SEO Content Development - Where do unicorns live?
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A great web page (for organic search) needs more than great copy. Tons of articles tell us how important it is construct a web page. Others beat the drum of content, content, content. Who are these unicorns who understand on-page SEO and are great writers to boot?
I'm imagining a "content developer", or I might call it a "technical SEO writer. Neither really captures the need. I don't need a copywriter to deliver some text, nor an SEO who can't write their way out of the paper sack. I need an "SEO content specialist" who can craft an on-page experience; someone who thinks about things like SERP features and understands the concepts of semantic content.
The problem is that I have no idea how to find this person. "Content Marketing" is the buzz right now, but that's not it either. I'm not talking about a blogs and social media. I'm talking about building great, core web pages.
Does anyone else have this challenge? How have you been successful? Where do unicorns live?
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Thanks James - If I were starting out today I would very seriously consider the role I've described as a career path. You don't have to know everything. You just need to know enough. As an old dog myself I see my role (of many) as mentoring and getting across the finish line. I would be thrilled to have someone who can deliver B+ web content. We have specialists to handle the tech side, the dev, the UX. An apt wordsmith who reads SEO blogs could be looking at a six figure salary in short order.
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Show me someone who can define "semantic content", explain how to optimize for SERP features, and name two SEO posts they've read in the last month, then write 1,000 coherent words on, well, anything, and I'll hire them tomorrow.
You don't need to be an expert in the topic. Far too many experts can't express their expertise in writing. You just have to be smart and curious. Oh, also you have to be able to write. So, this unicorn is someone who operates between fluffy "copywriters", bs marketers, and incoherent / overly cerebral experts. Bonus point: If a candidate can explain Rank Brain I'll boost their starting wage 10%.
You're exactly right, "clients need you to even create the content". Ergo, being an expert is not even a possibility. If they could do it they would have already done it! The client wants OUR expertise. That's why they hire us! A good journalist can do their research and write a reasonable article. What's wrong with asking a copywriter to do the same?
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I think you need a content area expert and a qualified editor who knows just a little about SEO.
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The problem is when the writer thinks that he knows about hydraulic jacks, but he doesn't know that he doesn't know enough to impress the people who might link to his work.
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Jason,
I sure do have this problem. I am a web designer who retains clients by selling content marketing packages after their sites are completed. I have a team of content writers of vary degrees of expertise. I found the best way to make it work is to cultivate the writer within a niche and constant training and development meetings. Run your ship like a newspaper. Your writers need to pitch the concept to you. Then guide them how you want the content formulated.
Understand a first draft is not necessarily a completed piece of content. You should be editor in chief and know how to mine for great content and develop those concepts into your own ideas.
The process is long but with practice the gears start turning and you can make a great living. The hardest thing is finding good writers who are willing to put the work in, meet deadlines, and accept your payment offer.
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If you have the ability to do this you can make a small profit by "selling the service", but a very much larger profit by "running the website".
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Great conversion. I appreciate hearing other peoples' experiences. For this project I came up with the following (after spending several hours reading about the numerous and varied disciplines that fall under the "content marketing" umbrella).
We are seeking a content development professional to produce core website content for our agency clients. The job is to flesh out existing assets and create new copy and content with the goals of attracting and engaging customers, driving leads, and meeting client business objectives. This person should understand how copy, content, and high-quality user experiences contribute to search engine performance.
We need 10 core web pages averaging between 800 and 1,500 words each, to be completed before June 1.
There are two essential characteristics that will make this project successful:
1) Develop compelling copy. This will require you to independently research the client, products/services, audience/customers, and market. We will provide briefs and support, but quality content comes from topical familiarity.
2) Develop and outline content tactics with an up-to-date understanding of SEO and the interplay of text, styling, layout, supporting assets and their impact on Google search and user experience.
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The content, both text and images, must be absolutely unique and not exist anywhere else in printed or digital form. Content that has bee rewritten, paraphrased or complied from existing sources will not be accepted. All rights to the content will be assigned to us and it may not be resold or used to produce derivative works.
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Very stressful as the full-size decline in ratings coincides direct with this, and it does look like a computer virus. Let's give Rand and the Moz comm the heads up on this Subscribe button with icon youtube PNG. If he factors it out you can wager that it is going to be noticed by means of the powers up pinnacle!
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