A white hat SEO reading this post is just about sick right now. They’re likely going to lose their job once management realizes they have no real power over rankings or how Google perceives them and are essentially an overpaid project manager – without much of a project. The SEO reaches down into their bag of tired “skills” and pulls out “SEO Copywriting” as one viable reason why every company should retain them – and to this I say, yes. You’re absolutely right.
Since the general purpose of SEO copywriting is to create content that ranks better and draws traffic, I see absolute value in that, but the very heart of SEO copywriting is based on link baiting. See, you’re already trying to game the system and you don’t even recognize it! Link baiting is a pre-meditated attempt (see: not natural) at acquiring backlinks through reposting, or attributed credit in the form of links – the small boost in initial traffic is just icing. You may not directly be paying for a link (though you did pay your SEO copywriter and possibly a PR service), but you know damn well, that done correctly you might just get some, as the difference between soliciting and enticing is a very thin line – but you walk it well.
In closing, The goal of gray hat SEO is akin to a young fearless leader. A leader that has to keep ethics in place but always creates an advantage for their cause because hope, hope my friend is for suckers. A true leader creates their own opportunities.
