Medium really should make it easier for us to optimize our articles for search engines. However, one of the problems with optimized articles on a site like this is the potential for staleness of formatting and formulaic structure.

The process of optimization can make people who aren't all that good at "creative optimization" give up the process in frustration.

Who wants to write a 4,000-word article and include 15 images with tags in order to compete for first page for their keyword? I'm sure it's possible to get some great content out that's not only informative and engaging but well optimized.

But, will your audience read it?

The irony is that AI may actually help writers with formatting for SEO without making their posts look like AI-SEO written articles.

Tools like Surfer SEO can tell us what LSI keywords and phrases need to be included based on our subject. It can give us an idea of our competition and even help us write in a non-formulaic way.

Either way, it will cost most of us extra time and or money.

I'm hoping that Medium does make it easier for us to optimize content while continuing to allow for creative freedom in formatting and style.