One point that should probably be made clear is that SEO means something different to a writer than it does to other people. For a writer, every word is a possible keyword, and how the phrases link together is a complete road map of what they are trying to say. In my own work, I see it reflected and coming back around in everything I do online.
I write news spoofs when I have the time. I've learned to recognize which topics draw more readers, and have compiled a spoof news list of popular keywords. Surprisingly, people want to hear about Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster, and Peak Oil more than any other topics I've found. Political satire flashes briefly in the pan, and is then forgotten, but our modern world's most popular legends echo from coast to coast, and are quickly reprinted in nature blogs, or whatever genre they may apply. Bigfoot landed an article on the front page of Yellowstone news, and witchdoctors selling chocolate have graced respected pagan websites.
I use SEO to lesser degree at .modern Dislogic, But still lace each commentary with a spattering of what I hope are vital connections. Again, peak oil is a a popular topic, but gods and mythology are also well-liked. My problem is that this isn't the direction I wanted to go. In my zest for creating articles that centered around a particular subject, I've accidentally modified the basic keywords which identify my site, and that has cost readership rather than gaining more.
I have been online so long, and participated in so many writing projects and hobbies that my online nickname of Illusnist is itself a search term. Ideally, the company should have gotten this branding, but my online writing precedes my copywriting by so many years that it is easier to use my nickname to build relevance for the company. Either way, as long as the optimization for search engines is performed carefully, my relevance as a copywriter will grow along with the traffic brought in for my clients. Each new project I accept from some online project board will be another tile laid on the path to recognition as an accomplished writer of web content.
Such is the way for writers and search engine optimization. Our first goal is to get in front of readers, and our second is to focus those readers on the aspects we wish them to see. That I am a writer is apparent from simply Googling my name and looking at the search results, and the way they link back to me. It has been my decisions online that have shaped the way I appear to the world, not in some quick overnight frenzy, but through years of actually being focused in my niche, and participating in areas that highlight my talents.
Am I an SEO professional? Hardly. But guess what? That guy who wants to charge you hundreds of dollars for an easy SEO job isn't a professional either. The science is too new, the groundwork is still being laid, and the rules change every time search engine algorithms get updated. There are no guaranteed results, only guaranteed methods, and those can be had for free.
If you are interested in learning more about SEO, how it works, and how to implement it on your own website, please visit SEO Notepad, a free SEO tips and SEO articles blog
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