get paid to write articles - still viable if seo is dead?

If SEO dies, can you still get paid to write articles?

get paid to write articles

If you get paid to write articles, you may be wondering… Since Google’s Penguin Update, the SEO industry has been quaking and shaking. Is SEO dead? Is Google up to no good? Are the rumors of conspiracy true? Will SEO help drive traffic to websites? Is there any use writing optimized articles?

Very proud of one of my coaching students who did some digging to find out. (Hint: There’s always more success ahead for a writer who makes an effort to know more!)

Hey Sue,

I’ve come across this article about SEO Articles, and how they may be on the way out (alas): http://www.forbes.com/sites/kenkrogue/2012/07/20/the-death-of-seo-the-rise-of-social-pr-and-real-content/

Just thought you’d be interested.

Owen

My reply:

Yes – it’s been a hot debate in the industry since the Penguin slap.

Here’s the scoop:

Lots of SEO firms were doing black hat. Many were doing white hat.

ALL were relying way too heavily on SEO to drive traffic.

SEO is now considered essential but not sufficient for driving traffic, and more importantly increasing conversions of traffic into customers.

SEO’s not going to work as a sole traffic-generation method. But it’s still important.

Content, on the other hand, is more crucial than ever – it not only helps with SEO, but also works towards helping website visitors get to know, like, and trust the website owner. That’s what leads people to purchase.

The specs for SEO articles are in constant flux. Used to be a perfectly optimized article was the holy grail of top rankings. Now, SEO can’t be ignored, but will never be as all-powerful as it once was.

Good for you for doing some research and advancing your learning in the field!!!

Sue

Through Google’s Analytics program, website owners can determine what percentage of their traffic comes from search (meaning Google sent the traffic to the site because of SEO), which comes direct (the visitor typed in the URL to get there), and which comes from referral (the visitor clicked an ad (PPC) or link somewhere else – like on Facebook, Pinterest, or any other site).

Used to be website owners would do the happiest happy dance when search was the bulk of their traffic.

Now that’s like having all your eggs in one basket. And if Google smashes the basket, your eggs are history.

So, is it still important to have SEO content? Yes.
Is it enough to drive sufficient traffic? Nope.
Is there still a need for SEO articles? Yes. And now more than ever, they need to be valuable, high enough quality to make a visitor glad they found the site. They should be engaging enough that a visitor wants to share the article with a friend and come back to the site again for more information.

The specs are constantly changing – used to be an article with 5% keyword density was hot, hot, hot. Now, people recognize that a density that high makes for a godawful read.

Long and short, there will be changes in how we do what we do, but for the foreseeable future, you are in high demand as a writer. If you want to know how to get paid to write articles, check out bootcamp, peeps.