4 Ways SEO Copywriters Can Increase Their Income – Fast!

Do you want to build additional profit centers for your SEO writing business?

Why not up your game and help companies with the strategic side of SEO copywriting?

You’ve probably found that many clients are looking for more than “just a writer.” Maybe that’s because they’re not sure what content they should produce. Or perhaps the internal writing team is new to SEO and they don’t have a content plan.

That’s where you’d come in.

Companies like these need an SEO content strategist. Strategists comb through the client’s site to pinpoint new opportunities and set the strategy. You may work in tandem with an internal or external SEO team. Or, you may set the complete strategy. You’re at the center of everything SEO content-related, directing other team members what to do and when.

Yes, you may still be doing some writing. But at least half of your time would be spent planning, evaluating and watching the work flow.

Intrigued? Here are some additional strategic services that clients really need.

Content audit

Do you look at some of your old blog posts and cringe? You’re not the only one. There are thousands of sites with old (and bad) content, missed SEO opportunities and minor boo-boos that need fixing. Instead of sweeping those old blog posts under the rug, content audits help you pinpoint what needs to be done page-by-page.

Things you would evaluate during a content audit are:

– Are the pages optimized (especially the blog posts.)

– How are the Titles? Are they keyphrase-rich and compelling?

– Should some posts be updated?

– How is the writing? Does it resonate with the reader, or fall flat?

– Are the sales pages written to convert? Or is there room for improvement?

– Are the keyphrases appropriate for the page? For the site?

Be warned – content audits are time intensive, so you won’t be able to knock them out in a couple hours. Your deliverable would be a report outlining what needs to be done Although your client could conceivably take your content audit and run with it themselves, they’ll often need some implementation help. And yes, you can certainly help with the implementation, too.

Content strategy

Sure, companies know that they “need content.” But they often don’t know what that means. Should they publish five times a week? What should they write about? And how can they make sure that their content is hitting their audiences’ pain points?

Companies that need a content strategy may already have in-house writers on staff. What they don’t have is an SEO content expert that can tell them what to do and when to do it. Or, a company may be looking for someone to handle the strategy and the implementation (bonus!).

As a content strategist, you’d be developing a sustainable publication schedule for your clients. You’d dive deep into their target audience, match keyphrases to the buyers’ intent and suggest content that answers reader questions. This would mean developing blog post ideas (BuzzSumo is a great tool), setting up the workflow and checking the metrics. If you also created the content audit, you’d prioritize what needs to be fixed and set up a plan to make it happen.

Content recycling

Have you ever run across an old blog post you wrote and thought, “I forgot about this one. This is still a really great post.” Guess what? Your clients have that problem all the time. Content recycling helps clients leverage the power of the content they’ve already produced.

Instead of writing brand-new content all the time, you can dust off your old content, recycle it and make it shiny and new again. Some writing is often involved, especially if you’re creating a roundup post or blog post.

Some things you’d evaluate include:

– Can you combine blog posts into an ebook?

– Can you highlight a few related blog posts and create a “roundup” post?

– Can you pull tweets/LinkedIn updates from an old post and link back to the original post?

A content recycling plan often goes hand-in-hand with an overarching content strategy.

Content editor/project manager

Some marketing departments don’t want to learn how to research keyphrases and write optimized content. Instead, they want an experienced strategist to make the SEO tweaks for them.

This can be a cool ongoing gig, especially if a company is producing a lot of content. Typical content editorial tasks include:

– Conducting keyphrase research

– Optimizing posts after they’re written by the in-house staff.

– Creating compelling Titles and descriptions.

– Checking for typos and other mistakes.

– Ensuring the content workflow is followed and posts are being uploaded on time.

– Developing a best practices content creation document.

In short, all the content runs through you. You may not be doing the writing, but you’re the content gatekeeper who makes sure everything is perfect.

Can you see how all of these roles work together? The right company will need help with everything:

– The content audit showcases the site’s opportunities and the challenges.

– The content strategy sets the stage for what needs to be done when.

– Content recycling helps companies use old content in new, exciting and traffic-driving ways.

– The content editor makes sure that all the content is being produced on time.

The good news is, many clients need all four of these services. Suddenly, you’re transformed from being “just the writer,” to being an indispensable part of their marketing team.

That’s a pretty nice place to be.

What SEO content strategy services are you offering your clients? Talk about it in the comments.

Photo thanks to: © Aluha | Dreamstime.com – Small Circle Of Diverse Photo