SEO is changing fast. No longer is it a mystery only the technically minded can understand. The rules are clear: create a well built website and fill it with content people want to read and share. When combined with a promotion strategy, traffic and higher rankings will naturally follow.
This Spartan sounding approach to SEO is nothing new. What’s changed is that playing by the rules is the only way to go. More than ever, it’s a marathon, and not a sprint. Yes, there are spammy shortcuts you can take. But when you’re caught you can expect to be expelled from the race altogether and not just sent back to the starting line.
In response, many SEO agencies are changing their game. They’re evolving from putting code and tags in all the right places to become ‘content strategists’. A shift in job description SEO copywriters would be wise to follow.
It’s a fact – SEO copywriting isn’t just about keywords anymore. It now provides the fuel for driving inbound marketing campaigns, drawing traffic from social media and converting it into subscribers and leads.
If I was feeling brave, I’d say that businesses don’t need to hire SEO agencies at all. After all, why pay a monthly fee for an SEO strategy that may stop working the moment you switch off the money hose? Wouldn’t it be wiser for businesses to invest in hiring an SEO copywriter? Someone who can provide a steady flow of content that builds rankings on solid foundations, whatever cuddly sounding yet savage updates Google releases?
This was the view of Paul Boag, a 20 year web design veteran, in an article entitled ‘The Inconvenient Truth of SEO’. Unfortunately for Paul, this candid view didn’t go down well with the SEO community, who responded with an article of their own.
So I’m going to play it safe and say that SEO agencies have a role to play. But as Google’s algorithm becomes more driven by human behavior, the technical tactics of SEO will continue to be superseded with those of marketing.
More than ever, it’s great content that drives traffic and rankings. This is something SEO copywriters can prosper from, particularly when you approach clients with an inbound marketing strategy to accompany the words.
I’ve always said that content strategy comes first and SEO follows. That’s because if your SEO isn’t aligned with your brand and overarching strategy, you’ll have high click-thru rates on content that isn’t as relevant as it could be. SEO can be very miopic but content strategy is flexible and works well for long-term planning.