Updated 12th November 2026. First published in 2021.
Digital content has changed the way writers write, merging several writing disciplines together. And since this article was first published, AI has changed it again.
If you clicked on content in your newsfeeds, what writing style would you expect to find? Would you recognise what type of content it is?
You may guess that the digital content has been written to either
engage with you
sell to you
entertain you
or be discovered by you
Confused by what I mean? Let me explain.
Think of a spectrum.
On one side, you have SEO-minded content producers who are focused on getting search engines to show their content in the top positions of the search results.
Around the middle, you have sales and conversion copywriters, who are adept at convincing their readers to take an action, whether that's buying a product or subscribing to a newsletter.
On the other side, you have storytelling copywriters, who focus on creating engaging, entertaining content that readers enjoy.
The first approach to content creation centres on keyword research, H1, H2 and H3 headings, and a clear hierarchy.
This method asks what people are searching for, and how search engine crawlers understand the topic. Content is built on that foundation.
The second method focuses on the emotional triggers that convince readers to buy or take an action.
Their focus is first on emotions, using proven copywriting formulas like AIDA, which stands for attention, interest, desire and action.
Sales and conversion copywriters use headlines to grab their audience's attention, and their copy tends to be shorter, so the message is succinct and quickly resonates.
They strive to create enticing content that gets read, shared and converts, or assists conversions.
The final approach belongs to the copywriting purists, who write to entertain using more poetic language. Their content is highly topical, opinionated and shareable.
They aren't concerned with ranking in search engines or getting readers to take an action. They want readers to think about what they've read.
So who's right?
SEO, sales, CRO, content marketing or copywriting?
Many people are confused about the differences between each discipline. To some, the terms are simply labels that digital marketers and content writers use to sell their services.
To a certain degree, I get it.
However, each style works towards a different goal. Each discipline seeks to answer a different question.
SEO. How can I get search engines to find, index and rank this content?
Sales. How can I write in a way that persuades people to buy?
Conversion rate optimisation. How do I get the people reading this page to call, fill in a form or sign up to an email list?
Content marketing. How do I create content that my audience will find valuable and share?
Copywriting. How can I create writing that resonates with the audience and that they discuss with others?
AI search. How can I write so that AI tools understand, trust and cite this content? This one didn't exist when I first wrote this article.
| Discipline | What it focuses on | How you measure it |
|---|---|---|
| SEO | Keywords, structure and search intent | Rankings and organic clicks |
| Sales copy | Emotional triggers and persuasion | Sales |
| CRO | Calls to action, forms and page layout | Conversion rate |
| Content marketing | Useful content that answers real questions | Engagement, shares and leads |
| Copywriting | Voice, story and memorable language | Brand recall and discussion |
| AI search | Clear answers, sources and first-hand expertise | Citations in AI tools |
But what if you had all of them in mind when writing your content? Can't they all be applied at the same time?
Introducing the full-stack digital writer
"Full-stack" is a popular term for a developer who handles both the front end and back end of a system or application, or a digital marketer who can run omnichannel campaigns.
In true marketing fashion, I'm going to borrow (copy) the term and use it to describe a full-stack digital writer.
A full-stack digital writer is adept at writing across the full spectrum of digital content. They consider how both algorithms and the audience will perceive what they write.
A full-stack writer is
Search engine mindful. Aware of how search engines will perceive their content. They craft their message around well-researched keywords and follow SEO best practice, with clear titles, headings and subheadings.
Question driven. Dedicated to creating content that educates by answering real queries and solving real pain points.
Conversion focused. Aware that their content should fulfil a business goal, either to convert or to assist a conversion.
Engagement forward. Focused on writing that the audience will find interesting enough to read, comment on and share.
Distinctively written. Mindful that there's so much content out there that the writing needs better terminology, solid research and thought-provoking ideas.
AI aware. Able to use AI tools for research and first drafts, while adding the experience, original insight and fact-checking that AI can't. They also write clear, well-sourced answers that AI tools can quote.
Should we now be content generalists rather than content specialists?
We're told to specialise in one discipline across many industry sectors. What if we're great at getting content to rank, but not a great sales copywriter?
It's a valid point.
No one should risk their mastery of a writing discipline to become a content generalist.
So what should a writer do?
It comes down to the saying, whatever you do, be excellent at it.
If you want to stick to conversion copywriting or only to long-form content, that's fine. What's changing is the need to consider the big picture of whatever type of content we're producing.
A full-stack digital writer considers every possible angle of their content, from
computational linguistics
orthography
keywords
engagement
psychographics
how AI tools read and summarise it
They hope their intended audience will
respond if it's shared on social media
find the content through search engines and AI tools
learn something from the article
be persuaded to convert
Ultimately, the aim is that our content and copywriting win our clients more business.
Are we writing for humans or machines?
Terms like "SEO content" entered the digital marketer's vocabulary because we know we don't only have to entertain our readers. We must also write in a way that machines will understand and reward.
If we want our clients' content to rank in search engines, we have to play by the search engines' rules, which means writing content that a machine can understand.
But here's where it gets interesting.
Algorithms like Google's try to emulate what a real person would pick as the top result. So if Google is trying to choose what a person would choose, shouldn't we only focus on human readers?
Perhaps.
Google is still a machine. As a machine, it has limits, even when it's trying to emulate people.
So it matters what search engines think people want, and we must write accordingly.
However, we're doing our clients a disservice if we stop there.
The new machine in the room
When I first wrote this article, the machines were search engines. Now they're AI tools too, and they write as well as read.
AI has quickly become part of most marketing teams. According to the Content Marketing Institute's 2026 B2B research, 95% of B2B marketers use AI somewhere in their workflow. However, fewer than four in ten say it's actually improving their performance.
That gap is where the full-stack writer earns their keep. Google has been clear that it cares about quality, not how content is made. Its guidance on AI-generated content says "Our focus on the quality of content, rather than how content is produced, is a useful guide that has helped us deliver reliable, high quality results to users for years."
Quality includes experience. Google added an extra E for experience to E-E-A-T, so first-hand knowledge now counts alongside expertise, authority and trust. AI can draft a paragraph in seconds. However, it can't tell your client's story, interview their founder or share what happened when you tried something yourself.
AI search also changes what a click is worth. Ahrefs found that when an AI Overview appears, the top-ranking page gets a 58% lower click-through rate on average. So content now has two jobs. It needs to be clear and trustworthy enough for AI tools to cite, and interesting enough that people still want to click through and read the rest.
That's the full-stack mindset in a nutshell, and it's why we combine human and AI content production to build our clients' visibility in AI tools.
Pleasing everyone
As someone who produces content for both "SEO writing" and "engagement writing", learning to marry all writing disciplines into one has been a long and tough personal journey.
Feedback from other writers and clients has told me I should be doing some of the following.
"Introduce your articles with an interesting story, be more intriguing."
"Get straight to the point in your article."
"What keyword are you ranking for?"
"Where's the call to action?"
"Write more simply, use colloquial language."
"Write more academically, don't use so many buzzwords."
It's no wonder my styles began to merge into a "please-all" approach, making sure my content ranks, engages, converts and entertains.
Writing content that ranks, engages, converts and entertains
What's the point of ranking for a keyword if the traffic doesn't convert?
We've seen brands project a light-hearted vibe in the content they share on social media, then use a standardised, all-business voice in the content that ranks in search engines.
When we do this, we create an incredibly inconsistent brand voice.
So instead of changing voice and tone for every platform and channel, what if we combined them all, writing engaging content that's strong enough to rank in search engines and be cited by AI?
Is it possible?
A digital writer adopts a reader mentality
You may be a content writer, but you're also a reader.
Think about how you read content in your spare time. What do you
engage with?
find helpful?
find compelling enough to take action?
We find content in a multitude of ways, from newsfeeds and search engines to social media, newsletters and now AI chat tools. Still, I think we can all agree that we want to read content that's both informative and interesting.
There must be a middle ground between an informative, Wikipedia-style writer and a purist, Hemingway one when it comes to writing digital content.
I'm not saying we should all become content generalists.
My experience has been that writers spend their valuable time (and their clients' budgets) creating content without making sure it delivers the most value.
Don't spend time crafting content that gets attention the day it's posted and then dies. Focus on content that brings in sustained traffic and lowers your client's customer acquisition costs.
It's not easy. I've made mistakes, and this approach isn't perfect. Still, I believe there's room for every content writer to adopt a full-stack mentality, and with AI in the mix, there's never been a better time to start.
Need full-stack content?
Our senior writers combine SEO, conversion copywriting and AI search optimisation for businesses across the USA and Europe. Take a look at our content writing services, or get in touch.
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A full-stack digital writer can write across SEO, sales copy, conversion, content marketing and storytelling. They consider how search engines, AI tools and real readers will all respond to the same piece of content.
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AI is changing the job rather than replacing good writers. Google rewards quality however content is made, and AI can't add first-hand experience, original interviews or careful fact-checking. Writers who use AI well and add those things are more valuable than before.
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Not always. Specialists still matter for some work, such as high-stakes sales pages. However, a writer who understands keywords, conversion and storytelling can produce content that ranks and sells, with one consistent brand voice.
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Answer questions clearly near the top of each section, cite your sources, include original data or experience and keep your structure simple with descriptive headings. AI tools favour content that's easy to understand and trust.
