I am removing All-In-One-SEO from all of my WordPress blogs. Why? Because it’s messing up my flow. Let me explain.
As someone who’s been blogging since the mid-90s, I’ve learned a thing or two about SEO. Well, I knew a thing or two, let’s put it that way. In the early years, I did everything in my power to make my blog posts measure up to the algorithm’s ideas of what should and shouldn’t be deemed worthy.
Over the years, I’ve changed the way I’d write in order to accommodate the powers that be. I’m not doing that anymore. It’s high-time I get back to writing in a way that makes me happy and comfortable. Is it going to bring in a ton of viewers and readers? Probably not, but I’m okay with that.
Since adding AIOSEO to my sites, I’ve felt as though I’m constantly taking a test. The plugin basically grades your title and your post before it goes live. I’m too old to be going back to school. I don’t need to be graded on my thoughts. This is my site and if I want to post something that the SEO gods deem unworthy, so be it. I don’t care. I’m not looking to become the next big thing. I’m just blogging for the sake of blogging and nothing more.
I’m sure AIOSEO is an amazing tool for anyone looking to make more money or compete with bigger bloggers/companies, but that’s not why I write. I write as a way to express myself and my opinions. I don’t care if someone is doing it better. Good for them. I wish them all the luck in the world. It’s just not for me.
I come from a time when SEO was still a new thing and everyone was trying to get their blogs noticed. I learned all the tricks and trades back in the day. I’m sure everything I learned is outdated and defunct, but I don’t care. I’ll continue to write in a manner that makes me happy. I won’t lose any sleep over the fact that it’s not SEO-compliant. I don’t care.
As I write this, it dawns on me that this will probably be the one post I’ve done that would have made the AIOSEO grade. But I’ll never know as I’ve already taken it off my site. I’ll let the SEO gods determine that on their own, without a plugin that has graded me on my brainwaves.
I’m well aware that SEO is still a thing. I see it every day in my other writing endeavors. I get that applying the right SEO tactics will put my posts ahead in the search engines and all that jazz. Whatever. If you’ve read this far, you know that this isn’t something I’m trying to get out to the masses. I don’t need 10,000 views on a post that is only for entertainment purposes.
For anyone looking for a way to make their blogs better and stand out from the crowd, I would recommend AIOSEO. But, this isn’t one of those sites. I’m blogging for my own purposes and happiness. If I don’t think it makes the grade, I’ll rewrite it until I’m happy with it.
Do you use AIOSEO? What are your thoughts? I’d love to know.
Until next time,
Stay creative!!!
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Christine Graves has been writing for more than 30 years. She runs several blogs including Priestess of Words, Collected Keepsakes, and Mystic Realms, all of which are part of her company, Graves Publications.
Christine is also an avid crafter and multi-media artist. She runs two online stores. Prairied Treasures is where she showcases her handmade greeting cards and other multi-media art, and Pathways through the Past is where she sells her AI art creations on a wide variety of products.
If you’d like to stay up to date with everything she’s got going on, you can sign up for her Graves Publications newsletter.
