Over the years SEO content writing has undergone some changes, mostly affected by the way search engines (notably Google) rank websites in its search results pages. These changes not only affected the way copy was presented to audiences, but also how it was consumed by these same audiences.
The Gunslingers of SEO
In the early days of search engines, sites were generally given preference if their content was rich with a specific keyword. This made sense, since people searching for ‘farming equipment’ should be shown pages about ‘farming equipment’. The more of one specific keyword featured on a page, the higher the page (or website) would rank, and therefore get the associated traffic.
As more and more industry-related websites came online, competition grew. Pages that previously contained ten of a specific keyword, now needed 20 to remain at the top. The result was SEO content writing that eventually read something like this:
"Need farming equipment? Buy the best farming equipment in Minnesota at the lowest farming equipment prices you’ve ever seen, only from Farming Equipment Depo."
As you can imagine, this tactic might have proved successful for a while, but it’s not a pleasant read.
Algorithm Updates
Then came the search engine algorithm updates and lo, change happened. The optimal keyword density requirements dropped from as-many-as-you-can per sentence, to an estimated 5-7%. This meant ‘farming equipment’ mentioned no more than seven times every 100 words. Anything more than that, and you were considered to be ‘keyword spamming’, with penalisation as a subsequent result.
Still, a density of 5-7% is still rather high, and affected readability, therefore also the quality of the content – especially with long-tail keywords like "Minnesota Farming Tractor Ball Bearings". Not only does that keyword consume 5% of the density quota, but it has to be mentioned 5-7 times (resulting in at least 25 out of 100 words used to satisfy necessary density requirements).
Panda Farmer
Easily confused with someone breeding pandas, Panda Farmer was a major search engine algorithm update. Search Engine Land published a good review of the update, which essentially came down to the penalisation, henceforth, of websites with poor content. This included "Minnesota Farming Tractor Ball Bearings"-esque websites, as well as those with content written in bad English. Again, this led to a change in how SEO content was written, and therefore also consumed.
From a reader’s point of view, the bulk of copy he or she consumes today is more ‘natural’. Granted, ‘good English’ remains a relative term, but at least it’s now possible to easily understand that which is being communicated.
From a writer’s point of view, however, writing can be a bit trickier than before. Instead of having to stuff a piece of content with one set of keywords, content writing has become something akin to an art form; recommended keyword density has dropped to roughly 0.5-2%, and now requires the use of synonyms or other related words to strengthen the context of the main keyword.
Whether you’re a writer or reader, the increased quality of SEO content has created an environment where it’s easier for audiences to engage with the businesses or brands they like, if only for the reason that it’s now easier to understand the value of the product, service, or idea being communicated.