvious opportunities to crosslink within the body of the copy, add the related page links at the end of the article. • If you link a new page to other pages on the domain, make sure you update those pages to link back to the new page. Page 47 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet • Link other relevant pages as well. Wikipedia knocks it out of the park on internal linking! Image Alt: The top section of Wikipedia’s Helen Keller article page with red arrows pointing to several internal links Key Element #6: Depth of Coverage The page thoroughly covers the topic without padding the content with irrelevant copy. 10 Tips to Improve Depth of Coverage 1. Research the top 10 results for a keyword phrase. 2. Produce a more thorough article than the top 10 competing pages. 3. Create an outline to help you reach that goal. 4. Check if Amazon has any books on your topic. Look inside at the table of contents for ideas. 5. Add internal links that are relevant to the topic you're covering. 6. Add a table of contents if you're covering material that you're segmenting into subtopics. 7. Add multimedia-rich elements to enhance reader comprehension and create a more engaging user experience. 8. Pull in relevant quotes from a variety of sources and present them in quote blocks. Page 48 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet 9. Add definition blocks where appropriate to explain more complex terms. 10. If you're writing a long article, add appropriate source material at the end for the reader to explore. Let's see how Wikipedia handles depth of coverage in our Helen Keller article. First, the table of contents: Image Alt: Section of Wikipedia’s Helen Keller article page showing the table of contents— depth of coverage SEO element Not enough? How about these extra sources of information? Page 49 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Wikipedia’s Helen Keller article page showing references, bibliography, and further reading sections And those are only two of the key elements. They also use multimedia and other elements listed above that we'll cover later in this tour. Clearly, Wikipedia has depth of coverage…well…covered! Key Element #7: Keyword in Image Alt The alternate text for an image doesn't show up on the web page. It's behind the scenes. As the SEO copywriter, however, you have control over what your client enters in that section. It should contain a brief description (at least 3 to 5 words) of the subject of the image without keyword stuffing. If the keyword naturally fits in the alternate text, use it. Page 50 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet How does Wikipedia handle image alt text in this article? Here’s Helen Keller sitting with a magnolia flower in her hands: Image Alt: A picture of Helen Keller sitting with a magnolia flower in her hands. There is a list of notable facts and a copy of her signature below the photo. Here is the source code showing Wikipedia's image alt description for the above image: Image Alt: The Wikipedia Helen Keller article source code showing the image alt description of the picture of Helen Keller sitting with a magnolia flower in her hands Key Element #8: Keyword in Meta Description The meta description should be a compelling 50- to 160-character description of the content on the page. It has no impact on SEO, but a major impact on the click-through rate. Treat this copy like a paid ad even though it doesn't cost a dime. It often gets pulled into the search results, so use it to sell the click! Write compelling copy to convert the searcher into a site visitor. Does Wikipedia include the keywords, Helen Keller, in the meta description? Page 51 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google results of Wikipedia Helen Keller article showing the keyword in the meta description They also make the meta description compelling, listing out some of the most interesting aspects of Helen Keller's life. Key Element #9: Keyword in URL The URL contains the exact match of the keyword. Remember, don't change URL's unless you or someone else can create a 301 redirect. Tips for Keyword in URL • Don't change the URL without creating a 301 redirect. • Use exact-match keyword(s). • Use descriptive words. • Put hyphens between the words. • Keep URLs as short as possible. And here’s the Helen Keller Wikipedia URL: Page 52 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Top of Wikipedia’s Helen Keller page with the URL enclosed in a red rectangle Key Element #10: Reading Level The page has a readability level consistent with the target audience. Tips for Reading Level • Know your audience. • Use a readability test tool like the Hemingway app or Flesch Kincaid. Image Alt: Section of Hemingway app showing the readability score for the Wikipedia Helen Keller article (Grade 11) The reading grade level is somewhat high, grade 11. But we have to remember…this is an encyclopedia. The information presented should be at a reasonable academic level. Write for the target audience. Key Element #11: Use of Media Use rich multimedia wherever appropriate to enhance the quality of the content on the page. This is an important aspect of depth of coverage. Some Multimedia Examples: Page 53 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet • Images • Video • Audio (podcasts, etc.) • Infographics • Screen shots And the final stop on our tour of the Helen Keller Wikipedia article—various multimedia and formatting blocks that add visually-appealing depth of coverage: Page 54 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: 3 pictures on the Wikipedia article of Helen Keller: 1. Helen Keller sitting with a magnolia flower in her hands. Below the photo: notable facts and a copy of her signature 2. Helen Keller’s birth home in Tuscumbia, Alabama and 3. Helen Keller sitting with Anne Sullivan vacationing in Cape Cod in July 1888 Image Alt: Section of Wikipedia page on Helen Keller with photos, quote block, and related information block: Photo 1: Helen Keller in 1899 with Anne Sullivan — Photo taken by Alexander Graham Bell at his School of Vocal Physiology and Mechanics of Speech. Photo 2: a 1912 photo of Helen Keller standing at a window. Chapter Summary Page 55 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet This concludes our tour of an exceptional SEO case study in web page content. One has to conclude that Wikipedia deserves the large amount of organic search traffic it has earned over the years. They do an excellent job covering all 11 on-site SEO elements of a well-optimized web page. There are lessons the SEO copywriter can learn from Wikipedia's approach to web content publishing. Apply proven SEO content-writing skills and your web content will gain recognition with search engines across the board. And your clients will benefit from an increase in well-qualified web traffic. This boosts your value as a copywriter. And that, in turn, will allow you to charge higher fees for copy that attracts free organic search engine traffic. As always, AWAI wants to hear from you! Share your successes as you apply what you've learned in The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing! We'd love to be part of your celebrations! And, when you're ready to step it up a notch, check out our SEO Copywriting Success and SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification programs. What’s inside this Ultimate Guide? Introduction — The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing Chapter 1 — How to Research and Choose an Intent-based SEO Keyword Chapter 2 — Technical SEO Engineer vs. SEO Copywriting Artist Chapter 3 — 11 Key Elements of an Example SEO Optimized Web Page Chapter 4 — Google Featured Snippets and How to Optimize for Them Page 56 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Chapter 4 Next Update is Scheduled For: October 15, 2020 Keyword: google featured snippets and how to optimize for them Title Tag: Google Featured Snippets and How to Optimize for Them | AWAI Meta Description: Everything you wanted to know (and some you didn't) about Google featured snippets and how to optimize for them! URL: https://awai.com/google-featured-snippets-and-how to-optimizefor-them H1 Tag: Google Featured Snippets and How to Optimize for Them Body Copy: Image Alt: Graphic illustrating how to optimize for Google featured snippets [Note to Page 57 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet designer: Snagged this from https://www.vecteezy.com/vector-art/272471-seo-search-engineoptimization for illustration purposes - it’s not a free graphic.] You’ve learned a lot about your role as a copywriting SEO artist, including the importance of intent-based keyword research. Still, it can be hard to rank for keyword searches, even using the best SEO content writing practices. That's why long tail keywords are so crucial for your SEO copywriting strategy. There is another way to get your client's website on the front page of the Google search results, however. And, no, it's not purchasing ad space. There's a new kid on the SEO copywriting scene, and its name is "featured snippet." It brings in free, organic traffic, and content-producers covet it. What's so great about featured snippets? Let's take a look. What are Google featured snippets? [Bold] Google's Definition: [Definition block] “Featured snippets are special boxes where the format of regular listings is reversed, showing the descriptive snippet first.” https://support.google.com/webmasters/answer/-?hl=en [Bold] Back Linko's Definition: [Definition block] "Featured Snippets are short snippets of text that appear at the top of Google's search results in order to quickly answer a searcher's query. The content that appears inside of a Featured Snippet is automatically pulled from web pages in Google's index. Common types of Featured Snippets include definitions, tables, steps and lists." https://backlinko.com/hub/seo/featured-snippets The goal of the featured snippet, then, is to answer a searcher's question immediately. So, rather than steering her to a web page using the typical search query result… Page 58 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google search result for the keyword(s) “best apple pie in Honolulu” …Google offers up a handy-dandy little box that contains all the information the searcher wanted without needing to click onto a web page to look for it herself. Image Alt: Google search result showing a numbered list featured snippet for “tips for baking pies” Now, you might think this is counterproductive. After all, don't we want the consumer to click on our client's web page? Well, yes. However, you also want to build awareness, authority, and credibility for your client’s brand. What better way to build authority and credibility than by ranking for Google's coveted "immediate answers" boxes? This is, in effect, Google telling the world that your client has what it takes! Page 59 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet So, if you think about it…the consumer gets her immediate question answered in a timely fashion. She likes what she read. Is it a stretch to think she’s made a mental note about your client's content? When she’s in the market for something your client offers, do you think she might seek him out? After all, she’s already decided your client's content is reliable. Let's take this one step further. IF the consumer is intrigued with the answer to her question and wants to pursue it further…it's likely she'll click through to your client's site. After all, she has more time, because Google just saved her tons of searching time by handing the answer to her on a silver platter. Are you following the logic here? There is data to suggest that people do click through: Image Alt: Paragraph Google featured snippet showing the click-through rate for featured snippets Types of Featured Snippets There are three major types of featured snippets: [Note to designer: I pulled this information from https://www.searchenginejournal.com/featured-snippetstypes/219907/#close ] Page 60 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Graphic table showing 3 types of featured snippets and the percentage of them on the internet (Paragraph 81.95% — Bulleted & numbered list snippets 10.77% — Table snippets 7.28%) Paragraph featured snippets, by far the largest category, are text answers to questions. The box could contain an image as well. The list featured snippets are often numbered lists. These could include: • Ordered lists (step-by-step how-to instructions, for example) • Lists of items • Other answers provided in list formats Google offers table featured snippets as…well…tables. Note: YouTube videos can also appear in featured snippets. Image Alt: Google results page showing a YouTube carousel featured snippet Page 61 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Examples of Featured Snippets Bulleted and Numbered List Featured Snippets Image Alt: Google results page showing a bulleted list featured snippet Image Alt: Google results page showing a numbered list featured snippet You might notice that the numbered list above for the search query, "How to write a thank you letter," does not precisely meet the search intent. "What to include in a thank you letter" isn't quite what we expected to find. Page 62 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet This happens sometimes. There's an opportunity here. If you create a better ordered list that explicitly addresses the search intent, you could take over that featured snippet position. Table Image Alt: Google results page showing a table featured snippet Paragraph Lyrics Paragraph Featured Snippet Image Alt: Google results page showing a “lyrics” paragraph featured snippet Page 63 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Definition Paragraph Featured Snippet Image Alt: Google results page showing a paragraph definition featured snippet Another definition featured snippet (with a bonus)! Image Alt: Google results page showing a paragraph definition featured snippet with a bonus “rich snippet” on the right-hand side Page 64 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet A note of distinction: Featured snippets contain links to their sources. But some snippets don't have links. The snippet on the right, above, does contain source links, so one could argue that it's a featured snippet. However, that block is called a "rich snippet." It’s a conglomerate of information Google has pulled from various sources. An SEO strategy does not generate it. These anomaly snippets fall into a few categories: • Rich Answers • Knowledge Graphs • Rich Snippets Examples of Anomalous Snippets that are NOT Featured Snippets [h4] Rich Answer Image Alt: Google results page showing a rich answer snippet “How big is the moon?” Radius 1079.4 mi. Google says they don't need to credit a source for snippets like this as the information is already common knowledge (part of the public domain). [h4] Knowledge Graph Page 65 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Image Alt: Google results page showing a knowledge graph snippet — a carousel of Anne McCaffrey books Technically, these knowledge graphs are not considered featured snippets. Though, to be fair, they do contain links. If you click on one of the books, it refreshes the search results page, prominently listing that book at the head of the search results. Image Alt: Google results page showing the refreshed page after clicking on one of the Anne McCaffrey books in a knowledge graph snippet — the search results page refreshes with that book’s search results at the top of the page. One could argue that these knowledge graphs sure do behave like featured snippets! But all the SEO strategies in the world could not control this content. Google pulls it from a variety of sources and pieces it together merely to enhance search results. Page 66 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet [h4] Rich Snippet Image Alt: Google results page showing rich snippets of chocolate peanut butter cup search results Although these rich snippets do contain links, they're not considered featured snippets. Google pulls the information that creates the star ratings, photos, and reviews directly from the sites, using structured schema data from Schema.org. (They also did not appear at the top of the search results page.) How to Optimize for a Definition Featured Snippet 1. Ask a question like: "What is a calico cat?" 2. Answer the question, preferably in a definition block. What is a calico cat? [Definition block] A calico cat is a domestic short-haired cat that is usually about 25% to 75% white with large patches of black and orange. They are nearly always female. 3 Steps to Optimize for a Numbered List Featured Snippet Step #1: List out the steps as clearly as possible. Step #2: Make each step a sub-headline (H2 or H3) in the html code. Step #3: Include the words Step #1, Step #2…in each of the sub-headlines. Chapter Summary Page 67 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet And there you have it! Everything you ever wanted to know about Google featured snippets (and, maybe, some you didn't)! If you use this information and snag a coveted featured snippet on Google's search results page, we'd love to hear about it! But remember, the whole point to SEO copywriting is to write for bots and humans. Your job is to create high-quality SEO optimized web content that’s easy for bots to crawl and enjoyable for humans to read. Creating ordered lists, definition blocks, and writing for clarity is beneficial even if you don't always snag featured snippet real estate on Google's search results page. You'll benefit the reader by serving up valuable content that enhances his life. Of course, you'll also help your client. You'll raise awareness for his products and services and build credibility and authority on the internet. You'll also benefit the folks at Google and other search engines who earn their living by helping people find your content. Remember, without the search engines; it would be tough for people to find your client's website! Like looking for a needle in a gigantic haystack. We're looking forward to hearing about how you're benefiting from The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing! If you'd like to take your SEO copywriting skills to the next level, be sure to check out our SEO Copywriting Success and SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification programs. What’s inside this Ultimate Guide? Introduction — The Ultimate Guide to SEO Content Writing Chapter 1 — How to Research and Choose an Intent-based SEO Keyword Chapter 2 — Technical SEO Engineer vs. SEO Copywriting Artist Chapter 3 — 11 Key Elements of an Example SEO Optimized Web Page Chapter 4 — Google Featured Snippets and How to Optimize for Them Page 68 of 69 Heather Murata- SEO Copywriting Mastery & Certification Final Assignment: SEO Magnet Page 69 of 69