SEO is Not Your Mama's Copywriting

After college, I spent three years working as a copywriter for print and television advertising and all my bosses ever cared about was one thing: creativity. I recently learned about writing SEO copy and am glad I never had to write any because it would have been terrible. With print and television copy, we prided ourselves on being clever and making connections that though less obvious, resonated with people. But when people are searching online, they aren't typing in clever, less obvious words--they are typing in exactly what they want to find.

I created this short comic (thanks, Bitstrips!) to illustrate what would've happened if I had been asked to write SEO copy when I started working in advertising in 2010. (Disclaimer: I have no affiliation with Nike.)  

When it comes to SEO, your most useful keyword is your product, not your tag line, which seems pretty obvious but companies continue to do it incorrectly. In a 2013 article about copywriting best practices, the ad below was cited as a shining example of great copy. I agree that it's a cool ad, and it can be argued that it would work in print, but I sure hope the copy never made it onto The Fight Against Illiteracy's landing page.

So if you're like me and come from a world of magazines and commercials, check out this infographic on SEO copywriting best practices for 2014. It will keep you from royally screwing up your clients' webpages.