Top 8 Tips on choosing an SEO copywriter.
“Text for websites is very different from brochure text, yet 80% of companies don't realise - do you?”
Text on a website is a very important part of the website because it ultimately determines whether the visitor carries out what you want them to do. Whether this is fill in a form, make an online transaction or pick up the telephone and enquire about your services. But the text is not just important for the human visitor. The search engines that determine where your website is in the important search engine rankings also put a high value on the text.
A website’s position in the search engines shows how effective it is in generating business and so what you don’t want to do is hire a straightforward copywriter, what you need is an experienced SEO copywriter. Writing for search engines is a skill that involves specialist and up-to-date knowledge. Here's what to look out for if you need someone adept at Search Engine Copywriting.
1. Have they written websites before? It may seem an obvious question, but web copywriting is a very different game from writing for print or broadcast. Ask for URLs of websites they've written for and see how well written they are.
2. Are they experienced in search engine copywriting? It's easy to work out for yourself how effective the search engine copywriting has been. Simply look at the home page and one or two other key pages as well, if need be. It should be straightforward to work out what the keyword phrases are. Then enter these keywords into Google and see where the site ranks. Unless the site is less than around six months old, it should be up near the top of the rankings.
3. Do they have a site themselves? Is it simply a site to showcase their work, or is it optimised to attract customers like yourself? (If you found them via a search engine, they must be doing something right.) Does it link to examples of websites they've written? If their site isn't optimised, ask them why it isn't. If they're serious about search engine copywriting, the first site they optimised should have been their own.
4. Have they balanced the needs of the search engines with those of the reader? A seasoned SEO copywriter knows that there's always a compromise between appealing to the reader and appealing to the search engine spiders. The optimised web copy they write should flow naturally and yet be concise.
5. They should include a keyword analysis. If they can’t provide the correct keywords for your web pages then you should question their search engine optimisation ability. They should also check to see which keywords your main competitors are using and decide how best to compete.
6. What should you expect from them once the site is finished? Before hiring an SEO copywriter, ask them how often your site should be updated. The correct answer is 'very often', if you want your site to stay high in the rankings. Then, assuming you don't want to do it in-house, ask if they are prepared to add extra content or articles which can act as pages for you on a regular basis.
7. Are they local to you? This is not essential by any means, but it can help in certain projects. If you do favour a local SEO copywriter, remember to build in the cost of the meetings, although most copywriters should provide a free initial meeting.
8. Have they got experience in writing for your field? You might think that this is one of the most important criteria. Actually, it's one of the least, which is why I've left it until last. Don't worry if they haven't done work specifically in your field before. A good SEO copywriter can communicate anything. If you specialise in retail clothing, don't go for the copywriter who has written average work for one of your competitors. Go for one who's written excellent work in several fields, but not necessarily yours. He or she will almost certainly do a better job.
Make sure you choose carefully your SEO copywriter as it can have a significant impact on the level of success you achieve through your company website.
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