Interview With SEO Copywriting Certification Grad, Courtney Ramirez

Writing has always been a part of Courtney Ramirez’s life – from short stories in childhood to news stories in high school. After earning a B.A. in English from the University of Southern California and beginning to work in journalism, she found her way to web writing through a combination of terrific coincidences.

Combining the Internet with the written word was a perfect solution for this self-professed “geek.” She began writing and blogging about web writing in 2005. Concentrating on articles and ebooks, she learned basic SEO techniques through experience and the resources from her writing clients. She pieced things together as she could, but eventually realized that there was a gap between what she knew SEO could accomplish for her clients and what she was capable of doing.

She wanted to be more than just a content writer – she wanted to be a web marketing resource for her clients.

After doing some research on SEO training programs, Courtney decided on the SuccessWorks program because it combined something she was familiar with (copywriting) with something she wanted to learn more about (SEO), rather than just concentrating on SEO. The training rounded out her web writing knowledge and gave her the high level skills she’d been looking for in order to be able to help her clients more. She added creating site plans, meta content creation and keyword research to her list of services, becoming a one stop SEO copywriting service. Under the mantle Six Degrees Content she works on copywriting and ebook writing for a wide variety of industries with the help of two assistant writers.

What got you interested in SEO copywriting?

I’ve always loved the internet — I was on AOL as soon as the free CD hit our mailbox back in the 90s — so finding web writing was a natural for me.

When I first started writing a lot of the emphasis was on the ol’ “send query, wait months, write the article, wait months, get paid” cycle — I knew there had to be a better way. I took my journalism experience online and started writing basic articles, and then started to learn about SEO as an extension of that.  My clients always provided me with keywords and I was curious about why they chose those keywords — or if they were the best keywords for their purposes.  The more I learned, the more I realized that boosting up on the SEO portion of my training would help me offer more value to my clients.

Are you presently working on any SEO copywriting projects?

We’re working on several — I work with two other writers that cover basic articles and I concentrate on the site plans, more in-depth articles, white papers, etc.

We are working on a site for a plumber and helping him rank for several keyphrases that deal with the area of his services. We are working with a media company and web designer as their SEO copywriting division and are working on a physical therapy site in conjunction with them. We create blog posts for a virtual office company on a weekly basis and are helping with an online marketing campaign for a pain relief product.  I’m excited about pumping up the marketing for Six Degrees Content and completing more projects like these!

What have you found to be the biggest “take-aways” from the SEO Copywriting Certification program?

The process of putting together a site plan, fleshing out keyword lists and creating winning meta information were by far the most valuable take-aways from Heather’s course.  I loved the way the process was laid out from start to finish and was easy to apply to my own site as well as my clients’.  I’m a linear thinker, so having the step-by-step plan has been wonderful!

What do you find most challenging/interesting about SEO copywriting?

What I love most about SEO copywriting is creating the balance between what search engines need and what people need.  It’s sometimes a challenge, but I find it enjoyable.  I like learning about new search innovations and getting my “geek” on with SEO.  I like understanding how to create content that motivates readers and pulls in some good search results.

Another challenge, in a different way, is educating people about SEO copywriting and why it’s important to have the right content — and not just “any” content to fill their webpages.

What are you other passions and interests?

I’m really passionate about natural health, so anytime I get a chance to work with a nutritionist, doctor or anyone in the self-improvement field, it’s a real treat for me! I also love being an entrepreneur and like to help them out with their SEO needs. When I’m not clicking away at the keyboard, I’m reading Mental Floss, spending time with my family and hitting the beach!