Stop publishing garbage: why your SEO content writing is failing
SEO content writing has been a staple of my professional life since 2013, so I know what I’m talking about.
Wow. That makes me feel old.
I’ve seen content change a lot since I started this career. Some changes were good and others…well, not so much. One thing over the last few years has slowly been bugging me more and more.
Essentially, the quality of so much content being published is, quite simply, crap.
What annoys me, though, is it doesn’t have to be this bad. All it takes is a little common sense.
How did SEO content writing get here?
For years, SEO content writing was all about the keywords; exact match, partial match, variations, longtail, and the like, to create content the search engines understood and would serve to users using those words or phrases.
This led to very similar and generic content being published by brand after brand, all looking to rank for the same thing. I’m talking about how-to guides, “what is X” content, and such.
Bland. Boring. Filler. Writers like me became churners because that’s what was required.
Fast forward to 2026 and keywords still matter, but now we have to consider the intent behind the search.
I like this change, as we’re now thinking about what our audience wants and creating a variety of content to suit them.
Content’s commodity trap is costing you money
Even though our content has evolved, there’s still a trap, the commodity content trap, and it’s hurting your business. We need to think about the high-quality content vs commodity content question, and how we can move into non-commodity content.
Remember those how-to guides, the “what is X” content I mentioned earlier? Most of these pieces are commodity content filler, a rewrite of a rewrite. Commodity content is information that’s already been chewed up and spat out by hundreds of other blogs. It’s noise, maybe tweaked, but pointless all the same.
The problem for you is why would users, or search engines, choose your content over someone else’s? What are you offering that makes you stand out? That extra section, or that specific layout, isn’t enough anymore.
Honestly, it never should have been.
E-E-A-T is a must, not a nice-to-have
I’m not going to go into what E-E-A-T is. There’s already a lot of content out there about it (see, I’m avoiding commodity content right now). Instead, let me refer you to Google’s Helpful Content Guidelines for a refresher.
By focusing on experience and expertise from E-E-A-T, you immediately take steps away from the how-to guides or the “what is x” content because your experience or expertise will shape what that content is and what it says.
Here’s an example, to make it clearer:
- Commodity content: what is content writing
- Non-commodity content: how I used content writing to improve organic traffic
The difference is clear. I’m not writing the 76,000th post on content writing, I’m using my experience and expertise to explain what content writing can do. Immediate value with one tweak to the premise of the content.
AI content saturation is real. Let’s get ahead of it
While not the sole cause, AI content saturation has massively contributed to the commodity content slop that I see on a daily basis.
And I’m sick of it.
AI is a tool, and some people find it helpful in many parts of life, but with SEO content writing it only parrots. It mimics rather than adding value.
You see, genAI can only produce commodity content because it takes what’s already published and revises it into something new. GenAI cannot add its own experience or expertise because it doesn’t have any. The unique value content writers, like me, can bring to content (either through our own voice or ghost-writing for someone else) can’t be replicated.
Remember how I spoke about using common sense? Here it is. To beat AI content saturation and the increasingly sloppy commodity content, we need to create content AI can’t. It’s that simple.
People will thank you for it.
Making your content stand out from the slop
So, how do we beat AI content saturation and rise above the slop that’s littering the web? You need wholesale change to your SEO content writing, one that prioritises E-E-A-T over keywords.
Update your content strategy
First things first, update your content strategy.
Stop answering questions a chatbot answers in seconds and look for unique angles that match user intent, user expectations, and utilises your experience and expertise. No one else has what you do, so use it. Add in some data and you have something really tailored to you and your audience.
Informative content does have a place, but it shouldn’t be the backbone of your content strategy. I’ve spoken already about fixing a case study strategy, and I’ve talked about how emotional weight is more impactful than bullet lists, so you can see a shift in my content already.
Content is fluid, and I want to stay ahead of the AI content saturation and rise above the content slop we have to wade through. If your content strategy doesn’t evolve and adapt, your content will languish on page seven of the search results, costing you money instead of making any.
Focus on relatable content writing
I’m a huge fan of relatable content writing. I want to connect with my audience and show them I understand them, whether it’s addressing their pain points or sharing an experience they’d appreciate.
Through relatable content, I can easily find the balance between high-quality content vs commodity content. You want examples? Fine:
- Commodity content: the 10 best running shoes
- Relatable content: Running shoes that helped me complete Couch to 5k
- Relatable content: Running shoes that made my half-marathon bearable
- Relatable content: I tried five pairs of running shoes for those living in the city so you don’t have to
These aren’t perfect, I’m just giving you an idea of how you can quickly pivot on a simple idea to make it more engaging. Facts and basic information set a baseline, but you need to give the readers a reason to stay and scroll. The focus is on relatable content writing, something more than what is already out there.
Bring in an authentic voice
Relatable content helps, but authentic content writing is just as important. GenAI cannot be authentic because everything it creates comes from someone else. It’s that simple.
In the examples above, it is the writer’s experience and/or expertise that sets those pieces apart from what else is out there. There’s no question of AI having created the content, or someone tinkering with the edges to ‘humanise’ it. Readers aren’t dumb, so don’t treat them as such.
You create trust with audiences by tapping into authentic content writing. Treat readers with respect and they’ll reward you with their time and, eventually, their business.
Transform your SEO content writing into pieces your audience want to read
Look, I get it. The goal of SEO content writing is to rank well in search and bring traffic to your website.
Except, that’s not the only goal – or, it shouldn’t be.
Your content should bring traffic and offer value to users to build brand authority and loyalty. Your content should bring traffic and encourage users to take an action, to convert, when they’ve arrived.
Commodity content, the slop, doesn’t do that.
You might need to use authentic content writing to build trust, or relatable content writing to connect with people, but you should use the experience and expertise you have to tell stories that rank in search and captivates people.
You’re still here, reading this, so I’ve just proven my point. It’s not slop. It’s perspective, my perspective. AI can’t fake that. If you want your audience to stick around like you just did, it’s time to change your approach.
Stop publishing garbage. Start publishing content worth reading. Step up your SEO content writing by getting in touch.
