How much SEO is too much SEO?
Remember when writing was somewhat pedestrian and simple? When presenting compelling and provocative prose to draw audience attention was solely a factor of how you string sentences together? You can suspend that, at least partly. Key in a migration of communications from print to digital is the necessary intrusion of technology, which means wording sentences and ideas in a way that they are captured and rechurned through algorithms on search engines.
But it’s possible that the race to tap into somewhat robotic Search Engine Optimization (SEO) may be a bit premature. There are still arguments to be made for focusing on the human target as opposed to a reliance on converting your input to a system that delivers ordered results.
By now you’re envisioning your 9th grade composition teacher’s pleas to embrace a conversational voice. Turns out there’s still a solid argument for that, because the predominant search entity, Google, still evaluates text for its readability and adherence to rules of approachable writing.
Here’s a rather protracted guide of how Google attempts to legitimize and rank search criteria.
High on Google’s list is a reputation-based evaluation. How trustworthy is the source? How much expertise does the writer have? Low-quality submissions that are not verifiable will be ranked lower.
And make no mistake about it: Google employs human beings to assess these things.
Ultimately, the goal for creating content on a website or other digital platform is to reach target audiences searching for relevant information. That’s called “converting” in the digital world. Turning your content into something that is accessed and read by your audience is the first essential step in making a sale, but ideally it begins with convincing your reader that they have an unfilled need, and that you can fill it.
Here are a few tips to make that happen:
Anticipate how much your audience knows, and how much you will need to tell them.
Compose your content as if you were writing an admissions essay for a top-ranked university, because once your audience is led to your page, they will still need to be persuaded.
Make your content readable by formatting it with appropriate spacing, bullets, sections, and anything else that is visually pleasing. Long blocks of plain text will not do the trick.
Start out with a bang. This means crafting an enticing headline that sums up the service you are about to offer.
Use dynamic content. Key words that reflect a geographical location, a timely event such as a holiday, or other terms and inclusions that personalize the experience for a page visitor are highly effective.
Other critical tips to improving user experience include using longer phrases and terms that include specifics (example: “Formal dresses for summer events” instead of merely “formal dresses”), improving page-load times, and one of the most overlooked strategies of all – Optimizing your content for a variety of devices.