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Seo Copywriter - Finding The Website Writer You Really Need
By Peter Wise, Fri Dec 23rd
Search engines and the way they work are constantly evolving.What works today is ineffective or even illegal tomorrow.Writing for search engines is a skill that involves specialistand up-to-date knowledge. Here's what to look out for if youneed someone adept at search engine copywriting. Have they written websites before? It may seem an obvious question, but web copywriting is a verydifferent game from writing for print or broadcast. Ask for URLsof websites they've written and see for yourself how wellwritten they are.
Are they experienced in search engine copywriting? Your prospective copywriter may not have been asked tooptimise many sites - even now, a majority of websites aren'toptimised. However, he or she should be able to point youtowards any that have. It's easy to work out for yourself howeffective the search engine copywriting has been. Simply look atthe front page, and one or two other key pages as well, if needbe. It should be straightforward to work out what the keywordphrases are. Then enter these keywords into Google, Yahoo oranother leading search engine and see where the site ranks.Unless the site is less than a few months old, it should be upnear the top of the rankings. Do they have a site themselves? Is it simply a site to showcase their work, or is it optimisedto attract customers like yourself? (If you found them via asearch engine, they must be doing something right.) Does it linkto examples of websites they've written? If their site isn'toptimised, ask them why it isn't. If they're serious aboutsearch engine copywriting, the first site they optimised shouldhave been their own. Have they balanced the needs of the search engines withthose of the reader? A seasoned copywriter knows that there's always a compromisebetween appealing to the reader and appealing to the searchengine spiders. The optimised web copy they write should neverappear stilted, forced or overly repetitive. What will they charge you? They should give you a fixed price, which should include one ortwo rounds of revisions. Assuming you don't change the brief,they should stick to this price. Make sure they don't charge youextra for including keywords. Assuming you supply them with thecorrect keywords at the outset, it's no harder for a good SEOcopywriter to incorporate them into the copy than it is to writenon-optimised copy. (Supplying new keywords after a first draftis another matter.) Do
they know how to research keywords? It's worth budgeting extra to let your copywriter help withthe initial analysis. They should also check to see whichkeywords your main competitors are using and decide whether it'sworth going head to head with them, or whether it makes moresense to optimise alternatives. However, bear in mind that somekeywords are seasonal, and that the worth of many other keywordscan change over time. What should you expect from them once the site isfinished? Before hiring an copywriter, ask them how often your siteshould be updated. The correct answer is 'very often', if youwant your site to stay high in the rankings. Then, assuming youdon't want to do it in-house, ask if they are prepared to addextra content or articles which can act as pages for you on aregular basis. Should I let the web designers supply the copywriter? Web design or search engine marketing companies may have theirown in-house copywriters who can create content for you. Or theymay use their own freelancers. However, this can have twodrawbacks. In the first place, companies are going to cost a lotmore than individuals you find yourself. Secondly, if you ceaseto work with your marketing company, you risk losing your onlinevoice and style. So you may prefer to find your own copywriter -any good and experienced freelancer will happily work with yourdesigners to ensure you achieve the best possible result. Are they local to you? This is not essential by any means, but it can help in certainprojects. If you do favour a local copywriter, remember to buildin the cost of the meetings, although most copywriters are happyto attend an initial local meeting or briefing for free. 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 untillast. Don't worry if they haven't done work specifically in yourfield before. A good copywriter can communicate anything. If youspecialise in UK holidays, don't go for the copywriter who haswritten average work for one of your competitors. Go for onewho's written excellent work in several fields, but notnecessarily yours. He or she will almost certainly do a betterjob. About the author:Peter Wise is an advertising copywriter, website copywriter andSEO copywriter based in London, UK. He also writes direct mail,brochures, newsletter articles and press releases. You can reachhim at +44 (0) 7767 687524. For further information, pleasevisit http://ideaswise.com/
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