Have you noticed how many freelancer projects are advertised for copywriters with website SEO experience on job boards lately? I have, and they are certainly increasing. Have you scratched your head and wondered what on earth that means? If so, I hope this article goes some way to explaining just what website SEO is and how freelancers can adapt to tap into this rich vein of job opportunities.
Freelancer SEO Outlined
Website SEO or Search Engine Optimisation is a term used to describe the methods employed to help a website rank as high as possible in search engine result pages (SERPs),
and the page rank that a website will achieve as a result of this. As far as freelancers are concerned, website SEO will focus on good on-page content, blogs and articles which are keyword rich and informative.
Why is SEO Important?
When a user conducts a search through a search engine they will very rarely go beyond the first page of SERPs before clicking on a link. Therefore, it is important for any online business to rank as highly as possible for their chosen keywords or phrases.
What is a Page Rank?
Page rank is a method that search engines use to gauge the importance and authority of a website. The term was pioneered by Google who engineered an algorithm for calculating rankings.
The algorithm uses many factors to determine the relevancy of a website for a specified keyword and websites that can demonstrate good practise across a number of disciplines will see an increase in its page rank on a scale from 0 to 10. The higher the number; the more authority the website will have. This will be rewarded with a steady improvement in rankings.
What is a Keyword?
A keyword is a word or phrase that a web user will enter into a search engine whenever they want to find a product, service or specific information. A website owner will want to rank for keywords or phrases that are relevant to their core business. For example, a website selling showers and accessories will want to rank for ‘power shower’ ‘electric shower’ and ‘shower accessories’ etc.
What is Keyword Density?
Keyword density is the number of words in a piece of content divided by the amount of times a keyword is used. It is important to make sure the keyword is used naturally throughout the text and that it is not overly used. A good rule of thumb is between three and five per cent. Getting the balance right is critical to good website SEO.
Can You Pay for Higher Ranking?
It is not possible to improve ranking by paying for them. Rankings are calculated by search engine algorithms. And the only way to improve them is through search engine optimisation.
Website owners can, however, pay for sponsored advertising where they will be charged each time someone clicks on their advert regardless as to whether the visitor then goes on to purchase their product or employ their services.
So Where Does Freelance Writing Fit into This?
Freelancers are in an ideal position to exploit the benefits and job opportunities that website SEO provides. But, to do this they should be able to write good quality optimised content for websites, blogs and articles.
Writing content for a website will require good quality content being produced that is informative and engaging. The keyword density will have to be just enough to allow search engines to identify the relevancy of the website for specific keywords without appearing to be spammy. The usability of a website is a crucial factor and search engines are becoming much more adept at separating the wheat from the chaff in these instances.
Writing articles and blogs are off-site activities that can generate traffic to a website through back-links and interaction. Articles and blogs need to grab the user’s attention and provoke a response. Although keyword density is not as important in these cases, it should still be implemented to maintain a consistent strategy. Article writing is a very good way to generate back-links to a website which is also important for website SEO.
Wherever there are websites that require website SEO there will always be opportunities for freelance writers who have an appreciation for search engine optimisation. Being able to write quality content that uses keywords in a subtle and natural way will be a powerful tool in a freelancer’s armoury and should see them gainfully employed in the ever expanding virtual world of the internet.
