Whilst sitting at the bar today (I am currently away traveling) I was scrolling through Facebook and I see an advert pop up on the screen. I actually try to ignore these ads as much as possible but anyway I clicked the link and watched a video. It was basically about Long Form Copywriting Vs. SEO – What Ranks Best?
So, what does rank best? this video left me thinking should I use Long Form Copywriting or SEO? The guy in the video Jacob McMillen, as he was called, gave me quite a lot to think about here.
He was mostly saying that things like meta descriptions, keywords, and structured data DON’T matter if you are good enough at writing highly engaging SALES COPY!
THAT good quality content can outshine everything they ever told you that is important for SEO…
BUT HOW ABOUT THIS? – I think this is a great topic to explore – what is better between the two?
Long Form Copy Writing Vs. SEO Strategies?
Table of Contents
So, prior to coming across this Facebook Ad I honestly was thinking a lot about SEO strategies for my other website DynamicIdeas4life.com. I had just traveled from Budapest to Bratislava on the coach and for most of the 2 1/2 trip, I had my headphones plugged in listening to Matt Diggity and Jay Yap (Affiliate Lab).
The course I am actually loving it so far because of all the different ideas it has given me to think about. I will definitely have to cover this in another article (I will share a link here once this is published) but yes copy writing prior to spotting this advert was the last thing really on my mind.
Except it is something I have researched before though. This article I wrote last year about this same topic but I must say again that this is really something people should think about if they are not doing so already.
There are a number of techniques that must be utilized to really make your content work in the desired way but it is really a case of knowing what to do to take the necessary actions.
What Works The Best?
Well, about what ranks best on google between Long Form Copy Writing Vs. SEO. The jury is still out but I think the best strategy should involve using both of these methods working together simultaneously
SEO strategies that are shared by people like Matt Diggity and others should not be ignored but what Jacob McMillen has to say is definitely legitimate. NEVER should you overlook the power of writing highly engaging and well-written content that keeps your readers reading until the end.
After all, if people are visiting your site and are immediately losing interest and clicking away then this is something that google can detect. If you are not keeping the visitors to your blog post engaged then of course you have a problem.
You want to resonate with your readers. Actually, read books, newspapers, and other people’s work on their websites, and whenever you notice yourself becoming engaged take a few minutes to analyze your thoughts about this. If you can engineer something akin to this material then you could actually do what they are doing yourself.
Although, SEO strategies are your power pack. You will want to take further steps to make your content rank and here is where things like building domain authority, user experience, and keyword utilization can be defining factors.
SO Be sure to consider these things but also let’s get to the nitty-gritty of this whole Idea…
What Is Long Form Copywriting?
When you write a piece of content (of any kind) that is anything over 1000 words in length this can be considered long form copywriting. Anything below 1000 is called short-form content.
However, just because an online publisher produces a piece of long-form content does not mean that this is instantly better.
As you could, of course, write a short-form piece that will rank higher than a long-form piece if it is more engaging, but my point is that if you can write 2000+ words that are well received then you are in a good position to outrank people with similar content. Many coaches will say this to their students about writing their blog posts
“Go ABOVE and BEYOND”.
I think here what Jacob M says about not worrying about the competition – just using your natural ability to conduct something that makes people feel is worthy of their time IS INDEED a solid strategy.
However, what SEO experts such as Matt Diggity will say is that before you even start writing YOU MUST do your research.
>>>Want To Know How To Better Research Your Competition LEARN MORE CLICK HERE<<<
Why RESEARCH Matters…
So, doing your research first is always a very good idea. No matter what you are doing if you don’t have the knowledge to convey to people what they are looking to learn then naturally they will look elsewhere.
But when I say about RESEARCH in terms of SEO one thing you will want to know other than things such as what keywords your competitors are ranking for, and which questions they are answering, IS how long your rival’s content is.
It could well be that just making a small change to your own content could make all the difference in terms of ranking. An extra 100 words could ultimately mean you still have someone’s spot on page one but don’t just do this MAKE SURE the quality is good too!
Whatever They Do – Do It Better!
However, despite this, I think THIS is actually quite funny. I am personally someone that lives life on the edge. Like just because someone has said something it doesn’t mean that I will turn around and OBEY. Like if I don’t want to pay my unjust fine for unfair bank charges – I will wait till I get the letter to go to court.
Till then I will continue to laugh at them.
Which I think is relevant here. What Jacob McMillen says pretty much is that if you are a talented enough writer then you don’t have to worry about anything else.
If people can by some chance find your work and read it ALL the whole way through time after time then Google can see that. Time on page is a ranking factor, CTR (Click Through Rate) is another and so are Social shares and comments that are a result of people interacting with the content on your pages/posts.
BUT However…
People Must Find Your Work
Imagine this ? being someone like Rudyard Kipling, William Shakespeare or Charles Dickens, or J.K. Rowling (not all great writers are men lol) You have just finished your first book and THIS will forever be cemented as your LEGACY. It could very well be that the large majority of people who read this will like it BUT what if they don’t find you?
Here is where I think that SEO and actually content marketing are important Content distribution you could say IS equally important (IF NOT MORE SO).
Close to 5 Billion people have access to the Internet – Basically, half of the planet and there is SURELY at least one person out of all of these people that will buy whatever you are trying to sell.
It’s basic mathematics. Imagine being hated by everyone in your city – you could feel like you have nothing to live for but in principle, you could move to another city and give people better first impressions and they would all like you.
Demographics can be surprisingly powerful. It is just a matter of reaching enough people with your message.
You can write the best article but it doesn’t mean that people will see it. Getting enough Initial traffic to start a chain reaction of comments and social shares will certainly bump you up the pages on Google but just bear this in mind you can write the best blog post in the world but if no one reads it this ain’t going to be successful.
So I Recommend This Training
I’ve mentioned Matt Diggity and Affiliate Lab already in this post. Straight up if you have $800 spare this is what I would do. This course will show you all the best practices for getting set up online (I will let you decide for yourself [Click Here]) you can of course also check out Jacob McMillen’s website (HERE)
But if you want the best training to learn blogging and SEO this is my current advice…
Or there is the nuclear option – sign up under me at Wealthy Affiliate (Sign Up For Free Here<<)
As a FREE bonus, I will give you my PDF. about “the best practices (In my experience) for starting a new website”
(contact me at chivs86@ibusinesstoday.com) AND I will share all the knowledge that I’ve learned from 3+ years of being a professional blogger and 10+ years of running my own online biz.
My goal would be to help you avoid the early mistakes that hampered me in the beginning. I am a new coach looking for students –Get Started FREE just contact me. But yes what I said above I would recommend.
Please do not be shy – I’m happy to help!
My Copywriting Advice
I have written this already, in my other post about copywriting but quite simply this is my golden nugget advice…
GET PEOPLE’S ATTENTION STRAIGHT AWAY
Get peoples attention
How attention-grabbing is THIS?
How many people could have seen this newspaper and read this article?
In theory, this is a tried and tested method that has and always will work. Headlines sell papers!
In fact, you could write any rubbish and people would still start reading it I would say – 9/10 times!
ALTHOUGH You shouldn’t (write any rubbish) – remember the longer you can keep people on your page the better, You want a good headline but don’t think after that you shouldn’t be keeping people’s attention for as long as possible.
As difficult as this might turn out to be.
They actually say that in 2023 according to research in past years that a typical human’s attention span is less than a goldfish.
It means that no matter how much traffic you drive to your page there is still much else that needs to be done. Good SEO strategies are only good if you have good content.
AND maybe vice versa – BUT use images and videos to make your content easier on the eyes but also forget to make your content Informative and engaging as well.
Your goal should be two things get people to your CTAs (call to action) and get Google’s attention so they can decide to give your search position a boost.
Final Word
Right well so actually as I said in the beginning I have been away on my travels. Flying home back to Luton (UK) from Prague (CZ) tomorrow if no last-minute problems. Not really relevant I know but just a few words I think Jacob Mcmillen sounds like someone that knows his stuff but I wouldn’t feel right saying all you need to do is become a REALLY good writer.
Setting your websites up right from the beginning onward is very important in its own right.
Web design, site speed, UX (user experience) must all be considered. and you must develop as an efficient web developer to at least some degree. I can share some great advice here from my resource page here.
After you do certain things getting great at writing good sales copy is what you want in the long run. I would certainly recommend a good copywriting course ~ not really aware of any at the moment to share with you but don’t discount SEO and having a well-designed website (follow these steps* if you are new – my free advice!).
– many thx… Alex C
