How to strike a balance between SEO and creative writing?

The idea of this topic came to me via LinkedIn participative article “Your client’s SEO goals clash with your copywriting strategy. How will you navigate this conflicting terrain?”

Most of my clients hire me for my writing style.

They can get a content writer or a copywriter anywhere.

Nonetheless, they come to my website, they go through my blog posts, they like my writing style, and then they want me to write just the way I have written on my website.

But by the end of the day, only two things matter:

Do I help them increase their search engine rankings for the right keywords?

Does my writing increase their sales?

Therefore, whenever someone asks: what should be preferred, SEO or creative narrative?

My answer is: nothing matters but sales.

So, prefer sales.

A client is not hiring you because you write like Dickens.

They are also not hiring you to watch their SEO graph steeply rising for their visual pleasure.

They are hire you because they want to improve your conversion rate.

They want to sell more.

If you help them sell more with your creative writing, then prefer creative writing.

If you help them sell more by focusing on keyword-oriented SEO writing, then focus on keyword-oriented SEO writing.

Then what about striking a balance?

Again, ultimately, what matters is, taking care of the immediate need, and the immediate need is that the client wants more sales.

As an experienced content writer, I can boast that I neither have to compromise creativity nor SEO.

My writing style is ingrained now. I don't make an effort. I just go with the flow.

Here is what I normally tell my clients:

1. At the most give me three keywords to optimize the current document for.

2. Either let me define your topic or define your topic yourself in such a manner that it takes care of your main keyword and at the same time, makes an impact.

3. Don't micromanage. As long as the information is correct, you need to trust my writing style even if you don't like it. You have hired me. You are paying me. For the time being, just trust my judgement.

This takes care of ambiguity and conflict.

You need better search engine rankings to get targeted traffic from search engines.

Once people are on your website, you need convincing writing so that they buy from you.

The search engines can send your way hordes of people but if those people are not impressed by the written word on your website, search engine traffic doesn't really matter.

So, yes, you must strike a balance, but it's a misconception that you have to choose between SEO and creative writing.

You can have the best of both worlds.

It depends on your content writer.

Amrit Hallan

Ghostwriter – I can write your book.