The simple difference between SEO and copywriting is…

From your customers’ perspective, search and conversion have completely different mindsets

With Search, someone:

1. Has the need for an answer, solution or specific piece of information
2. Thinks about the keywords they need for a good search query
3. Pulls up the search engine and goes to work
4. Browses through results to find a few possible matches (Though, often, no more than looking over 6 or 7 results)
5. Explores 2 or 3 of these results
6. Scans for relevant links or topics
7. When dissatisfied they’ll go back to the search engine and take another stab with different keywords

Here’s why copywriting is so different:

Once on the page, copywriting helps readers say ‘yes’ to these key questions:

1. Can this site help me?
2. Am I confident that I can find what I’m looking for?
3. Do I have enough information to feel comfortable about moving ahead?
4. Do I trust these people enough to give them my email address and credit card information?
5. Do I want this badly enough to go through the painfully long order processing page?

Clearly, SEO and copywriting compliment each other very well.  But, on the wild landscape of online marketing these days, I’d never say that one would ever be a good substitute for the other.  The key is knowing where to apply each for maximum benefit.  This list, above, lets you know what’s going through your prospects’ minds, and when, so you can do that.

– Jeremiah