Is the concentration on SEO ruining online sales writing?

I do not browse the web comparing blogs and websites as much as some posters here who I could mention as I prefer writing to my standards rather than someone else’s. This isn’t snobbery (at least I hope not!). It is a personal decision which works for me and enables me to produce unique writing for advertisers and publishers. Whether or not this would work for you I cannot say; it is all a matter of using your instincts as well as your writing skills.

I am telling you this as a means to get to the point of what I am really writing about here (I tend to ramble when I am unfocused ). Today I thought I had better do some research if I was going to contribute effectively in all ways to Writing-Resource and that meant checking out the blogs of some of those who write for profit. What I found gave me the assurance I needed that there is much more that can be done to sell effectively than is going on within the blogging fraternity at the present time.

The first object I found when arriving on several of the main blogs in the ‘make money online’ niche was a ’sign up for my RSS feed’ box. Several had a similar introduction:

Hello there I’m (insert your name here) the author of (insert blog’s name here). If you’re new to (insert blog’s url here), you may want to subscribe to my RSS Feed (linked of course). Thanks for visiting.

This struck me as rather odd. If I am arriving for the very first time at someone’s blog, why on earth would I want to subscribe to their RSS feed without checking whether or not I liked their blog first? And why does the quote end with “Thanks for visiting”? I’ve only just arrived here; do you want me to leave already?

No, I am not stupid; I know this is all about getting RSS readers in the attempt to raise your blog’s PR, sales potential, or whatever else the ‘SEO elite’ are suggesting this week. I also realise that the top of the blog has become ‘the’ place to post links to your RSS feed, but I find it all rather strange and inappropriate (call me old fashioned, I dare you) and if I find this behaviour inappropriate, I am sure other people arriving on these blogs think so too.

Do blog writers really think that by pushing their RSS feeds without first engaging their visitors this will get them sales from their adverts? Or am I being harsh here in wondering whether selling the blog itself when it has a high RSS readership is more at the top of the bloggers mind? (I told you I had done my homework).

I could go on with this, noting the innapropriate placing of keywords in written text in the hope of catching the attention of the search engine spiders. I realise the importance of keywords. Of course I do. But attention to how you insert those keywords in written text is surely of major importance in addressing your readership? Or is your primary plan to address spiders? I guess I have answered my own question there. Sad, but true.

My question therefore is this:

Is the concentration on SEO ruining online sales writing?

Aren’t we all striving to engage our customers in a debate which ends in a sale? But how can we do this effectively if we annoy or confuse our readers at the outset?

And, lastly, does anyone care about this other than me?

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