I just finished reading an article that compared blog readers to four distinct animal groups. This article described ways that you could appeal to each group and draw them into your blog with subtle and not so subtle changes to your content.

The other day I read that keyword density was really a thing of the past and now the latest method to tweak the search engines is something called keyword variation. It seems that keywords are not as important as they once were and the author wrote the biggest concern now was drawing the readers in with conversational language.

I’ve been following the trade ezines and reading so many different opinions lately that (quite frankly) I almost lost my way trying to figure out what all this blogging/content writing/ search engine optimization stuff was really all about even though I’ve been working at it successfully for several years now.

And then it hit me. Either you can write or you can’t. And if you can, then you’ll pick up what you need to know about search engine optimization along the way. If you can’t, you’ll fall prey to one of the well intentioned people on the web who will inevitably try to mesmerize you by complicating the whole matter. They’ll hold up an impossibly complicated hoop called good content and expect you to jump through.

Keep it simple and write they way that you write. Everyone has their own style and once you sit at the keyboard and pound away long enough, all the stuff that makes you’re writing bad should fall away. Then it’s time to learn something about search engine optimization and get on with the business of writing for money.

Try it old school if you’re starting out and get The Elements Of Style By Strunk and White. Therein lies the basics. Just start writing and blogging and don’t stop. Write everyday and if it starts to get easier and the words that you put down start to resonate, you’re shining up the talent that you’ve got.

But in the beginning, deciding if you can write good content is a personal adventure. Although the people who write all the swell advice about Internet readers being like monkeys that need to be appeased with bits and pieces of useful information probably  have a point, it’s much better if you concentrate on developing your own style.

Remember the Internet is a big place. You can’t write for everyone but you can certainly find someone who likes the way you write if you do it well.