how-to-create-seo-content-that-people-actually-readWe’ve all seen them: the blogs that only are structured for SEO more than any other purpose. Frequently the content pieces are slapdash, with a heap of keyword links tossed in to bait Google. While some blog owners are savvy and tenacious enough to make this strategy work, it is rarely a methodology that pays off beyond a certain point. Because this work isn’t readable, or even very useful to the average person, there is nothing to build a following or do more than run specific links up Google’s response page.

For blogs meant to bring in advertising revenue, the effectiveness of this approach is likely to plateau sooner than later. After a certain point, without a real readership, a blog owner will have to expend so much energy keeping up SEO-centric content that the effort is likely to prove unsustainable. In cases like these, even a 25% improvement in the written quality of individual pieces is likely to pay off in terms of time, energy, and money spent trying to monetize a blog.

Post quality and SEO optimization should go hand in hand. But for people who aren’t skilled writers, or who need to rely on outside content creators because of language mastery and other factors, identifying great content can be a challenge. However, there are methods to do just this.

  • Find Content Creators You Admire. If you are aware of the need for SEO-conscious content, but have a challenge getting quality material created for this purpose, start by finding writers who are doing it right. You can start by spreading out into the larger web niche which you inhabit. Find blogs which are doing what you are doing, but better. In many cases, their writers are freelance and will produce content for you just like they do for the blog you admire. By cultivating a stable of SEO-conscious writers, you can guarantee that your material will be compelling to readers, keeping them on your page after they find it on Google.
  • Hire a Company that Does This. Trusted firms like WSI are equipped to skillfully handle all aspects of SEO-focused content creation. The material produced by firms like this performs in all aspects of quality. Not only will it drive your site up the search ladder, it will give quality written material to your developing readership as they find your site. This will pay off in the short term, creating more clicks for you and your advertisers. But it will also pay off in the long term, because individual pieces will perform better longer, giving you more of the benefits of the Long Tail phenomenon.

You can even learn to do this yourself. There are many resources available to help you write better. This may be something to pursue in the long term if you haven’t the time to commit to something like this, or if English is something you are not skilled at. But in most cases, simple writing about a subject that you know a lot about is effective writing. Try this approach the next time you need to produce a compelling piece of content-rich material.