Our Best Advice on Hiring Freelance SEO Writers

Finding a freelance writer is easy, but finding one that does freelance SEO — and does it well?

That’s much more difficult.

Most business owners don’t have the time or expertise needed to ensure they’ve got a great team under them.

So, if you’re looking for a freelance SEO content writer that’s worth every penny it’s time to buckle down and pay attention. Here’s our advice on making sure that you’re able to get the most bang for your buck.

Hiring Outside an Agency

Many people start to get a bit iffy when it comes to agency fees. If you’re not willing to shell out the money then you may want to try finding a writer on your own.

When it comes down to it, you need someone with the following:

  • Great command of the English language
  • Knowledge of SEO best practices

These two qualities will help your blog excel.

If you’re looking for exceptional skyscraper content and have a tight budget, you may be out of luck. Cornerstone pieces like this are a powerful tactic but just typing a longer piece isn’t going to get the job done.

You’ll need a full team of designers to really be able to compete in most niches.

You have a few basic options.

Hit the Content Farms

You can quickly find a freelance writer on websites like Upwork and see their ratings. You’ll still need to vet each writer individually, no matter what their rating is.

Why?

Well, fraud is rampant on these sorts of sites. It’s quite easy for a writer with no experience to pay for a series of amazing reviews through private groups on marketing forums or Facebook groups.

Then you’ll be left with a mess and dealing with an open dispute.

Pick someone native to your country who has a presence across multiple platforms. Check LinkedIn, for instance, and see if they have a presence there. If not and they’re claiming ghostwritten work you’ll need to be careful.

Remember that your content doesn’t just need to bring in readers: it needs to engage them as well. A piece of content with great SEO that tops Google is useless if the writing leaves you with a 75%+ bounce rate.

You may win the lotto on this one, finding a great but inexperienced writer who’s commanding under average rates. Or you may end up with a lemon.

It’s your vetting that makes the difference.

Find a Writer Independently

You can also go through LinkedIn to find a writer that suits your needs.

This is going to be the most expensive option for the most part. Good writers know how much money you’ll be making off of their work and they know what people will pay.

While the expense is often out of smaller budgets it can be worth it for those who are investing serious cash. Finding an expert writer with in-depth knowledge of the niche will always yield better results than someone who does a Google scrape and knows basic SEO.

Let the Agency Do the Work

Working with an advertising agency is an excellent option in many cases. They hire writers based on their own internal standards which are usually much higher than you’ll find on content farms.

Their writers often receive assignments based on the niche that they have the most experience in. It’s not always the case but with any reputable agency, you’ll have a writer with great English, good SEO knowledge, and the ability to research any topic in-depth.

In general, it will be more expensive than hiring a low-end writer but less expensive than hiring a specialist in your business’ niche.

Vetting agencies is a little bit more difficult than just interviewing writers, however.

Vetting the Targeted Agency

When you’re looking into finding a great agency you’ll have two main options: go local or go fully digital.

Going local is often a bit more expensive but they may offer meatspace marketing on top of the SEO you’re looking for. This can be a big bonus for some businesses, especially when your target customers may not be too hip on the internet just yet.

Digital agencies can have shady reputations attached to them.

For SEO purposes people often reason that an agency that scores high on Google is the way to go since they have proven capabilities.

That may not be the case. High-ranking SEO in the digital marketing space is extremely time-consuming, which means that the agency may just not have much work. Often newer agencies will rank high and fall off as time goes on and their content creators are working on client’s contracts.

In general, most digital marketing agencies will try to convince you they’re the best. Their job is to sell things so… take it with a grain of salt. Instead, look for indicators that they’re above-board and better than average.

Instead, your best bet is to look for lists and directories online to narrow the process down to just a few agencies rather than trying through the thousands that inhabit the internet.

The Bottom Line for Freelance SEO

Freelance writers and SEO agencies are easy to find on the internet but it’s hard to know who to trust.

Your own gut feelings, combined with some knowledge about what you’re looking for, will give you the best end result.

Try to avoid overly cheap writers and agencies. You may end up with results, but they’re probably not the ones you need to get ahead.

Hiring an expert in your niche with proven SEO knowledge is always going to be the best route but it probably won’t fit in a reasonable marketing budget for a smaller company.

Trust your gut and do your homework before you hire anyone. Do so and you’ll be able to prosper.

Looking for Potential SEO?

If you’re looking for freelance SEO then you’re in the right place. You don’t have to do all of the vetting yourself, instead, you may want to look into the services that we offer.

We go through the process of combining the best marketing agencies into directories that make it much easier to know who you’re looking for and who you can trust.

Why not take a look at our directory and find the right person or agency to fill your needs?