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As a rule, SEO writing sucks. It’s dry, clunky, informative, and boring. I can tell within 30 seconds of reading it that most SEO content was written for a search engine bot instead of an actual person.
As someone who gets paid to do a lot of SEO writing, I understand how it happens. You’re given a list of keywords and search engine phrases and told to build up an article around it. The client rarely cares about the message near as much as they care about whether the content you create will boost their web site’s page rank.
I get it, I do.
But as a writer who loves words and as an Internet reader, I hate it. And I believe that it’s a short-sighted way of looking at web content.
If your focus when creating SEO content is 100% on getting traffic from search engines, you’re missing half of the equation. Once you get them to your web site, presumably, you want them to stick around long enough to do something. If your web content is boring and loaded down by keywords, chances are you’ll lose a potential customer.
It is possible to create SEO writing that is actually enjoyable to read. You can be informative and authoritative without being dull. You can even go so far as to be funny, on occasion, without losing your credibility as an expert.
You can’t be an expert if nobody listens to you. It’s not enough to have a lot to say, you have to say it in a way that people want to hear it. Exhibit A: Oprah.
Loosen up! Give your writers and content marketing agency room to inject personality into your SEO content. The results you get will be more profitable than a better page rank on Google.
Britt Reints is a freelance writer living in Orlando, Florida. She’s hysterical.
Tags: audience, creating content, SEO content
I had a feeling you wrote this when I saw the title!
This is SUCH a great point. The search engines don’t care if content is funny or not, but you’re SO much more likely to land real live readers if your content is engaging.
[...] you should be adding value to the conversation. Throw in an opinion. Develop your own theories. Show your sense of humor. Don’t just parrot what others said two days before, instead, find your niche. var [...]
Hi Britt, It’s refreshing to hear someone else make this point: I agree completely. Reading most business websites is like eating cardboard. And the execs who insist on feeding customers cardboard copy are the same ones who blow off strategy meetings to secretly watch YouTube. Why? Because they like to be entertained. We all do. There’s no point in getting people to your website if they fall asleep once they’re there. Great post!
[...] you hope to market content through online articles, a blog, podcast or vlog – even SEO writing – one of the best ways to endear an audience is to entertain them with humor. If you’ve [...]