An SEO writer is a professional writer who uses search engine optimization (SEO) techniques to create web content. An SEO writer is solely a web writer because SEO is only relevant or possible online. Many SEO writers, on the other hand, have other writing jobs, both online and offline, so keep this in mind when starting a career as a writer.
An SEO writer’s job is to include a keyword, or a set of keywords, in each written passage for a specific website. For example, a website might assign a writer to write an article or blog post about healthy vegetarian lasagna; the keyword would be “healthy vegetarian lasagna,” which the writer would be expected to use a certain number of times throughout the passage. Other keywords or tag words related to the topic at hand, such as “vegetarian cooking,” “vegetarian recipes,” or “vegetable lasagna,” to name a few, may be provided.
When search engines index the website in order to include it in search results for “healthy vegetarian lasagna,” the website that uses SEO will most likely rank higher in the results because it uses the keyword frequently. The SEO writer’s job is to incorporate keywords into each passage in a non-obvious manner. In a well-written passage, the reader should not be able to tell that he or she is reading a post that uses search engine optimization techniques.
After the posts are written, an SEO writer may be responsible for adding tags to them, which can help search engines find them more easily. These tags could be as simple as “recipes,” “vegetarianism,” or “cooking,” for example. The more search keywords that can be included in a post, the more easily it will be found by users. Many companies use pay-per-click advertising, in which the company receives a certain percentage of revenue whenever a web user clicks onto their website based on the ads they are displaying.
An SEO writer will usually send his or her work to an editor for review. It is usually not the writer’s responsibility to edit or proofread their own work, though it is expected that it is error-free. Many SEO writers work as freelancers, which can be a lucrative side hustle.