One writer's opinion re: SEO copywriting
Having just written a project that was heavy on the SEO purposing, I tend to agree with this "just say no to SEO copywriting" article. I wrote several drafts that were deadly from a consumer point of view -- words that someone would not only read, but actually enjoy and learn from. Unfortunately, those drafts ended up mostly on the cutting room floor in favor of stuff that hit our keywords and key phrases but hard.
Necessary evil, or ultimate disconnect from prospects? The full article from David Utter at WebProNews: Just Say No To SEO Copywriting
I strongly agree, Mary.
Copy should be written with the purpose of informing the consumer, not fooling computers into getting a higher ranking.
This is another in a long line of "tricks" to fool search engines. But it ignores the fact that once a person is there, they have to find the information they need and be able to read it.
I have found that using proper semantic XHTML markup is a much more efficient way to transparently improve search engine rankings.
The funny thing is that the more that people try to "fool" search engines, the more the search engines change to optimize themselves against such techniques.