Should I hire an SEO copywriter?

When answering the question, “Should I hire an SEO copywriter?” you might think, “Oh, it’s just about putting in keywords and key phrases. Do that and I’ll climb up those search engine ranking easy-peasy.”

A few years ago, you might have been right.

Do that now and the Google algorithm will punish your website big time.

These days SEO copywriting is all about search intent, semantic key phrases and questions (we’ll come to these near the end of this article) – and much less about putting in loads of keywords.

Pfft – sounds tiring.

What is SEO copywriting?

SEO copywriting is when the writer actively includes search engine optimised keywords and phrases into content to get the page or post seen and ranked by search engines.

A great SEO copywriter can also create content clusters when writing blog posts, where several posts are connected and linked.

Google LOVES blog post clusters, so if your articles are just written but not linked, you’re missing out on a higher ranking.

But, it’s a lot of hard work.

10 great reasons you should hire an SEO Copywriter

What does an SEO copywriter do?

This.

All of this:

Your writer will:

One. Do deep keyword/keyphrase research

In an ideal world, you’d pick a keyword or keyphrase, include it on your page or post and BHAM! – you’re number one on Google.

If only it was that easy.

Hundreds if not thousands of people are fighting over ranking for the most common keyphrases. An SEO copywriter will dig deeper, finding similar phrases or questions that get traffic but not as much.

What’s the point of that?

Well, think about it, that similar keyphrase might only get 180 searches per month instead of 18,000, but it’s still being searched. You have the chance of getting 180 interested eyes on your site every month. The popular keyword might get you 18,000 but you’re gonna have to rank on page one for it and it’s not going to be easy.

In some cases, it’s impossible.

So, by ranking high for similar, less competitive phrases, your writer is giving you a better chance of being seen.

Two. Understand search intent

Google is a lot better at understanding the search intent of your audience. But to understand it yourself, every time you write something, you need to consider these questions:

1. Why would my customers be searching for this?
2. What will my reader take away from reading this?
3. Is my content better than similar articles or pages?
4. Does it include all the information they need or will they need to dig for more information?

And you’ve got to think of these every time you write something.

Do that and you’ll create incredibly useable, top stuff.

Three. Analyse content with the same keyphrase/keyword

To do the second, you’ll need to do the third on this list – analyse content currently ranking high for your keyphrases.

So, before writing, a copywriter skilled in SEO will:

• Check high-ranking competitor posts to see if the information is up-to-date and relevant
• Read competitor pieces to see if they’re any good
• Look at how recently the competition articles/pages were posted
• Consider what information someone searching this phrase would be looking for

Four. Include the right balance of keyphrases in your content

Now we know that Google rewards search intent more than keyphrases nowadays, your writer will be able to create content that includes:

• Your main SEO keyphrase
• Longtail keywords
• Semantic keywords
• Questions your audience is searching for

Don’t worry if you don’t know what these are, I’ll answer that towards the end of this article.

Five. Optimise your on-page SEO

Yeah, it’s good to get the right balance through the content of your post or page, but they’ll also make sure they include your keyphrase in the:

• Headers
• Subheaders
• Meta title (The title of the page you see on Google)
• Meta description (The explainer text you see on Google)
• Image name (at least one image should have your keyphrase in it, yes, really!)
• Alt-txt area of images (This explains what your image is about and makes your content more inclusive)
• URL slug of the page (the bit after the forward slash)

Phew!

There’s more to SEO than you realise!

If you don’t want to hire an SEO copywriter right now and fancy having a crack at refreshing your current blog posts, that’s fine. Check out my article, 24 awesome ways to optimise SEO for blog posts.

Six. Include internal and external links

Google loves pages that link, it shows they’re connected, and they’ll reward you for it.

So, your content should link with relevant pages and posts elsewhere on your site. and any external links to high authority sites should be included too.

Seven. Consider User Experience (UX) and page speed

Yes, UX and page speed are a job for your web designer but a top SEO copywriter will also think about using images through their content (so it ties in with the feel of the piece).

So, they’ll want to make sure that you’re compressing images and minimising your code so the page loads quickly.

You don’t want a site that’s slow loading, it’ll increase your bounce rate and Google will penalise you.

Eight. Create a consistent content strategy

A consistent, SEO-friendly content strategy means Google is getting loads and loads of top content from you. Great content means you’ll be flagged as a voice of authority, giving you a better chance of appearing in the ‘Featured Snippets‘ and ‘People also searched‘ sections.

Get featured in these shows your content is killin’ it!

Nine. Give you the edge over your competitors

You might have some competitors that are on the ball, but they won’t all be.

By working with an SEO copywriter, you’ll overtake others in your industry as a voice of authority. Not only does this build trust in your business, it’ll also send more clients your way.

Ten. Boost your search engine rankings

Yep, every step will lead to this – improved search engine placement.

You can never guarantee you’ll be in the number one spot or that every single page will rank on page one. But by creating pages and blog posts, you’ll start ranking better and you’ll increase your website traffic and conversion rates.

So, can a copywriter help with SEO?

The answer is an emphatic YES!

Search Engine Optimisation has changed a lot since the days of stuffing loads of keywords in and Google rewarding you for it.

All your old, over-stuffed content is now be out of date.

An SEO writer can help by reworking and refreshing all your old content.

Pretty cool!

Now, let’s move on to something I promised I’d explain earlier in this post.

What are semantic keywords?

Semantic keywords are terms or phrases that are related to your main keyword that help provide context to search engines about the page or post.

For example. just a handful of semantic keywords related to this article,’ Does a copywriter help with SEO?‘ include:

• Search engine optimisation
• Content creation
• SERP data
• SEO Copywriting
• SEO Best Practices
• Content Strategy

And bucket loads more.

What are longtail keywords?

Long-tail keywords are longer keywords people use when they’re close to making a purchase. They’re usually less competitive and attract more targeted traffic.

Again, for this blog post, they’d be stuff like:

• How a copywriter improves SEO
• Benefits of hiring an SEO copywriter
• Can copywriting boost search engine rankings?

How to find a good SEO copywriter

Now you know why you should hire one, all you need to do is put the advice in this article into practice (especially the longtail keywords bit).

Google one or check out a whole list of writers on ProCopywriters.

Or cut out the bother and hire an SEO copywriter with loads of experience, like me.

I’ve worked with loads of clients to improve their SEO and send them up search engine rankings.

Get in touch and let’s chat about how I can help you.

Until next time

Matt

This article was originally featured on the Indelible Think Copywriting Blog.