Are Traditional Writers Plagued By The Modern Demands Of SEO?
I recently came across an article that outlined the impact SEO has on the quality of written content. It was argued that, despite persistent historical criticism stating the opposite, SEO was more than capable of enhancing the calibre of our web-based writing.
It seems SEO has received plenty of unmerited condemnation in the past with regards to its effect on quality content. Perhaps it remains an easy target for many an infuriated writer who struggle with the ever-changing demands Google likes to throw at us.
The article I read this week stated that anyone who feels SEO is disrupting their standard of content should be classed as “not a very good writer”, although I find this harsh in the sense that SEO is a rapidly growing and developing industry practically dictating the paths which skilled and ambitious writers must now follow in order to succeed on their website.
We want to know if SEO has changed content writing for the better and whether we should feel despondent about compressing our content with a plethora of regimenting keywords from now on.
Prioritising SEO
As writers, we have to understand that prioritising SEO with keywords is crucial to the success of our website and that Google wants to see as much keyword-ridden content as possible. We spend much of our time acknowledging our own work; concluding that this is exactly what the reader wants and anything else wouldn’t live up to expectations.
What SEO gives us is the opportunity to discover more about our audience and what it is they want to be reading, thus improving our use of vocabulary (as well as keywords) within that specific sector.
We might be using the right words and providing our audience with an excellent source of information that’s plentiful, insightful and appealing to any industry expert but are the writers out there finding it easier to produce high quality content as a result of this?
The point of SEO and Google’s newfound ideology is to have clients, customers, fans and enthusiasts leaving with a superior amount of knowledge and ideally with everything they’d hoped to obtain, but those of us who venture to supermarkets once or twice a week know full well how difficult this is to achieve.
Instead we take something that’s just as appealing, albeit different, or nothing at all. If we can somehow formulate this similarity between websites and supermarkets, there could be a valid reason to support writers who feel oppressed by the often manipulative characteristics of Google algorithms that offer very little in the way of compromise.
Of course, it won’t help a website achieve its potential if we search too vigorously for the opportunity to shun keywords wherever possible. Instead, we need to avoid circumventing and utilise the benefits of meeting SEO requirements. So how do we do this?
SEO Does Generate Ideas
The article I refer to at the start of this post helped me find the origin of what is widely regarded as a seasoned writer’s nightmare.
Generating ideas for content can be debilitating at times and if there’s anything out there that has the potential to blemish a consistent writer’s portfolio, it’s discovering up to the minute topics to write about.
Analytics provides us with a monumental amount of topics covering everything from e-books to on-site content.
It’s now easier than ever to find similar topics using related search results provided by search engines and sufficiently fuel the part of our brains that allows the creative juices to flow.
SEO – Turn It On Its Head
“I’ve just written the best piece of content I think I’ve ever had the pleasure of completing, what without all those problematic little keywords to hold me back…”
“Great, how many views does it have?”
It’s important that we don’t embarrass ourselves and forget that anything we do write must have the pleasure of being read. This is probably the clearest reason yet why writers should be embracing SEO instead of uncovering its distinguishable flaws.
We effectively organise content, we learn how to incorporate the right terms and we adopt new styles of writing. We couldn’t just expect someone to stumble across the work we do either.
SEO and Writers Unite
There’s no debate that keywords and SEO are systematising from a writer’s point of view. However, what’s taken away from us is given back in the shape of something a whole lot more valuable in the modern world; recognition.
For the traditional writers out there I say this; there’s always something new to learn and written content is fast becoming a huge part of SEO, so embrace it as early as possible and you’ll have forgotten the substance behind your quarrels faster than you can type out a troublesome old keyword.
