Targeting a certain keyword or phrase in your content is SEO 101, but what are you doing to prop those instances up? Sprinkling various other keywords in your text – pluralizations, location-based acknowledgements, and so on – help tell search engines that your content is relevant and appropriate to share with searchers. When you’re placing an order on freelance writer websites, communicating this desire to your writer may be a little tricky, but here’s how to get what you need and hit as many targets as possible.
Understand Grammar Limitations
While each recent Google update has brought specific rules and requirements along with it, the core goal hasn’t shifted: Google wants relevant, “human” content that isn’t keyword-stuffed or robotic-sounding. That puts companies at odds with the way people search, which isn’t typically grammatically correct. Someone looking for a petshop in Des Moines probably won’t type “Website for a pet shop located in the Des Moines area,” they’ll likely request something like “Pet Shop Des Moines” instead. This puts your writer in a tricky spot, as that phrase fits awkwardly into almost any sentence and makes the article sound poorly-written – a big Google faux pas. A clever freelance writer can dodge it once or twice with phrasing such as “It’s called the best pet shop Des Moines has ever seen!” but if they’re presented with 5 other similarly awkward phrases, the article is going to get clunky in a hurry. Rather than focusing on these hard-to-incorporate pairings, opt for alternative keywords whenever possible.
Consider Why Your Product is Needed
Logic would dictate that your primary focus should be on promoting your product or service, but your customers don’t always start out at the “buy” phase. If you are a plumbing company, providing a helpful-but-not-definitive article on “fixing” overflowing toilets will snag you the potential customers frantically searching for a solution. If you make custom cases for pet travel, a piece on the top 5 ways to prevent pet stress during travel wouldn’t go wrong. Even if your article subtly steers the reader back to your company, they’ll be grateful for the resource and more inclined to click the “contact us” link at the bottom of your page than to search for a rival company.
Borrow from a Competitor
If you’re stumped for keywords, don’t be shy about peeking at your neighbor’s paper. Tools like SpyFu decode the keywords and key phrases your competitors are using, enabling you to follow their strategy and snag some success of your own. Once you’ve determined their most commonly-used keywords – a good indicator that those are the ones that work – head to your freelance writer websites and start placing orders with those keywords. While you won’t want to match their strategies exactly, your competitors have already done a lot of the heavy lifting, testing and filtering, so there’s no reason for you to do it all over again.
It isn’t about changing the conversation, it’s about changing the points within it and how much emphasis you’re placing on them. Work with your favorite freelance writer websites to devise a plan of attack and capitalize on all your potential keyword angles. More arrows hit more targets, and it won’t take long before you have a virtual army at your disposal.
Writer Bio: Delany M is a freelance writer available for projects at WriterAccess.
