Hummingbird. Penguin. Panda. Pigeon. Blue-footed booby.* So many Google algorithm updates, so many SEO (search engine optimisation) considerations and permutations. There’s just too much SEO stuff to think about. Or is there?
First, an SEO confession
We offer SEO and website copywriting at Caboodle, but we aren’t SEOs.
We know how to optimise your website content so that the Google gods will smile on you (and make no mistake, content and copywriting are HUGELY important for SEO), but we aren’t SEO specialists.
We don’t do SEO strategies. We don’t provide link building services or PPC or SEM or any of that other SEO-related stuff (although we know some really good SEO and digital marketing peeps who do – just ask if you’re looking for an impartial, commission-free recommendation).
However, we do understand SEO. And as the list of must-do SEO practices gets longer and longer, and every year the priority of SEO factors changes, we have some common-sense advice for you.
Stop worrying about what Google wants
In the race to keep up with what Google wants and second guess what Google does and doesn’t like, one important fact often gets overlooked.
Google wants to help people.
Specifically, Google wants to help people find the things they’re looking for. Information. Answers. Recommendations. Products. People. Places. Things. Stuff. Anything. Everything.
You know this already – we all do – but it gets forgotten. We forget that, instead of focusing on staying ahead of the latest algorithm or, worse still, engaging in some dubious black-hat SEO voodoo to ‘game’ a system that’s essentially un-gameable, good SEO is much simpler than that.
Start thinking about what people want
Give people (your audience, your customers) what they want.
Yes, it’s that simple.
You know your customers and what they want better than anyone. So give it to them.
Give them the information they want. The answers they need. On your site. On social. Wherever your customers are, be there with the info, advice, insights, offers and deals they’re searching for.
If they want written content, give it to them. If they want videos, go for it.
Give your audience what they want, and they’ll find you, and they’ll stay with you, and Google will know, and Google will help more people find you.
So stop thinking ABOUT Google and start thinking LIKE Google.
Find out more about our freelance copywriting services, including our SEO and website copywriting expertise. Or save some time and get in touch to see how we can help create the content that will keep people (and Google) coming back for more.
*The blue-footed booby is a bird, but isn’t one of Google’s algorithm updates. We just think it sounds funny.**
**Yes, that’s childish.
Paul Leonard is an award-winning copywriter and creative director. He has plied his creative craft in the UK and Australia for more years than he cares to mention, working with clients of all shapes and sizes across an equally diverse range of industries. When he’s not building brands and crafting copy, concepts and campaigns, he enjoys running, drinking iced coffee and writing profiles about himself in the third person.