Now that the idea of online marketing has taken hold and more and more companies are understanding the use of SEO on their websites, a new problem has arisen: SEO overload or SEO stuffing. The use of SEO seems pretty simple at first glance: load your site with certain wording and search engines will find you when prospective customers are looking for products or services similar to yours. However, there is more to effective SEO than simply loading a site with keywords. Just as holiday dinners can leave you feeling stuffed and uncomfortable, a site overloaded with keywords will leave your audience wondering, “What did I just read?” Your readers (and prospective customers) want something informative and even entertaining if they have taken the time to visit your site.
The Importance of Relevancy
You don’t want to simply attract prospective customers to your site — you want them to like what they see, once they arrive. Here is where relevancy comes into play. Some writing services can string a few keywords together, but fail to combine effective SEO with quality, relevant writing. An effective content developer will not only take your SEO requests into consideration, but will translate that SEO wording into real, relevant articles, blog posts, landing pages, or service or product descriptions that will attract and then inform your audience.
The SEO Trap
Companies need to be careful of limiting their content developers with restricting SEO demands. It may be tempting to go overboard with keyword requirements, but you must remember that unrealistic keyword requests will, in some cases, inhibit your writers from developing content that makes sense or is informative and entertaining for customers. The best practice is to do some research to help you pinpoint a few keywords that can be effective for your company, then allow your writers to naturally and organically work those into relevant, entertaining, and informative content. There is an element of trust involved when you hire writing services to assist you with content development for your site. You need to trust that your writers will take your keyword needs and produce effective content that will drive web traffic and boost sales. Keep in mind that most of the freelancers you work with have been doing this for a while. Check out their writer profiles and their past history with other clients. If they have a strong record of creating satisfying content, you can trust them to balance your keywords and relevancy as well.
Sarah R is a freelance author, content writer and home educator. When she’s not creating great content for her clients she’s chasing down her hyper children and imparting knowledge to them.
