Many still believe today that writing content capable of reaching the top positions in search engines is an activity made up of particular operations aimed at pleasing Google: the result is often texts full of keywords without real fluency in reading.
What does it mean to write for the web?
Unfortunately in Italy, we still have the cultural legacy of the journalistic imprint. I often interview people who say they are copywriters but in reality they only have a passion for writing and have written for some online or paper newspaper.
Writing for the web is a completely different thing.
The user who reads an editorial online is different from the one who buys the printed newspaper.
They search for other types of information and, above all, they do so from mobile devices in very short times.
A recent study highlighted the fact that nobody reads anymore: we scan articles because we don't have time.
For online publishers, this means that they need to produce simple, immediate and to-the-point texts.
SEO Oriented Writing: Why Did This Need Arise?
Precisely because many people think that knowing how to write is enough to write for the web and therefore write with SEO in mind, over the years the need has been felt to put a limit on the discipline.
Writing SEO Oriented means taking into account the fact that the goal of that content is to increase traffic to the site and to do so it must reach the top positions of the search engine, and this is where the problem arises: many embracing this thesis forget that in reality they are writing for people with feelings, thoughts, cultural heritage and experiences.
So what does writing in a SEO oriented way mean?
During my years of experience at Emmemedia Web Agency, where I currently work in the SEO department I realized that writing a text thinking of pleasing Google at all costs is a mistake that can backfire.
The best way to get the most out of your content is to think about people and SEO tools are valid allies but they are not the starting point.
Let me explain.
If you are writing a travel guide to visit the Sassi of Matera, it is obvious that you want to position yourself for the keyword “Sassi di Matera” in the SERPs of tourist guides but obsessively repeating the keyword will not help you.
You need to start from an analysis regarding the sentiment that revolves around that query, what people actually search for on the topic, what they ask most often: the best itinerary? The presence of airports? Prices? Accommodations? In this way you will be able to write the content naturally by responding to the entire Search Intent.
Google wants to have relevant and comprehensive content in its search results for its users.
This is why I always stress the point that when you write to rank you have to forget that you want to rank. The content is for users, not for the search engine.
What advice would you give to someone who is approaching the world of SEO Oriented writing for the first time?
To study a lot, to master the tool (Google) and to know all its peculiarities.
But not only.
To listen to the target audience also by looking at social profiles, to understand the jargon of the target we want to reach, their doubts and the information that arouses the most interest.
After the analysis done outside, start from a blank sheet of paper and try to imagine being at an information desk where the person reading us is the person who comes to ask in person.
To write for Google, you have to forget that you are writing for Google.
Article published on 22 April 2022 - 10:42
