SEO gurus don’t care about your customers…

We’re not picking on Neil because we’re bullies. His blogs are an incredible source of knowledge for us. But the lesson here is clear. Focusing too much on the technical aspects of SEO obscures the real purpose of producing content, to deliver value for customers.

Do SEO experts care about your customers? Our experience suggests they don’t, and that’s a massive problem if you (or your SEO agency) is following their advice driving your content strategy.

Technical experts lack emotional intelligence

Yes, we know that being a world-famous SEO guru means that people will pay you for your technical knowledge and skills. Neil probably earns more in a week than we do in a year, and that’s fine. He’s earned it.

But the single-minded focus on the algorithms that power search engines misses the fundamental purpose of content: providing value for customers.

Don’t just listen to us. Read the blog post and make up your own mind.

Here’s Neil’s post in a nutshell:

• 3,000 words
• The term “Keyword” appears 29 times (as you’d expect), but there are a few terms missing…
• Customer appears 0 times
• Reader appears 0 times
• Value appears 0 times

All that work, effort, and inspiration, and he’s not mentioned customers once. Ok, so we can assume his section on keywords is about customers, but he’s not explicitly focused on what’s driving the search intent.

He doesn’t care about your customers.

To be fair to Neil, he says to rank well, SEO content should have three things:

1. The content should be deep
2. The content should have comprehensive coverage
3. The content should be focused on the topic (keyword) you want to rank for

Notice anything that’s missing? Yes, Neil is focused too much on the technical that he’s missing the rational and emotional triggers that are used to create effective content.

He concludes this way:

When you create content with those three characteristics, you might find yourself writing a 4,000-word article. Or it might be 1,000.

Either way, it’s going to be good.

And that’s what Google likes.

What about readers, Neil?

Perhaps it’s understandable, given that his audience is technical. His focus on backlinks, ranking signals, and SEO optimisation may deliver ranking – but it’s not focused on delivering value for visitors, customers, and clients.

Why does this matter?

Because the way that SEO experts approach content defines the terms of engagement in our industry. These guys set the context for the way we work and the way we write.

Now Neil is a guru, a Grande Fromage of the SEO world and wildly successful – but that doesn’t mean he’s right here.

Instead of calculating the value of clicks, consider how your content builds human connections.

In time the SEO strategies that work today won’t work tomorrow (hello AI, voice search, and new technology we can’t even comprehend today). Only by creating content that engages readers on a rational, technical and emotional level will you build content with value.

Does your SEO agency care about your customers?

Our guess is that they probably don’t. SEO agencies are focused on improving your ranking, and they’ll use every tool to achieve this, including content. When you outsource content creation to your SEO agency, you may see short-term results in rankings, and if that’s your aim, then keep going!

However, if you’re a business that cares about its customers and wants to build brand engagement through content, it won’t achieve that.

Should you trust your SEO agency to commission and create content? It’s up to you – but always think about your customers.