What Is SEO Writing & Why It's Possible to Earn $50,000 to $75,000 Your First Year as an SEO Writer

If you’re interested in starting a freelance writing career and do any type of web surfing on this niche, you’ve probably run across online writing job ads that read something like, “Looking for an SEO article writer to provide ongoing content for a weight loss site. 350-400 words; ongoing weekly assignments.” This is a job ad for SEO writing.

As there seems to be a lot of SEO content writing jobs out there – and they’re growing every day -- many freelance writers who keep running across ads like this get curious about what this type of work entails.

So, they may go to their favorite search engine and start to do some researching, typing in phrases like “seo writing," “what is seo writing,” “writing for seo,” and "writing seo” in order to get a handle on what this type of writing entails.

I’ve been writing SEO content since 2007. Here I’ll explain exactly what SEO copywriting is, and why it’s such a profitable freelance writing niche.

SEO Writing Defined

First, SEO is the acronym for search engine optimization. Don’t let the big words throw you. All this means is that website owners do certain things to their website to make sure that they are returned high in results when web surfers – like you – conduct internet searches.

One of the easiest ways for a website to rank high in search results is to fill it with what’s known as keyword-rich content. You see, SEO content is different from “regular” content in that some research and thought goes into the copy – before it is ever written.

The foundation of producing SEO content is conducting keyword research.

What Is Keyword Research and Why It’s Important When Writing SEO Content

The best way to explain keyword research is by way of example.

Let’ say you own a website weight loss. You’ve own a yoga studio and have put together a very effective workout that helps clients to lose as much as 20 pounds in only four weeks.  You have a website that tells your story, but it’s not getting much traffic or bringing in much business.

One of the things you can do is write informative content about how effective your yoga weight-loss plan is an publish it on your website to drive more traffic. But, you don’t want just any old content. You want – and need -- SEO content.

So, you hire an SEO copywriter. One of the first things they’re going to do is find out which words and phrases internet surfers are typing in to find the types of weight loss services you offer (a yoga workout, remember).

Note: The words and phrases that web surfers type in to find stuff on the web are called keyword phrases. Remember this.

Keyword Research Tools

So, your SEO writer will use a keyword research tool that will show them things like which keyword phrases prospects type in when they’re trying to find a service like yours. Oftentimes, it’s not what you think, which is why keyword research tools are so useful.

FYI, one of the most user friendly keyword research tools to use is Google’s Keyword AdWord Tool.

Once the SEO copywriter finds out the appropriate keyword phrases to use in your copy, they will then produce informative content for your site, weaving these phrases “naturally” into the copy. The reason naturally is in quotation marks is because professional SEO writers know how to do this.

You don’t want what’s known as “keyword stuffed” copy.

What is Keyword Stuffing?

Ever run across an article when you’re conducting research that uses one or two phrases so much that it makes the copy unprofessional, difficult to read and/or offers no useful information? These are what’s known in search engine optimization marketing as “keyword stuffed” copy.  And you want to stay away from it at all costs.

Why SEO Content Is So Important to Website Owners

The reason SEO copy is so effective is that search engines don’t have to guess which sites is relevant when a web surfer types in a keyword phrase. If your site’s content has the right keywords in it, it’s easy for search engines to return it as a relevant search result.

This produces more traffic to your website, which of course, usually means more sales.

And, this is why SEO copywriting is an exploding niche in freelance writing. Many search engine optimization (SEO) writers make $50,000 to $75,000 – or more – their first year. As every site on the web needs this type of content, it’s easy to see why this is so possible.

If you’re interested in this freelance writing niche, get SEO copywriter training. Usually it lasts about a week, and you can start making money almost right away – really. Most new SEO writers land their first client within a week of marketing. Proof?

Read the story of one new SEO writer who landed 2 clients in just five hours and had money in his PayPal account his first day of marketing.