The editor’s eye: when something is ‘fine’ but still wrong
In publishing, 'fine' can be a dangerous word. Writing can be grammatically correct, well structured and perfectly readable – and still fall short. In the age of AI, the editor's instinct matters more than ever: to question claims, test assumptions, and move beyond acceptable towards something genuinely compelling and trustworthy.
http://craig-stewart.com/2026/02/17/the-editors-eye-when-something-is-fine-but-still-wrong/
AI is everywhere in content writing now. As a former sub-editor, what worries me isn’t the tech, but the sameness it creates. Speed is useful, but judgement still matters. I’ve written about how to use AI without losing clarity, responsibility, or your voice.
http://craig-stewart.com/2026/02/02/using-ai-for-content-writing/
Do I actually need SEO or is it the wrong solution?
SEO has a funny reputation. Most people I speak to don't know what it is. The next-most know it's important: they've heard they should be 'doing something with SEO', but they're not always sure whether it's the right thing for their business or just something they feel vaguely guilty about not having sorted. So let's start with a question that will give some SEO providers the jitters: …
Google’s ‘Read more…’ SERP feature: what it reveals about snippets, intent, and clicks
The new 'Read more…' SERP feature exposes which words Google chooses to speak for your brand. By showing the exact snippet source, it highlights a shift away from page-level optimisation towards passage selection, and why some strong rankings deliver visibility rather than traffic.
How to score high with Google’s Content Effort signal
Every so often, something surfaces from Google’s black box of algorithms that makes SEOs sit up straight. The recent Google leak did exactly that — and tucked away inside it was one particularly revealing signal: contentEffort. It’s a machine-learning metric that attempts to quantify how much genuine human effort went into creating a page. In other words, Google is literally measuring how hard you worked on your…
http://craig-stewart.com/2025/10/21/how-to-score-high-with-googles-content-effort-signal/
Creative Bloq
In 2016-17 I was editor of Creative Bloq, the world's biggest and best source of advice and inspiration for artists and designers, and I worked on the site in different operational roles from 2012 to that time. My roles involved everything from organising workflow and commissioning content, overseeing content delivery and publishing, managing all SEO and social activity, working to increase traffic and drive site development… and, of course, writing!
I have started offering a special rate for charities and other nonprofit organisations for my SEO and content services, and dedicate 0.5 days a week to local volunteer work.
http://craig-stewart.com/2025/05/27/special-seo-rates-for-charities-and-nonprofits/
Cold War Steve
Moose Allain