There was a time when SEO content could be remarkably obvious. A business wanted to rank for ‘website design France’, so the phrase appeared in every possible place. Sometimes it appeared so many times that you could practically hear the writer whispering it under their breath as they typed.
Thankfully, we’ve moved on.
Yet there’s still an enormous amount of advice telling businesses to write for Google. Choose your keywords. Hit the right word count. Add headings. Optimise everything. Yes, those things can matter.
But there’s a rather important person who tends to get forgotten in the process: the person actually reading your website!
Your Reader Comes First
Your potential customer doesn’t care how carefully you’ve optimised a paragraph. They want an answer.
They want to know whether you can solve their problem, whether they can trust you, what something costs, how something works, or whether your business is right for them.
If your content answers those questions clearly, you’re already doing something much more valuable than cramming keywords into a page.
SEO Doesn’t Mean Writing Like A Robot
Good SEO content should still sound like a human being wrote it. That means using natural language, explaining things properly and allowing your personality to come through.
If your business is friendly and informal, your website shouldn’t suddenly sound like a government department because somebody told you that formal language is more “professional”.
Likewise, if your business deals with technical subjects, don’t remove all the useful terminology simply to make the copy sound simpler. Write for the person you’re trying to help.
Answer The Questions People Actually Ask
One of the most useful sources of content ideas is sitting right in front of you: your customers.
- What do they ask before buying?
- What do they misunderstand?
- What do they worry about?
- What do you find yourself explaining over and over again?
Those questions can become incredibly useful website content.
And because they’re based on real customer needs, they’re likely to be far more valuable than inventing a blog topic because an SEO tool told you that a particular phrase has search volume.
Don’t Forget Your Own Expertise
There is already an enormous amount of information available online. So why should somebody read your explanation? Because you have experience. You have dealt with customers. You’ve solved problems. You’ve made mistakes. You’ve learned things that aren’t necessarily obvious from a quick Google search.
That’s what gives your content value.
Don’t be afraid to say, “In my experience…” or explain how you approach something differently. Your expertise is one of the things that separates your website from a thousand generic articles on the same subject.
Keywords Still Have A Place
This isn’t an argument for ignoring SEO. Keywords remain useful because they help you understand what people are searching for and how they describe their problems. The trick is not to let the keyword become the purpose of the article.
Start with the question or problem. Write the best answer you can. Then make sure the page is structured and optimised so search engines can understand what you’ve written.
SEO should support good content – not dictate every sentence.
Your Tone Is An Asset
Your tone of voice is another reason to put humans first. The way you explain something, the examples you use, your sense of humour, your opinions and even the occasional slightly odd turn of phrase are all part of what makes your business recognisable.
This becomes particularly important now that AI can produce perfectly competent but utterly interchangeable prose in seconds. If everyone uses the same tools and follows the same formula, the businesses that sound genuinely human become much more interesting.
Make Your Website Useful
Ultimately, that’s what good website content should do. It should help someone.
It should answer a question, explain something, solve a problem, provide reassurance or help somebody make a decision. If you do that consistently, you’re giving both your audience and search engines something worthwhile.
So by all means, understand SEO. Use appropriate keywords. Structure your pages properly. Optimise your content. But write for the person sitting on the other side of the screen.
Google doesn’t buy your products. Google doesn’t book your services. Google doesn’t recommend you to a friend. People do. Write for them first.
If you want a new website, contact me today!
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