Good content drives buyers, and as a website owner, it is not unusual to considered SEO content writing services to speed up the content creation process.
However, there are consequences to consider before you consider outsourcing your content production.
SEO Content writing – What type of content can be outsourced to external content writers?
As a client, it is, of course, totally up to you which part of your content production you want to outsource, but there are a few things to consider before writing external writers:
- Product descriptions: Are you able to train the writer, so he or she knows your products and your audience?
- Blog posts: Is the copywriter able to hit the tone of voice of your business?
You might find an excellent SEO content writer, but if the writer is completely out of synch with your business and your users, it is not a good match.
Good copywriting is more than just optimizing for a keyword for SEO to get the traffic – you need to address the user intent behind a search query – not just focus on Search Engine Optimization.
What is it your customers need? How can you help them?
The first step is to decide what type of custom content you want to outsource and train external writers.
The most important element in your content strategy
It might sound a bit weird when I tell you that “you get what you pay for.”
Most rational people would say, “Of course I would expect to get what I pay for,” but what if your request is wrong from the beginning?
But let me give you an example: You are out for a walk and enjoying the nice weather, and outside a shop, you spot an old lady with the cutest dog you have ever seen.
You can’t resist, so you approach the dog and ask the old lady, “Does your dog bite”?
The old lady smiles and looks at you and responds, “no,” but the moment you try to reach out to the cute dog, it bites you!.
You address the old lady immediately and say, “You told me your dog didn’t bite, and now see what happened?”.
The old lady looks at you and answers quietly: “It is not my dog.”
If you don’t know what you are ordering, you don´t get quality content.
It is not enough to provide a keyword and expect professional content writing in return – you need to create a framework and deliver a content brief.
Original content is not enough – you need pieces of content that address the user intent, and keyword stuffing is a big NO GO.
High-Quality content writing is about:
- Keyword research: What is the primary keyword? (And LSI keywords)
- User intent: What is it your users/audience are looking for
- Questions: Which questions can you answer related to the search query
- What are your competitors doing?: What is already ranking on page one in Google
A good content marketing strategy requires a holistic approach where the goal is to deliver the best user experience and the most informative content that would match the search term of your potential customers.
The Search Engine Algorithms are smart enough to determine if your users find what they are looking for.
Google only needs to look at the browsing experience. If most organic traffic is causing a high bounce rate, it is a strong indicator that the user intent behind a search query is not met.
A creative writer does not need to be an SEO expert – it is more important to hire a writer who has solid experience in writing content that engages and converts – SEO text optimization can always be implemented or adjusted.
Blog writing services and freelance writing
It is quite easy to find an SEO content writer – but don’t focus on price only! Cheap content writing can be expensive!.
Some SEO content services offer a meager price per word and a fast turnaround time for your article.
It is tempting to think, “Time is money,” but why order something cheap that you won’t even publish on your website?
Just because the service offers you that you don’t pay unless you are satisfied and have the ability to order a rewrite is not a guarantee that you would get the types of content you need.
It might cost a bit more to hire expert writers, but if you can get more organic traffic from Google and get more sales, it is well worth paying a few bucks more.
The downside of working with a lot of those content writer sites is that you have no direct communication with your writer(s).
Yes, you can ask for edits or adjustments, but the writer would not know you or your business.
You are better off if you can hire some part-time experienced blog writers.
As a client, you might even be able to find an industry expert that would be more than happy to write a few custom blog posts every month.
If you hire freelancers, you might even end up with a little content team where you can leverage each of your writer’s expertise in specific areas.
How to hire the best freelance SEO content writers
One of the places to look for article writers is on Linkedin.
Here you get a perfect overview of the writer’s profile and the previous experience and professional background of a potential SEO copywriter.
If you are looking for native English speakers, it is also easier to spot a qualified writer.
With Linkedin, you get free access to writers with relevant experience, and it is easy to build a little expert team.
Before hiring a freelance writer:
- Check some samples of their work to make sure you get quality content
- Provide a content brief and buy a test article (Optimized for an SEO keyword)
- Pay for the project – do not pay per word (That would usually result in a lot of irrelevant fluff)
- Set clear expectations about the volume of content you expect every month
- Agree upon a payment form or processor that works for both parties
- Create a content plan
- PAY ON TIME and plan in advance!
FAQ: SEO content writing services
Q: What is an SEO content writer?
A: That is a writer that optimized content for a specific keyword to rank in the Search Engines
Q: Why do you need content writers?
A: Fresh, relevant content is super important if you want to get free organic traffic from the Search Engines
Q: Why is content marketing important?
A: Content marketing is the perfect way to attract the right audience for your website
Q: How do I choose topics for article content writing?
A: You focus on keywords with commercial intent that is relevant for your niche and have a decent search volume
Q: What is the turnaround time?
A: That is the time it takes from you have ordered an article until it is delivered.
Q: How do I write SEO-friendly content?
A: You optimize for a keyword and build a quality article that serves the user intent behind a search query
Q: How to find a great SEO content writer
A: Provide a good content brief and test the writer by ordering a test article
Q: What is SEO blog writing?
A: SEO blog writing is usually when you optimize blog articles to gain free organic traffic from the Search Engines
Q: What is target keywords?
A: Target keywords are the primary keyword you optimize an article around
Q: Should I use a content writing service?
A: That depends on the quality they can offer and the price they charge for the service
Q: What is considered professional SEO content?
A: That is SEO content that is optimized for the user experience and not just a keyword
Conclusion and how to streamline the content creation process
SEO copywriting is not rocket science, but you need the right framework.
As I mentioned earlier, it is all about addressing the searcher intent behind the keyword you are targeting.
The best way of optimizing content for SEO is to examine what is already ranking in Google.
One of the best tools on the market to create the perfect content brief for an SEO copywriter is Frase.io.
Frase is able to examine the quality of content that is already ranking in Google – and provide an exact content brief for you or your external writing team.
Once you get an article back, you can paste it into Frase and check how well it is optimized.
Frase is brilliant in managing content writing projects and external content creators. You can even assign a project manager and let him or her manage your team of writers within Frase.
You can read my full review of Frase.io here.
I hope you learned a bit about SEO content writing services and what you should focus on.
Hopefully, you can improve your Search Engine Rankings and gain qualified traffic from potential customers.
All the best,
Brian