Are We Writing for Google or for People?

Somewhere along the way, we’ve become a little too obsessed with keywords.

Don’t get us wrong. Search engine optimisation (SEO) is important. Hugely important, in fact. If you’re investing time and money into your website, you want people to find it.

But there’s a difference between creating content that Google can understand and creating content that sounds as though it’s been written purely to impress a search engine. And sometimes, that difference is painfully obvious.

We’ve all landed on websites where the same phrase appears in almost every paragraph. A business offering ‘professional cleaning services in Sussex’ somehow manages to squeeze ‘professional cleaning services in Sussex’ into every heading, description and sentence.

You get the picture.

It might tick a few keyword boxes, but does it make you want to keep reading? Probably not.

SEO and good copywriting should work together

One of the biggest misconceptions about SEO content is that you have to choose between writing for search engines and writing for your audience.

You really don’t.

Good SEO copywriting considers both. It’s about understanding what people are searching for, why they’re searching for it and what information they’re hoping to find when they land on your website, and then answering those questions in a way that’s useful, interesting and easy to understand.

Keywords have their place, of course. They help search engines identify what a page is about and how it relates to a particular search.

But they should fit naturally into your content, not dictate every sentence.

If you’re having to force a keyword into a paragraph where it doesn’t belong, there’s a good chance it doesn’t need to be there.

Your customers don’t speak in keywords

Think about how you explain your business to someone you’ve just met.

You probably don’t repeat your main service and location every few sentences. You have a conversation. You explain what you do, answer questions and perhaps share an example of how you’ve helped someone.

Your website content should feel much the same.

Yes, it needs structure. Yes, it needs relevant search terms. And yes, it needs to make it clear to Google what your business offers. But it also needs to sound like you.

That’s particularly important for businesses working in professional services or specialist industries, where trust, knowledge and credibility play such a big part in someone’s decision to get in touch.

People want to feel confident that you understand their needs. They don’t want to wade through three paragraphs of repetitive marketing language before finding an answer.

Sometimes the best SEO content starts with a conversation

We spend a lot of time encouraging our clients to share information they don’t necessarily think is interesting.

A question they’ve been asked by a customer. A problem they’ve recently solved. A change within their industry. A project they’ve just completed.

Quite often, those everyday snippets become some of the most valuable content we create.

Why? Because they’re based on real experiences and real questions. And there’s a good chance other people are searching for exactly the same information.

A question that comes up regularly in customer enquiries could become a useful blog post. A complicated service that takes five minutes to explain over the phone might benefit from a clearer website page.

That’s content marketing and SEO working together, without needing to shoehorn keywords into every available space.

The technical bits still matter

We’re not suggesting you can write a lovely piece of content, publish it and expect Google to do the rest. There’s more to SEO than that.

Page titles, headings, meta descriptions, internal links, relevant keywords and website structure all deserve attention.

We consider these elements when creating website content and blog articles because they help search engines understand how individual pages relate to particular subjects.

Internal linking, for example, is something businesses often overlook. If you’ve written a useful article about a service you offer, linking naturally to the relevant service page helps readers find out more. It also gives search engines additional context about your website, and a well-written page title can make a real difference to whether someone chooses to click through from the search results.

None of these things needs to come at the expense of good writing. They’re simply part of making your content work harder.

Please don’t forget your tone of voice

This is something we feel quite strongly about at DWD Communications.

Your content should reflect your business.

A family-run business in Sussex probably shouldn’t sound like a multinational corporation. Equally, a specialist legal services provider needs to communicate its expertise without making every sentence unnecessarily complicated.

There’s a balance.

We work with businesses across a wide range of industries, and the way we write for each one is different. Some need a friendly, conversational approach. Others need something more technical or formal. Quite often, it’s a mixture of both.

SEO shouldn’t strip that personality away. In fact, when your content is clear, relevant and genuinely helpful, it gives visitors more reason to explore your website, understand your services and consider getting in touch.

And surely that’s the point?

Content should do more than attract a click

Getting someone onto your website is only part of the job. What happens when they arrive matters just as much.

Can they quickly understand what you offer? Does the content answer their questions? Is it easy to navigate? Does it give them enough confidence to take the next step?

A high-ranking page that leaves visitors confused or unimpressed isn’t doing your business many favours. We’d much rather create content that attracts relevant visitors and gives them a reason to stay than chase rankings with copy that doesn’t reflect the business behind it.

Of course, SEO is an ongoing process. Search behaviour changes, competitors update their websites and content needs reviewing, but the principle behind our approach doesn’t really change.

Understand your audience. Write something worth reading. Make sure search engines can find and understand it.

The keywords, headings and technical considerations should support the content, not take over.

Need a hand with your website content?

We help businesses create SEO-friendly website copy, blogs and marketing content that sounds like them, not like a list of search terms.

If your website could do with a refresh, or you’re struggling to balance SEO with natural, engaging copywriting, we’d love to have a chat.

Find out more about our Content Marketing & Copywriting Services.