Keyword Articles – The Toughest Writing Around

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As freelance writers, we take on all kinds of writing assignments. If it needs written, and someone is willing to pay, we’re willing to write.  Kind of a nifty relationship, no doubt. Some writing assignments are more fun than others and with great joy, we look forward to those. If you’ve been asked to write keyword based articles, I bet you don’t put them in the “fun” pile.

Keyword articles usually come to you in a batch of ten, sometimes less. More often than not, the client has researched keywords in their niche and have figured out which ones are the least used and pay the most per click-through. What this means is that you may be asked to write some doozy articles with keywords that do not lend themselves very well to the natural flow of writing.

Making these articles sound natural can be challenging at best. I’m reminded of a scene from one of the Star Wars movies. While flying next to an Empire Star Cruiser, Han: “Keep your distance, Chewey.  But don’t look like you’re keeping your distance.”  Chewey: “Arrrngghh!”  Han:  “I don’t know.  Fly casual.”  Oy. Such is the fate of the keyword article writer.

You see, the keywords need to be placed at specific points within the article and have to appear exactly as phrased.  Given that the keywords in the keyword phrases are often mismatched with virtually little relation when sitting next to each other, the writing gymnastics need to be impressive. If the article reads like an SEO optimized article the client is likely to reject it and readers are apt to say, “Yeah, right.” and move along to something more interesting. You really have no choice but to “fly casual”.

I’ve done quite a few of these little suckers and I think there are a couple of things to keep in mind to make it easier on the poor writer’s psyche.

• If you’re going to write them in batches, make them small batches. If not, they will all start to sound the same and you lose impact and effect.
• Take the time to chew the keyword phrase before you swallow. Go over the possibilities in your mind. Seek a course for the article and stick with it.
• Sometimes it is important to understand the context of the niche. Don’t be afraid to ask the client about the particular niche. The last thing you want is to write ten 500 word articles from the standpoint of airline mileage programs being a bad idea when the client’s niche promotes the darned things.
• If you are at all unsure, ask the client if you could forward the first one or two as you complete them to make certain you are on the right track.

Don’t be afraid of accepting these assignments. If you end up being a whiz at flying casual, your services will be in big demand.

What say you?  Do you write keyword articles?  Any helpful tricks for us?

Posted by: George