Updated 30th October 2026. First published in 2021.
The term "SEO content writing" is perhaps a bit of a misnomer.
It's one of the questions I'm asked most often. Is it SEO copywriting? Is it just copywriting with keywords added? Is it both? If there is a difference, does it even matter?
When I first wrote this article, my answer was a firm no. They were two different jobs with two different goals.
My answer has changed. The line has mostly blurred, because Google's quality updates and AI search now reward content that ranks, answers clearly and persuades, all at once.
A subtle divide still remains, however.
SEO content writing focuses on being found. Copywriting focuses on getting someone to act. Knowing which one a page needs still separates a page that earns its keep from one that doesn't.
What's the difference between SEO content writing and copywriting?
SEO content writing creates pages that people find through search. Blog articles, guides and resource pages that answer the questions your buyers are asking.
Its job is to bring the right people to your website, earn their trust and, increasingly, get your brand quoted by AI tools such as ChatGPT and Google's AI Overviews.
Copywriting creates pages and messages that persuade. Sales pages, landing pages, ads, emails and product descriptions.
Its job is to turn the people who arrive into enquiries, sign-ups and sales.
| SEO content writing | Copywriting | |
|---|---|---|
| Main goal | Organic traffic, trust and AI citations | Enquiries, sign-ups and sales |
| Typical work | Blog articles, guides, pillar pages and resource pages | Sales pages, landing pages, ads, emails and product descriptions |
| Reader's mindset | Researching a problem | Close to making a decision |
| Length | Usually long, often 1,500 words or more | As short as the decision allows |
| How it's measured | Rankings, organic traffic and AI mentions | Conversion rate and revenue |
| Core skill | Search intent, structure and clear explanation | Buyer psychology, offers and persuasion |
There's also a third term you'll see, SEO copywriting. It usually means persuasive pages, such as service pages, that also need to rank.
It sits right in the middle, and it's where the two skills overlap most.
Why the line has blurred
Search has changed more since 2021 than in the decade before it.
In March 2024, Google folded its helpful content system into its core ranking systems and said it expected the changes to reduce low-quality, unoriginal content in search results by 40%.
Keyword-stuffed articles written only to rank stopped working. Pages written for people, with real experience and a clear point of view, did better.
Most content still gets nothing from search. Ahrefs found that 96.55% of the 14 billion pages in its index get no traffic from Google at all.
AI search has pushed the two skills closer still. AI tools quote pages that answer questions directly and come from trusted brands, which is the heart of Google's E-E-A-T.
So SEO content now has to persuade a reader that you know what you're talking about. And a sales page that nobody can find doesn't sell anything.
The best pages today do both. They answer the question, show real expertise and make the next step obvious.
Where the difference still matters
Every page still needs one main goal. That's where the difference between the two skills shows.
A blog article crammed with sales messages loses the trust it was written to build. A sales page stuffed with keywords reads badly and converts worse.
Copywriting is also a skill of its own. Unbounce analysed more than 41,000 landing pages and 57 million conversions, and found that copy written at a 5th to 7th grade reading level converted at 11.1%, about twice the rate of copy written at a professional level.
Simpler copy converts better
Landing page conversion rate by reading level of the copy
Source: Unbounce Conversion Benchmark Report 2024, 41,000+ landing pages and 57 million conversions, via DMN.
Simple, direct writing sells. That's harder than it sounds, and it's why readability scores matter for sales pages as much as for blog posts.
A good copywriter knows what stops a buyer from saying yes and answers it on the page. A good SEO writer knows what the searcher needs to learn first.
The difference between sales copy and conversion copy, and between web copy and web content, follows the same logic.
What most clients mean by "copywriter"
In the USA especially, "copywriter" is often used for any commercial writer. Clients ask for a copywriter when they need a blog writer, and the other way round.
Most of the requests we receive are for content writing, or a mix of both. A client might want blog articles, service page updates and an email newsletter all in one brief.
That's fine. What matters is the question behind the job title. What does this page need to do?
If the answer is "get found and build trust", you need SEO content writing. If it's "turn visitors into customers", you need copywriting.
How we handle both at Blu Mint
We keep the two functions separate, even when the same person writes both.
Many of our writers can do both. Each page still gets one primary goal, so the SEO work and the persuasion don't dilute each other.
Our SEO writers focus on search intent, structure and the questions AI tools answer. Our sales copy draws on conversion and direct-response experience.
A sales page or landing page costs more than a standard blog article, even though it's usually shorter. The buyer research and persuasion structure take more work per word.
We scope and confirm the timeline for every article or landing page before any work begins.
Our SEO copywriting and copywriting services cover pages that need to rank and sell. Our content writing team produces the articles and guides that bring people in.
Where AI fits in each
AI is now part of almost every writing team. The Content Marketing Institute's 2026 research found that 95% of B2B marketers use AI, yet fewer than four in ten say it's improving performance.
The difference is how it's used. AI is a strong assistant and a poor replacement.
| Where AI helps | Where a human has to lead | |
|---|---|---|
| SEO content | Topic ideas, keyword clusters, outlines and first drafts of explanations | Expert interviews, checking sources, original insight and brand voice |
| Sales copy | Headline and hook ideas, subject lines and structuring ideas into frameworks such as AIDA | Understanding the buyer, the emotional angle, accurate claims and the final words |
For SEO content, AI handles much of the early work. A human still has to add the experience, sources and opinions that make an article worth ranking.
Sales copy is different. I'd never let AI write final sales copy unsupervised.
It leans on clichés, it simulates empathy instead of understanding the buyer and it can confidently invent benefits a product doesn't have.
Let AI build the skeleton. Let a human write the voice, the emotion and the close.
That's how our writers use AI in content production, and it's the same approach that lets you write SEO articles with AI that rank.
How to hire the right writer
Start with the goal of the page, not the job title. Then look for a writer who has delivered that goal before.
Ask for results, not just samples. For SEO content, ask for rankings, traffic or AI mentions. For copywriting, ask for conversion rates or before-and-after results.
Check they understand the other skill. An SEO writer who knows the basics of conversion writes content that leads somewhere. A copywriter who understands search writes pages people can find.
Watch for promises of quick rankings. Anyone promising first place on Google within weeks is guessing, or using tactics that risk a penalty.
Be wary of pure per-word pricing for sales copy. Judge a sales page by what it converts, not by how long it is.
Ask how they use AI. A good answer explains where AI helps and where a human takes over. "We don't" and "it writes everything" are both warning signs.
A good writer will also ask you plenty of questions. Who the audience is, what they already know and what you want them to do next.
Our own process follows four steps. A short brief covering audience, goals and deliverables, a call to agree scope, tone and timeline, a deposit to start the project, then a first draft followed by a structured round of revisions.
If you're weighing up agencies, it helps to know what good SEO writing services should include.
We combine writing with SEO, PPC, social media and web design, so the content that brings people in and the copy that converts them work as one.
-
Not quite. SEO content writing usually means informative content, such as blog articles and guides, written to rank and bring in traffic. SEO copywriting usually means persuasive pages, such as service and landing pages, that also need to rank. The terms overlap, and many people use them interchangeably. The useful question is whether a page's main job is to inform or to sell.
-
Hire for the job the page needs to do. If you need more people to find you through Google and AI search, hire an SEO content writer. If you already have traffic and need more of it to turn into enquiries or sales, hire a copywriter. Most growing businesses need both, which is why many hire a team that covers both skills and keeps their goals separate.
-
No, though it can make them faster. AI is useful for brainstorming headlines, testing angles and structuring a first draft. Final sales copy needs a human, because AI relies on clichés, doesn't truly understand a buyer's fears and can invent claims a product can't back up. The best results come from AI for the groundwork and a skilled writer for the final words.
-
Because most of the work happens before the writing. A sales page needs research into buyer intent, objections and competitors, then a structure that leads a reader to a decision. Every line has to earn its place, and small changes can make a measurable difference to revenue. A blog article usually runs longer, yet each word carries less of the commercial weight.
