Effective SEO in Your Written Content: Tips from an Expert

Weaving SEO-friendly concepts into your organization’s written content can be tricky business. Awkwardly inserting keywords and trendy phrases throughout an otherwise masterful piece of wordsmithing can quickly turn off readers and make an article sound robotic.

Of course it’s important for search engines to find your content, but it’s just as important for humans to enjoy it. We asked our resident SEO expert Clem Coleman to answer some of the most common questions on the subject, and help us better understand how SEO and great written content can coexist in 2020. Clem is the owner of ClemSEO, where she and her team provide comprehensive SEO services, helping clients develop their brands online and improving their exposure.

Q: When did you first become an SEO expert, and how do you stay on top of changes across various social platforms?

A: “I first started working in SEO seven years ago, and was fascinated by the algorithm complexity and how an entire formula was behind the search results I was doing on a daily basis.

Staying on top of algorithm updates is crucial in order to ensure our clients' performance continues to improve. Since Google divulges very little about the changes made, I stay very active in the SEO community where consultants share testing results. I spend a good majority of my time testing best practices and analyzing search result trends to understand how we can improve our productivity and SEO campaigns.

I also attend several marketing conferences and workshops each year; it has become apparent over the past 3-4 years that SEO can not be run successfully without the input of other marketing services such as copywriting, social media, and ads. It is therefore important to understand how these auxiliaries also evolve in order to work hand in hand with SEO and create an effective marketing strategy for our clients.”

Q: What's the first thing you ask clients when they come to you for SEO help?

A: “What type of SEO efforts have they done in the past. Have they created any backlinks? It is necessary to understand a brand/website's current situation before diving into an SEO campaign and optimizing a website, and specifically see if a brand participated in black hat SEO practices in the past such as purchasing backlinks.”

Q: How can website copy impact SEO, and what easy tips could you give bloggers/influencers/writers to be more naturally SEO-friendly?

A: “The impact copywriting has on SEO has drastically changed over the past 18 months, as search engines become more intelligent and know what their users are looking for. It is necessary for a brand to know who their client is, what they like to do, where they like to go, if they enjoy connecting with a certain community. Know about their hobbies, the type of stores they go to, what the family demographic looks like... Once a brand has a clear idea of who their audience is, you can then work on creating an effective content strategy, with the help of professional and experienced copywriters who understand your voice and client avatar.

The #1 tip I would give to bloggers/influencers/writers to be SEO friendly in 2020 is to know your audience — and write for them.”

Q: What are the most common mistakes you see in small businesses trying to optimize content to be more search-friendly?

A: “I encounter many brands who download a plugin on their website and focus on getting a green light, thinking that their website is therefore optimized; instead of focusing on a content strategy that will get them the online exposure they're looking for.”

Q: At what point do you recommend small businesses add paid search campaigns to their organic marketing?

A: “Not every brand should delve into paid ads marketing, it is necessary to study their industry and understand what sort of paid ad would be effective for their brand. A major problem with paid ads is that you can have a monthly budget of $500. However, this budget can easily be unproductive if the ads aren't run by a PPC expert and the budget you've set aside is therefore lost.”

Q: Is there anything you wish more people knew about your role and how it can help small businesses flourish?

A: “Yes! I wish people knew that SEO isn't just about finding the right keyword and "getting the green light" for a piece of content. A lot of analysis, strategizing and behind the scenes take place in order to create a curated strategy for each client.

SEO has become a necessary part of your marketing plan, as much as what creating a pamphlet was 25 years ago.”

To learn more about what Clem’s business offers, visit www.clemseo.com.

And if you’re thinking about hiring a content agency, Comma offers a variety of wordsmithing services for your business. Schedule a free 15-minute consultation, and let us know how we can help make your job easier.