Category Archives: SEO

Why it is fine to outsource your content writing job for SEO

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Should you outsource SEO content writing

Should you outsource SEO content writing?

I was just reading this blog post on why not to outsource certain SEO services, including content writing.

Although I’m not sure about other SEO services such as link building and on page optimization, I believe there is no hard-and-fast rule (as is mentioned in the post) that works for everyone.

But I know why for many, outsourcing content writing for SEO doesn’t work, or hasn’t work.

People don’t hire good content writers because then they need to pay them more.

All the money that can be saved, businesses want to save on content writers. Yes, it is becoming my pet peeve.

I complain about this because so much can be achieved and then not achieved simply because professional content writers are undervalued and consequently, underpaid.

I even have an image to explain what befalls upon you if you base your SEO strategy on cheap content.

Cheap content harms your business

Recently I wrote in one of my blog posts that high-quality content is the pillar upon which your entire content marketing and digital marketing strategy rests.

What sort of experience you have with the service depends on lots of factors.

Whether it is web design, programming, content writing and copywriting or SEO, it is a matter of chance how well everything is going to turn up.

How to hire the best SEO content writer to improve your rankings.

This is also true for your employees – people that you hire in-house.

You never know how they are going to deliver, no matter how great the interview goes.

It isn’t necessary that the content writer that you hire in-house is going to perform better than the content writer to whom you may have outsourced your SEO content writing requirement.

I have personally worked with many clients who had a very bad experience with the content writer they had hired initially.

After burning their fingers, they contacted me.

In most of the cases, I have observed over the years that when businesses and entrepreneurs get lousy writing, this is mostly because they have hired a cheap content writer to save money.

They have this well-entrenched perception that writing is cheap.

It is not. Good writing definitely not.

Hence, find a good SEO content writer, acknowledge the fact that you’re going to have to pay him or her just the way you pay for any other service, and you will get good, quality content to improve your rankings.

How to hire the best SEO content writer to improve your rankings

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How to hire an SEO content writer to improve your rankings

How to hire an SEO content writer to improve your rankings

Here is an interesting and informative post on Moz.com titled “How to screen and recruit the best SEO content writers“.

As someone who provides professional content writing services, SEO content writing and online copywriting, on daily basis I am dealing with clients who are looking for a writer for their website or for their blog.

I’m sure you may say that I’m targeting the wrong audience and hence I’m attracting wrong clients, but most of the clients first want to know how much my SEO content writing services are going to cost.

Hence, cost is a major worry for them.

Do they want quality?

They claim that they do, but I can understand by the way they talk they think that writers are available “a dime a dozen”, and I don’t blame them.

Nonetheless, when you are hiring a content writer seriously, and by seriously, I mean that you know that you will have to pay money to a good SEO content writer, the suggestions listed in the above link are good.

I am rehashing some of them below.

Why do you need an SEO content writer?

SEO-friendly content writing

SEO-friendly content writing

Personally, I believe you need a good content writer or a good writer who understands your topic and understands what your readers are looking for.

If your writer can take care of these two aspects, he or she is a good SEO content writer.

Anyway, you need an experienced writer to improve your search engine rankings because ranking these days is not as easy as it used to be.

There are many reasons.

Millions of pieces of content are being added to the web on daily basis.

In the beginning of the Internet there weren’t many people vying for the top positions.

To add to the difficulty, Google is also constantly improving its ranking algorithm.

In the past decade, three major algorithm updates done by Google are Panda, RankBrain and “Fred”.

There was also a Penguin update which the article hasn’t mentioned.

A long time back I wrote a blog post on it for Content Marketing Institute, titled, “How to survive the Google Penguin update with effective content writing“.

Panda was a major reshuffle in the early parts of the previous decade and it annihilated the rankings of many websites.

RankBrain uses searchers’ intent to decide your rankings.

A related blog post: Do you know how Google actually ranks your content? ()

Fred weeds out content pieces that don’t add any value.

So, basically, Google is trying its best to keep your content away from top rankings if your content is not of good quality and doesn’t provide any value.

This is why you need an SEO content writer.

An SEO content writer can take care of three things simultaneously:

  1. Write high-quality content.
  2. Write content according to your keywords and key phrases.
  3. Write content that is relevant to your readers.

What to look for in an SEO content writer when you are hiring one?

This is, what is explained in the above Moz.com link.

Here are a few things to consider when hiring an SEO content writer:

Knowledge of on-page SEO and writing optimized content

Although I have written above that it basically takes a good writer to help you improve your rankings, certain on-page SEO factors are important when writing content.

Can your SEO content writer

  • Write content based on your keywords and key phrases?
  • Come up with optimized titles knowing that your title plays a crucial role in deciding your rankings?
  • Utilise internal linking?
  • Write longform content of 2000+ words, if need be?
  • Write web friendly and mobile friendly content?
  • Show a good track record of ranking content for important keywords?

On my website you can find all this information even before having to contact me.

There is a great chance that you have come on this blog post through Google or another search engine.

You can also see plenty of interlinks on my blog and on my website.

All my blog post and web page titles are completely optimized.

Although I use important keywords to write my content, I don’t needlessly stuff them.

Knowledge of user experience and authoritative content

Your SEO content writer must know the importance of writing and publishing authoritative content.

Authoritative content is very crucial for your search engine rankings because it tells Google that your content can be trusted and valued.

Also, the SEO content writer that you hire must be able to write search friendly content.

It means, the content must be arranged under appropriate headings, subheadings, bullet points, and sentences and paragraphs.

Learn to value a good and experienced SEO content writer

Improving your SEO is a two-pronged process: just as an SEO content writer is supposed to understand your needs and the needs of your customers and clients, you must also understand the value of a good and experienced SEO content writer.

It’s true, you can find content writers a dime a dozen, but it is very difficult to find SEO content writers who can really deliver.

The fault lies on both the ends of the spectrum: content writers started offering their services dirt cheap and now most of the clients expect them to deliver their services dirt cheap, heavily compromising the quality in the process.

Hence, the first step towards hiring a capable SEO content writer is recognizing the fact that just like any other service, you will have to pay for high-quality content.

5 SEO myths that may be reducing the effectiveness of your content writing

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5 SEO myths making your content writing less effective

5 SEO myths making your content writing less effective

SEO does not have a well-defined manual or an instruction book. Most of it happens through guesswork.

This is why there are lots of myths and “urban legends” surrounding SEO. Most of the so-called “SEO experts” sell snake oil in the name of helping people improve their search engine rankings.

Sure, there are some fundamentals – good quality content, strategic use of keywords and alt tags for images, for example – most of the perceptions and opinions about SEO are based on trial and error.

People do something, if it has positive impact, they share it with the world in general, and if it has negative impact, they also share that.

This is how knowledge about SEO grows.

Today I came across this blog post on the Content Marketing Institute website: 7 SEO Myths that Could Limit Your Google Keyword Rankings.

I tried to think in terms of content writing. How do these myths impact your content writing?

When my clients send me content writing guidelines just a single glance tells me that their primary concern is optimizing their content for their keywords.

On many SEO-related blog posts and articles I have read that you shouldn’t concern yourself much about the keywords.

As long as you are publishing good quality content, your SEO for the related keywords is going to improve.

As a content writer who sells and promotes his services on the basis of the quality of content he writes, I tend to believe that it is quality that is of utmost important.

The above CMI link says that although quality matters, you cannot ignore your keywords. The link talks about the overall keyword optimization but in my blog post, I’m mainly focusing on content writing and how these myths may have a negative impact on it.

Myth 1: Quality content writing matters, not how you use your keywords

I will sound hypocritical if I say that keywords don’t matter, especially when repeatedly on my blog I have mentioned that I’m using a WordPress SEO plug-in (SEOPressor) to optimize my content.

When my new clients enquire if I can write SEO content, I tell them that by default I write optimized content.

When I say “optimized content writing” what I mean is, using the keywords in such a manner that it’s easier for search engine algorithms to understand what is written on your webpage or blog post, but at the same time, keeping the writing interesting and relevant for human readers.

Quality content writing automatically means focusing on your core topic and delivering maximum value to your readers.

When you focus on your core topic and write based on searcher’s intent you automatically cover your keywords.

It’s just that, if it is normally suggested that you should use your main keyword or search term within the first 100 words of your blog post or web page, then try to do so.

Use your mix of keywords in headings and subheadings. Use them in your main navigation bar. Use their variations (LSI words) in hyperlinks and bullet points.

Google, when crawling, indexing and ranking, looks for patterns to detect what you’re talking about. These patterns are your keywords and search terms.

It’s better to use them and help Google (and other search engines) understand what you’re trying to say and whether your content writing is related to the keyword or the search term being used by the search engine user.

Myth 2: Keyword stuffing when writing content can get your website penalized by Google

Frankly, I wouldn’t take the risk. But the article says that there is no definitive proof that Google penalizes websites that use keyword stuffing.

Keyword stuffing just for the sake of it is useless if it doesn’t make sense.

For example, if I want to optimize one of my webpages for “professional content writing services”, it doesn’t mean that I have to use this search term in every sentence or in every paragraph.

Use your keywords as is the need. Let your writing flow. Don’t repeat the keywords just because you think that the repetition will improve your SEO. It won’t.

Having said that, don’t stifle your writing fearing that if your keyword density is 10% whereas it should be 3%.

Myth 3: Duplicate content can harm your SEO

Again, there is no definite proof of whether Google penalizes you for duplicate content or not.

Many SEO experts believe that the problem of duplicate content mostly happens on e-commerce websites where hundreds of products may end up having the same description and even the same title.

On normal websites with just a few hundred webpages and blog posts, this isn’t much of an issue.

Does it mean if I already have an optimized webpage for “online content writer” I should create a duplicate page and simply change the heading and the text string to “online copywriter” and I will have another page?

Remains to be seen.

Again, what matters is delivering value to your visitors. Your content writing must inform and educate your visitors so that they are convinced of doing business with you.

Myth 4: Your web page titles must be less than 60 characters, including spaces

Since I’m using a WordPress SEO plug-in and it doesn’t give me the “green signal” unless I stick to all the conditions, which also includes creating a webpage title that is less than or equal to 60 characters, this is something difficult for me to check.

But then, I’m not using the plug-in to analyze every piece of blog post or web page that I publish. There are many blog posts and webpages that I don’t analyze using SEOPressor and in those webpages and blog posts, I don’t mind if my title is beyond 60 characters.

The logic behind keeping your webpage title less than or equal to 60 characters is less about SEO and more about usability.

How?

When Google shows the search results, the hyperlinked text is your webpage title. Google shows around 60 characters and after that it shows just the three dots “…”.

So, what makes more sense is, whatever important that you want to mention in your webpage title, mention it within those 60 characters.

Myth 5: SEO is a one-time affair

This is undeniably the most important myth that needs to be busted: just because you have published a few webpages and blog posts and you see some improvement in your SEO it doesn’t mean the job is done.

Just as you want to improve and maintain your search engine rankings, so do your direct and indirect competitors.

Millions of webpages, blog posts and social media updates are being crawled, indexed and ranked by Google on hourly basis. Search engine rankings are constantly being reshuffled.

Also, Google doesn’t like stale content. Even if your webpage is a few months old, if newer, seemingly better content is available, your webpage is going to be pushed down in the rankings to make space for newer content.

You either have to go and publishing your content or you need to update your existing content. You always need to outdo your competitors when it comes to maintaining your SEO.

Why you need constant content writing to maintain SEO?

Your SEO depends on many factors. But high-quality content is the bedrock of your entire SEO strategy. Search engines constantly need fresh content to crawl and index. People in social media and social networking websites constantly need new information to share and enrich their timelines.

Nobody wants to share a blog post or an article that is six months old or a year old unless the information is still relevant. But that’s beside the point.

In terms of search engine rankings, if you don’t publish regularly or if you don’t update your content, the search engines stop crawling or crawl rarely (once a few months) depending on the frequency of the new content found on your website.

The frequency increases if you publish regularly. There was a time when I was publishing 5-6 blog posts every day on a technology blog. Google used to crawl and index the new posts within minutes. The number of times Google crawls your website is directly proportional to the number of times you publish new content.

This is why, it is very important for your SEO that you write and publish content on a regular basis.

SEO copywriting and SEO content writing: is there a difference?

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Difference between SEO copywriting and SEO content writing

Difference between SEO copywriting and SEO content writing

Should you hire an SEO copywriter or an SEO content writer? What is the difference between SEO copywriting and SEO content writing?

Whether there is a difference or there isn’t any difference, depends on whom you are dealing with and what sort of writing you need.

There is definitely a difference between a copywriter and a content writer.

You may like to read Difference between copywriting and content writing.

Copywriting is sales oriented. It is often used in advertising and wherever your writing needs to sell.

For example, on a landing page you require the services of a copywriter.

When you broadcast an email marketing campaign, you get it written by a copywriter.

Even the main webpages of your website including the homepage, the services page, the company profile page, all these pages are written by a copywriter, ideally, but most of the people get them written by a content writer.

Copywriter increases sales content writer increases visibility

Copywriter increases sales content writer increases visibility

You need a copywriter for your main website pages because people will be going through these webpages before deciding whether they want to buy from you or not.

This is where the difference is blurred.

A content writer writes to inform and educate, a copywriter writes to sell and generate leads. Though, in some manner, even a content writer helps you sell and generate leads.

Copywriters are age-old. They have been writing copies since time immemorial.

Content writers are a new breed. Writers who write for websites and blogs are called content writers.

What is the fundamental difference between copywriting and content writing?

The primary purpose of SEO content writing is to generate organic traffic, mostly by search engines.

You may like to read: 10 SEO content writing tips for your small business.

It is written to feed the search engines quality content so that the search engines rank your content well and consequently, send organic traffic your way.

Copywriting converts the traffic generated by content writing into leads and sales.

The language is different. In content writing the language is more laid-back. It informs, engages and entertains.

Copywriting convinces you to buy. It lays bare the greatest benefits of the product or the service the piece of copywriting is promoting in a highly convincing manner.

It generates a sense of urgency – as if you’re going to lose big time if you don’t purchase there and then.

Content writing on the other hand doesn’t generate a sense of urgency. It simply informs you.

For example, if I’m writing a review of a gadget, I’m not necessarily selling you that gadget. I’m just telling you about the features that it has and the features that it doesn’t have. Then I leave it up to you whether you want to buy that gadget or not.

In the process, I’m generating traffic for the website. People who are interested in that gadget may land on my website and in case they need to buy it, they may buy it from my website.

Copywriting tells me to buy it. Just like content writing, it also informs me about the best features, but it conveniently either ignores the bad features or portrays them as something of an advantage.

Is there a thing called “SEO copywriting”?

As I said above, whether you want to call a particular piece of writing “SEO copywriting” or “SEO content writing” depends on who is writing and how you want to view your writing.

From the perspective of an average client, it’s a bit difficult to differentiate between SEO copywriting and SEO content writing. An average client wants your writing to generate more business whether you are a copywriter or a content writer.

Some clients are aware of the difference. Recently I wanted to know how my content writing services are helping one of my clients for whom I have been writing blog posts for a few months now.

He wrote that right now he isn’t concerned about immediate gains. He understands, he said, the competition is very tough in his field and it will take a lot of time before his website experiences some major change in search engine traffic.

He doesn’t expect my writing to get him more customers. He wants my writing to improve his exposure for the related keywords on Google.

Coming back to the highlighted question: is there a thing called SEO copywriting?

There are many people who call themselves “SEO copywriters”. Many believe whenever you are writing for a website or a blog, the sole purpose of your writing is promoting a cause.

Hence, when you are promoting a cause, you are copywriting.

In that sense, even when you’re writing content, you are copywriting.

Even when you are writing for a blog, ultimately, you are canvassing for a business or an idea.

Referring to the above gadget reviews example. I’m actually writing gadget reviews for a client who sells on his website as an Amazon affiliate.

When people come to his website to read reviews, he expects them to click the links and then buy from Amazon, earning him commission in the process.

When I’m writing his reviews, I’m conscious of that. I know that people are supposed to purchase after reading the reviews.

Even when I’m writing seemingly impartial reviews, the reviews are written in such a manner that if people want to buy that gadget, the review is not going to deter them or discourage them in any manner.

When you’re writing for your business blog, aside from the fact that you are informing and educating your prospective customers and clients, you are also constantly representing your business – you are writing on behalf of your business.

For example, when I’m writing for my own Credible Content Blog, I’m also promoting my content writing and copywriting services.

This happens subtly, but it definitely happens.

Consequently, many writers, even writers of repute on the Internet, insist that every good content writer is fundamentally a copywriter.

Which brings us to the conclusion that there IS a concept called SEO copywriting.

Do people search for “SEO copywriting” and “SEO copywriter”?

Here is the Google trends graph. The blue information is SEO copywriting and the red information is SEO content writing. This data is for United States. You can see that more people search for “SEO copywriting”.

Google trends comparing SEO copywriting and SEO content writing

Google trends comparing SEO copywriting and SEO content writing

The case is slightly different for the terms “SEO copywriter” and “SEO content writer”. Slightly more people in the US search for SEO content writer compared to SEO copywriter.

Google trends comparing SEO copywriter and SEO content writer

Google trends comparing SEO copywriter and SEO content writer

As I have explained above, when it comes to writing for the web, these terms are interchanged, and this is where there is confusion.

In the traditional sense, there is no confusion as people know who a copywriter is and who is a content writer, but when it comes to writing web content, these terms are often mixed up.

What exactly are people searching for when they’re searching for “SEO copywriter”?

If people get mixed up between SEO copywriting and SEO content writing and don’t know the difference, how do you find the searcher’s intent, especially as a writer?

For example, if I want to target someone looking for an SEO copywriter, how do I know if the person is actually looking for a copywriter to write marketing material or content writer simply to improve his or her search engine rankings? Because, I know the traditional definition of copywriting.

Is the intent of the person to find

  • Someone who can write blog posts?
  • Someone who can write web page copy?
  • Someone who can write a sales pitch for a landing page?
  • Someone who can write information articles?

Since there might be thousands of people looking for an SEO copywriter, as a content writer who is constantly coming across clients who have a blurred notion of what is the difference between the two, I need to optimize my website for both the terms: “SEO copywriter” and “SEO content writer”, even if personally, I know there isn’t much difference.

When is the right time to hire an SEO copywriter or someone who can provide SEO copywriting?

Frankly, any time you want to improve your SEO. Search engine optimization is the central topic here.

Ever since Google aggressively started updating its ranking algorithm, it has been focusing on featuring high-quality content that is written to inform and educate people rather than simply to improve search engine rankings.

The process of improving SEO is longwinded. How much time it takes you to improve your organic SEO depends on your competition (other things taken care of).

The right time to hire an SEO copywriter is

  • When you need high-quality content to improve your conversion rate and engagement levels.
  • When you want to publish high-quality content regularly.
  • When you want to publish content that is search engine friendly, optimized for your keywords, but at the same time, reader friendly.
  • When you are looking for a copywriter or a content writer who can write great content based on searcher’s intent.

You can use an SEO copywriter to get written

  • SEO friendly blog posts.
  • SEO articles.
  • Services pages that are optimized for search engine rankings.
  • PPC landing pages.
  • Authoritative blog posts and articles to be published on websites like LinkedIn and Medium.

The basic idea is striking the perfect balance between good quality and SEO. Whether you hire an SEO copywriter or an SEO content writer, ultimately, it all rests on how much exposure and consequently, how much business the writing can generate.

For the time being, for an average client, there isn’t much difference between SEO copywriting and SEO content writing. Both are great forms of writing as long as they convince and convert.

Are you writing content for voice search?

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content writing for voice search

According to eMarketers, at least 40% people in the United States use some sort of voice assistance while surfing the web, once a month. This is 2019, and 111.8 million people (just in the US). By 2021 the figure is expected to increase to 122.7 million people using voice search. Are you writing content targeting these people?

200 billion voice searches will be done by 2020

200 billion voice searches will be done by 2020

[Image source]

I have written multiple times on writing content for voice search, including How to optimize content writing for voice search and How to write content for voice-activated devices.

If you recently said, “Okay Google, find me this information”, then you will understand what I’m trying to say.

There are certain businesses that are very straightforward. For example, if you’re looking for a content writing service for your business, you will probably tell Google to “find a content writing service for my flower delivery business”, or something like that. Or you can search for “why does my business need a professional content writer?”

But, if you have scores of products and services, you need to write content in such a manner that no matter what people say into their “smart” devices, using voice search, they are able to find your website in such a manner that they understand that you are in the business of providing what they need.

Writing content for traditional search is not very different from writing content for voice search as long as you are addressing the core issue and you write your content in a conversational manner. After all, people use voice search as if they are having a conversation with someone.

When we are talking to someone in a conversational tone, we don’t use stiff language. We use words that we don’t normally write.

Our school and college train us to use different tones when we are speaking and when we are writing. Even when you don’t write the way you wrote essays in school and college, you may use monosyllables or simply the service names when using your fingers to type.

On the other hand, when you are speaking into your voice assistant, you will speak complete sentences, and sometimes even slightly complex sentences with unrelated phrases.

A big reason why we tend to speak longer phrases for voice search is that it’s easy to speak than write, especially on mobile phones and especially on devices like Amazon Echo where there is no system of writing.

Writing existing content for voice search

If you already have lots of content written for your website or blog (or both) the idea of rewriting existing content for voice search may seem overwhelming, but actually it is not.

In fact, if you already have lots of content, you have an advantage. You just need to make some structural changes and add some phrases at strategic places to make it friendly for voice search rankings.

For example, make a list of phrases people would use when using voice search. Then use these phrases in the headlines and sub headlines. Insert sentences carrying these phrases whenever they sound logical and relevant.

Add a couple of extra paragraphs using those phrases.

You can also create or write additional webpages and blog posts specifically targeting phrases for voice search. Just make sure you don’t end up duplicating your content.

Writing new content for voice search

Of course, being a professional content writer, I would suggest that if you need quality content writing for voice search, you should work with a trained content writer. But, if you’re not in the mood of hiring one, or if you don’t have the budget, you can first record your voice before writing.

You may like to read 20 benefits of hiring professional content writing services.

Whatever you want to write, first, have a conversation about it with one of your colleagues or your friends and record the conversation.

Don’t worry about grammar and wrong usage of words. Simply have a conversation.

Then, when writing content, listen to that conversation and try to use as many words you hear in the conversation as possible. I have found that this is one of the best ways of content writing for voice search.