Having to factor in SEO while writing content weakens the content I produce. It takes away my artistic license and forces me to insert awkward, keyword-stuffed phrases into otherwise perfect, poetic content. By putting the focus on search engines, and not our users, SEO pollutes the Web and makes everything a little less relevant.
Don’t worry. I’m kidding. But others aren’t.
Perhaps it’s the holiday stress, or maybe SEO is simply an easy target, but it seems like every day there’s a new article bashing SEO and harking how over-focusing on SEO results in negative efforts. Whether it’s “how SEO is killing content” or “why PR has killed SEO” – the reports regarding SEO and content are not very merry. They’re also not very accurate.
If you think SEO is ruining your content, then you’re not a very good writer. Or, a very good SEO. (Sorry.)
To even the score, today I break out the many ways paying attention to SEO will actually improve your content, not hurt it.
SEO Promotes Audience and Keyword Research
As a writer, or at least as a person producing content, it’s easy to think you know best. To assume you know what a person wants to read or even that you know who your audience is. However, through SEO we get to actually find out these things and then use them to better our words.
