SEO Philosophy
How a writer became a search engine optimization consultant.
Years ago, as a freelance internet marketing writer working for internet retail companies, I got a request from one of my clients to start including search engine optimized keywords in my writing work.
The client had recently contracted with an SEO research and consulting firm to provide my client with technical SEO advice, keyword analysis and search engine ranking information. This SEO consultancy could offer my client pages of data on SERP rankings and keyword search volume. They could offer up-to-date, by-the-book advice on how to optimize site code and structure. But there was something very important that these expert SEO analysts could not do: instruct my client on how to use SEO research to produce high-quality written content that was not only optimized for search engines, but also engaging and useful to their customers.
The keyword researchers my client had hired for SEO advice, who had never even seen the products my client was selling or the marketing copy I was writing, would forward awkward phrases they had chosen with obscure algorithms, and then my client would ask me to work the text around them. Sometimes the words I was forced to use made no logical sense in the context of the page content. As a writer who prided herself on producing compelling content made to be read by people, not just search engine algorithms, I felt intensely frustrated.
It didn't seem logical to me to work this way. On the internet, sources of information and entertainment are constantly vying for a reader's attention; as an experienced internet marketing writer, I knew well that if I failed to make my writing sufficiently interesting or helpful to a human reader, another site with better content would be waiting just a click away.
I certainly understood the potential value of attracting traffic from search engines with SEO, but what good would it do to attract the attention of search engine robots if the text I was writing failed to impress real human beings once they arrived at the page?
I felt there had to be a better way.
So I decided to learn the mechanics of search engine optimization and keyword research myself. If I could take control of an SEO project from the beginning as both an SEO expert and a professional writer, I would be able to approach every aspect of optimization with a writer's eye. Instead of stretching the text to fit keywords, I would find effective, popular keywords that fit the text.
I found an SEO expert who needed a research assistant, and essentially apprenticed myself to her for several months. I read SEO books, scoured SEO blogs, and scanned SEO message boards constantly, determined to learn how to seamlessly integrate excellent search engine optimization with excellent writing.
And now, that's what I do.
Optimization that won't sacrifice style.
I am a writer first, and a search engine optimization consultant second. I believe that SEO at its best should complement, not compromise, the quality of well-crafted writing.
When I write or edit search engine optimized marketing copy, my goal is not solely to draw traffic to your site, but to create compelling text that engages visitors' interest once they arrive.
Effective, ethical traffic-boosting techniques.
I don't just tell my clients what to do to optimize their sites for search engine traffic — I also tell my clients what not to do. With search engines constantly updating their search algorithms to stay competitive, the SEO landscape is always changing. Some SEO techniques that were considered good practice just a few years ago are no longer as effective, while emerging internet technologies continue to create new SEO opportunities and challenges. I teach my clients the basic, underlying SEO principles that have stood the test of time, inform them of newer techniques I think might be helpful, and help them avoid outdated methods that no longer produce results.
I also teach clients how to recognize and avoid black-hat SEO practices techniques that are considered cheating by most major search engines, but are sometimes used unwittingly by inexperienced optimizers who are unaware of the danger. Black-hat SEO tricks aren't just bad form — they can actually result in a search engine penalizing a site by downgrading its search ranking, or even banning a site entirely.
Social media experience combined with SEO expertise.
With over a decade of experience as a professional blogger, social media consultant, and social media community manager, I understand both how social media outreach can enhance search engine optimization, and how search engine optimization can improve social media connections. I provide corporate and non-profit clients with integrated simultaneous social media and SEO consulting, and teach other professional writers how to use SEO principles to promote and protect their work.
Responsive service and clear communication.
Search engine optimization is still something of a mystery to many otherwise internet-savvy people. If I'm working with you as an SEO consultant, I don't want you to feel like you're trusting your website to a strange magician who won't reveal her secrets. I won't just tell you to change a title here or add some text there — I'll tell you why you should do it. If you have a suggestion, I'll listen. If you have a question, I'll answer. Sure, this might mean that someday you'll know enough about SEO that you won't actually need me anymore. But if that happens, I hope you'll be impressed enough to recommend me to your friends.
Why I don't write an SEO blog:
I would have to put an enormous amount of time and energy into an SEO blog. I would rather spend that time and energy making my SEO clients happy. (And playing with my cat. And growing food in my backyard. And writing about politics and sustainable food policy.)
