SEO keywords: Necessary evil, or key to focused copy?

I work with SEO issues all the time for my clients, and while they all love the idea of free traffic, they all hate the idea of writing with SEO keywords in mind. Some find it restrictive and fear it will stifle their creativity, and others think the output will sound like it was written by BabelFish.

The truth is, you can do it right (which takes a bit of doing), or you can take the lazy way out and just try to shoehorn the keywords in after the writing is done. The lazy way yields spectacular density that reads like a thrice-translated instruction manual. The right way yields a tightly focused, well-disciplined web page where the promise of the title is delivered throughout the entire piece, and from top to bottom each section builds toward the same goal.

My preferred approach is to begin with the keywords -- making sure they have been validated against actual searches being typed by live human beings -- and make sure that the client agrees that they indeed represent the point of the page. Once you have that all decided, the writing becomes much easier. Instead of that "blank page" syndrome, you have eliminated hundreds of possible approaches to the content, and you have a crystal clear point of departure.

Paradoxically, that kind of discipline is very freeing. If you've ever tried to write a sonnet (or a limerick, or a haiku), you will understand the paradox. Knowing there are fixed rules within you must operate tends to stimulate your creativity. We are creatures programmed for problem-solving -- and the keywords present a "problem" that our right brain rushes to solve.

I hasten to add, it's not faster to work this way. But the output is better, the writing experience is more enjoyable, and in the end, people who want to read your page will be able to find it in the haystack. Win, win, win.