Guest post by Peter J
If you’ve ever read tips that tell you how to bring in traffic, it is most likely that they will tell you how important writing quality content is. Yeah, sure people can tell you how important it is, but in very few cases, when it comes to writing, not many people bother to venture out into actually showing you how to come up with killer content.
In the end you’re just left in the same situation, people telling you to do something without showing you how to do it. Time to escape this constant grind.
Impression comes first, so stop writing for the imaginary.
“Hey, I heard somewhere that when you optimize the titles on your posts, you should make sure that it’s perfectly optimized for search engines.”
Bull S#!t, stop writing for damn machines, we live in a world that is more than just bots going around picking up text and storing it for retrieval.
It’s time to start actually focusing on the readers that you have, not just some machine trailing the web, you will get more out of it this way than writing for search engines.
The big mistake that people make with this is that they think, writing their posts with that extra “search engine in mind” will actually help them; putting specific keywords in your posts doesn’t help, and will stifle your current readers.
You’re trying to bring in traffic, optimizing for search engines isn’t going to work, why, because if you’re not already at the top, search engines are already going to rate your content as something lower than the best, so why optimize if it’s not going to appear first? Back to the readers then.
Ever actually observed what you’ve written?
The key to writing well is to write well, your content will sound good when it sounds good. If this principle applies, then have you ever bothered actually looking at your work?
Sometimes the rubbish that you write often comes in the form of misinterpretation. Look and re-read. When you’ve written a killer post, you will know it; it won’t sound as bad.
Get on and start revising, if you really want to take things to the extreme, then write an article, wait a day and then revise it; you will quickly pick up on the quality. The more time you spend revising what you’ve written the better it will sound; simple as that.
Peter is a 15 year old blogger from Australia. His ideas is what drives him and his blog ideasbubble, were he is working to share some of his blogging and internet tips, including showing people how to raise their voice, and become the stand out people they want to be.
About Kiesha Easley
Twitter: Luxwaterfront
says:
Interesting Article. I agree with you. If your content is just focused on keywords then who’s going to read. Content needs to be engaging and compelling to the reader.
Thanks
sean recently posted..Landscaping without a Green Thumb
I like the way you put it, “stop writing for damn machines” people don’t seem to figure out that if you write for a computer algorithm then you’ll loose the readers. If you want people to stick around and sign up or click on an ad then they’re going to have to be on your page for more than 5 seconds :)
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Great Article…
I am new to this blogging world and such articles are asset for me.
Please keep up the good work….
I am following this website regularly….
Shweta recently posted..Xobni Launches Contact Manager For Android And Gmail
Awsome info and straight to the point. Thanks a lot!
I agree, keyword stuffing is a no-no. There are some who overdo it, they repeat their keywords in the content over and over. 3 is good for me. This article woke me up :D
Sheila recently posted..Using Avatars in the Enterprise
Awesome post. I love how blunt and too the point you got. It is really annoying to see post after post screaming the same thing with out a fix or anything to help them accomplish what they are saying is so important.
You are right, but unfortunately spam emails and spam websites are more than 50% of the internet traffic. Black SEO will be always a tool for those who can’t deliver good, original content.
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Peter
Great stuff. I like your, “no BS” approach to the topic. I think keywords are important. If you can fit them in with little hard to to work, great. But it should be an afterthought not a prime motivation. As you said, People have to read it, if it is keyword heavy drivel they will be gone.
Real art is writing so well it is damn interesting and they do not even realize keywords are there.
Steve recently posted..How to Run a Minimalist Online Business
Hi Peter,
Really liked the article and the advice you have given there. I totally agree that bloggers should stop trying to please the search engines and instead those that matter – their readers. Writing solely for the search engines is one of the worst things you can do to your blog. I’m not saying that SEO should be totally disregarded though. It is just that you need to first think of the visitors and then try your best with at SEO without compromising quality.
Daniel Sharkov recently posted..Avoid Those Bad Habits for a Better Blog
Brilliant post Kiesha!!! Keywords play a very important role in enhancing a website’s ranking on all the major search engines. Thanks for passing along such an informative post here.Great share!!!
You make a great point. People are so worried about ranking well and including keywords that they forget the reason to rank well is because human beings will read your blog.
Josh Ray recently posted..Social Media Wins From Big Businesses
Ah! Sorry. Thanks Keisha, I like your content and style writing.
Good content is one that helps others
One example is the niche, ‘how to monetize your blog’. It’s very saturated and advice given is repeated, and in different ways (also not unique), and shallow … in most of the blog, so instead of helping you takes your time.
I’m only asking that those who set the ‘mainstream’ rhythm of the niche dig a little deeper, doesn’t has to reveal their secrets—at least to read something different.
You can take advantage of this and excel your blog.
Hi Peter. You made your point on writing for readers and that quality content is by far one single important factor to compel your visitors to “staying” with you. However, I do believe that you have only targeted one part of the equation and I totally disagree that SEO is not an important issue. In my experience the “yin-yan”, balanced equation works best as you provide the content your users are looking for while at the same time optimizing for search engines. I say, write for both humans and robots, while obviously not hampering your contents quality.
DiTesco recently posted..AdSense Checklist Is Perfect For Beginners And Existing Users
Nice title, but you didn’t give any concrete tip how to write quality post. The ‘write for people’ advice is not enough in my opinion.
Jack recently posted..Cold Calling – dealing with fear and disgust
Hello Peter,
I found your post title very interesting. I don’t see any big keyword in there but still as a reader I read it. Reason being it sounded interesting. Good Job Mate.
Your absolutely right when you say we need to write content not just for Search Engines but most importantly for our readers. If we can blend both your on the right track buddy. Cheers
Isabel Rodrigues – Pro Blogger Journey recently posted..Getting More Traffic To Your Blog By Using Free Tools
One must use the keywords (really important) without the reader realize that we do it on purpose to enhance our position in the search engines—It’s sufficient with the ads we have in our blog(s) if we are monetizing it.
For example, today I read a blog that in each sentence repeated some version of a keyword and could not continue reading, let alone buy something.
Although he had had information that would help me, it was very artificial, the primary intention and design was too obvious to help herself, and we, the lector, as accessory or unimportant.
I guess with regards to content (apart from being able to write well) writing content about your hearts passion with your own voice, can become your good quality content becuase it’s written from the heart about a subject you feel passionate about.
Amelia.x
I just doing keyword research progress before writing any articles. That’s help me getting more money and traffic.
Tony recently posted..Best Buy Offering Droid Incredible Today As Best Buy’s Free Phone Friday Promo
There are two points to write an article.One to get the more reader and other to get the attention of readers. Both have their own principles. If you want to get the attention search engine,title of the article must not exceed 70 characters.
To get good ranking of the article keywords must be stuffed with a defined range.
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quality depends on several things , in fact what you have mentioned was the most important , this is how people will know who they are dealing with , cause content is the only representative of writers a and it matter of course so they can have a communication and discussions about different point of views
Rahul recently posted..Comment on 10 Traffic Building Tips for Ecommerce Stores by Loudable
Hi Peter,
I see 2 considerations, and 3 methods for handling them.
1) Write articles for people and don’t worry about SEO. I have been Googled for the strangest key phrases; I couldn’t have planned it better if I tried. But writing to make people smile or cry or rage takes special skill, and if those are reactions you want to elicit, don’t screw it up trying to squeeze emotions from an algorithm.
2) Write for the Engines. There are some special articles that are created from top to bottom to draw search traffic. If you go thru that much trouble, you should be selling something on that page. People won’t mind the SEO as much because they came there in the first place while looking for a product or solution to a problem.
3) When writing for people, I usually tweak along the way during one of my edits and SEO whenever it doesn’t harm the article to do so. If I don’t force it unnaturally, I win both ways. This is my preferred method, and a wonderful compromise *most* of the time.
Just my highly inflated 2 cents.
Rick
Rick LaPoint recently posted..The Only Business Model that Works
Great ideas! Especially “It’s time to start actually focusing on the readers that you have…” Content may be king, but readers are the subjects. Without them, there is no kingdom. Thanks for sharing!
Tom Jamieson recently posted..October Is Pastor Appreciation Month
Hi Peter,
I like your point to write quality content for people. The reality is that your content has to star with a goal in mind. The goal is how is my blog given value to others. Then you pick a topic and write on that particular point. Keep the reader in mind. I think if you are focused on reaching that goal, then your writing will flow naturally.
Richard recently posted..How to Keep the Passion Alive on your Blog
Hi Peter,
Awesome post!
Our first and foremost goal should be to write with our readers in mind. Then worry about all the other stuff.
You’re absolutely right about knowing when you’ve written a killer article/quality article. You can just feel it in your bones.
Take care,
Evelyn
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Hi Peter!!
Great to see you posting here :D
Well, at the first time i blog, i create the post based on what i am thinking, i was crappy at SEO back then (now still, but not that bad i hope).
Now, i write for search engines. My reasons is not only to make money (i don’t make money much from my blog) but the main reason is I want people to find my blog.
It is terrible to see autoblogs ranks higher than me in Google. I am sure my blog’s quality is alot better than them.
That’s why i want people to find me. If not through search engines, then where? according to my niche, social media won’t help much.
Thanks for your awesome Peter, looking forward for more.
PS: LOVE YOUR POST TITLE :-D
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This is a controversial issue. For me, when I see a post jammed full of keywords, it’s a turn off so I tend to write my blogs for my readers. However, I DO stay aware of keywords, I just don’t always use them! Make sense? LOL
Martha Giffen recently posted..How to Write the Ultimate Blog Post
Pardon me while I stand up and applaud… BRAVO!
I am not a 15 year blogger and I do not make 40K a month, (not from blogging anyway) so I may not know diddly about this. I am a 30 year freelance writer and what I do know is that when I come across an article that is so stuffed with repeated keyword phrases that it is annoying to read, I bail. If readers bail out a lot, the search engines know this. Also with Google’s rumored “semantic algorithm” keyword density will become less important; they too will be looking for well written copy to promote for real readers instead of looking for robot-friendly text. Keyword optimization will have become just another SEO trick to have been tossed in the rubbish bin.
Allan Douglas recently posted..Warts and All
Twitter: technicallyeasy
says:
While I do agree we should be writing for the readers, there is no reason we can’t also write for search engines. Many people that target a keyword think hard about how best to use it in their title to capture an audience, while at the same time ranking in search engines.
A keyword in the title alone won’t get you to #1 in the SERPs. That part takes time and hardwork
Paul recently posted..How to Recover Deleted Files With Restoration
I don’t disagree with writing for search engines – i just think there needs to be a fine line between the amount of keyword stuffing you do.
Peter J recently posted..Do something already- stop sitting on your ass and dominate!
Keywords are important, but it’s not ok to stuff your article with as many keywords aas possible. I try to be focused on the subject of my article, and in the end i check the key density with an online toll.
Hi Peter
Not only are you a fellow Aussie….yeah but you are a young blogger who is writing quality posts:-) Great mate. You are so right that we need to write for our readers, not just for the search engines. Although I am fairly new to blogging, I just didn’t get writing for SEO v quality content. SEO will come when I write well. Thanks for sharing.
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Twitter: danlew
says:
I think you have written this post to get attention for the wrong reasons.
I totally disagree, yeah sure if you want to blog for the love of it and not make money, sure do what you want!
Top bloggers like John Chow will even tell you optimising your titles around the search engines is key, how do you think he makes 40k a month Peter?
Almost every post title he writes is well planned not only to capture audience but uses words that will rank well.
We must adapt to what is necessary and keep up with the times!
Dan Lew recently posted..Why John Chow Loves Keyword Winner
Sorry about that – should have been refraised.
I don’t mean screw seo, i mean, Ive found that the best way to write your posts is to do half and half. Using the all in one seo plugin – i think its good to write catchy titles for the people who read your blog and then optimize it with a different title using the plugin.
I poorly worded this post. What happens when you blog to late :/