SEO writing sucks. Because it is important and not well understood, SEO is used by two-bit writers and companies of ill repute to take thousands of dollars from business owners to perform complicated, esoteric scopes of work that produce little benefit. This happens all the time.

This article is part of an ongoing series to show how SEO writing, as it is most commonly done, hurts rather than helps companies and websites that use it. To best illustrate the perils it can bring to your website, we deploy SEO writing to “optimize” some of history’s most enduring and powerful pieces of literature.

And make no mistake, if it can drain the power of the best writers in the history of the English language, imagine what it’s doing to your website.

The 5 Tenets of SEO and Writing

It starts with 5 Tenets of SEO Writing that I promise are true:

  1. The human brain is hardwired to respond to powerful language.
  2. SEO writing, as it is most commonly done, kills writing’s impact and resonance. Rather than helping attract customers, it makes businesses that employ it sound like they suck.
  3. Effective SEO has more to do with website structure and headings than with web copy itself.
  4. Your website CAN feature powerful writing AND be optimized for SEO purposes.
  5. A website that is optimized and powerfully written not only attracts customers, but influences, persuades, and makes them feel good about the business once they get there.

SEO Writing Kills Lord Byron

Here we use SEO writing to kill the great Lord Byron, the most notorious and famous English Romantic poet. Some 201 years after his death, the impact and influence of Lord Byron looms large on the history of poetry and the English language at large.

His works about the beauty and grace of the feminine form resound with a timelessness all their own. As History is Knowing Magazine describes him,

“Lord Byron has become an icon in history and literature, and not just thanks to his beautiful and unparalleled command of the English language. Throughout his 36 years, Lord Byron infamously acquired a litany of lovers, some of whom caused controversy, and some who inspired a handful of the most important and beautiful poems ever written.”

Among his most enduring and influential works is “She Walks in Beauty.” Within these words, you will experience a haunting exaltation of the feminine form. Its expression manifests not simply skill with words, but a devotion to and deep appreciation of beauty.

It is timeless. It is sensual. It is as relatable today as it was 180 years ago. It is wonderful.

What follows is not just a profile of a great poem, but physical, visual proof that “writing for SEO” can destroy the impact of even the most powerful language ever written.

Lord Byron Original, Lord Byron “Optimized”

Here’s the process:

  1. First, read “She Walks in Beauty” as it appears. Read it aloud.
  2. Then, we’re going to “optimize” Lord Byron for SEO. Read that aloud, too.

“She Walks in Beauty”

By Lord Byron (George Gordon)

She walks in beauty, like the night
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes;
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Did you read it aloud? Timeless, wonderful. This exaltation of the feminine form is relatable enough today that it could well be used on a Tinder profile.

Now we’re going to use SEO writing to make it ugly.

Lord Byron’s “She Walks in Beauty” Optimized for SEO

She walks in beauty, like the night WEIGHT LOSS AND FACIAL HAIR REMOVAL FORT WAYNE, INDIANA.
Of cloudless climes and starry skies;
And all that’s best of dark and bright
Meet in her aspect and her eyes; WEIGHT LOSS AND FACIAL HAIR REMOVAL NEAR ME.
Thus mellowed to that tender light
Which heaven to gaudy day denies.

One shade the more, one ray the less,
Had half impaired the nameless grace
Which waves in every raven tress,
Or softly lightens o’er her RECENTLY LESS HAIR-HAVING face;
Where thoughts serenely sweet express,
How pure, how dear their dwelling-place.

And on that cheek, and o’er that brow,
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent, IN-PATIENT WEIGHT LOSS AND FACIAL HAIR REMOVAL FORT WAYNE, INDIANA.
The smiles that win, the tints that glow,
But tell of days in goodness spent, 48 HOUR WEIGHT LOSS AND FACIAL HAIR REMOVAL FORT WAYNE, INDIANA,
A mind at peace with all below,
A heart whose love is innocent!

Did you read aloud (hopefully not too loudly)?  What happened to the flow? What happened to the impact?

SEO writing has transformed one of history’s most enduring exaltations to beauty into a toothless, bearded, semi-literate hag!

The Characteristics of Good Web Copy

Effective web copy is written for people, not machines. It is written in your brand’s voice and showcases your brand story, your points of difference, and all of the wonderful reasons that your customers trust you.

When done right, it is powerful and it creates an incredible competitive advantage. After all, your website will evoke feelings and connection, and your competitors will be carnival barking using keywords and bot-speak.

There are more places on the internet to get bad web copy than good. That said, if you’d like copy that sings (and converts), we know some people. And I promise not to use the phrase “weight loss and hair removal services.”

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