Getting real people to love your content as much as Google.

I’ve been in this crazy business writing ad copy for almost 20 years. Back in ancient times, you wrote solely for your audience. Be brilliant, be funny, be whatever. Just make a connection and get a result. But in recent years, thanks to Google’s algorithms, the rules have changed. Gone are the days of simply worrying about people connecting with your content. Now, you have to worry about them even finding it.

Here’s the million-dollar question for companies looking to add web content: how do I get content that’s optimized for search engines, while also appealing to real people? I’ll tell you how we do it at Schifino Lee, then I’ll tell you what to avoid.

SEO (search engine optimization) is still a fairly misunderstood topic. In the simplest of terms, it boils down to two things: relevance, based on factors like where and how often you use the words that the person on the other end typed into google search (aka keywords). And authority, which deals with how many trustworthy links point to your page. Several other factors come into play, but those are the biggies.

Google is constantly tinkering with their algorithms. They’re getting smarter. And the most common refrain you hear about SEO these days is true: quality is now the top-ranking factor. You can’t cheat the system with hackneyed shortcuts, like in the past. While that’s great news for good writers, the deeper intricacies of SEO are still important to know. Personally, I’m no expert. But I know someone who is.

Teamwork makes the dream work. Or something like that.

The best digital content, writing that really converts, is a team effort. Creative writers, for the most part, are not the best analytical thinkers. Analytical thinkers, for the most part, are not highly creative. Put the creative guy and the analytical guy together however, and great things happen.

That’s precisely how we roll at Schifino Lee. I know a lot about SEO, but creative writing is my strong suit. Our digital director knows SEO like the back of his hand, but he wouldn’t call himself a creative writer. We work in tandem on all of our digital content. He makes sure it ranks. I make sure it reads. It’s a powerful one-two punch. It’s also a weapon that the digital SEO firms seem to lack in their arsenal.

Here’s a scenario we see all the time. A client comes in who had been paying a digital SEO firm to write all their web copy. And while the SEO is spectacular, the content itself is garbage—dry, boring, choppy, etc. So, what happens? You can play out the scenario in your head. Google ranks it well, so it gets to the right eyeballs. But the readers are so turned off by the poor content that it does the company more harm than good.

Without quality writing that converts, getting people to your website is futile.

That’s why integrated ad agencies remain the gold standard in creating digital content. Not only do they house amazing creatives who can deliver consistently engaging content, they’re also home to digital gurus who can make sure you rank on the top of page one. If your company needs to add web content, hire right the first time. Hire a team of experts who can guarantee that real people love your content as much as Google.