Can I let you into a secret?
Every professional copywriter will consider SEO when writing online content. They can’t help themselves. It’s so ingrained in their thought process it naturally comes through in the copy they write.
That said…
What makes an SEO article writer different?
When I think about the projects I’ve worked on, the thing that sets ‘SEO articles’ apart is their purpose. Typically, a client who requests an SEO article wants to rank for a specific keyword. This could be to outperform the competition on Google, for lead generation, or to help raise awareness of a new product/service. It’s a very tactical piece of copy.
BUT
While that content needs to rank high, at some point it will be read – and therefore needs to be interesting/useful to your audience. Fail to write TO your audience FOR your audience and you simply create content for content’s sake – i.e. noise!
So how do you write SEO content your audience actually wants to read?
Simple. Hire an SEO article writer! Like I said, they naturally ensure all online copy is optimised but they write for your audience.
Failing that, you can do it yourself. Here’s how…
SEO article process
Pick your keyword.
Now think of everything related to that keyword that your audience might find interesting/useful. In copywriting this is what we call ‘the hub and spoke technique’.
This should give you a lovely list of ideas that you now need to refine. You could use professional tools to help you, or you can get it ‘straight from the horse’s mouth’ and simply Google each phrase.
Note down Google’s suggestions. For example:
Don’t forget to check the related questions on the search results page. For example:
Also, note the types of content that rank highest – (shock horror!) it may be a video is a better content type than an article.
Now check the entries on page #1. Do the results relate to what you want to be found for? For example, one service I offer is ghostwriting, but if I Google “ghostwriting” the results relate more to book authors – the one thing I don’t do. Therefore, I need to find the related terms that apply to my business, which my audience would search for, such as ‘executive ghostwriter‘ or ‘ghost copywriter’.
By now you should have a lot of great questions or points to cover off in your SEO article. Start to order them and think about what you could include in each section. Is there anything that sticks out? Or a point that doesn’t quite fit? Perhaps it’s suited to a separate blog.
Read through your list. Does it have a logical flow? Does it repeat itself? Does it leave the reader with any unanswered questions?
Keep refining it until voila! You have the skeleton for your ‘ultimate-style guide’ – perfect for SEO and for readability.
But an SEO article writer does more than just write
🧁An SEO article writer will also research your subject in great depth to reveal new insights or angles your audience will find interesting/useful – not just the same high-level stuff everyone else is regurgitating.
🧁An SEO article writer will research to find analyst commentary and statistically valid surveys to back up your ideas and opinions. This is essential if you want to be seen as a credible thought leader in your industry.
🧁An SEO article writer will research to see what existing content you have that can either be repurposed, or linked to, to help strengthen your article. For example, inserting snippets from case studies to prove the business impact, pulling insights from white papers to share a new angle, linking keywords to other articles or inserting multimedia elements, like videos or diagrams.
Looking to hire on SEO article writer?
Send me a message at hello@alicehollis.co.uk.
All I need is a brief overview of the keywords/topics you want to be found for and why, so I can get started.
I’ll write an overview skeleton of what the SEO article will cover and record an accompanying video to talk you through it. Then once you’re happy and given it the green light, I’ll get started on v1.
Alternatively, if you want to see some example SEO articles before talking to me about your project, they’re all in my portfolio here:
(NOTE: this link requires a password, so please email hello@alicehollis.co.uk. Thank you!)