SEO vs creative writing: When and why you should write a specific way

by | Sep 15, 2021 | Content

There are many buzzwords in the marketing world, but SEO is perhaps one of the buzziest. If you’re a marketer, you already know what SEO stands for and what it all means. We also don’t have to tell you how important it is for attracting clients and driving visibility to your business.

However, if you’re involved in the writing side of marketing, those three letters may make you cringe. Why? Because SEO means focusing on what consumers want to hear rather than what you want to say. SEO is about keywords, meta tags and back links. That doesn’t leave a lot of room for creativity.

 

When Should You Care About SEO vs The Art of Writing? 

The good news is that your writing doesn’t have to be all SEO all the time. While it’s certainly a useful and sometimes critical marketing tool, it’s not always the end all be all for your writing. Like everything else, SEO writing has a time and a place, as does creative writing.

We’re here to help you determine when to write for SEO, when to write creatively, and when to write a combination of both.

 

When SEO writing is ideal

Since SEO writing increases your online visibility, this is the type of writing you’ll want to do when that is your main goal.

If your company is offering a new service, running a promotion, or looking to build their client base, SEO writing will increase the likelihood that your company’s website or blog will show up on the search results of consumers and potential clients.

SEO writing is also a good idea when your company doesn’t have a lot of online content. If you’re still in the early stages of building a blog catalog, so to speak, there are fewer chances that the website will pop up in organic searches. It’s just the law of probability.

Our advice? While you’re creating that content, write with SEO in mind in order to improve the chances that your company’s website or blog will be seen.

 

When creative writing is good

Creative writing for marketingFor the writers out there, creative writing never seems like a bad idea. And it’s not. However, writing purely for pleasure is not what’s going to boost your company’s online presence.

If your company already has a solid client foundation and an established online presence, you can get away with writing about the topics that matter to you. When business is booming and online traffic is steady, you can take some creative liberties and write pieces that are fun, fresh, and don’t feel forced.

Furthermore, most writers need time to flex their creative muscles and hone the craft that allows them to market like bosses. Writing creatively is a great way to do this. That way when you have to go back to SEO writing, you’ll feel fulfilled, and you may even be able to squeeze in some clever quirkiness alongside those keywords.

 

When to do a mix of both

Sure, SEO writing gets more eyes on your work. But you also want to ensure readers are getting quality writing.

Highly-skilled marketing writers will be able to craft pieces around keywords and meta tags in a way that doesn’t make the content seem so unoriginal and stringent. Ideally, all writing you do is good writing whether it’s SEO or not. Use your creativity to work keywords in organically, making your pieces feel more natural.

Bottom line? Most of the writing you do should be a combination of both SEO and creative writing. This will provide a magic balance between forced topics, words, and phrases, and the more conversational and artistic writing you may be longing to publish.

 

Start sharpening those pencils

There are times when SEO is necessary and crucial, and there are times when it’s an added bonus to a piece. It all depends on the what goals you’re trying to achieve with your marketing. Our advice is to work your writing magic to combine SEO and creativity to make your work masterful and captivating.

If you still feel stumped or unsure about how to approach your marketing, we’re here to help! Reach out today to find out how to reach your marketing goals while thoughtfully balancing SEO and creativity.