Is this what you should focus on in your business right now?

Will it actually work?

Should you redesign your website first? 

Should you have brand guidelines? 

Should you wait until you’ve introduced another product or service you’re planning on introducing?

It’s all a bit confusing right? Well in this article, we’re going to tell you exactly what you do and don’t need in place before you invest in an SEO content writer. 

What is an SEO Content Writer anyway?

First thing first, what even is one of those, right?

An SEO content writer is someone who produces compelling content in your tone of voice and style that is so engaging that it gets your readers to take action.

That’s the ‘Content Writer’ bit of the title.

So what’s the ‘SEO’ bit all about, then?

The ‘SEO’ bit means that a content writer typically has a deep understanding of SEO. They won’t just write any old content, but they’ll also optimise it for the keywords you want to rank for. And they’ll do it in a way that sounds natural and not robotic – a way your readers will love. 

Makes sense?

This last bit is important. Because if you’re thinking about this service right now, it’s because you want your content to attract more traffic to your website and perform better in the search engine rankings.

But your readers still need to be at the heart of it all. And if you end up with blog posts that read like they’ve been written by a robot, you need to fire that SEO Content Writer – pronto! But a good one will make sure all your content is informative, engaging, and useful to your audience.

Related content: What is an SEO content writing service? And how does it all work?

So now that we got that out of the way, why are we writing a whole article about what you need to have in place before you can hire your very own SEO Content Writer? After all, we offer an SEO content writing service, don’t we just want to work with anyone and everyone?

Short answer, no. 

Long answer! We want to make sure we offer the right service for your needs right now so you can make a decent ROI out of hiring us. Otherwise, you’d be unhappy and feel like you’re wasting your precious time and hard-earned money. And that would make us sad too. Which is not a good outcome for anyone, right?

So let’s look at what you don’t need first.

A quick overview of what you do and don’t need before you hire an SEO Content Writer 

Things you DON’T need before you hire an SEO Content Writer

1. A fancy-pants, expensive website

You might think it’s a bit odd that expert web designers are sitting here (with a straight face) telling you that you don’t need a fancy-pants website to make your content work.

But it’s true.

This might sound like news to you, but websites are never forever. As your business evolves – and your products and services change with it – your website needs to change too. That means that during the lifespan of your business, you may go through a lot of different websites or re-designs. Does that mean that you can’t have any content on your website right now because you might be changing your services one or two years down the line?

Absolutely not!

If you have content on your website and decide to update it or start again with a different one, you can always transfer any blog posts you’ve already published onto your new site.

So let’s not use the fact that your business (and website) is still evolving as an excuse not to create any content. You’d be missing out on business and leaving A LOT of money on the table.

Related content: Why You Shouldn’t Redesign Your Website (And When You Should).

A caveat: what if you have an old-fashioned website (that looks BAD)

So you don’t need a fancy-pants website, but once you decide to invest in epic content for your website (i.e. the type of content we write for you), your content will start to bring more traffic to your website (yay!) and also increase your rankings in the search engines (get in!). 

So surely, when your prospective leads and customers land on your website, you want them to see something that looks good, right? But more on that in a minute…

What you definitely DON’T want is something that looks like it was designed 30 years ago when people still used MS-DOS and computer listing paper (if that’s before your time, look it up – it’ll be a laugh).

Now, that kind of outdated stuff would put your readers right off. They’d be clicking the back button faster than you can say “Hey!” and never actually get to consume the amazing content you’ve paid us to create for you.

We don’t want that either.

2. Brand guidelines

We hear this a lot from prospective clients: “We don’t have brand guidelines, so we can’t work with you yet.”

Technically, that’s not true. You definitely CAN work with us. Sure, brand guidelines are nice for you (and for us) to have. It means you’ve already done the groundwork to figure out how you can use imagery, text, and design elements together to represent your unique brand and show up consistently on different platforms and mediums. 

It also means you’ll have done the work on your ‘tone of voice’ and how you want to ‘sound’ to your customers. And yes, having that understanding would help us create content that fits with the rest of your brand.

But it’s not essential.

Why?

Because we can figure all that out together. During our kick-off call, we can tease out your tone of voice and fine-tune it as we go. You’ll give us feedback, we’ll take it onboard, and ensure that any content we write for you sounds exactly like you would.

It’s not Black Magic, promise. It’s what we do, and it’s based on cooperation and collaboration with you.

Related content: How to Nail Your Brand Tone of Voice for Your Business [With Examples].

3. Everything to ‘be perfect’ 

We see this all the time. And it makes us oh-so-sad.

A lot of website owners put off content creation (sometimes even indefinitely!) because they want everything to ‘be perfect’.

So they wait.

And wait.

And wait some more.

But the right time never comes because, as we pointed out earlier, your business is always evolving and changing. So things are never going to ‘be perfect’. There’s no such thing. Sure, they might be perfect for RIGHT NOW. But 12-18 months down the line, they might not.

So don’t wait.

Because you’ll forever want to make changes and tweaks – to your business, your products and services, your packages, your website, and even your content. And that’s fine.

But that doesn’t mean you can’t capitalise on what you have right now. So create content around your existing products and services (the ones that your prospective customers can buy today), and you’ll attract more traffic to your website, show up higher in the search engine rankings, and get more leads and sales in your business. And that’s more dinero in your bank account, thank you very much.

Right. So that was all the stuff you DON’T need. But what is it that you DO need if you’re getting ready to hire an SEO Content Writer to write for you?

Things you need before you hire an SEO Content Writer 

1. A professional-looking website

It may sound like we’re contradicting ourselves here.

But we’re not.

We told you that you don’t need to spend thousands on a professionally-designed website or hire a super fancy web agency to create your business website. And it’s true. But you do need a professional-looking website.

Note: That does NOT mean expensive!

This may sound a bit vague and subjective, but you’ll know what the opposite of that is – boring, dull, full of stock photos of people in suits and offices, and something that looks like it was designed in the wrong decade.

You don’t want that.

You want something fresh with colours, fonts, and photographs that reflect you, your business, and your personality. Your copy has to explain exactly what it is you do, it has to be easy for your user to find where they need to go, and your images should be good quality. 

Nope, it does not need to be a 50K website designed by some high-end agency, but equally, it shouldn’t have had its last redesign in 2007! There’s a fine balance between the two, but we find the majority of people who get in touch do hit the mark with their websites.

2. A website that ‘technically’ works well

You don’t want any major technical issues with your website, as this can hinder your search engine rankings and annoy your website visitor.

Before we start working with you, we run an audit to check that your website is in good condition for Google. If it isn’t, don’t worry, we can work with you to fix it!

Some things to make sure you tick off are:

• Your website is mobile-friendly

You know how it works – most people check websites on the move on their smartphones, so you need a website that looks good on mobile as well as on desktop.

• Your website loads relatively fast

Again, you know that Internet users have little time and patience. We want things, and we want them now. If a website takes ages to load, we probably think it’s spam, or that it’s down, and it’s just not worth our time. So we’ll move on to the next thing and forget about going back again. That’s a lost lead or customer. And you definitely don’t want that.

• Your website is user-friendly

Our websites are about our businesses, yes, but they need to work for our audience as much as they do for us as business owners. Is the information easy to find? Is your website easy to navigate? Or are people getting lost? Are their burning questions being answered? Are your blog posts designed and structured in a way that makes it easy for your readers to skim-read them and get the information they want as quickly as possible?

This is what it means to have a professional-looking website. But it doesn’t mean you have to hire an agency to create it for you.

Related content: The Ultimate Guide to the Perfect Website and How much does it cost to build your WordPress website?

3. Knowing exactly what you’re selling and to who 

Your content should always point to what you’re selling, so we need you to be crystal clear about the products and services you offer and how you package them.

Do you offer monthly packages? Recurring fees? Do you sell a bespoke service, or is it a one-size-fits-all offering? Do you sell different packages at a range of prices? Who’s your ideal customer? Do you have a niche?

We create content with the aim of getting you more leads and sales, so it’s important we know what you want us to promote and talk about because, obviously, depending on what you offer, the content will vary.

Also, depending on who you’re talking to, the way we approach your blog posts and the language and tone we use will be different. Do you know what problems your customers are experiencing? Do you know how to talk about those problems and how your products or services are the perfect solutions for those struggles?

If you’re not yet super clear on this then you’re not ready to invest in content. But don’t worry, this is usually something you can work through quickly!

Related content: 11 Reasons our SEO content writing service is not right for you.

4. A lead magnet

And finally, this isn’t a must, but having a lead magnet is definitely helpful if you want to increase your audience. A lead magnet is usually something you give away for free in exchange for your web visitors’ email addresses.

A lot of lead magnets are handy ‘How to’ guides that help your audience solve a particular problem you’re an expert in. But they don’t have to be. You could also use content upgrades (these tend to be pieces of additional content that people can sign up for from within a blog post) or even a quiz. We have one, and it’s called The SEO Quiz.

There are several types of lead magnets you can offer on your website. But if you don’t have one just yet, don’t worry! We can definitely help you create something amazing that works for you and your business.

Related content: The Ultimate Guide to Generating More Leads From Your Website.

So this is it. That’s exactly what you need to have (or not have) in place if you’re thinking of hiring us as your SEO Content Writers.

Martin & Lyndsay

The post What you do (and don’t) need to have in place before you hire an SEO Content Writer appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

What is a MASSIVE investment for one business, might be a drop in the ocean for another.

Some of you might already know what we charge and think that we are really cheap. Given all the different elements that are included in our service (including planning, writing, publishing and optimising the content). After all, if you were to hire multiple different freelancers or agencies to do all of the jobs that our service encompasses then you could easily be paying double or more every month.

But recently, we’ve also had people who are interested in working with us ask: “why are you so expensive?”

And it’s a totally fair question!

Especially if you’re ready to hire someone to help drive organic traffic to your website, and you’re wondering why our SEO content writing & blog management service is more expensive than hiring a freelance SEO writer.

But regardless of which camp you fall into, we want to make sure you make the right buying decision. 

While we think that there is loads of value bundled up into our SEO content writing & blog management service, you need to know what you are getting for the cost before you sign up.

So, in this blog, we’ll explore why we are so expensive, what our service includes, and how we differ from other services available.

Before we get into it, if you’re not quite sure what SEO content writing is, you can check out our article on what is an SEO content writing service?

How much do we charge for our SEO Content Writing and Blog Management service?

Don’t you hate when you can’t find the prices online when you want to buy something?

That’s why we’re pretty upfront about what we charge. No need to book an hour-long call with us just to find out the price!

So let’s just dive straight into our pricing. Then you’ll know exactly how much we charge (and whether that’s expensive for you).

The prices for our SEO content writing & blog management service start at £1297 per month and go up to £2297 per month. The smallest package (£1297) gets you up to 3000 words a month, which is usually split between two blog posts. And the largest package gets you 6000 words a month, which is often split between four blog posts.

The total cost that you pay depends on how many blogs you want us to publish every month. Everything else in the package remains the same. So regardless of whether you go for our silver or platinum package, you’ll get the same level of support from us (just a different number of blogs).

If at this point you are thinking: “Ah, that’s incredibly expensive”, then please do us a favour and keep on reading🙏.

By the end of the blog, you might decide that it’s still too expensive for your business. And that’s totally fine, we might still be able to work with you in a different way. But you also might realise that it’s such a valuable service, with loads packed in. It’s more than just writing content, hence why we charge what we do.

If you are thinking: “Lyndsay, that sounds like an amazing price, how can I sign up right away.” Then you can find out more here. But also we still recommend reading, as we promise it will get you even more excited about working with us.

Content writer vs SEO content writing & blog management service: which is more expensive?

We write content! So it’s totally understandable that we get compared to content writers when it comes to cost.

And in all honesty, we are usually more expensive than a freelance content writer.

So, let’s dig into why that is…

There are a couple of different pricing structures commonly used by freelance writers.

The first one is per word, with writers charging between $0.02 and $2.00 per word on average. If an average blog is 1000 words, this would work out at around £20 to £2000 per blog (a HUGE difference). However, this type of pricing often promotes word stuffing – more words written = a higher cost. But a blog should be as long as it needs to be, so we think it’s better to get a set price per blog. And luckily, this is the most common way for freelance content writers to price

The average cost per blog is between £200 and £700. The exact cost will depend on the individual writer’s skills and experience. The more blogs you want to be written every month, the more you will pay.

Let’s say a content writer is charging £300/per blog, for two blogs you will be paying £600 per month.

If you compare this to our Silver package (two blogs per month) you pay £1297 per month or £648.50/blog. So over double what you would pay the £300 per blog content writer.

But when you see what you else you are getting for your money you’ll understand why we price this way.

Why are we more expensive than content writers?

So, if we’re both writing content, then why do we charge more than most content writers for our content services?

I mean, obviously, it’s because we want to fund our lavish lifestyle and make all our neighbours jealous with multiple Lamborghinis in the driveway, right? Just kidding 😉

It really comes down to two things: services and skills.

What does an SEO content writer service include?

Traditionally a content writer primarily sticks to writing content (I know it’s in the name). They focus on creating blog content that educates and informs your potential clients while ranking highly on search engine results pages (SERPs).

In order to do this successfully, content writers will be skilled in SEO and optimising content. However, they usually work off a supplied content plan and are not involved in the planning or strategy aspect. They’ll also provide the blog via Google Docs, Microsoft Word, or something similar and won’t usually upload the content to your website or promote it in any way across your platforms.

Of course, the skills of each content writer will differ massively, but a freelancer by definition is one person. So you are very much restricted by the skills that they personally have.

What does our SEO Content Writing and Blog Management service include?

In comparison, our SEO content writing & content management service covers a whole range of content services within the one package.

That’s because we know that good content is just one part of driving organic traffic to your website. In addition to content, it includes:

• A discovery call (to get to know your business)
• In-depth keyword research (this takes us a LONG time, and we charge £997+VAT to do this as a stand-alone service)
• Competitor analysis
• Content strategy (i.e. telling you the exact articles you should create to rank on search and convert)
• A website audit, where we look at what could prevent or limit you from ranking
• A professional proofreader to look over the content (who we hire separately)
• Adding the content to your website and formating it
• Creation of the blog post featured image
• Extra ‘in-the body’ images that are optimised for search engines
• Optimise the content
• Publish the content

All of this is in addition to the writing. So yes, you could hire an SEO content writer, but that would mean you’d have to do all of the above yourself. Which is not a bad thing, by the way. It just requires more of your time.

Plus, we can also create social and email marketing copy for an extra cost to amplify the impact of your content.

Taking all of the above into account, suddenly £648.50/per month per blog doesn’t seem all that expensive right? Hiring individual freelancers for all of these roles would cost you A LOT more. You’d need to hire an SEO agency, graphic designer and web specialist or tech VA for those roles. That’s a lot!

SEO and Web Specialist Meets Expert Writer

Plus with Jammy Digital there are two of us, so you get to take advantage of our individual skills (plus we use a professional proofreading service to make sure there are no mistakes).

Although we both love creating content we have two different skill sets that enable us to offer a wider range of services than your average freelance content writer.

I (Lyndsay) am the content & SEO strategist and writer. I create blog posts in your style and tone of voice and optimise them for ranking on search engines.

Martin is a website and SEO strategist and graphic designer. He develops content strategies around topics that will rank, as well as uploading, optimising the content, and making it look beautiful. He was also a website designer for over a decade and can spot issues with your website that will prevent or limit your rankings. Your website has a huge impact on the success of your content, so it’s handy having Martin in your corner!

So, not only do we offer a lot more in terms of service, but we also have a wider range of skills that your blogs can benefit from.

SEO agency vs SEO & blog management service: which is more expensive?

In addition to content writers, we’re also often compared to SEO agencies. It makes sense, as we both aim to get you ranking on search engines via organic traffic.

But, whilst our goal is the same, the strategy we use to get you there differs quite dramatically. And as a result, so does the cost.

SEO agencies can charge anywhere between £2000 – £6000 per month, depending on what services you require.

However, as we talked about in our blog on SEO agency problems, this price doesn’t always include content creation (especially if you opt for a cheaper SEO package). In fact, our research showed that 13 out of 20 UK SEO agencies offered content marketing as a separate service to their SEO services.

Out of the 20 agencies we looked at, only one provided a price, which was £2899 per month. This included a blogging strategy and content calendar but there was no mention of creating content. So it’s likely that you will need to DIY your content or pay the SEO agency more to write the blogs.

In comparison, our content services range from £1297 per month (two blogs) to £2297 per month (four blogs). Even our top-end platinum package is at the lower end of SEO agency pricing.

Of course, the service that we offer in comparison to an SEO agency is very different.

Related content: SEO content writer vs SEO agency: which one is best for your business?

Generally speaking, we are LESS expensive than SEO agencies.

Why are we less expensive than hiring an SEO agency?

So, why are we less expensive than hiring an SEO agency?

Suddenly even our Platinum package at £2297/month seems like a bit of a bargain in comparison to the £6000/month you could be paying an SEO agency.

Does that mean an SEO agency gets better results?

A good SEO agency will be highly skilled at driving organic traffic to your website. They’ll dive into the technical aspects of SEO that will affect website performance and rankings.

However, some of them won’t flag problems with the user experience or design of your website (that’s not in their ‘remit’).

They will potentially create content that helps you rank (although sometimes they outsource this). But often won’t create content designed for conversions. This could result in more eyeballs on your website, but not an increase in sales.

While there are many great SEO agencies out there, we’ve found that some rely on the fact that no one really knows what they do. SEO is a bit of a dark art, and many SEO agencies have a magical wizardry surcharge.

In comparison, we know that technical SEO wizardry alone is not enough. And we used to run an SEO agency, so you could say that we are pretty clued up on all things SEO.

Rich content is a crucial part of driving traffic to your site, so we focus on creating content around a keyword strategy that helps you rank on search engines. Of course, we’ll let you know if there are any major issues with your website that is blocking traffic.

Whether an SEO agency or a content service is right for you will depend on the specific problems you are having. But, for most businesses looking to drive organic traffic, and more leads, focussing on SEO optimised content is hugely beneficial and more affordable than hiring an SEO agency.

Related content: The biggest problems with SEO companies (and how to avoid them).

Need help with your SEO content writing & blog management?

If by this point you are thinking that our price isn’t really that expensive for all that we offer, then our blog management service might be perfect for you.

We’re generally more expensive than content writers, but less expensive than SEO agencies. This is because our combined skills and subsequent service offer a little more than is usually offered by a content writer. And while we do a lot of SEO tasks, we don’t dive into the technical stuff quite as much as an SEO agency.

You could say it’s a mid-point between SEO content writers and SEO agencies, and our prices reflect that.

If your business wants to drive more traffic, leads and sales by creating epic content, then the SEO & blog management service will help you do just that. Plus, the whole process will be managed by us so you can put your time to better use.

Want to see where you’re at with SEO?

Struggling with SEO? Or just want to see where you’re performing right now? Then take our 2 minute SEO quiz and get a personalised report, telling you exactly how to improve.

Lyndsay Cambridge

Owner at Jammy Digital, Digital Marketing Specialist and Writer of Young-Adult Fiction.

jammydigital.com

The post Why is our SEO content writing & blog management service so expensive? appeared first on Content Marketing & SEO Agency | Get More Sales From Your Website.

But it really is a question you should consider. Because a lot of people go straight into hiring an SEO agency when potentially, a good SEO content writer could get them great results at a more affordable price💰.

So, do you need a full SEO package with a fancy SEO agency?

Or, is an SEO content writer going to help you build authority, trust and rankings?

Traditionally SEO has meant tinkering with backlinks, on-page SEO and all the techy bits like site speed. But, with the modern-day Google algorithm, content is equally (if not more) important when it comes to winning the ranking war.

That’s why, in this blog, we’re going to explore the differences between SEO content writers and SEO agencies, to figure out which one is best for your business.

Related content: What is an SEO content writing service? And how does it all work?

SEO Content Writer vs SEO Agency: What is the difference between the two?

In order to figure out whether a content writer or agency is going to suit your business best, you need to understand the differences between them.

1. What’s the difference in cost?
2. What does their service include?
3. What results do they get you?
4. What’s the difference in skillset?
5. How do they work?

So, let’s look further into these to help you decide which one is right for your business

1. SEO Content Writer vs SEO Agency: What is the difference in cost?

One of the most important decisions for a business (especially in the current climate) is COST💰.

How much money are you going to need to budget every month?

And the cost between an SEO content writer and an SEO agency can vary quite substantially.

How much does an SEO content writer charge?

The 2021 ProCopywriters survey showed that the average daily rate for a copywriter is £387. Yes, content writers and copywriters are arguably different professions. However there is a lot of crossover between skillset and writers, so it’s worth using it as a benchmark for costs.

An SEO content writer usually charges anywhere between £200 and £700+ per blog article (yes, it’s a pretty wide range). But the exact cost will usually depend on the individual writer’s skills, experience, and exactly what services they offer.*

This might sound expensive, but content writing and SEO are highly skilled and time-consuming work. Once you factor in keyword research, competitor research, writing, proofreading, and optimising you are looking at around 6-10 hours per blog.

Plus you are paying for the experience and expertise of an SEO content writer that will enable your website to rank highly on search engines.

Most SEO content writers charge per blog, so exactly how much it will cost you will depend on how many blogs you want to publish per month.

Some SEO content writers may also charge per word (although this is less common). This could be anywhere from $0.02 per word, to $2.00 per word.

How much does an SEO agency charge?

In comparison, SEO agencies charge monthly and this usually starts at around £1000 per month all the way up to £10,000+ per month. And it’s worth noting that they are usually a little less flexible as they usually have six-month minimum contracts.

According to this research by AHREFS, SEO agencies charge an average of $2,819.87 per month for SEO. It’s unclear if this charge includes content writing and how much content writing that would be. From our own research looking at SEO agencies in the UK, 13 out of 20 SEO agencies we looked at offered content marketing as a separate service to their other SEO services.

As we talked about in our blog on SEO agency problems, the monthly cost doesn’t always include content creation (especially if you opt for a cheaper SEO package).

So you’ll either have to do that yourself or pay more to the SEO company to do this for you. If you want this included then it’s likely that you will be looking at the higher end of this monthly budget.

Out of twenty SEO agencies we looked at, only one provided a price. They had three packages. Their middle package is £2899 per month and includes a blogging strategy and content calendar but nowhere did it say they would create content on your behalf in this package.

Obviously, an SEO Content writer and an SEO agency offer different services. An SEO agency will dive deeper into the more technical aspects of SEO that can affect website performance and rankings (in a way that an SEO content writer generally won’t do!) We’ll come onto that a bit more later.

Related content: The biggest problems with SEO companies

Who is the winner?

For cost? An SEO content writer!

An SEO content writer is usually cheaper than hiring a full-service SEO agency. Seeing as content has the biggest impact on your search engine rankings (particularly if you have a healthy website) then this might be the best option for you.

Either way, you’re going to need content if you want to increase search engine rankings and get more traffic to your website. And we think hiring a specialist content writer who understands SEO, rather than a specialist SEO who may or may not ‘get’ good writing, is best.

2. SEO Content Writer vs SEO Agency: What does their service include?

We’ve talked about cost, however, there is another side that relates to the value of the service.

What are you actually getting for your money?

Is the service the same, or are you paying for two different things?

What does an SEO content writer do?

A traditional content writer does just that – writes content! And while an SEO content writer does everything that a traditional one does, they also focus on (you guessed it) Search Engine Optimisation.

Their main task revolves around creating blogs that help your website rank on search engine results pages (SERPs).

They should have a comprehensive understanding of SEO, and how to optimise written content for keywords without stuffing them in and making it totally nonsensical. However, they will usually work off a content plan created by a business, rather than planning or directing the content themselves.

Will SEO content writers write guest posts on other websites?

In addition, some SEO content writers will create guest posts for other websites to help increase the backlinks to your website. This increases your Google authority and business awareness and overall improves your SEO. But they won’t do the ‘outreach’ for you i.e. approach website owners asking them if they will accept a guest blog post.

If you’re planning on hiring a content writer to do guest posting for you, you’ll probably need to do the outreach yourself. But if you have a strong network of people you can approach, hiring an SEO content writer can be a much more affordable option.

Most SEO content writers:

DOs:
✅ Write professional, well-written and engaging content
✅ Understand tone of voice and style
✅ Have knowledge of SEO and how to rank on search engines
✅ Be able to optimise your content for keywords and phrases
✅ Might offer keyword research

DON’Ts
❌ Upload the content to your website
❌ Create or source imagery
❌ Run an SEO audit
❌ Run a technical audit on your website to understand if there’s anything preventing you or limiting your search engine rankings (such as slow site speed)

Of course, each individual will vary, but this is the most common service for SEO content writers to offer.

What does an SEO agency do?

In comparison, SEO agencies focus on all aspects of SEO (not just the content).

They may offer writing (although in some cases they outsource this as they’re not specialist writers). Plus they look at building backlinks, technical SEO (such as website speed, fixing issues, mobile-friendliness etc), and optimising website pages.

Plus, they take a much bigger role in keyword and competitor research in order to find out what you should be ranking for with your content.

Most SEO agencies will:

DOs
✅ Competitor and keyword research
✅ Help direct blog topics
✅ They may outsource content writing or have in-house writers or give you some direction on the content for you to do yourself
✅ Optimise your content for keywords and phrases
✅ Build back-links
✅ Optimise website pages
✅ Fix any technical SEO aspects

DON’Ts
❌ Create or source imagery
❌ Often don’t focus on writing in your tone of voice/brand
❌ Often don’t focus on how to convert people from the content

Again, the exact package will vary depending on the agency, and cost.

Who is the winner?

SEO Agencies (but with a caveat!)

On the face of it, an SEO agency covers A LOT more ground than an SEO content writer, which you would expect given the difference in cost.

But because content is such a vital part of SEO, it really is important that whoever writes the content is an expert who knows how to write compelling content. You may rank on search engines with content, but that content still has to engage your reader. Otherwise, it’s all pretty pointless if they hit that backspace button!

So absolutely, SEO agencies do more stuff but make sure you choose one that prioritises content. The best place to start to check this is by looking at an SEO agency’s blog to see what kind of content they create for themselves. Is it helpful? Is it engaging? Or is it full of jargon or just about themselves and what award they’ve won that month?

Related Content: DIY SEO vs Hiring and Agency – Which One Should You Choose?

Remember: Content that gets backlinks has to be good

And remember, backlinks are another huge ranking factor. If you have backlinks to your website (i.e. links from other credible websites that link back to your site) then this tells Google you are trustworthy.

One of the best ways to gain backlinks is by producing stand-out content that people will link to. This is another reason why it’s so important you hire specialist writers who will do lots of research into your topic and write compelling content. Mediocre content does not get backlinks!

3. SEO Content Writer vs SEO Agency: what results do they get you?

RESULTS! They are kind of the reason that you are writing content, or worrying about SEO, right?

So, it’s definitely something you need to consider when choosing which one is right for your business.

And honestly, both SEO content writers and SEO agencies have the same ultimate goal:

To get your website ranking organically on search engines.

This should (in theory) lead to increased website traffic, and hopefully revenue for you💰.

The main goals of SEO content writers and SEO agencies are to:

✅  Increase your search engine rankings for a variety of keywords
✅  Increase your website traffic
✅  Increase your backlinks from high-authority websites

Luckily, this is super easy to track. You can do it in Google Analytics, which is completely free. So you can check how well your SEO agency or SEO content writer is doing.

Of course, SEO is great and everything, but it only kinda gets you halfway there. Once you have rankings and traffic you should want to convert that traffic into actual sales.

This is where your SEO content writer should come in. An SEO content writer should also focus on how to convert your readers into leads. They’ll do this by encouraging your reader to join your email list or find out more about your services.

Who is the winner?

A tie!

Both an SEO agency and an SEO content writer should increase your search engine rankings and website traffic.

But, SEO agencies can be more focused on the rankings and traffic, whereas an SEO content writer should also focus on converting readers into leads. However, an SEO agency is much more likely to give you a comprehensive report on how they are doing (such as the increase in rankings, traffic, backlinks, domain authority etc).

Whoever you choose, make sure they value leads and sales just as much (if not more!) than rankings and traffic. If you choose a content writer, you will probably need to keep an eye on how well things are going through your Google Analytics (it’s recommended you do this anyway). If you hire an SEO agency, you should receive a more comprehensive report from them.

4. SEO Content Writer vs SEO Agency: what’s the difference in skillset?

Although both SEO content writers and SEO agencies have the same ultimate goal their skillset, and emphasis on how they get there is a little different.

What skillset does an SEO content writer have?

As you would expect, SEO content writers are expert writers. Their aim is to capture the essence of your business and translate that into an engaging, entertaining and informative blog that your potential customers love and gain value from.

Yes, they’ll scatter in the necessary keywords, and optimise the entire blog so that Google likes the look of it. But that’s just because they understand you have to appease the Google Gods in order to rank in search engines.

SEO content writers are writing for humans.

And because of that, they are really good at emulating the tone of voice, building trust, nurturing relationships and ultimately converting website visitors into paying customers.

What skillset does an SEO agency have?

In comparison, SEO agencies’ skillset lies in SEO (unsurprisingly). And they are much more concerned with and knowledgeable about development and technical SEO.

SEO agencies understand all aspects of technical SEO and what makes a website appealing to search engines. They typically:

• Offer a website audit and fix any issues such as site speed
• Come up with an SEO strategy
• On-site SEO such as optimising your pages and imagery
• Off-site SEO such as creating a backlink strategy
• Content marketing – either in-house or outsourced

Yes, they can write content, however, many aren’t usually expert writers. And unless you pay larger fees for SEO agencies with expert in-house writers, you may find that they outsource content writing work to a freelancer. Because of this, you may find that they place less emphasis on things like brand voice and style. The articles may sound a little cold, overly factual and not particularly engaging.

Ultimately they are focussed on getting traffic to your website, and while content is a means to an end for this, it’s not the main focus.

Who is the winner?

A tie!

It’s difficult to pick a winner here as they both have different skillsets, and that’s okay. If you’re looking for a specialist writer who knows SEO, then an SEO content writer may be better. If you’re looking for more technical help and expertise, then an SEO agency may suit you better.

What if you need a specialist writer with technical knowledge?

It’s worth pointing out here that this is exactly why we set up our SEO and Blog Management Service. We are expert writers (Lyndsay has a master’s in creative writing and writes professionally for all sorts of businesses and industries), but we’re also web experts.

We ran a web agency for over a decade so understand all the technical issues that could prevent you from ranking. And we know how to write content and also how to upload it to your website, format it, design imagery etc.

If you’re looking for a company that sits nicely between an SEO content writer and an SEO agency, we might just be the right fit.

5. SEO Content Writer vs SEO Agency: how do they work?

Due to their overall goal, and associated skills, the actual process that an SEO content writer takes is quite different to an SEO agency.

How does an SEO content writer work?

An SEO content writer will dive straight into keyword research and writing. Their aim is to get content live on your website as soon as possible.

They will usually expect you to have a content plan ready (or they will charge more to create this) and from there they will write your content.

They typically check in with you every month to see what content you’d like to publish for that month. They’ll often write 2, 3 or 4 blog posts per month and they usually recommend you commit to 3 months working with them (although often, they have no minimum commitment).

They might need to get some of the expert knowledge from your brain to theirs and can do this via email, video, voice notes or whatever suits you.

But then they are off! 🐎

Tapping away on their laptop getting content ready for your business.

Once they’re finished it’s usually up to you to upload this content, format it, design imagery and optimise it for search engines. Some SEO content writers may upload it for you, others avoid this as they’re not web experts and every content management system is different.

How do SEO agencies work?

SEO agencies take a more reserved, strategic approach.

You’ve got to know where you are in order to know what work needs to be done.  SEO agencies will usually kick things off with an SEO audit to see how your website performs and if there are any technical issues to fix. They’ll also examine your current traffic, rankings, backlinks etc to see where you are right now. They’ll probably have a gander at your competitors’ websites too.

This allows them to create a plan that will get you from where you are, to where you want to be. This plan will vary depending on exactly what’s going on with your current setup.

After this, they’ll likely get on keyword research and focus on fixing any technical issues that are stopping your website from ranking.

They’ll then focus on on-page SEO, i.e. optimising your current website pages for search engines.

It’s not usually until after this is all done that they start to turn their attention to content creation (if that’s included within their package). So, it may be a few months before you actually see any content being produced or published. Of course, this depends on the company and budget, but they tend to get to content later on in the process.

SEO Content Writer vs SEO agency: which one should you pick?

So, content writer or SEO agency: which one is right for you?

Ultimately, which one is best for your business will depend on what support you are looking for, and what your business budget is.

Hiring an SEO content writer will usually deliver results faster and cheaper but only if your website is healthy. That means there’s nothing preventing or limiting it from getting ranked on search engines. In other cases, you may want a full SEO agency to manage all the technical aspects of your website, especially if you have a large website with a lot of pages and lots going on!

However, there is a third option, which is a blog management service.

It’s kind of a mid-point between SEO content writers and SEO agencies. We do an SEO audit and deep dive of your website, identifying any problems. Plus, we do ALL the work around your blog including planning, writing, optimising for SEO, designing imagery, uploading and formatting. Basically, we manage the entire blog!

We take care of any SEO issues, while also creating content that ranks and drives traffic to your website. Which is really the best of both worlds! Win/Win!

Martin & Lyndsay

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