Introduction
When you hire an SEO writer, you want that person to be able to create high-quality content that will drive more traffic to your website. However, the job description for an SEO writer is more complicated than just writing. The best writers understand the importance of keyword research, content strategy and organization—all while keeping their readers engaged with effective writing techniques and compelling ideas.
Keyword Research for SEO Writer
Keyword research is one of the most important steps in creating great content. It’s also one of the most boring, but it’s an essential part of SEO writing and shouldn’t be skipped.
Keywords are words or phrases that people use to search for products and services on Google. When someone searches for a specific keyword, their search results will show sites that match those keywords. For example, if someone were looking for an “SEO writer” they would type into Google: “Search Engine Optimization Writer” or “SEO Content Writer.”
There are many different kinds of keyword tools out there – some free and some paid – but they all do basically the same thing: help you find keywords related to your business/industry/product that have high search volumes so you can target them with your content marketing campaigns (like this blog!). But using a tool is not enough – you need to know how to use it properly!
SEO Content Strategy
Content strategy is the process of planning and creating content for your website. It’s important because it helps you know what kind of content you should be creating, for whom, and where it should be published on your site.
Content strategists are responsible for analyzing the needs of a target audience, determining how that audience interacts with a website or app, defining what kind of content would best meet those needs—and then creating that content!
The process can be broken down into several steps:
- Researching the target audience
- Defining specific goals in terms of how many visitors need to see specific types of content (such as viral blog articles or product pages)
- Creating an editorial calendar based on those goals; this includes deciding when each piece will go live so that they’re spaced out evenly throughout the year while still attracting attention from new readers who haven’t seen them before
SEO Writing Skills
You’re a great writer. You know how to captivate your audience, bring them into the story and make them want to keep reading. A good SEO writer is also a great writer who can write content that users want to read.
In order to achieve this, you must understand what it means for your writing to be “SEO friendly.”
This means:
- Writing with keywords in mind; knowing which words are most relevant to your client’s business or website so they can rank higher in search results (e.g., if you’re writing about an auto mechanic shop and need some phrases like ‘mechanic’ or ‘auto repair,’ then write them in).
- Using short paragraphs (between three and five sentences each) so that readers don’t get overwhelmed by large blocks of text. They should be able to skim through quickly without missing anything important—and also so that Google understands exactly what each paragraph is talking about as well as where one begins/ends/changes topic within it.* Maintaining proper grammar structure; using proper capitalization conventions (e.’s vs I’s), punctuation rules etcetera).
Proper Use of Links
Links are the lifeblood of the internet. They tell search engines where to go, they help users find what they’re looking for, and they can be used to improve your SEO and usability.
In fact, links are so important that Google even has a tool called PageRank (named after Larry Page) that analyzes how many other websites link back to yours. You can check out your own PageRank here: [https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/home?hl=en]
Sitemap and Site Navigation
A sitemap is a site-wide index of the pages on your website. It helps search engines crawl and index your website faster, but it also helps you find broken links, 404s (pages that don’t exist), duplicate pages and more.
To create a sitemap for your site using WordPress:
- Go to “Settings > Sitemaps” in the dashboard. Click on Add/Edit Sitemap button:
- In the next window, select “XML Sitemap” as its type:
- You can now click on Save Settings button at bottom right to save changes or Preview Changes before saving them by clicking Preview link above it.
SEO Writer: Technical Skills
It’s important to have a solid understanding of the basics of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. If you know how to write code, that can be a huge asset in your career as an SEO writer. You don’t need to be a developer—you just need to understand the basic principles of each language and be able to apply them when needed.
If you don’t come from a coding background, don’t worry! It doesn’t matter if you learned your HTML from books or from online tutorials; all that matters is that you understand it enough for this role.
You should also have some familiarity with SEO itself—this isn’t necessary for every job opportunity out there (and certainly not for every position at HubSpot), but knowing how Google works will give you insight into how search engines work and why certain things are done in certain ways. This knowledge will help inform your writing process as well as aid in communicating with clients about SEO needs on their websites so they are able to implement changes properly moving forward.
A great SEO writer is a versatile one who understands the importance of research, content creation, and organization.
Great SEO writers are versatile and understand the importance of research, content creation, and organization.
A great SEO writer understands the importance of research, content creation and organization. The best ones will also have a knack for storytelling and creating genuine connections with their audience.
Conclusion
SEO is an increasingly complicated field. New algorithms, content strategies and link building tactics mean that SEO writers must be versatile enough to adapt to new challenges. As an SEO writer, it’s important to have a solid understanding of these different elements before starting a project so that you can hit the ground running and make sure your client gets the best possible results from their investment in your services.