37 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}
37 {{ upvoteCount | shortNum }}

Do you write differently when you have to take SEO into consideration?

by pauloadaoag Administrator
32 replies
Just trying to start a discussion. If a client needs some copy done and it's gonna be on a page that needs to rank (as opposed to writing for a brochure for example), do you change how you write? What practices do you avoid, what techniques do you start using?
#consideration #differently #seo #write
Avatar of Unregistered
  • Profile picture of the author YigitKocak
    No.

    Writing for SEO at 2000 = Keyword stuffing, repetitive sentences with keywords, internal linking with targeted keywords etc.

    Writing for SEO at 2017 = Focus on quality, uniqueness, and most importantly humans. Focus on producing a great read.

    Would you spend 5 mins. reading an article created for robots and crawlers?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240072].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author SEO Made Easy
      Who is going to read it if it isn't at the top of Google??
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240083].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author YigitKocak
        Good point.

        If you don't know who is going to read it then you don't know why or for whom you're writing the article for. Which means you're not an expert on that subject. This will result in thin content. No matter what you do you won't be at the top positions.

        If you truly have unique and quality content you'll find hundreds of places to submit your article according to that industry. You'll gradually improve for that position later on.

        In my opinion, top positions are earned by creating value. Not the other way around.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240103].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author SEO Made Easy
    [DELETED]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240081].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author dsimms
      add a bunch of keywords? You just ran a circle right back into keyword stuffing. Your writer needs to be a pro at writing, including knowing how to properly optimize an article, and most writers do not know how to do this, and what they end up doing is "keyword stuffing...."

      I would add 3-5 of my best keywords that I would like to rank for, making sure your main keyword is in your title, then within the first 50-100 words of your content, place in an H2 title, then finally placed in the last paragraph.

      You also should keep your next article in mind, if the article is relevant to the next article, and include 2-3 keywords so you can do internal linking....

      Once your have done on page seo, and everything is setup and ready to go, then it is simply out of your control as it is entirely up to google on what they will rank; easy comp keywords made start ranking first, then you may have to work harder to get medium comp keywords to rank.

      at some point, if you think keywords should be ranking, and they are not, then maybe you did not optimize your content properly. You simply can not just write and article and expect to get the highest rankings, even more so if someone else is writing your content on a topic they may not know that much about, as it is important that they get the right keywords, and that they do not kill the article by listing 50 repetitive keywords in a 1000 word article, which is what I got back not that long ago....
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240245].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Claude Whitacre
    I write the article to read in the best way.

    Then, I'll think about the title, and how it affects SEO. Most of my attention to SEO is in the title.

    I may change a word or two, or put an important keyword at the beginning of a sentence (or paragraph) rather than at the end. I may repeat a search phrase one more time than I normally would.

    But the article still has to be interesting, informative, and easy to read.
    Signature
    One Call Closing book https://www.amazon.com/One-Call-Clos...=1527788418&sr

    What if they're not stars? What if they are holes poked in the top of a container so we can breath?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240289].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JohnVianny
    I only take care of keyword, one keyword, regarding the SEO side.

    All the other effort, the most, has to be focused on PRODUCING QUALITY CONTENT
    Signature
    Learn my Simple 3-Step Formula Earns me over $146.72 in 12 Hours using Emails: Click HERE!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240359].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author pauloadaoag
      Administrator
      well no one disagrees with that. The issue here is "is there a difference in approach when one knows that copy is gonna be crawled and potentially ranked".
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241642].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Ehinger
    Yes, While you cannot keyword stuff, you do have to change your approach some.

    The content should ALWAYS read well and the reader should be the main focus. However, when SEO is a priority, you may be trying to use specific keyword phrases naturally in the content, in a sub-heading and in the title of the content.

    In addition, if SEO doesn't matter at all, word count doesn't matter, either. When SEO is a concern, word count comes into play more, too. If possible, you want to writer longer content (in most cases) for better SEO. However, the content cannot just be fluff. It needs to be on topic and cover the topic thoroughly without adding fluff.

    For some smaller markets, 300 or 500 words might do the trick, but a competitor can easily come along and do a 1,000-word page on the same topic by covering it better and end up outranking you.

    While it would be easy to say NO I don't take it into consideration when writing, I would be telling you a lie. It needs to be considered, but you have to allow the writing to be very natural with the reader as the #1 concern, not the search engines.

    Just my two cents.

    Benjamin Ehinger
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240391].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Oj Hayes
    Yeah dude I say it's give or take. Here's my theory:

    There's "Original Content" and then There's "Traffic Content".
    Both are necessary for two reasons. One is for readers to stay loyal to your content (original content) and the other is to outsource readers to read that content (Traffic Content).

    So alternating your Blog Titles and changing how you write a little for the sake of SEO will definitely give you
    a long term investment of traffic.

    I'll soon be writing an article to further explain this theory. You should follow me to get more insight.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240548].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Princess Balestra
    Gotta figure actschwl hoomans arrived on the scene before superinsectoid PROTO-CRAWLERS.

    An' that is real sweet, cos hoomans gonna hook up with other hoomans always (else'n how did we bledyjuicy our homosapiens ass from PRE-ALGORITHM SMOOCHIE to SEO BANDANA WAHOO ONLY LAND anyfrickinways????), an' tbh, I got no desire to grant ACCESS ALL AREAS kinda permisso to no alien projectiles don't read like litrachwer.

    *ahem* This Was Intended to Be A Post Inviting Informed Commentary On Serious SEO Issues, O Princess

    K, so yr *3-step SUPERPLAN* is here...

    1) Cunny offa outta my face withya spuriously pre-regurgitatible garbage.
    2) See (1).
    3) See (1).

    (Gotta figure Google's smarts gonna max out on that (1) I got gowin' there -- cos I kinda deployed it TWICE all kinda STRATEGIC.)
    Signature

    Lightin' fuses is for blowin' stuff togethah.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240557].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Oj Hayes

      I'm sorry but princess what are you on about? What does any of that have to do with this thread?
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240560].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author DWolfe
        Originally Posted by Oj Hayes View Post


        I'm sorry but princess what are you on about? What does any of that have to do with this thread?
        She is saying write copy for humans not for google bots. Holy cannoli !!! I think I partially understood her post
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240622].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Princess Balestra
        Gotta figure with more time & less flippancy I coulda said sumthin' smarter 'bout SEO, for sure.

        Signature

        Lightin' fuses is for blowin' stuff togethah.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240983].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author DABK
        And, yet, it was so clear and to the point: actschwl hoomans trump superinsectoid PROTO-CRAWLERS.

        Originally Posted by Oj Hayes View Post


        I'm sorry but princess what are you on about? What does any of that have to do with this thread?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241154].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author xeniux
    Best practice is to do keyword research first and then start writing based on those keywords, add some internal link and get some quality backlinks on relevant site.

    Make sure your article is unique and good quality content means useful, covering insights that people interested to read.

    Best,
    xen
    Signature
    Buy Website Traffic | Increase Website Traffic | Lifetime Website Traffic
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240635].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ryanbiddulph
    Keep the same conversational tone as Google favors chatty, free flowing content.

    Write for people, not search engines, and you position yourself to rank more effectively.

    So I'd aim for writing as if you were doing the brochure thing. Or, if you were doing the writing for people thing.

    Ryan
    Signature
    Ryan Biddulph helps you to be a successful blogger with his courses, manuals and blog at Blogging From Paradise
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240651].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author pauloadaoag
      Administrator
      Google favors chatty, free flowing content
      Interesting. Any examples and sources for this chatty, free flowing style?
      Signature
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240655].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author marciayudkin
    What I see sometimes when I look at clients' blogs is that they are trying so hard to be interesting pr clever that they neglect to use keywords that are highly relevant to what they are writing about and neglect to put keywords in the strategic places for SEO (title, subheads, captions). That hurts them.

    I don't see the opposite as much, but it's certainly out there on the web: copy that uses keywords so often and so clumsily that you almost have to wonder if they even know the English language.

    The smart way to proceed is to pause before you write, and identify keywords for your topic. Then write it as well as you can, then go back through and adjust slightly for SEO. You never want to be too obvious about that!

    Marcia Yudkin
    Signature
    Check out Marcia Yudkin's No-Hype Marketing Academy for courses on copywriting, publicity, infomarketing, marketing plans, naming, and branding - not to mention the popular "Marketing for Introverts" course.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240757].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sonygill
    I am SEO Expert know who to write content with perfect keyword density. I focus quality and user-friendly. Content is best part of website ranking.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11240781].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author vedremo
    Banned
    It starts with an idea for a topic. Then you perform keyword research to find low competition, high volume keywords that match the topic you want to write about. You then intertwine this target keyword into the article, generally between 1-1.5% keyword density. Add LSI keywords, emphasis, images, meta data, semantic hierarchies and so forth.

    SEO writing by professionals isn't robotic and reads well for both search engines and users.

    I wrote a complete guide on how to write world-class seo content if anyone needs an in-depth tutorial - https://www.dieselmarketer.com/blogs...iting-tutorial
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241578].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Copykaty
    It depends on the type of content you want to create. The tone of a sales letter is different to that of a website home page. The writing style of a landing page content differs to an administrative website content.

    Applying keywords on any of the web pages depends on the writer's ability. However, the writer should focus on the quality of the content when writing persuasive contents.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241589].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sternco
    I think if you really write useful and most of all, interesting content from a reader's perspective, you should have no trouble making it to several hundred words and fine onpage metrics. In other words, there shouldn't be much difference between the text that's been optimised for the reader's interest and the text from an onpage SEO perspective.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241611].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Beckham
    I will only focus on main ideas by different ways in my writings.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241664].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author CallMeNicholi
    There's no comparison. You need to write and format for the audience.

    SEO is topical now. Furthermore, historical keyword volume fluctuates. New search queries are developing all the time. Look at similar search queries prior. Most quality pieces are 1,000 to 2,500 words. Focus on quality and relevance.

    Of course if the architecture is bad and the content so far down, it may never achieve visibility.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241801].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Justin Hilbert
    Understanding the competition and researching keywords is important, but nowadays the algorithms are very smart. If you try to stuff your keywords, you may actually get penalized. It's best to just write really killer content that speaks to your target audience. Google & Bing, etc pick up on the social actions taken and consider comments and shares right up there with high-quality backlinks; so write great content and your audience will want to share.

    Place a couple of the keywords you are trying to rank for in the body of text, but as organically as possible and make sure that you are internally linking these keywords correctly and not cannibalizing. A link to yourself is basically like saying to Google, "Hey ... THIS is what this page that I am linking to is about (anchor text) and it IS relevant." Then if other people link to that same page with a similar anchor, and Social shares happen within that realm, Google puts it all together and says, "Ok ... they say they are this ... these people also say they are that ...and people seem to be sharing/liking/commenting. So, They must be what they claim to be, thus relevant, so let's increase their search rankings. Now if these things conflict, the opposite will happen. So, keep it simple, don;t cannibalize, and above all, write good <- see what I did there
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241831].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Princess Balestra
    Thing we mebbe are missin' on here is how we all exist an' persist in a visually suggestive panorama got words at core.

    So much shit is VISYOOL VISYOOL VISYOOL IMAGE IMAGE IMAGE IMAGE rn.

    An' we all movin' that on what kinda SEO clumpin' 'bout under the hood?

    WOIDS.

    Tellya, as a writer bustin' out on language as a proto-hooman cipher vs jus' a gal devours movies & fiction, I would want always to speculate 'bout sublime metaphor in world coughs up only finite comma-separated buzzwords.

    Tellya , imagry an' any kinda prose is kinda more propulsively hair-trigger ZAPPO than ever rn thx to internets MY POV 2 YOUR FEELZ superblammo.

    Prolly the person seen the HILLARY HORNS vs JESUS deal got the msg in a flash -- so how that pass from vision to IRL deal?

    Tele-frickin'-lepathy?

    Tellya, anywan manipulates imagry with aplomb got dominion over all rn, an' image transmission requires DEFININ' WOIDS fore'n it visyools on out anyplace vulnerable brainofeelz.

    *evry spontaneously swooshied FB LOLcat grins atop a post-Egyptian LOVE PYRAMID packin' grim MISSION STATEMENTS & CORE VALUE SHITCRAFT from on Zuckerberg Admin Land*

    But evrywannna these visyoolisers ...they gotta explain 'emselves ... dreamo to pitch to STUFFS.

    Less'n how it exists nowan never says nuthin' to nowan' else mebbe wantsta hear?

    Jus' gotta hope alla the woidsy imagry evidencers're sweet an' pure & Princessual as Moi -- otherwise monsters gonna claim word & deed dominion overya ass.
    Signature

    Lightin' fuses is for blowin' stuff togethah.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11241889].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
    Originally Posted by pauloadaoag View Post

    Just trying to start a discussion. If a client needs some copy done and it's gonna be on a page that needs to rank (as opposed to writing for a brochure for example), do you change how you write? What practices do you avoid, what techniques do you start using?
    I use a two-step process.

    1. Write the page for a human audience, a specific human audience.

    2. Go back through and take care of basic on-page SEO.

    Things like title and description tags, captions and alt tags on images, proper use of headings and their hierarchy (in other words, don't use H1 tags just to change the font size or color - that's what style sheets are for), etc.

    If the client specifies a keyword or keyword group, I'll do my best to work it in without losing the effectiveness of the content for humans.

    After analyzing my own site stats for awhile, I found that the keywords people were finding my pages for were seldom the keywords I was trying for. So I quit trying to rank for specific keywords. Seems I was a bit before my time...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11242441].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author sonygill
    No I am content writer and SEO Expert. I change duplicate article in article spinner then get new content and do son correction.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11242686].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author LodestoneCS
    If my client has specific keywords they want to target, I'll work them in. But otherwise, I don't give it too much thought.
    Signature
    Lodestone Consulting Services - Site Audits/Email Marketing/Data Driven Marketing Strategy - And a lover of AI and Automation
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11243207].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author winwordz
    Definitely yes

    However content should unique and focused towards providing target audience with right information. Optimizing content for search engines is all about organizing keywords within the content in right proportion. The bottom line is content writing for SEO is different in a way how the keywords are used.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11247814].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author austinkp
    If you're knowledgeable on the subject (which you always should be before writing) then no. Knowledge leads to solid content because you will naturally use buzz words and jargon that you need to include for ranking purposes.

    Occasionally I'll find myself adding a specific location a few more times than I normally would, but only if it doesn't detract whatsoever from the flow of writing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11248842].message }}
Avatar of Unregistered

Trending Topics