StoryBrand SEO isn’t taught when a Guide or coach gets certified. You don’t have to choose between StoryBrand or SEO. Copywriters and web developers get clarity with this checklist.
How To Do StoryBrand SEO?
- Pick your main call to action (CTA)
- Fill out a BrandScript
- Do a mini SEO audit
- Following StoryBrand write copy for these top 3 pages
- Wireframe your website pages
- Build your new website on WordPress
- On-page SEO using Rank Math SEO plugin
- Do keyword research again for blogging
- Fill out the Talking Points worksheet for each blog
- Optimize blogs for SEO
Pick Your Main CTA
Picking your main CTA is the first item on your checklist. That’s your call to action. For most service-based businesses your call to action will be for the potential customer to schedule a call. If you offer multiple services then 15-minute calls is an optimum about of time for you to speak to and overcome the objections that people may have prior to committing to you. This is an important and effective way to grow your local business.
There are different calls to action you can use for every platform. What you want to do for every piece of copy you write, is to identify which CTA you want to use each time. What are you trying to accomplish with this blog, social media post, or email? Do you want customers to ‘buy now’, ‘find out more’, or ‘add to email’ list? Figure that out first and go from there.
You want them to remember you’re there and that you can solve the problem they have. Every post needs to either call on them to make a commitment to you or explore more with and about what you have to offer.
But, picking your main CTA will help guide you in making the right decisions that are in line with that call to action. It’s easy to get off track, especially when you have multiple services. It’s easy to get carried away with wanting to tell someone everything you can do to help them. Don’t worry, this just means you’ll have plenty of ideas for content creation and that is a very good thing!
If you’re at all familiar with marketing, you’ll have heard about the Rule of Seven. This rule states that a potential customer needs to hear your message at least seven times before they’ll buy from you. According to Digital Dealer, the rule of seven is a marketing maxim developed by the movie industry in the 1930s. Studio bosses discovered that a certain amount of advertising and promotion was required to compel someone to see one of their movies.
Of course, the world is much noisier than it was in the 1930s, so you’ll likely need to get to them more than seven times in order to convert.
Luckily, there are so many more options for communication these days.
Fill out a BrandScript
The second item on your StoryBrand SEO Copywriter Checklist is to fill out a BrandScript. Go to mystorybrand.com and use the BrandScript you see.
Starting with the 3-step plan is highly effective. Think about this for a minute. When you are doing something new or wanting to learn something new, isn’t it a more palatable experience when it’s made easy? Humans don’t like to get too much information at once. It becomes overwhelming and we’re more likely to give up early in the process. Sometimes we give up without even trying at all.
The 3-step process will help you clarify your message in just three steps.
- Call To Action
- Summarize Your Process
- Show Success
These three items are part of the larger BrandScript. Focusing on these will help you get your message across in a way that inspires action and doesn’t overwhelm you. Along the same vein, remember you want to focus on one product or service at a time. Picking one to promote will help clarify your message too. You want potential customers to know that you can solve the problem they have. You want them to think of you whenever they think of the problem. You want them to recall the easy process you are offering that will lead them to success. Easy is attractive to people. Easy is, well, easy!
Focus on one first. Then, you can do a BrandScript and 3-step process plan for each product or service. As you begin to do this, over time, you’ll have no shortage of offerings that you can promote on your website, blogs, and social media posts.
Do a mini SEO audit
I rarely see copywriters or web developers do this part. It’s usually overlooked and skipped altogether. It’s a shame, because, while there are many gifted copywriters out there who know what they’re doing in terms of writing in a way that gets someone to take action, the SEO component is vital for directing traffic toward your website. Specifically, local traffic. The more traffic you have coming, the more business potential. Plus, when you cast a net into the water unless you’re in the place where the fish are swimming, you’re wasting your time.
There are 5 parts to our mini SEO audit
- Google business name and city
- Google industry and city
- Research organic keywords you rank for using Semrush
- Find out what tools your website has by using Builtwith
- Use KeyWordFinder KWfinder to find competitive keywords to rank for
At RebelFishLocal, we take the time to do 2 of these each week, and at the end of the call, you can pick which of our local SEO packages works best for you. DM us to schedule a call today and we’ll figure things out together!
Following StoryBrand write copy for these top pages
4 Pages a StoryBrand copywriter should focus on:
Homepage
Information is flying at us from every direction these days. Most of this, as we’ve mentioned (and as StoryBrand teaches), we end up filtering and filing as nothing but noise. When people come to your website, they are generally coming to learn more. They want all the hope they have from what they’ve already heard or read to be confirmed. Remember, they are looking to have their problem solved. That’s your job. Solve their problem.
For the homepage, you want to keep it simple. Writers of novels and screenplays always start with a first draft. There is a reason for the saying, “writing is rewriting.” You will likely need to revise and repeat several times for each of the pages on your website. As long as your message is clear, you’re golden.
Homepage components should include:
- Identifying the problem (even if you don’t state the problem, the next step can help take care of that).
- Identifying the desired successful results. Use words and imagery (still photos or video) to illustrate the success the hero will have if they buy from you.
- CTA – this will most likely work best as a ‘schedule a call’.
Many times, at this point, a customer won’t necessarily need more info in order to respond to your CTA. But, they may still want to gather more information before committing to you. That’s what the next pages should provide.
2. About Page
The about page should have the following components.
- There should be very few and simply stated words about YOU and your company. Remember, it’s not about you. It’s about the hero of the story. You are the guide that will help them find success. This can be difficult to do because all you want to do is hit all the important talking points that got you to where you are now.
It’s similar to being out and meeting new people. Have you ever met someone new and walked away feeling like you may have overshared? Me too. It’s the same. Try to recall this feeling when you’re writing the about page. Keep it simple. I’m talking bare bones and only the essential and inspirational information. Speaking of inspirational… let’s cover ASPIRATIONAL!
Create an aspirational identity
An aspirational identity is the type of person the hero of any story wants to ultimately become. If the hero starts out one hundred pounds overweight, he or she is likely feeling defeated and weak. Or at the very least, not the person they really want to become. So, what is the opposite of defeated and weak? Strong and accomplished maybe? A champion! You’ll want to include images and copy that show and paint a picture of this kind of success.
Testimonials
Who better than to show and tell about the success than others who have found it? This is a good page to include testimonials from happy and satisfied customers. A great way to hide a call to action on this page is to make it a ‘read more’ button. If your hero, who is inspired by the aspirational identity they’re seeing, they’ll likely want to know more.
3. Services Page
RebelFishLocal built a website for a medical practice that initially had over 100 pages. This is what StoryBrand calls noise. But, wait, you say, “isn’t it best to list everything you can do for your clients?”. We know that makes sense to an entrepreneur who has invested time, years, and money into a business.
Of course, you want to offer everything you’re capable of doing to your customers. But, it’s difficult for people to sift through the noise. So, you want to do your best to choose a few services or products and start with those. These will be the services or products related to your specialty. That is where the traffic comes from. With that in mind, you can find the keywords that will ultimately make the net you’re casting.
Once you have a solid client base, you can start adding more products and services. Plus, by the time you’ve been serving them for a while, you’ll have an even better idea of what they need exactly. This is what a copywriter who specializes in StoryBrand can do for you.
4. Scheduled Call, Thank You Page
While you can and should have a CTA on other website pages, this page will have a clear call to action. This is referred to as a direct call to action. It usually appears in the form of a ‘buy now’ button. It is an indication that a clear commitment to purchase is being requested.
Wireframe your website pages
SEO is a concern for many copywriters when putting together a wireframe. The fact is, you don’t have to choose between StoryBrand and SEO.
It will take some time, but the return on your investment will have been worth every second you spent. When you focus on getting back to the basics by identifying the problem, aspirational identity, success, and the other components we’ve talked about, the copy will come naturally.
A StoryBrand Wireframe is akin to a blueprint. It will include all the copy you want to use on your website. The main objective of the wireframe is to clarify your message in a way that makes the website visitor take some kind of action.
Here’s a tip. We have so much information coming at us these days which has made us less likely to read and much more likely to scan for the information we need. This is why it’s so important to clarify your message by pinning down the specifics. This way your customers can quickly understand and respond to your CTA.
The best time to wireframe your website is before you design one. However, don’t fret if you already have one. There’s always room for a redesign. It will feel overwhelming if this is the case, but as long as you go through the wireframe steps and take the time to map it out, you’ll get through and be happier for having accomplished this.
Build your new website on WordPress
Many business owners believe you have to hire someone to develop your website if you want it to look good and function properly. This is simply not true. We just love WordPress. It’s got everything a writer needs on the backend of a website and it provides a user-friendly experience. We’re talking user-friendly for pros and novices alike.
There are many plugins you can use to help you create a killer website, but one of the most helpful is Elementor. They promise to help you build a professional website without needing to know code. I don’t know about you, but there’s almost nothing that makes me happier than to be able to drag, drop, and be done.
It offers several different plugins, templates, and add ons so that you can make your vision come to life. This will be the direct line from your business to the outside world. You want it to be just the way you need it to be. This will help you accomplish that.
StoryBrand teaches that there are five things your website should include. We’d love to show you how learning the StoryBrand method will make all the difference in your marketing efforts! Schedule A Call with us today!
On-page SEO using Rank Math SEO plugin
Having the Rank Math SEO plugin on the backend of your WordPress is essential. This tool will show you exactly how you will be likely to rank as far as your SEO is concerned. It’s basically a checklist that will take you through what needs to be done in order for your blogs to rank well on google which will ultimately increase your traffic. If you’re not visible, it’s almost as if you don’t exist.
It sounds harsh, but it’s true. Don’t worry… that’s why copywriters exist. We can take care of all that for you.
SEO includes things like title readability, content readability, general formatting, and of course, keyword integration. The Rank Math SEO section will help guide you through the process.
Here’s an image of what the RankMath section looks like at the bottom of the backend of WordPress.
The objective is to get as many green checkmarks as possible which will ultimately raise your score thereby increasing online visibility. This tool makes a huge and necessary difference in your SEO.
Do keyword research again for blogging
Want to know an industry secret? Google hates copycat content. You must be writing original content for your business or search engines will know! They’re almost smarter than humans these days… almost.
You can search your keyword on google to see what comes up at the top of the search. Look at the links. Are these blogs to other businesses like yours? Can you write a better article and make it to the top of the search?
Do you know if the potential customers who are searching are presently ready to buy or are they just doing research? It’s always nice when a consumer is ready to go. But, most aren’t in that moment, so you want to help them along on their journey. StoryBrand is about stories and the hero of the journey. Use this knowledge by linking to other articles you’ve written and website pages you have to help answer the questions you knew they’d be asking. By thinking ahead like this you’re anticipating what the hero needs in that very moment. People love being taken on a journey when it means something to them.
A copywriter trained in StoryBrand will be able to write using keywords to inspire the blogs they’ll be writing for your site. They know how to research and find out what your ideal clients and customers are searching for and can use that information to help them find you.
Check out the blog we wrote on 2 Ways To Increase Local Website Traffic, which covers more on blogging.
Fill out the Talking Points worksheet for each blog
When you’ve completed your keyword research you should create the blog titles for every article you’re planning on writing. Make sure it’s less than 60 characters; this is part of the SEO that Rank Math will help you with. Once you’ve planned the title of the blogs you can move on to filling out the talking points for each one.
Talking points are covered in the Communication Made Simple section of the Business Made Simple course. It’s a worksheet that will help you plan blogs in a way that keeps you focused and, well… on point!
Talking points include, but are not limited to the following: Defining the controlling idea, positing the story question, agitating the problem, and defining the stakes. It will help you write in a way that takes the hero on the journey and keeps them wanting to learn more. It’s a fantastic formula for writing high-quality content. This is the kind of content Google loves!
Optimize blogs for SEO
Just like anything in life the more you practice, the better you get. The same principle applies to SEO… we promise! Once you start ranking well because you learned and used StoryBrand to write compelling copy, you’ll be motivated to do more.
Consistency is the most important thing when it comes to blog posting. Same with social media. Google loves to see a steady stream of new and original content. So go on and get writing. Try for as many Rank Math green lights as possible and watch your business grow like never before.
Professional copywriting will change your business dramatically! Schedule a call with us today and we’ll walk you through the options!
