Becoming a Freelance SEO Writer: 3 Common Misconceptions Debunked

Feb. 5, 2014 - PRLog -- I've been a freelance writer since 1993, and have been writing SEO content for clients since 2007. I receive a lot of questions from newbies about this form of technical writing, which gave me the idea for this post because there's a lot of misinformation out there.

Here, I'll address three of what I think are the most common misconceptions about writing search engine-optimized content.

I. It's Low-Paying: When I first started out in 2007, it was common to see low-paying article writing gigs (http://inkwelleditorial.com/how-i-stopped-taking-on-low-paying-freelance-writing-jobs) - I'm talking really low-paying, like $1 for 500 words.

While those types of SEO article writing gigs do still exist, the pay is not indicative - at all - of what this type of freelance writer earns. Proof? The average salary for SEO writing according to job site SimplyHired is $66,000 (as of this writing).

And guess what? Freelancers can earn even more by offering services like social media account management, which go hand-in-hand with writing SEO content.

Businesses are allocating more and more of their marketing dollars into online content marketing, and they care a helluva lot about their brand. They would no more trust a piece of content from a "$1 for 500 words" writer than they would hire a new graduate to be their CEO!

What Clients Want in an Online Writer These Days

They want qualified, professional writers who: (i) understand the rules of writing online content that stays on the right side of Google; (ii) know how to incorporate a call to action; and (iii) who can write "clickable" headlines, to name a few skills.

And you know what else they know? That this costs - and they're willing to pay. Your job is to find these clients.

So get over the myth that this form of writing is "low-paying." In fact, writing SEO content is one of the higher-paying freelance writing niches out there that's pretty easy to get started in.

II. It's Too Late - The Field is Saturated: One of the most frequent questions I get is, "Is it too late to start this type of writing career? Is the field too saturated?"

This is like asking, "Are there too many real estate agents, or are there too many recruiters?" There is always, always, always room for a determined, qualified professional - especially in writing.

Why? Because there are many who simply don't know how to write. And I don't mean can't string together two grammatically correct sentences. I mean writers who know how to write copy that gets prospects to act.

THIS is what clients want nowadays in an SEO writer, along with someone who understands the foundation of this type of writing.

So no, the field is not too saturated. In fact, it's still VERY new. Proof? Ask how many of your friends if they know what SEO writing is?

Many people still use the internet for simple things like sending email and making reservations. They have NO idea about things like keywords, converting files, updating a blog; creating a website, etc.

The point I'm trying to get across here is, the web is still a very foreign space for many - which makes any type of business you start online (including becoming an SEO writer) much less competitive.

III. It's Difficult: This is probably the most common fallacy and it's completely understandable when you consider that many who are new to this form of freelance writing don't even know what SEO stands for.

FYI, it's search engine optimization. This is just a fancy way of saying writing copy according to certain guidelines so that search engines like Google can find it and return it in relevant search results.

One of the reasons I believe so many think that writing SEO content is hard to learn is because the rules of search marketing change all the time. This is because search companies (eg, Google, Yahoo!, Bing et al) change their algorithms constantly in an effort to stay ahead of online spammers and scammers.

But once you learn the foundational rules of this type of writing, then it's just a matter of staying on top of the latest changes and incorporating them into your writing.

So just know, learning SEO is not hard. Everything you need to know can be learned very easily on the web for free, or in a well-structured SEO copywriting course (http://www.seowritingjobs.com/seo-copywriting-training/).

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About the Author: Yuwanda Black heads New Media Words, an SEO writing company. She's also the publisher of a niche blog on this type of technical writing – SeoWritingJobs. She says, "With proper SEO copywriter training (http://www.seowritingjobs.com/learn-seo-in-negril-jamaica/), you can start a successful, home-based career as an online writer. Ms. Black has also authored over 50 ebooks, quite a few of which cover some element of writing SEO content. They can be found on major outlets like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, in addition to her own website(s).