Many entrepreneurs, small and private businesses, Contextual Backlinks and individual affiliates, hire freelance writers for SEO writing (also known as “search engine optimization” writing). SEO writing involves writing keyword-rich articles to rank the client’s website higher in search engines and generate more website traffic. SEO articles are less informative and less entertaining than articles you would write for magazines.
If you want to see examples of SEO articles, browse through any of the online article distribution directories. You will notice many of the SEO articles range in length between 500 and 700 words and paragraphs often repeat with selected keywords.
My friend, Peter Callahan, likes to write sports-related material for the Internet. Many writers, like Peter, write material to inform, entertain and educate readers. Some writers understand clients hire them to write web content for web pages (SEO writing) to ensure higher search engine placement. In many cases, these writers still provide quality-written work for SEO.
However, if a client requests the writer to provide keyword-stuffed articles with a certain (keyword) density, then the writer is at the mercy of the client. Crafting keyword-stuffed sentences into a well-written article is hard. Still, both article types – magazine-quality articles and SEO articles – pay the bills.
If you become a freelance writer who can swing to one type and then back to the next, then you will receive steady paychecks. The commodity you need will be time. Here are a few things you should know if you decide to write magazine-quality articles or SEO content for websites:
Web content will likely range from 100-1000 words depending on what your client wants. It will either be keyword-enriched or informative. Ask your client what his goals are and what he wants to accomplish with his articles. Topics will range around keywords in most cases.
If quantity is worth more than quality to your client, then make sure you protect yourself. Don’t use your name. Use a pen name. There’s nothing worse than to ghostwrite a lot of keyword-stuffed articles aimed at search engines, and then to hit a major book deal and find your client had (accidentally) attached your byline to those non-informative, (almost) meaningless keyword-stuffed articles. Publishers will frown on this.
