SEO Escapes: What Are Writers to Do?

In the aftermath of Google's search engine changes, everything we thought we knew about search engine optimization, or SEO, is temporarily out the window like a bird seeking freedom. All the research, all the books that are out there, and all the Internet marketing classes taken; mean pretty much nothing. Many, if not most, web writers are wondering which parts of learned SEO knowledge, if any, are likely to stand when things start to normalize?

Since so much about "what to do now in order to get readers to your work" is pretty much an unknown factor, let's look at what we do know.

• Advertisers are still going to pay a certain amount to place ads on articles using the keywords they value.
• Sponsored searches are dominating results, skewing readers toward sites where they can spend money rather than get information.

That's pretty much it. So what can online writers do to come out of this with careers intact?

We can still pick good keywords, but instead of focusing on keyword density, how many times they are stuffed into an article, write very specific titles and make sure the information in the article addresses the title. Think about what you would like to read, and write with pleasing the reader as a goal.

You might also want to check the reading level of your articles. The average Internet reader is said to read at the 5th to 8th grade level - and even those who are able to understand complicated text often prefer easy reading when it comes to web articles. Unless your articles are directed at a specific industry or a highly educated market, keep your writing around a sixth or seventh grade reading level.


You can search online for reading level assessment tools: there used to be one available free in Google Docs under Tools, but I am not seeing it there today.

In a classic example of not following one's own advice, I wrote this without checking its reading level or looking up any keywords.