Caution: The following article contains bad words
and may not be suitable for everyone.

It’s Octohhhhhhh-brrrrrrrr.
Gonna’ be a wicked witch for Halloween? Ghost? Vampire? Here’s an even scarier idea: be an SEO copywriter.

Yes sir. Yes ma’am. If you want to spook the hell out the people with the audacity to come to your home asking for treats, that’s the trick.

Do you realize what an SEO copywriter is capable of?

You might want to close your eyes for this next part. A lot of them—I’m talking about the really serious ones—will make a bloody mess of your site by butchering its language and bludgeoning the page with… with… with…

KEYWORDS! Keywords, keywords, keywords, and more keywords!

I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to say keywords over and over. (Or did I?)

Yes Norman, keywords are the killer weapon of SEO copywriters. It’s no secret anymore. This sort of thing has been going on for years. I’ve seen it happen. And now, if you think you can hack it, I’m going to show you the ugly truth in the form of a gruesome example. And, just so you don’t go get any crazy ideas about your host here today being a total nut job, I’m going to be nice and sweet about this. Here goes.

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Are you ready to ralph?

You were warned. And, in Act II, it gets even worse as we reveal what goes on inside the twisted mind of the SEO copywriter.

This person is cunning. (We’ll say it’s a “he,” but please understand the female SEO copywriter is equally dangerous.) He stuffs his own web site with the keywords “SEO copywriter” and waits in hopes that he’s discovered by innocent victims before Google uncovers his crime. And there it is, lurking just below the omnipresent Wikipedia listing, close to the top, in big blue, harmless-looking hypertext: SEO copywriter. We both know what happens next.

He makes his case almost instantly. Of course he knows how to rank. Of course he knows how to get clicks. And of course he can do the same for you. He probably even means well.

But something doesn’t smell quite right.

You want to rank. But you don’t want to reek. What do you do? Are SEO copywriters nothing more than writers who stoop to keyword stuffing? Not really. Not all of them. Yes, for the purpose of my horror story, I called out the highest ranking SEO copywriters, but it was merely to illustrate my point. As of this instant, positions number 2 and 3 are held by www.copyblogger.com and www.seocopywriting.com. These are two of the most savvy and well-respected Internet marketers anywhere.

I’m here to tell you (and my higher-ranking copywriter compatriots will concur), SEO copywriting is actually golden. A bona fide expert might be your most valuable marketing partner. But buyers beware: some bad apples bobble in the basin. Here are some facts.

• Spiders (a.k.a. robots or bots) are programs created to crawl links throughout the Internet to identify content from sites and index them on search engines.
• Keyword stuffing is defined as overloading page content and/or metadata with keywords.
• The tactic is intended to attract search engine spiders. However, it is not an ethical search engine optimization technique; it is manipulation for the purposes of SEO.
• The objective of a Google search, or any search, is to present the most relevant search results.
• Search engines now punish websites found practicing keyword stuffing by reducing their rankings or even banning them.
• Keyword-stuffed web content copy is likely to confuse visitors and SCARE THEM AWAY.

Treat spiders with respect.

Okay, spiders aren’t human, but the creatures who ultimately inhabit your site are. Your first priority, or your copywriter’s priority, is to communicate in human terms. Do you want to rank on search engines? Yes. How do you accomplish this is the subject of countless blogs, articles and books. Here and now, suffice to say, focus on using relevant keywords naturally and in moderation, consistently create and offer interesting content, understand the basic principles of tags, and encourage linking.

If your search invokes a conversation with a self-appointed SEO copywriting expert, be sure to discuss the ethics of the practice. And, should your potential writer tell you feeding the spiders a deadly dose of keywords is the way to go, please, run for it.

Note: This article contains nine instances of “SEO copywriter” (ten now) or its plural variation. Google, if you’re reading this, please forgive me.

Another note: If you’d like sound advice for finding the right copywriter, click here for a free e-guide.