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The Copywriting Sweatshop - SEO Anyone?
By admin | August 12, 2008
I’m contacted by a lot of potential clients looking for articles written about a variety of subjects. They want lots of articles with an SEO build so they can fill up their Web site and attract surfers. Basically filler material.
What good is filler material to the reader if it’s written haphazardly and doesn’t address what the reader was looking for? Nada. The back button is a click away and that defeats the purpose unless all you’re looking for is huge amounts of search engine traffic so you can claim site impressions from Google. But high traffic won’t happen unless you have phenomenal SEO because Search Engine Marketing isn’t going to work for this kind of site. For some companies, this is their niche. However, increased traffic and impressions are best built with repeat hits, return visitors who find what they want and value in what you provide - quality writing with the right content.
I visit dozens of sites using filler material every week while surfing for recreation or professionally. And I’m clicking away faster than you say - or think - go back. Why? Because I know that the articles are schlock. The articles or blog posts have been thrown together by writers in India or some other country who don’t have a firm grasp of the English language, or by part-time writers for a sweatshop dealing out a paltry $10 per article regardless of size or complexity. Even the most knowledgeable writer isn’t going to be able to put together a quality piece of writing in 30 minutes.
Other similar sites have plagiarized material from other sites, mirror images of articles and posts without a "by your leave" to use this information from the original author.
As a matter of fact, I find most of these Web sites when I’m actually looking for something else, which makes the whole experience that much more frustrating.
Legitimate Web sites should have original material that is truly informational and not a lure. It shows respect for the intelligence of the reader when the material is written with the reader in mind and not the search engine because insincerity can be smelled a mile a way.
An investment in quality copywriting is an investment in your readers - and your business.
Topics: Copywriting, Freelance Copywriter, Web Site Copywriting |