Writing SEO blog posts with Claude that do not read like AI
Claude can draft a good blog post, or a generic one. How to give it a search, a brief and your first-hand detail, and the checks that remove the AI tells.
Ask Claude to "write a blog post about cold brew" and you get something competent and forgettable: a scene-setting opener, three sections that could be on any site, and a conclusion that repeats the introduction. The model did what it was asked. The problem is the brief.
Give it a search, not a topic
"How to make cold brew at home without a filter" tells Claude who the reader is, what they want and what a good answer looks like. "Cold brew" tells it nothing. One main search per post; see keyword research for a new site.
Give it the one thing only you know
A ratio you tested, a mistake a customer made, a number from your own shop. This is what makes a post worth reading and worth citing, and no model can invent it without inventing it. Ask yourself one question per post and put the answer in the brief.
Tell it the shape
- Answer the question in the first paragraph.
- Then the steps or the explanation, under clear headings.
- A short FAQ with the follow-up questions.
- Links to two or three related posts and to the product, once.
Ban the tells
Readers recognise machine prose by a handful of habits: em dashes, openers that set a scene any post could share, the "not this, but that" scaffold, a few overused words, and three-item lists whose third item is filler. Put the list in the instructions, then check for it mechanically, because instructions alone leak. Readability for SEO covers the sentence-level checks.
Check before you publish
- Every fact is true and every number is yours or sourced.
- The search appears in the title, description and an early heading.
- Title and description fit their lengths; see title tag length.
- Every image has alt text and every link works.
SEO Blog Writer packages this for Claude Code: it takes the next search from your plan, asks you the one question only you can answer, writes in short, plain sentences with no em dashes and no invented facts, and runs a linter over the post before you see it.
Questions
Will Google penalise a blog post written with Claude?
Google's stated position is that it rewards helpful content however it is produced, and that using automation mainly to manipulate rankings breaks its spam policies. A useful, accurate post is fine; mass-produced filler is not.
How do I make an AI draft sound less generic?
Give it one detail only you know, such as a result, a mistake or a customer question. Ban the common tells, such as em dashes and filler openings, and keep sentences short.
Should I still edit the post?
Yes. Read it before publishing, check every fact, and add anything only you would know. The writing is faster; the responsibility is the same.