Great SEO content evokes all kinds of emotion — from relief, to sympathy, to curiosity, to humor, and everything in between. Unfortunately, bad content can evoke lots of emotions, too — like anger, frustration, and exasperation.
Publish the latter, and you’ll wind up with content that makes your readers scream these 4 not-so-nice things at their computer screens:
1. “But I’m a human!”
Even though it’s not face-to-face communication, the right SEO content can be very personal. By showing your readers that you understand their problems — and can give them intelligent, well-thought-out, easy-to-understand solutions and answers — you’re making them feel connected to you. The more of a relationship you can build, the more money you can expect to make.
How do you think successful marketers get so much repeat business? They take the time to build relationships with their customers, through things like through informative articles, witty blog posts, and interesting emails. Then, their readers see them as a trusted authority — and they’re more willing to listen when they pitch a particular product or new service.
That’s why I never understand the people who create their content with only the search engines in mind. The search engines themselves admit they want you to write with readers in mind — not search engine spiders! The right SEO content should target a couple of specific keywords, but integrated in a way so that they’re not screaming, “Hey! Look at me! I’m a keyword!”
However, the “I-must-shove-as-many-keywords-and-awkward-phrases-in-as-possible” crowd is still out there, churning out content that looks like some weird robot language. It doesn’t flow naturally. It doesn’t appeal to any kind of emotion.
Remember, search engine spiders don’t buy your products. They don’t sign up for your email list. They don’t follow you on Facebook. They don’t re-Tweet you, “pin” you, or +1 you. If you publish SEO content that makes your readers feel like they don’t come first, YOU won’t come first in their minds when it comes time to buy something.
2. “Tell me something I don’t already know!”
A few months back, I was doing some writing for a client who sells wicker chairs. During my research, I stumbled on an article that said, “The chair has quite a few capabilities, amongst that is currently being sat unto.”
What an informative gem, huh?!
When your SEO content points out the blatantly obvious, you look ridiculous. Instead of showcasing your expertise, you’re wasting readers’ time. And if they think you’re a waste of time, they’re never going to buy anything from you.
Remember, great SEO content is designed to teach readers something new. It’s supposed to answer their questions and solve their problems. If yours isn’t doing that, your content writing strategy needs a complete overhaul.
3. “Stop trying to sell me something!”
If readers feel like you’re the internet version of a used car salesman, they’re never going to want to do business with you. If your articles, blog posts, and videos come out looking more like a commercial than a genuine source of information, you’re approaching your content writing all wrong.
Unless it’s legitimate sales copy, SEO content should never be used to make a hard sell. Instead, the good stuff acts as a pre-sell. When you pre-sell, you tell people what the solution to their problem is. Then, in your resource box, you offer a product or service that does it for them.
Let’s say you publish an article about wrinkles that explains in detail how a lack of collagen in your body causes them. Thus, the key to getting rid of them is boosting your body’s collagen production. If you then offer them a link in your resource box to a skin cream product that increases their collagen, they’re more likely to buy it — because you’ve already explained how it can benefit them. Even though you didn’t mention the name of your skin cream one time in your article, your readers know they need it.
4. “Who on earth wrote this?!”
If your readers are screaming at their computer screens and feverishly looking for a byline so that they know who is responsible for a certain article or blog post, that’s a very bad thing. It means your SEO content has made such a bad impression that your readers want to make sure they never have anything more to do with you. If your name pops up somewhere else, they’re going to avoid you like the plague.
Typically, this is the response readers have when they find something that’s clearly been spun. After all, wouldn’t you want to know who just wasted 30 seconds of your life by feeding you garbage like:
“A good bouquet of cut plants affirms a great deal and might be offered for practically all celebrations. Even so, if they get home they generally don’t continue being in good condition too much time. Don’t you think thrilling to obtain pretty flowers out of your local simply to feel down when you view them sag and also normally dry out?”
Bottom line — the wrong content writing strategy can damage your reputation forever. If you want to make the right impression, you have to publish the very best content. After all, how much success can you expect if your target audience can’t stand you?!