SEO and Algorithms Squish my Creativity
I remember the days when I could write blogs and articles for clients and get all creative with the titles and the headings. That was until SEO algorithms determined that headings have to match what people are typing into search engines.
Oh, the good old days were much more fun! I could pick a theme and run with it throughout the article; every heading a play on words or a twist of a song or movie title; thinking up a different angle for a famous phrase, using alliteration or puns.
Apparently, nobody searches “The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Facts About Algorithms,” Instead, they type in things like, “How do algorithms work?” Or other Google searches beginning with “How,” “What,” “Why,” “When,” or “Where.”
This stark reality occurred to me some months back during a Skype call with a client when he mentioned that the headings in the articles I had submitted for his approval “…needed some work”.
“But my headings are clever and creative.” I whined.
“Yeah, but they’re not SEO.”
He sent me a link to an article about creating ‘Captivating’ Headings … Captivating?–my arse.
According to that article, the best headings for SEO follow these lines:
How to …
X number of ways …
The Secret …
The Best …
The Quickest …
The Easiest …
A Guide to …
Meh.
If being SEO-compliant is my bread and butter as a content writer, then creativity feels as off-limits as forbidden fruit. I still try to think up ways to make my headings stand out from the rest, but, alas, they don’t get approved because they don’t match what people are searching.
My heading “Bookings Gone Wrong,” as a play on Bookings.com, was apparently not the best choice for an article advising people how to book safe holidays. Instead, my client opted for the rather dull, “What’s The Safest Way to Book Your Trip?”
“To Beard or Not To Beard” may be quirky and entertaining, but “Do Women Like Men With Beards” wins the search engine battle every time.
“Scaling Seven Scary Summits” is simply splendid alliteration, but we have to go with “Which are the Seven Highest Mountains to Climb?”
Sigh. Okay.
And don’t get me started with keywords. No one, absolutely no one, likes keyword stuffing, but those keywords have to be there for our ever-present SEO bots. Hats off to all the content writers out there who can add the right keywords ‘naturally’ to the </H1>s, </H2>s, and the body of the text!
We are the unsung geniuses of the creative world, earning our keep whilst labouring under the stuffy cloak of algorithmic restrictions.
I am sure most content writers start out as creative writers who, dreaming of earning a living from their wordsmithery, take to the World Wide Web, present a love offering of blogs and short stories, and hope for a portion of fame and fortune in return. But, creative writers-turned-content creators get put in a box faster than an AI can churn out a blog. They are assigned a rate per word that pales compared to their creative input and value. And then, they are told what to write about, what headings to use, what keywords to use, how many words to use, and to do it all using a ‘brand voice’–all the while sounding natural, creative, engaging, ad nauseam.
So why do I do it? Why not stop writing and get a ‘real’ job? Well, to be honest, I love writing, and I’m good at it. Getting paid for doing something I really enjoy is a bonus–even if it’s not the creative writing I crave. Earning my keep from offering my services as a freelance content writer allows me some freedom, and I value that tremendously.
So, if you’re looking for a quirky, creative content writer who stubbornly navigates SEO rules while keeping a spark of originality, drop me a note, and I’ll contact you soonest!
