If you have been writing any type of online content for sometimes now, then you must be aware of the term SEO. What is SEO and what does it take to become an expert in this important part of online content development?
When creating online content, you write with 2 main aims:
- To please your human reader. This is by creating unique and useful content that informs, entertains and moves the reader to take the action you desire.
- You write to rank as high as possible on the search engines’ search results. In other words you are writing for the search engine bots that visit sites and rate them according to their relevance in the subject you are dealing with. This is where search engine optimization (SEO) strategies are needed to make it a success.
To become a top SEO writing freelancer, you must know the right keywords and keyword phrases to use to rank high. The way the keywords and phrases are distributed (sprinkled) throughout your content determines how Google and other search engines ‘see’ your site. A balance in this strategy must be in place.
Too much keyword stuffing will lead to annoying both your human visitors as well as the search engines. The punishment for this is that the human visitor will exit from your site at the earliest time possible while the search engines will demote your ranking to a position where nobody will ever discover it.
Other strategies to be a top SEO freelance writer
- Research your keywords. To do this, you need to know what words or group of words work well in the topic you are writing about. There are free and subscription keyword research tools that you can use to know search parameters such as the demand, supply and the profitability of the particular word among other types of useful information. Common tools include:
- Google Keyword Planner
- Wordtracker
- Bing Keyword research tool
- Consider how other sites in your niche are doing. Investigate how a site you consider good and successful is doing. See their keyword strategy and note their strengths and weaknesses. Improve on what you see without making a carbon copy of another’s site. Keep updating your keyword research and update your content creation according to what is trending.
- Analyze your site. The two ways to do this are by having a plan for the individual page and its interactions with other pages on the site. This includes things like the title, subtitles and how the pages link to one another. This is all within your control. How other websites link to yours is also important but this is beyond your control
- Link building. One way of building traffic is when other sites link to yours. A link building strategy may be a way of earning through affiliate marketing among other monetization strategies. As a top SEO freelance writer you can help your client achieve this aim through your writing. It is a plus to link to good and relevant sites.
Once you are a top SEO freelance writer doesn’t mean resting. You need to keep learning, applying and assessing new ways of SEO. This way, you will remain an on-demand freelance writer in your niche.