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Writing Quality SEO Content, Part 1

Written by Jay Shapiro for Gaebler Ventures

Writing good SEO content can be tricky especially if your keywords strings seem clumsy in context. But you need to include them to make a piece SEO, however it's not just the robots you should be writing for, first and foremost it's the human reader. Here's how to write stylish keyword rich content. Part one of a two part article.

Did you ever play that game as a kid where you repeated a word so much it seemed to become evermore ridiculous and ended up seeming like jibberish?

You didn't? Okay...maybe you just weren't that sort of kid. The fact is that overuse of a word can render it meaningless and rather silly. Said or written over and over again a word risks losing its impact.

If you've ever known someone who cusses profusely you'll acknowledge that their use of expletives carries far less weight than when those same words are spoken by someone who rarely blasphemes. Clichéd terms are a case in point, we've heard them so many times before that their message is lost, they are considered bland and are more often than not ineffectual. Writers who resort to using them are criticized for being lazy and unimaginative. Basic teaching, when we are learning to write creatively, tells us not to repeat ourselves, and not to repeat a word when another would better convey our meaning.

So what's the rub when it comes to SEO (search engine optimization) writing? The raw deal is that any piece of text written for the purposes of SEO requires a certain density ratio of relevant keywords in order for it to be picked up by the search engine robots.

There's no getting away from it, to hit even the lowest target expectation of keyword density in a piece of text the writer is obliged to repeat the keyword. And repetition, as we are fully aware, can make for writing that judders. Text that is clumsy and boring to read could very likely, in an online environment, have the reader clicking away from the page. Worse still, they might click off site altogether.

The guideline for keyword density is sometimes cited as 2% - 6%. Now 2% - 6% doesn't sound like much. However, trying to incorporate the keywords with that much frequency can present the writer with a considerable challenge. And there's the simple truth that some keywords are easier to incorporate than others. More organic sounding keywords or even keyword strings can be included with regularity without seeming overtly intrusive.

For example, keywords and relatively short related strings such as 'writer', 'freelance writer', and 'professional freelance writer' can be slipped into the mix fairly easily. However, other keys and strings may present a few problems. Some of the most difficult sorts of keyword or strings of keywords to integrate into texts are those which feature convoluted company names, or long-winded descriptions of products or services.

Think, for example, on the difficulty of including a very long key like '24-hour enamel bath resurfacing services' without sacrificing the ease and readability of the finished article. You might want to incorporate your name and what you do as part of a long stringed keyword. And let's face it, it's not easy to include the string 'Bartholomew A. B. Random's organic wart, callus, verruca, corn and hard skin remedy' at a rate of 2% - 6% while still maintaining style and the reader's interest. And the reader's interest is what must be kept in mind when writing optimized content. Reader first, robot second, might be the mantra.

Admittedly, the fictional Mr. Random's requirement of working his thirteen-word string into a captivating piece of writing might appear to be an exaggerated and unrealistic example. A thirteen letter string? Unlucky for some, maybe. Excuse the cliché! In the world of SEO writing you might be obliged to work with keyword strings that are even longer.

Jay Shapiro is a freelance writer based in the UK. Jay has a particular interest in the emotive aspects of the entrepreneur's character. "Alongside the nuts and bolts of business, the character of the person is often the ingredient responsible for success."

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