The old saying, ‘What goes around, comes around’ still holds true, and that
extends to every medium and every art form. Optimized writing, and ‘keyword
fodder’ for the Search Engines, a.k.a., ‘content’ is no different. Keyword
writing IS a method of marketing, and it has shifted in the last ten years
to include writing and marketing specifically TO the Search Engines, not
necessarily the end user, the consumer/visitor to a Web site.
As of the past few years, everyone online saw a real deluge of content
sites, filled with what is referred to as ‘content articles’ aimed at
increasing rankings and therefore traffic. Some of this content was also in
the form of snippets, brief content additions that were added just to
enhance rankings. With that deluge of content sites, came writing that was
aiming to sell to those that wanted to establish a lot of quickie Web
sites, with no real regard for imparting of knowledge to visitors. These
used somewhat lower quality writing, with a focus on insertion and
placement of keywords, rather than the quality of the information.
Of course, this is a legitimate way to increase traffic and rankings, but
honestly, it did little to increase positive visitor experiences while on a
site, and the owners of such ‘content glutted’ sites, found themselves on a
continual search for more and more ‘quickie content’ to keep new visitors
coming back to their sites. After all, how many return visits could
actually occur on sites that are devoted to making money through Adsense
ads, or by reselling offerings done by others?
The writing market now seems to be glutted with writers of this quickie
content, leaving owners of higher end Web sites scrabbling to find great
content; content not just written for the Search Engines but for actual
visitors. Large, well-established sites, owned by mid-sized and larger
businesses, that are online for years, have found themselves adrift in a
mass of writers that have adjusted their standards and are getting used to
providing lower end writing.
This ‘merry-go-round of turn-around content’ has hurt not just the writing
markets, but the markets that availed themselves of the writing markets;
owners of sites that strive to deliver quality products and services
themselves, as well as purveyors of quality information.
Ads online have started to appear asking for ‘real content writers’ and
there are even some ads that are requiring ‘no keyword optimization
writers’ putting writers that offer keyword optimization in a lower class
themselves. In addition, ads are appearing that ask for ‘real writers
only’, sending a subliminal message that ‘content ONLY keyword writers’ are
being equated with the poor content many times seen on the ‘quickie sites.’
Time has proven that any quick approach to making money, online does come
and go and only real ‘content’ with an eye towards a positive Web site
visitor experience actually produces longevity of rankings, and of course,
customers that keep coming back. Since a Web site is in essence an online
store, return business is required for success. Real content also
establishes a business owner as an expert and builds empathy, so higher end
writing is necessary to do this.
This is simply a wake up call that quality never dies, either in writing or
in any other medium or offering. It’s also a wake up call that in the
online world, things can change in a split second and what was ‘hot’ today
is NOT ‘hot’ tomorrow! Time-honored methods of writing and marketing
sometimes take a backseat to the fads that pass through online, but as
always the time-honored methods climb back into the driver’s seat
eventually. How quickly the online marketing and writing worm turns!
