SEO COPYWRITING SERVICE | FREELANCE SEO COPYWRITER UK
Convert Traffic into Sales
SEO copywriting services are overwhelmingly undervalued across many industries. Use an SEO content copywriter to get ahead of your competitors, increase conversions and rank highly in Google searches results.
SEO CONTENT WRITING
WHAT IS AN SEO COPYWRITING SERVICE?
SEO copywriting requires a unique blend of ensuring that the copy is well-structured, properly formatted, and targeted while being engaging to the reader.
SEO web copywriting is a technique for getting a website to rank as high as possible on a search engine's results page (SERP), whether that be Google, Bing, Yahoo, or another. Several web design and development elements influence this. SEO copywriting, however, is incorporating keywords and phrases that your target audience might use to find you into the content of your website.
SEO copywriting is part of the larger field of search engine optimisation, which employs a variety of tactics such as link building, mobile optimisation, load speeds, and content strategy techniques to ensure that your site is device and user-friendly, promotes unique and insightful content, and provides important information.
My SEO copywriting services take this all into account. I gain a thorough understanding of what works for your audience and what works for Google by covering everything from keyword research to competitor analysis.
Why should you care about it?
SEO copywriting involves far more than simply adding material to your website. It must include the keywords, phrases, and themes that your customers are searching for, as well as compel them to take action once they arrive on your site.
Whether your website copy needs a complete overhaul, or you’re looking to optimise a landing page or blog, I’m a copywriting expert with experience optimising content across a range of industries; or you’re an eCommerce site or an online magazine, an SEO content copywriter is an essential piece of digital marketing you should be conducting.
Most people who use search engines only look at the first page of results, so a page must be featured at the top in order to receive high traffic. If your company sells products or services online, you want your website to appear above those of your competitors.
WHAT'S THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN SEO CONTENT WRITING AND GENERAL COPYWRITING?
I get this question a lot - after all, isn't writing just writing? The difference does matter since these two forms of writing can provide drastically different results for businesses and campaign outcomes.
Simply put, the goal of my SEO copywriting services is to generate organic traffic from search engines, but the goal of copywriting and sales copy is to convert that traffic into leads and sales.
Although both SEO web copywriting and general copywriting are involved with the text on the website, they serve different purposes. If you confuse the two—or combine them ineffectively—you'll almost certainly get poor results. It's important to think about the differences while selecting the best method (and writer) for your project.
The key differences between SEO content writing and copywriting
Being a copywriter and being an SEO content writer are two distinct disciplines, but they share some common ground. Aside from the fact that they both require excellent writing skills, they also share the same goal - to attract, engage, and convert leads. However, they take different angles when achieving that goal.
Consumption - The way we consume the content is the most significant distinction between copywriting and SEO writing. Both styles of writing are optimised to meet the reader or customer where they are—SEO writing meets them on a webpage, while copywriting may meet them on a tv commercial, print ad, or product labelling. Of course, both kinds of writing may be consumed online, but SEO writing is generally more detailed and can be found in longer-form material such as articles and blog posts, and aims to answer a query that your potential customers may have.
Target audience - Another big difference between copywriting and SEO writing is the audience each kind of writing is aimed at. People at the top of the funnel—those who are still looking into a problem—are usually the target audience for SEO writing. Not that it isn't used elsewhere. It's also employed at other levels of the funnel to get customers interested in your products and services. Copywriting, on the other hand, is targeted mainly at warm leads who are looking to buy or are already ready to buy. Landing pages and sales pages/letters are good examples of such marketing collateral.
SEO content writing and copywriting are two sides of the same coin
Some marketers wonder which of these two types of writing they should employ. For a marketing campaign to be successful, it must include both copywriting and SEO writing. Copywriting and SEO content writing are two separate skills that are critical to any company.
HOW DO I CREATE YOUR SEO CONTENT?
Strong copywriting is the result of a combination of elements, and a high-performing piece of content requires more than meets the eye. I’ll cover everything from choosing keywords to identifying keyword intent to create copy. Here are my key processes when writing content for SEO.
Know your audience - My first step to successful copywriting is knowing your audience. I'll be able to be persuasive with my writing armed with this information because I know who they are and how to appeal to them.
Perform keyword research – A crucial part of any SEO plan is keyword research. It's the process of identifying the phrases your target audience uses to search for products and services related to yours and then employing those words in your content to bring those visitors to your site. This research is critical for copywriting because it allows me to find user intent behind the terms your audience searches for so that I can produce content that speaks to their needs.
Write for your target market - The purpose of SEO web copywriting is to persuade your target market to take action. Your customers are looking for answers, therefore I'm writing to inform them why they should choose you. I use search terms in your material that apply to the user's intent. Depending on the project, your tone may change. I will always ensure it's informative, engaging, and focused on the reader's wants. Not every post needs to be about your product or service, but they should all be linked to your sector. I establish you and your firm as industry experts by producing SEO-friendly, entertaining, and helpful content, and I do it better than your competitors.
Structure your posts - Your post's content may be excellent, but it can quickly get buried in an unorganised, inefficient style. Using skimmable headlines to break up your material into smaller paragraphs allows for an easy read that keeps your readers engaged. Back-end organisation is also important for search engines. To maintain a well-structured article, I use proper tag hierarchy when tagging headings (H1 for titles, H2 for subtitles).
Keyword-rich phrases — To allow both your viewers and the search engines to know what your post is about, I utilise relevant, keyword-rich phrases in your headlines and throughout your content. However, I do this naturally and strategically, as using too many keywords will not only turn off your readers but will also result in keyword-stuffing penalties from search engines. I use terms sparingly and wisely, aiming for a more natural tone.
Use intent-relevant action words - Using intent-relevant action words is just as crucial as writing for your audience's intent. I want your copy to explain why what you have to offer is the best option, and then guide them to the desired action. Simply said, you want your content to entice your readers to make a final decision, perhaps through the use of a call-to-action (CTA) such as "Buy Now" or "Sign Up Here."
Be precise and direct - The more difficult your content is to read, the less likely we are to achieve our ultimate aim of converting your visitors. We'll probably lose them along the line if they have to put in a lot of effort to understand what you offer. This means avoiding jargon and overuse of words and just including the information that is most relevant to the purpose for which I'm writing copy.
Incorporate visuals - I use images to make your posts stand out! People are visual, so including an image with your blog article can make a significant impact.
Promote natural link building - While link building has come a long way since the days of link farms and link buying, it remains a key ranking component for SEO. I ensure a connection back to your website if another site picks your content up, by linking to your own articles or website. I write excellent content that is both shareable and likely to receive links from other websites.
WHAT SKILLS MUST AN SEO COPYWRITER HAVE?
Copywriting requires a range of hard and soft skills to be successful in the role.
SEO copywriters must have great writing and communication abilities. Technical and computer skills are equally necessary. The examples below outline some key qualities that copywriters must possess in order to be effective.
1. Research skills
There is a lack of understanding about how much research goes into a piece before a copywriter even begins writing.
SEO copywriters must be able to research thoroughly and efficiently in order to develop knowledgeable material that satisfies or informs online users. Often, you'll have to start from scratch if you have no prior knowledge of the subject matter. It's critical to know where to look for information, whom to approach for help, and how to make the most of a search engine - ensure your sources are reliable. Copywriters develop experience in a variety of sectors and industries over time. As a writer, you should know what you're talking about, and extensive research is the greatest way to ensure that your writing is well-informed. Strong research abilities are essential for every copywriter, especially when working on more complex projects such as white papers or technical guides.
2. Keeping current
Staying relevant is key.
It's crucial to stay up to date on the newest trends and current events, especially online, where changes can happen in hours or even minutes. We can share anything that happens around the world in an instant with a global audience thanks to social media. Trending topics are constantly changing, and a skilled copywriter can adapt to this flux and create fresh, on-the-pulse content.
3. Flexibility
Adaptability and desire to learn when new technologies develop.
You should be able to adjust to changing situations quickly and with ease. Blog posts, social media releases, website copy, and infographics, for example, each require a unique style. It's critical to use the proper tone of voice to meet the needs of both company and the customer. You must also be able to switch between styles or vocal tones with ease and versatility.
4. Know your audience
This means thinking even more deeply about the people who might buy your products/use your services, and constantly providing content that they will find truly useful or entertaining.
Online content must appeal to a wide audience, and knowing who your audience is will help you generate content that is useful to them. Usability and how people read online are important considerations for an SEO copywriter. Online readers expect to receive information promptly. They usually find a website through search engine results and scan through it to find what they're looking for. They'll click back and look for a better result if you don't provide an answer within seconds. It's important to use:
• good page templates
• clear headlines and subheadings
• images
• short and simple sentences
• bullet points
• links to other relevant pages
These factors make it easier to scan a web page for an answer to a search query. It's also a good idea to consider the devices on which the user will read. Mobile devices have ushered in a new era in site design, as well as a shift in the way copy is written. Because websites are more visual, the copy must be precise. The first step in determining the correct tone of voice is to understand your audience's demographics. To put it another way, if you want to communicate with your audience, you must speak their language.
Understand Buyer Psychology
Do you have some idea of what makes people tick? The art of SEO copywriting comes into play here in a big way. Conversions require an understanding of your market's psychology. Great SEO copywriting may bring visitors to your site, but it won't persuade them to buy until you understand and address their needs, desires, fears, and pain points. In other words, you must understand their mindset.
5. Strong writing skills
The ability to write is the first and most important hard skill for a successful SEO copywriter.
Copywriters work on a variety of projects, from lengthy pieces of content (such as white papers and journal articles) to short product descriptions and advertising slogans. All copywriters should be able to communicate concepts in writing that ultimately persuade an audience to take action.
6. Knowledge of SEO (Search Engine Optimisation)
When writing for the web, a copywriter must understand how to use SEO, but not at the expense of sounding robotic.
Since Google's recent algorithm updates, there's been a surge in demand for original, high-quality material, which is wonderful news for copywriters. Keyword stuffing and other Black Hat SEO practises aren't as effective as they once were. The days of writing online material for Google bots rather than humans are long gone. Today, the material that ranks well is informative content for real users. SEO has a role, but it's crucial to be subtle and employ long-tail keywords, which are three or four-word phrases that customers actually search for, rather than using single keywords as many times as possible on a single web page. A good SEO content writer must also comprehend how search engines function. If you want to create quality content for search engines, you'll need to understand not only your target market but also the search engines themselves.
7. Ability to get the reader's attention
You must create an online experience, and words are simply one aspect of that interaction, as well as how people consume and create material.
It's time to hook readers and keep them reading. As a skilled copywriter, you should be able to produce headlines that entice users to click, as well as the compelling body content that goes with them. There has been a movement in recent years, from advertising to information exchange. Customers want useful information and will not be impressed if you simply praise the product and tell them why it's the best. Rather than boring readers with the dreaded sales talk, demonstrate that you are an expert in the field.
Three essential soft skills for SEO copywriters
Thinking outside the box - Copywriters are no strangers to this type of thinking, as it takes a lot of creativity and imagination to compose written content. The ability to develop new connections between concepts and find novel ways to promote brands and businesses are examples of creative thinking skills.
Problem-solving - A copywriter's job involves a significant amount of problem-solving, and this ability is essential for navigating various aspects of the profession. A copywriter working for a large advertising firm, for example, may rely on their problem-solving skills all the time to keep within a project's budget and timetable while still generating effective content. You must also solve the audience's problem or pain-point through your content, or solve a business problem for your client.
Interpersonal skills - In a copywriting role, interpersonal skills such as relationship building are critical. Communicating with customers and clients, listening to feedback, and relating to others are necessary for success in a communications role, especially copywriting. Because copywriters essentially market to customers, they'll need to rely on interpersonal skills to better relate to their customer base.
If you master these principles, you'll be amazed at the power of words and the influence of good content on page rankings, social media sharing, and sales. Ultimately, you must enjoy writing. There is no way out of this one. If you find writing a chore, it will show in your content, whether you're an in-house SEO copywriter or a freelancer. The bottom line is that good SEO copywriters have all three core skills.
WHAT IS THE IMPORTANCE OF SEO COPYWRITING FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
Is SEO important for every business, or does it only apply to a select few? Is search engine optimisation truly necessary, or can you get by without it?
You've come to the perfect place if you're asking questions like these. As an expert in SEO, I know that the right SEO can make or break a business online. You might be thinking about whether SEO is actually that essential for your business or brand. If you run a business in an industry with little to no competition, you may already be number one. On other hand, you may be struggling to rank at all and wondering whether there are any alternatives to SEO that will help you gain the visibility you want.
8 benefits of SEO for your business
Search engine optimisation is critical if you want to build long-term brand awareness, broaden your target audiences, and increase revenue. Let's look at eight key SEO benefits for your business, no matter how big or small, and how I can implement them for you.
1. Improves your credibility
Search engines often regard a site that ranks high on search engine results pages to be of high quality and trustworthy, which increases your company's credibility. To help your site rank even higher, I'll spend time enhancing and adding content, researching keywords, and so on.
2. Supports content marketing
Original content and SEO go hand in hand. By providing useful content to users in the form of text, images, and videos, your site will rank higher in search results. However, SEO can help you with your content marketing efforts as well. I'll make sure your content is high-quality and optimised for the keywords you want to rank for and keep it fresh by updating it regularly.
3. Provides you with a competitive edge
Your competitors will almost certainly be investing in SEO, so you should as well. Those who invest significantly in SEO typically outrank their competitors and acquire market share in search engine rankings. When you consider that the first page of Google search results receives over 90% of all traffic, you can't afford to be anywhere else, especially if your competitors are. I'll create the finest content I can and focus on giving your users the best experience possible.
4. Helps you reach a larger audience
While we focus most marketing strategies on a certain target group, SEO may help you attract anyone with intent at any given time, regardless of where they are in the sales funnel. You can attract more customers who may be interested in doing business with you if you target keywords rather than demographics, as you might with PPC or social advertising. I make a list of the keywords you want to rank for. Then, to broaden their influence, I'll use keyword research tools.
5. Gets you higher rankings in local searches
Local searches like "plumbers near me" are growing increasingly popular. And almost 80% of local queries on mobile result in conversions. Local SEO techniques can assist you in attracting these searchers who are eager to make a purchase. To this end, I make sure your listing is optimised for search, which entails crafting rich, interesting content in a tone that answers the most popular questions and solves the problems of searchers.
6. Enhances your website usability
SEO is about making your website search engine friendly, but it may also improve the customer experience when they visit your site. I'll put in the effort to create valuable and high-quality content, add backlinks, and improve each page, ending up with a great website that's search engine optimised. A solid site structure and navigation, both of which are elements in how search engines rank a site, are variables that promote usability.
7. Provides measurable results
Changes in rankings, conversions, and website traffic can all be tracked. Google Analytics, for example, provides a complete set of data that allows you to go down to a granular level. You can examine every website user's purchase path, for example, including the pages they visited, the keywords they searched with, and whether they completed specific actions. These findings can be used to tweak and improve your SEO strategy.
8. Improves user engagement rates
A well-optimized website attracts high-quality visitors. If you offer useful content on your site that matches the searcher's goal, they will likely spend more time browsing, which can lead to more conversions and a higher return on investment. Customers who spend more time on a website are more likely to feel connected to the business, which can lead to customer advocacy and long-term revenue. I can audit your site and then adjust things like your title and meta tags to increase user engagement.
Final thoughts
Websites can profit greatly from SEO copywriting services, which can lead to long-term exponential growth. SEO is a crucial aspect of any digital marketing strategy since it allows brands to create credibility and trust with their audiences.
If your business has a website, SEO is critical no matter what your position is. SEO is vital to your online success, whether your company is young or old, struggling or succeeding, small or large. In truth, SEO is still important even if you are the only one in your field.
Because users trust search engines, reaching the top spot in search engine rankings shows to searchers that your site is a trustworthy source. The higher you rank on search engine results pages, the more visitors and clicks your site will receive. SEO also enhances the user experience, increasing the likelihood of repeat purchases.
WHY SHOULDN'T YOU OUTSOURCE YOUR COPYWRITING TO A CHEAP CONTENT MILL?
I’ve seen a lot of businesses who look to get cheap content from a so-called content mill. These are websites or businesses that offer blog posts and website pages for cheap prices.
What is a Content Mill?
A content mill caters to two groups:
• Writers searching for a consistent stream of work
• Companies that require a large volume of generic content
While costs are important to consider in any business, when outsourcing work, you must also consider other variables. There are various reasons why you should avoid content mills.
Content mills aren't focused on a specific type of content or niche. They won't adequately target or understand your audience's wants, and they are pretty generalist, accommodating a variety of writers and businesses in need of writers. Many writers agree content mills undervalue their work. Though most of my objection to content mills stems from the ethical implications of undervaluing writers' talents, there are also several commercial reasons to avoid them. Let's focus on three of the most important factors for both remote writers and businesses.
1. Low cost equals less time spent on content
Assume they pay the freelance SEO copywriters minimum wage, which means to be cost-effective they should only devote about 50 minutes to your project. This will entail conducting research, writing, editing, and delivering your content - a lot to pack into such a short period of time. This is insufficient time for any writing to be completed to a satisfactory degree. A regular piece of writing, in my opinion, should take at least two hours to complete, if not more.
Quality, not quantity, determines content marketing and SEO success. Creating content for the sake of creating content is a waste of time for everyone involved - the person who writes the content, the person who buys the content, and the person who reads the content.
People don't want to read things that are genuinely rubbish, so why waste your money on them? Every piece of content you commission and publish must have a strategy behind it in order to be effective. Remember—your content is a reflection of you and your brand.
2. You have no idea who is working on your content
Knowing who will put pen to paper is one of the most crucial decisions you should make when hiring a copywriter. This relationship will ultimately determine whether your projects succeed or fail. When you first start working with content mills, you may not have a choice of writers. Your post is written by the first writer that comes along.
Relationships are beneficial to your brand in a number of ways. Having these connections allows you to contact the writer and discuss the content, as well as suggest ways to improve it. While content mills allow for interaction, it is often less fluid.
Furthermore, because you have little influence over who writes your material, you may end up with a writer that has a poor understanding of your industry. This could lead to your articles failing to demonstrate the value of your brand and your content becoming too generic.
Another advantage of working with an expert professional? They'll be able to assist you with all the other important facets of content creation, such as uploading the finished article to your website and optimising it for SEO and social sharing.
3. You're paying a middleman for little work
Let's face it, having a middleman in a relationship brings its own set of problems. The issue with content mills is that the mill itself doesn't do much work. They have an automated system that takes your information, sends it to the writer, collects their work, and then gives it back to you. In most cases, their job is paying authors and marketing their services. They bring little value to your content, but you pay them a lot of money. The content mill loses nothing if you don't get the best writer or content - not even time. Is that something you'd be willing to pay for?
4. Where's the Briefing for Writers and Clients?
When you hire a new writer, especially one that specialises in SEO writing, you'll need to go through a sales briefing and onboarding process. When working with a content mill, you may be able to read a freelancer's profile and relevant samples, but there isn't much time for back and forth before starting an initial assignment.
On these sites, freelancers either bid on or accept available tasks depending on their approval to write about specific themes or at specific levels of perceived writing experience. After that, the freelancer places the order and begins working on their best guess as to what the client wants. In many cases, a writer is expected to know exactly what a customer wants in a finished article based on nothing more than a title suggestion.
No briefing equals no-good content. Businesses may work with the same freelancer repeatedly to help lessen the need for edits, but this is not always the case with content mills.
5. Riddled with serious SEO issues
I'll let you in on a little secret - the folks who run content mills aren't SEO gurus. These generic articles harm the ability to rank your website in a relevant search. Even if Google doesn't notice, your readers will, and you'll be able to see it in your Google Analytics user engagement stats.
Though Google refuses to reveal their exact metrics for determining content quality, it's safe to assume that long-form material will outrank short-form content. Part of this is because long-form material will probably have more opportunities to include keywords that help Google understand topics and their links to other topics.
Another problem with content mills is that many companies use them to create spammy content for black-hat backlink building. When it comes to writing for you, the writers won't necessarily know the difference, even if it isn't your intended purpose for commissioning content.
If you want your blog content to help your business, it needs to be written with a specific persona in mind. Writing content for content’s sake is something Google has proactively started to protect searchers from, so why even bother when the content you receive isn’t even usable?
6. Generic articles that need to be edited
Aside from a general lack of motivation and generic articles with no real-time SEO strategy, content mills' ridiculously low pricing per word means there's no time to undertake proper due diligence in terms of fact-checking and self-editing.
Essentially, achieving content mill "success" is producing as many articles per hour as possible and profiting from your efficiency. When you can't afford to pay authors a living wage, there's no real incentive to do outstanding work, so most freelance writers on these platforms just try to get by until their next paycheck arrives.
This shoddy work justifies hiring a writer who will do it well the first time, reducing the time between commission and publishing. Most content mills are focused on producing a large amount of low-quality, short-form content.
7. Content mills don't provide writers with fair pay
If you're considering hiring from a content mill, think about the experience of the writers, especially if the pay rate causes burnout due to the amount of work required to make a living salary.
This may be more agreeable if freelance writing was like working on an assembly line, where each outcome required equal, predictable effort. Writing, regardless of how technical the subject, requires a significant amount of creative effort.
Unethical business practice equals an unsustainable business model. Consider the psychological manipulation involved in luring writers to content mill platforms for any possible benefits content mills may provide. Content mills portray themselves as great since they can offer freelancers long-term work, but it's vital to remember that writers can't make a living wage by offering discounts over a long time.
Content mill recruitment ads implore writers with questions like,
• “Are you looking for work in your spare time?”
• “No experience? No problem!”
These ads should be read as "There's no money to be made here, and you shouldn't expect it based on your own inexperience."
Do you wish to buy from a content mill?
If you're looking for content, content mills aren't the best investment. Poorly paid writers usually staff them or writers who are willing to create content about topics they have little experience in. Because those who work for content mills aren't always native speakers, their writing is often of poor quality. Instead, hire a professional copywriter who has a proven track record. You may have to spend a little more upfront, but it will be well worth it in the long run when you realise you have far better content and a partnership that delivers real results.
If not content mills, where?
If you're just getting started with content marketing and don't have a go-to writer, content mills may seem like a good idea. Instead of committing a costly, fruitless mistake by falling for a content mill's siren song of seemingly low pricing, the solution is simple - if you value good content, hire writers that value the work they produce.
Final thoughts
Copywriting is a skill that demands a set of specialised skills and talent. Content mills pay writers pitiful wages that hardly qualify as a living wage. It's easy to understand how removing the middleman could mean having more money to employ a professional writer directly with relevant industry experience. Freelancers can't use content written for content mills in their own portfolios because it's technically considered ghostwriting. I'm writing as myself and putting my name to my writing, so I'm naturally more concerned with the quality of my work than if I were writing for a faceless machine.