SEO Content Writing and Copywriting – Why Confusing them Can Cost Your Business

Erica Fraser, Founder of Withers & Sloane explores how understanding the difference between Copywriting and SEO Content Writing can have real potential for your results, and the precarious consequences of not separating them.

Erica Fraser, Founder of Withers & Sloane discusses the different disciplines of SEO Content Writing and Copywriting and how understanding the functions is imperative. By confusing or blurring the distinctions between these functions, business leaders are creating avoidable confusion, misaligning objectives and exposing their team to an unnecessary risk of burnout.

Lessons from a Q4 Target Planning Exercise

Last week, I had an enlightening exchange with a client. We were able to address a common misconception linked to SEO Content Writing and Copywriting. A misconception many business leaders are currently making. As marketing budgets shrink, many businesses are combining SEO content writing and copywriting goals, thinking this is a cost-effective move. In fact, m]arketing budgets have fallen to 7.7% of overall company revenue in 2024. A significant plummet from 2019’s 10.5% (Gartner, 2024). However, this approach often leads to confusion, misaligned priorities, and team burnout. Here’s why separating these roles is crucial to your success.

Back in December, my client had drawn up their goals for Q4 and had thought carefully about getting the best ROI from their marketing operations. They thought that combining SEO content targets with broader copywriting targets would gain the best value for money with the budget. While logical in theory, this strategy overwhelmed their team, diluted results, and created confusion. Let’s explore why blending these roles is problematic.

Understanding the Core Differences

Copywriting and SEO content writing may share the same foundation—words—but their purposes and strategies are vastly different:

Copywriting

If the terminology were novels, Copywriting is ‘Persuasion’. The core focus for a copywriter is crafting engaging, on-brand messages that connect on some emotional level with your audience. This, in turn, drives the action. Think website copy email campaigns, and adverts. All of these come with the design and desire to draw clients to you. Copywriters are experts in using language to captivate, build trust, and inspire.

SEO Content Writing

On the other hand, we would consider SEO Content Writing as Samuel Johnson’s 'A Dictionary of the English Language'. SEO Content Writing is designed to organise, present information for maximum accessibility and ensure the content ranks highly.

Potential Threats by Misinterpreting the Disciplines

Confusing or misaligned targets that blur the disciplines can have significant negative impacts on productivity and morale.

Confusing these roles blurs success metrics. For example, copywriting success is measured by conversion rates, while SEO vontent writing is judged by organic traffic. Merging the two creates vague benchmarks, making it hard to evaluate ROI. Here’s why:

1. Misaligned Skill Sets

Expecting one individual or team to excel in both disciplines often leads to subpar results. Copywriting requires creativity, an understanding of audience psychology, and persuasive language. In contrast, SEO content writing demands analytical skills, keyword research expertise, and a deep knowledge of search engine algorithms. Stretching your team across both areas poses a real risk of diluting their strengths.

2. Burnout and Overwhelm

In the client example I mentioned earlier, their team was overwhelmed trying to fulfil the demands of both roles. Staff who were naturally skilled at writing persuasive copy were suddenly tasked with SEO-focused responsibilities they weren’t equipped for. This led to frustration, reduced morale, and the risk of burnout. Their CEO trusted them and allowed them the psychological safety to express their concerns, which let to a roundtable and us to identify the pinch point.

3. Confused Metrics and Goals

Copywriting success is measured by engagement and conversions, while SEO content writing is measured by traffic and rankings. Blurring these targets makes it nearly impossible to evaluate success accurately, leaving teams unsure of what the collective goal the team should be working toward.

Examples in Practice

Knowing the disciplines can help you to effectively craft targets that have the desired outcomes and keep your team on track.

To help you visualise this, we have a breakdown below of some examples of these kinds of targets, why they are ineffective, and provided simplified ways to define them:

Ineffective Example One:

"Create engaging blog content that will convert readers into paying customers and ranks on page one of Google."

Why this is Ineffective:

There are many reasons the aim above is ineffective. However, in this specific context it is because it combines the goals of an SEO Content Writer (writing to rank on Google) and a copywriter (persuading readers to act, e.g., make a purchase). It’s unrealistic and misaligned to expect a single piece of content to do both effectively.

Redefined Examples:

• SEO Content Writer: "Write informative and keyword-optimised blog posts that improve organic search rankings and drive traffic to the website."

• Copywriter: "Craft compelling calls-to-action and landing page copy that converts blog traffic into paying customers."

Ineffective Example Two:

"Write a homepage that targets long-tail keywords and educates users about our product while improving conversion rates."

Why it is Ineffective:

Homepage content should focus on clear, concise messaging and conversions (copywriting), not keyword stuffing or long-form education (SEO content writing).

Redefined Examples:

• SEO Content Writer: "Develop a series of educational blog posts that target long-tail keywords to bring qualified leads to the website."

• Copywriter: "Write concise and persuasive homepage copy highlighting key benefits to convert visitors into leads."

You would then go a step further and make these redefined targets SMART, and directly relevant to your own metrics, but our aim here is to help you interpret the roles of a Copywriter and a SEO Content Writer.

The Bottom Line

When these disciplines are clearly defined, your team can focus on their strengths, and your business can achieve both visibility and conversions.

Copywriting is the artful novel, evoking emotion and driving decisions, while SEO Content Writing is structured, resourceful text designed for discoverability and clarity. Both have their significance and value, and together help to form your effective marketing strategy. Yet, it is highly likely that your content writers are not SEO specialists, and vice versa. You may well be lucky and have a team who are impactful at both! However, ensuring your targets within your strategic plan are separated out, with clear milestones, but crucially a very distinct separation between targets aligned to Copywriting, and those linked to SEO content writing.

Understanding the distinct roles of SEO content writing and copywriting is not just about semantics— it is about strategy. When these disciplines are clearly defined, your team can focus on their strengths, and your business can achieve both visibility and conversions. In fact, content that ranks on the first page of Google captures 68% of all clicks, yet only 20% of this traffic converts into leads. Aligning your strategy ensures you maximise both traffic and conversions. According to a study by Sistrix, the first organic result in Google Search has an average click-through rate of 28.5%. The CTR decreases with each subsequent position, with the second position receiving 15% and the third 11%. (Sistrix, 2020). Let us help you create a marketing roadmap that works.

To the client who sparked this conversation and gave me permission to share: thank you for the opportunity to collaborate and refine your approach. And to our future clients, if you are also following similar habits by blending the SEO and Copywriting targets into one, why not book a meeting with our team to discuss a cohesive marketing plan. Together, we can ensure your content strategy hits the mark.

If your team is juggling mismatched targets or struggling to meet your marketing goals, let’s talk. At Withers & Sloane, we specialise in creating clear, results-driven marketing strategies that maximise your ROI. Book your free consultation today at info@witherssloane.com, or see our website here: witherssloane.com