Comments on: When the Writer Trumps the Salesperson

By: Andre Thomas

Andre Thomas — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 12:58:58 +0000

It’s my opinion that “SEO copywriting” is really a big waste of time. The density of keywords in the content matters so little now… it’d have been infinitely more beneficial for you to build links instead.

And this is especially true is for the sake of SEO, you compromise the quality of your writing.

Because at the end of the day, the one you are trying to attract, the one you trying to impress and the one you’re trying to sell to… is your customers and readers! Not the search engines. Search engines are but one the many sources of traffic.

This is of course speaking from the point of view of buyers of copywriting services. As a writer, I’d take up the job in a flash if I needed it, so as long as they don’t show my name! Lucky for me, it hasn’t come to that yet!

So more power to you for hesitating to take up SEO copywriting gigs. I admire people who stand on principle.

Andre Thomass last blog post..The Number 1 Way To Build Trust

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 09:47:18 +0000

@ Coursework -

It isn’t about whether or not I enjoy writing SEO.

It also isnt’ about the difficulty.

It sure as heck isn’t about the background or knowledge. I don’t need to “study more” (or hire your company to do my studying for me.)

It’s about SEO turning writing into something less than grand. It’s about destroying the language. It’s about producing low-quality writing for the sake of appealing to search engines.

SEO has, in many ways, had a negative impact on the quality of Internet writing.

By: Coursework

Coursework — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 05:36:06 +0000

Being a SEO Copywriter for almost a year now makes me extremely happy. I love my work – both copywriting and SEO ofcourse. At first, I was having a hard time incorporating SEO to my style of writing. But eventually, I get used to it. I must say, there is nothing wrong if you want to turn down SEO Copywriting projects. But, I suggest that you study more about SEO so that you will have ample background on how this kind of writing is done in a less-complicated manner. Trust me, it works.

By: Melissa Donovan

Melissa Donovan — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 09:08:09 +0000

The problem with those types of articles is that if they do get any rank, people are just going to click away – they’re so unreadable! Google doesn’t like it much when you overstuff your keywords, so I would probably advise my clients on that point. As for my services – I explain clearly that I provide well-written SEO, and part of that means you can’t sacrifice readability for keywords. If that’s a problem, then get two articles instead of one

Melissa Donovans last blog post..Holiday Fiction (Writing Exercise)

By: Bob

Bob — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 13:38:29 +0000

@ Evan – I think there’s some middle ground to be found. I don’t mind doing some SEO, but the minute it interferes with good writing, I’m likely to err on the side of good writing.

@ Matt – Oh, I know there are ways to write “orange bandage Columbus.” But can you, truly, insert it eight times in a 350 word article? That is where it gets screwy.

You raise a good point, too. Part of success as a writer means you can be more selective in regard to the gigs you choose.

I’m just on the other side of that equation; I’ve got writers working for me now, and so I can be selective on which gigs I write myself and which ones I give out.

@ Bamboo – The problem I have isn’t reputation. The problem I have is quality. There is so much garbage online, and much of it is there because of weird SEO requirements. I hate to add to it.

By: Bamboo Forest - PunIntended

Bamboo Forest - PunIntended — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:51:29 +0000

Oh, and thanks for the link... I've heard of it before, but am more inclined to purchase it now. I have a lot of reading ahead of me. Bamboo Forest - PunIntendeds last blog post..7 Things People Say that Sound Like One Thing - yet Say Quite Another

By: Bamboo Forest - PunIntended

Bamboo Forest - PunIntended — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 23:48:51 +0000

If writing a dense SEO article would not compromise your reputation – I don’t see a problem.

The person hiring you should know that by having such high demands for so much SEO – the article will not turn out its best.

I think it’s short sighted on the client’s end. But – maybe they know something I don’t.

Bamboo Forest – PunIntendeds last blog post..7 Things People Say that Sound Like One Thing – yet Say Quite Another

By: Matt Tuley

Matt Tuley — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 21:31:02 +0000

Some of those SEO jobs can be…challenging…to say the least. “I want you to target the phrase ‘orange bandage columbus’.” I want to say, “Why? WHY?” Instead, I say, “Okay” and have a go. One of the best ways to make these types of tasks a bit easier is to drop punctuation in the terms. “…orange bandage. Columbus…” is the same as far as Google is concerned–though convincing the client can sometimes bring its own challenge.

Honestly, I’m looking forward to moving away from having to take on jobs like this to focus on work I find more interesting and fulfilling. Not quite there yet, though.

By: Evan

Evan — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 20:55:01 +0000

I'm afraid I've gone the lazy or principled path. I ignore SEO and mostly just concentrate on quality. I hope this is enough to get readers. Occasionally I use the same word instead of synonyms - that's about as far as I've gone. I hope that the search engines get smarter and that social bookmarking sites encourage good writing. Evans last blog post..What Do The Whitehall Studies Mean to You?

By: Bob

Bob — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 18:17:25 +0000

@Deborah – In my mind, keyword requirements should never trump good writing. Does it cost business? Sure. But I think the search engines are becoming smarter, too. Too many keywords will kill you in Google these days.

@Alexander – Don’t let one client ruin your business or your self-image. Focus on what you know to be the right way to do things, and you’ll be all right in the long run.

And, since you both mention it: Yes, SEO School is a must-have for any web writer. If you don’t have it, get it. And sooner, rather than later.

By: Alexander

Alexander — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:56:13 +0000

Thanks for the SEO school lonk. I am always trying to improve on that subject. I had clients that loved my SEo articles and never had a problem. At least that is what I thought. A few months ago - my last SEO article - I had a client that wanted 90 percent of article with keywords and some keywords were, well, stupid. I wrote the article and he published it. I found the article on his blog and I came across comments of readers saying that the article were filled with keywords and links that they could not understand the article. To me this was heart breaking because I pride myself to write articles that people can understand. The next time I challenge the client and he got upset and I lost his business. I stop writing ever since then and only worked on my own. But I am going to get back on my writing business and will not let anything or no one stop me from writing a good article. Alexanders last blog post..The Ten Commandments

By: Deborah Johnson

Deborah Johnson — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 15:20:14 +0000

I have a love-hate relationship with SEO writing. If a client just has a few keyword requirements, I'm more likely to take the assignment. If it's keyword dense, I hesitate. I find that keyword dense writing limits my creativity. The keyword requirements often don't work together, are grammatically poor, etc. Perhaps if writers become more proactive about educating clients about the limits of SEO writing, we can work together to resolve these issues. Thanks for the link on SEO school. I am definitely checking that out. Deborah Johnsons last blog post..The Friday Four