Ocean Copy

Writing for the search engines, or SEO content writing is a minefield if you don’t know what you’re doing.

Forgetting that the web is primarily used by humans looking for information is a huge mistake.

Since the Google Panda update, most of the truly awful SEO content has been given the back-handed slap it deserved. This hasn’t stopped many reputable and not so reputable businesses continuing to churn out poor content though.

Below are five quick mistakes to avoid when it comes to SEO content;

• Keyword stuffing

So you run a mobile disco in Cardiff do you? Yes, I know that and am starting to get annoyed because you’ve told me you run a mobile disco in Cardiff at least five or six times in one paragraph, and if I ever need a mobile disco in Cardiff, I’m highly unlikely to choose your mobile disco in Cardiff. Get it?

• Writing without thinking

Quality content is more important than ever. Why just churn out an article saying the same things as everyone else? Taking the time to do some keyword research and think about your topic from a different angle can help improve its relevance to your target audience, and relevance is king.

• Rewriting articles you found online

Who will ever notice if you take an article written by someone else, change a few headings and pass it off as your own work? Google for one will notice and you might also get a nice email or call from the person you’ve ripped off too.

• Spammy meta tags

Cramming your meta title and description full of keywords is old hat and spammy. Google only really needs told once that you run a mobile disco in Cardiff in your meta title and description, repeating the same thing until you run out of space lacks imagination. You’re also missing an opportunity to entice people to click through to your site from the search engine results.

• Repeating these mistakes over and over again

If you’ve been making the four mistakes listed above for days, weeks, months or even years, then please stop.

The rules of SEO content have changed. Don’t keep throwing good money at a cheap copywriter that doesn’t know what they’re doing, or spend hours wondering why your rankings are still rubbish.

While the term SEO content is used a lot, remember you’re trying to make a connection with human beings when you publish web pages or articles online.

Don’t just write a load of generalised information crammed with keywords; think about what people might actually want to read.

SEO content is as easy as, well, SEO;

Specific, Engaging & Original.