3 Reasons Why Obsessing Over SEO is Actually Hurting You
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Sometimes you need to go against the grain and post an unpopular opinion.
Why?
Well, if we all wrote about the same thing then no one would be reading, right?
Today, my gripe is with SEO.
Now don’t get me wrong: SEO is mad important. Especially if you’re a “Pinterest-only” blogger.
A Pinterest-only blogger is a blogger who gets a large amount of traffic just from Pinterest, but hasn’t really focused much on SEO.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with this, except that algorithms change and we shouldn’t put all our eggs in one basket.
Mike Pearson talks about this a lot in his course, Stupid Simple SEO, which I just finished.
And again, SEO is crazy-important.
But obsessing over SEO can actually hurt you in the long run. Here’s why.
3 Reasons Why Obsessing Over SEO is Actually Hurting You
Your Creativity Gets Stifled
So you’ve got a beautiful running list of blog post ideas (yay!) and reader feedback on topics they want to hear about.
Then you go and do your keyword research and realize that the topics bring in little to no traffic and decide to
So if they aren’t going to rank high in search, why should you even bother?
If the post fulfills a need your existing audience has, then it still serves a purpose.
Remember, the reason you got into blogging is to solve a problem for your audience and help them in some way.
Yes, it’s great to focus on growing your traffic, but you also need to nurture your existing readers. And if you’re getting requests for specific posts—by all means give it to them! Even if that means you’re talking about a key phrase that doesn’t rank crazy-high in search.
Don’t let SEO stifle your creativity and instead, try to strike a healthy balance between seeking out growth and nurturing your readers.
You Sound Like a Robot
Now that you’ve learned a thing or two about SEO and installed Yoast SEO, you know that you should use your keyword phrase in several places throughout your post.
Problem is, now you sound like a robot.
Don’t obsess over SEO to the extent that you’re keyword stuffing and your writing starts to suffer.
Your voice is one of the reasons you audience fell in love with you to being with! Please don’t sacrifice that trying to jam keywords in all over the place.
RELATED: How to Write Conversational Copy
You Have No Clue What You’re Doing
If you’re trying to rank for the keyword phrase “spring fashion” you’re totally wasting your time.
And if you’re trying to rank for keywords that have 0-10 searches per month, you’re totally wasting your time.
The fact of the matter is, unless you know a bit more about SEO you can be totally shooting in the dark.
I was.
Actually to be honest, I thought I knew a pretty fair amount of SEO before taking Stupid Simple SEO.
I used Yoast to optimize my posts. I used Google to search for key phrases as well as Pinterest and Ubbersuggest.
But I still had posts that I had “SEO’d” for keywords with little to no search volume or that I had no chance at ranking for.
Womp womp.
Now I still wouldn’t consider myself an SEO expert, but I certainly am armed with the tools to confidently pursue ranking in search.
Bottom line: SEO is an essential tool if you want to grow your blog and are in it for the long haul. But be sure you aren’t sacrificing your content or your voice and actually know what you’re doing.
If you’re not sure what you’re doing, consider enrolling in Stupid Simple SEO and if you’re on the fence, send me an email and I’ll give you my honest opinion.
Like this post? Pin me, please!
