Would you like to boost your website in Google results, but do not have the time or the knowledge to take care of it? Are you considering hiring an SEO copywriter to improve your natural referencing, but don’t know where to start your search? The web is full of web writing professionals who can boost your organic traffic. You still need to know where and how to find the rare pearl! Find in this article the 3 essential steps to choosing your future collaborator.
Define your SEO writing needs
Before turning to a particular service provider, it is necessary to consider the type of service sought. Do you know what you need?
Writing only
In this situation, you will give the writer all the information necessary for him to write by following your instructions precisely and without racking his brain too much. You will therefore have to:
- define your site’s content needs;
- establish a coherent editorial calendar (it is better to have a solid knowledge of digital strategy);
- do research on your competitors and the keywords on which it is relevant to rank;
- write a briefing for the editor. The latter must include all your instructions, as well as the information of the article (title, subject, keywords, and possibly the structure);
- reread the first draft presented by the editor and ask for any changes;
- embed the article on your site.
All of this takes time but allows you to maintain maximum control over your content.
Writing and integration of the article in your CMS
In addition to writing, you can ask your SEO writer to integrate the articles directly into your content management system (CMS or CMS in English). This will save you valuable time! In addition, he will thus have the possibility of:
- Search for relevant photos;
- integrate them directly into the body of the article;
- optimize them for Google.
To do this, you just need to give it restricted access to your platform. In this way, you will only have to:
- read the article again;
- validate it;
- schedule your publication with just one click!
Digital strategy and copywriting
Do you have very little (if at all) notions in editorial strategy and natural referencing? So, you need a professional who will take care of:
- do the research upstream to define the keywords;
- analyzer la concurrence (benchmarking);
- provide you with an editorial calendar;
- write his own briefing.
You will then only have to:
- approve its editorial planning;
- validate their texts.
If you choose this option, we advise you to use either a digital strategy agency or a freelance copywriter. If you opt for the latter, remember to check:
- their skills in natural referencing and user experience (UX): choose professionals who have completed training in SEO writing;
- his experience: check that he has a well-stocked and diversified portfolio;
- its capacities in digital content strategy: it must be able to offer you content adapted to your domain and your buyer personae (target clientele).
Choose the right type of service provider
After defining your needs, you will have to ask yourself about your requirements in terms of quantity and quality. These choices (especially the last one!) will inevitably condition your financial investment range. You can then turn to one of the following three providers.
Writing platforms
Their objective is to connect, more or less directly, customers with SEO editors. Most writing platforms, such as Tobroken, Text master, redact web, or Great Content, do not offer the possibility to directly contact writing professionals. Moreover, in the majority of cases, you will not be able to know in advance their quality of writing. You can also come across people from the DOM-TOMs, or non-French speakers (like Quebecers), some of whose expressions you will inevitably have to reformulate.
Ideal solution for the following needs:
- editorial only;
- small or large quantities;
- low or medium quality, with exceptions;
- low to medium costs, reflected in low pay for editors.
Digital strategy agencies
Turning to an agency can be interesting if you need a consistent editorial strategy. Its teams can also be reactive if you need a large amount of content in a short time. In addition, digital strategy agencies can offer additional services such as web design or community management.
Ideal solution for the following needs:
- digital strategy and writing;
- large quantities with short lead times;
- high quality;
- high or even very high costs.
Freelance SEO writers
By opting for a freelancer, you can rely on their skills and areas of expertise. In this way, you work with THE writer who meets your expectations and the needs of your site and benefits from less standardized services than with an agency. In addition, you will be able to build a relationship of trust with your SEO writer who will quickly become an expert in your field (if he is not already!).
Ideal solution for the following needs:
- writing only or writing and integration on the CMS or digital strategy and writing;
- small quantities or reasonable quantities. For large quantities, Web can set up a team of dynamic and motivated freelance writers for you!
- high quality;
- medium to high costs.
Test your freelance SEO writer: Our checklist
Have you decided to work with a digital strategy agency or an editorial platform? In this case, you will not need to choose yourself, nor evaluate the person with whom you will collaborate. For the agency, it is the project manager who will take care of it, and for the platform, it will generally be… chance. However, if you turn to freelancers, you will be spoiled for choice to select yourself as the one who will give your site a boost! You can find them on social networks like LinkedIn or on direct contact platforms, such as the Web, which is totally free.
To avoid unpleasant surprises, we advise you to test the writer you have chosen. Here is our checklist to check his skills.
The first contacts with your new SEO writer
The first exchanges are essential to building the foundations of lasting cooperation with your partner. You will know if you are dealing with a qualified professional if:
- he is reactive in your exchanges;
- he takes the initiative to go and see your website and your social networks before the first telephone conversation;
- it gives you some (free) advice to optimize your site;
- he asks you about your activity, the values of your company, your target customers, and your expectations;
- it quickly prompts you to create a blog if you don’t already have one;
- he spotted typos on your site;
- it offers you to integrate its articles directly into your CMS;
- his portfolio is diversified and his texts are pleasant to read.
The paid trial texts
If he has met most of the above conditions, we advise you to offer him to write a paid essay text. This will allow you to assess their knowledge, as well as their ease in your field. You can be sure you have found a quality SEO copywriter if:
- he delivered the essay to you on time;
- all your instructions without exception have been respected;
- the HTML language (if requested) is impeccable;
- the text is pleasant to read and dynamic;
- the content is well-constructed and logical;
- you have not identified any fault;
- it gave you unique content;
- the keywords are integrated in a natural way.
If the majority of the points above have been validated, you can start with your eyes closed!
Good to know: The conditions of a golden editor
Do you decide to work with this editor in the long term? Here are the points that will confirm that you have found the rare pearl:
- it submits new content ideas to you;
- it suggests a list of improvements to make to your site;
- it offers you to carry out an SEO content audit of your site;
- it offers you to set up an editorial calendar to define the most relevant times to put new content online;
- he offers you to share on his own social networks the articles he writes for you.
You haven’t found a writer with a thousand talents yet? In this case, go to the Search Engine! This platform is full of web talent! So go ahead and find your SEO editor in 5 minutes!