The days where you could throw money at ads and expect results are over. A staggering 96% of American users don’t trust ads, and they’re not alone in that.
Clearly, you need a more organic approach to generating leads if you want to grow your business, which is where expert content can help.
Websites that publish new content consistently increase their traffic by 3X on average. We’re talking 15+ articles a month, which is no small feat.
That effect only compounds as you publish more and more content. Blogs with over 300 posts get 3.5X times as much traffic as those with fewer than 50, just to give you an idea.
Here’s the problem though. If you run a business, your time has a cap.
You can’t spend all your time researching and writing, or the rest of your business will suffer.
Maybe you don’t even like to write, and that’s okay. After all, one key aspect of running a successful business is knowing what aspects of it to outsource and that’s where (professional) web content writing services come in.
[bctt tweet=”Many businesses are having a hard time generating leads and traffic. Ads aren’t even helping too. The solution? Publishing new content — consistently. @JuliaEMcCoy explains why you need web content services.” username=”ExpWriters”]
4 Reasons Why Hiring Professional Web Content Writing Services is a Smart Business Move
1. Pro Web Writers Have a Strong Grasp on SEO Best Practices
2. Expert Voices Have Fresh Takes on Your Industry
3. Professional Content Writing Saves You Time and Money
4. Seasoned Content Writers Can Help You Develop a Content Marketing Strategy
Right now, you’re probably asking yourself, “How can a web content writer for hire save me money?”.
It’s true – hiring experts can be expensive, but the benefits of content writing are all too real.
The numbers speak for themselves – businesses that take content marketing seriously get up to 6x more conversions than their counterparts. That’s because great content writers can help you find an audience, tap into their needs, and speak to them through your brand.
In other words, the right web content writing service is worth their weight in gold.
If you’re not convinced yet, that’s okay! Hiring expert services isn’t something you should do lightly. That’s why we’re going to dig deep and break down all the main benefits content writing can bring to your business.
1. Pro Web Writers Have a Strong Grasp on SEO Best Practices
You’re probably familiar with SEO, at least in concept.
Search engines use complex algorithms to determine which websites they show you whenever you run a search. Google alone weighs in over 200 factors in determining which results they’re going to show you and in which position they appear.
We know what most of those factors are, but the precise formula search engines use is a secret as closely guarded as KFC’s mix of herbs and spices. Plus, search engines update their algorithms often so you can’t get around them.
Here’s the problem – as a business, you want your web content to appear as close to the top of the search engine result pages (SERPs) as possible.
On average, the first three results for any search get around 68% of all clicks within the first page. The first result alone gets 48% of all clicks, which makes it a goldmine.
As if those numbers weren’t scary enough, 90% of users don’t make it past the first page of results. Your business might as well not exist if you can’t make it to those first spots.
Getting there takes more than good writing, though.
The competition for those top results is fierce across the board and popular websites are locked in a cutthroat game of optimization to outpace each other.
To become relevant, your web content writer needs to follow best practices, such as:
Targeting the right keywords and knowing how and when to use them
Structuring and formatting content for the web
Having a specific audience in mind and optimizing your content for them
It sounds pretty simple when you break it down. However, SEO is a science, and if you want to publish content with a fighting chance of making it to the top of the result pages, you need expert writers in your corner.
[bctt tweet=”The ideal web content writer needs to know how to target and use the right keywords, how to format web content for online readers, and how to optimize your content based on your target audience. – @JuliaEMcCoy ” username=”ExpWriters”]
2. Expert Voices Have Fresh Takes on Your Industry
No one knows your business better than you do. That’s a fact.
Whatever product or service you sell, it’s probably something you know inside and out. In theory, that means you’re the best person to write about it.
When you bring a new writer into your team, they’ll need to play catch-up – there’s no way around it. However, a seasoned writer knows how to take your ideas and find the perfect words to express them.
Sometimes, they’ll also have fresh takes on just what your audience wants to read about.
Just being a talented writer isn’t enough, though. What you want are web content writing chops, and here’s why:
Pro web content writers know how to get your business the attention it deserves. You know how to run a business, but writing is their business. A professional web content writing service will know how to take your products or services and find the right words to lead readers through your customer journey.
Coming up with new content ideas is hard. Writing an occasional blog post is hard enough. Now imagine doing it twice per week or more, for months and months on end. It’s enough to burn anyone out, but a seasoned content writer for hire can keep up with the demand and help you come up with new ideas.
When it comes to coming up with new content ideas, in particular, seasoned web writers will probably have experience with keyword research tools, such as SEMrush:
It’s that expert-level research that separates random blog posts from successful content. Businesses that don’t have a content strategy (we’ll return to this concept later!) can spend years blogging and not see sustainable growth.
That’s not a position you want to find yourself in.
Professional web writers can bring a lot of value to any business. The real question is whether that value is higher than what their services may cost you.
[bctt tweet=”Being a talented writer isn’t enough. Writing for the web needs pro web content writers who know how to get your business the attention it deserves using the right words for your readers. They can help too in creating new content ideas! – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
3. Professional Content Writing Saves You Time and Money
The time part of this equation is simple – writing compelling content for the web isn’t something you can do in five minutes.
Nowadays, online audiences are more discerning than ever. 87% of customers will research products online before committing to a purchase. That means without a strong online presence, your business will suffer.
Let’s say, you have an online store that sells running shoes. That’s a niche with fierce competition and a quick search for “best sports shoes for running” can give you an idea of what you’re up against.
As you can see, some madman went ahead and compiled a list of over 2,000 of the best running shoes you can buy at the moment. That is both impressive and downright scary.
The point is, breaking into the top results for competitive search terms requires a massive time investment. It’s not enough to write compelling content – that content needs to be best in class if you want to drive traffic to your business.
Just picture how long it takes to write one of those massive “best of” posts with dozens, hundreds, or thousands of entries and you begin to see the real value in professional content writing services.
More importantly, you need to keep in mind how much your own time is worth. Paying expert web content writers frees you up to take care of big-picture tasks, rather than focusing on putting together massive running shoe comparisons (unless that’s the sort of thing you like, no judgment ).
[bctt tweet=”Ranking in the top results of Google needs high-quality content — and you can’t just do that in minutes! ⏳ In creating long-form high-ROI content, expert web content writers can help you save time and money. – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
4. Great Writers Can Help You Develop a Content Marketing Strategy
If you’re serious about content marketing for your business, then you need more than just the occasional blog post.
A content marketing strategy is a system that helps you achieve the following goals:
Understanding who your audience is
Planning content that offers valuable information
Putting the plan to action and writing
The delivery process, which involves scheduling, publishing, outreach, and more
Publishing a single blog post that gains traction is a great start. However, it’s just that – a start.
Content marketing is all about long-term sustainable growth. You build a house brick by brick through your content. Each new addition complements each other by bringing in more traffic and leads.
If someone promises you quick results, then they’re not a reputable content writer, but just someone looking for a paycheck. This type of marketing requires patience, but it can pay off big time.
I teach how to build a content marketing strategy step-by-step in the Content Strategy & Marketing Course. Learn more about it here.
[bctt tweet=”Look for a professional web writing service that can help you build your own content marketing strategy and knows how to apply those data — like target audience, engagement times, preferred content types — to your content. ️ – @JuliaEMcCoy” username=”ExpWriters”]
Hire the Perfect Web Content Writing Services for Your Business
You probably have a pretty clear idea of where you want your business to be six months from now, as well as a year, or a decade down the line.
Developing a successful business takes a lot of work, so you need to take advantage of any tool and service you can that gives you an edge.
Web content writing services are an investment. Written content is far more engaging than ads, and 70% of customers would rather learn about your business by reading about it than getting barraged with sales pitches.
All you have to do is find the right words or the right content writer.
If you need web content writers for hire, check out the packages Express Writers has to offer.
The jungle of web content… Photo credit joerothenberg.com/bgs-and-concept-art/
Over the course of the last few years, the biggest search engine of them all has confirmed this assertion by releasing Pandas and Penguins (and possibly a few other creatures that remain hidden), whose intention seems to be to steal the food from the mouths of online marketers.
Why Is Website Content Such a Jungle?
To a certain degree, one can understand the efforts of search engines – and even sympathize with them. Search engine results are supposed to look organic, right? So, why is it that one can still find that the first page of search results on popular search-engines is littered with the same search phrases – all found on different sites?
The answer is quite simple: The same content is being used by every other online marketer. The results are so repetitive that the average person searching the Internet cannot always see the individual trees within the jungle.
If, however, they were to look at the search engine results again, with a slightly more discerning eye, they would notice that occasionally the results on the top half of the first page are actually unique and very helpful in relation to the topic searched. For that, we often have content writing services to thank.
At this very moment in time, marketing with the aid of original, outsourced web content is reaping handsome rewards for those individuals and companies that have abandoned the concept of recycling stale content – a practice that would have rendered their rank on the popular search engine significantly low. Instead of blindly thrashing around in the undergrowth, these entities have simply taken a rest-stop, planned their transition, and formed a partnership with a website content writer. That alliance is leading them safely past the snares and away from the lairs. Reasonable estimates have shown that a mid-sized company migrating from a typical system utilizing outdated, spun information to a system based on current, unique, outsourced content may yield twice as many leads at half the cost. In fact, these results, impressive though they may seem, are not actually uncommon.
So how does one begin when it comes to creating good website content?
The answer to that is relatively simple: consultation with a reputable website content writing service.
If SEO writing is what you seek to improve your Website’s visibility, do not be afraid to venture into the world of writing and engage in a search for the web content writing services out there. Article and blog writing have fast become a career, which is a great support for other businesses that want to boost their sales through unique content, which is optimized to make them known by many.
As a site owner, it will be your responsibility to determine the ultimate destination. You may choose a sleek, snappy three-page site or a content-rich, authoritative site with many areas to explore and many secrets to divulge to those who choose to seek, poke, prod, and dig. Either way, discussing these different scenarios and desired results with your writing service provider will enable them to provide content that should fit perfectly into your plan of action.
It’s big, scary, and it’s HERE: Google Penguin 2.0.
Officially launched on May 22 and termed the “Webspam” update, this Google algorithm beast is dedicated to targeting anything considered “blackhat” in terms of SEO, and is supposed to dig deeper than its predecessor in the know-how of what website content to rank (and what not to rank).
“Digging deeper:” this means Penguin is getting into the nitty-gritty of how your backlinks work, where they are from, your indexing patterns and more.
Biggest Change in the Algorithm for Ranking Website Content is…
How Google figures out PageRank. Here’s what Google wants to use for its search factors to rank you or not rank you in its Penguin 2.0: gauging you on a social engagement level. Consider it a gauge of how your visitors enjoy (or don’t enjoy) your site. This includes the amount of times your site gets bookmarked; the amount of times it gets socially shared; and the amount of times it’s re-visited. The best part? Google Penguin 2.0 knows when you BUY engagement…and when it’s natural.
However, take it with a grain (or two) of salt. In months ahead, the algorithm is set to constantly update. If Penguin 1.0 affected the web, think of Penguin 2.0 as the destroyer or influencer of the web.
“As long as you’re working hard for your users, we’re working hard to show your high quality content to users as well,” said Matt Cutts, in his video on the matter published this May. “If you’re doing high quality content with SEO, you won’t have to worry. If you’ve been hanging out on the blackhat forums, it will be a more eventful summer for you.”
Important updates that will be a core of the Google Penguin 2.0 include:
The Biggest One: No more spammy links. PageRank influencing factors are totally different. Advertising will not influence PageRank anymore (or at least most of it won’t). Link spamming will be heavily knocked down in the update. Sophisticated link analysis is in its “early days” in the Penguin 2.0 update, according to Cutts. This is huge for many sites. What does this mean? The new Penguin will be hitting down on:
Comment spam (paying for low quality blog comments)
Low quality guest blogging
Article marketing/duplicating
Links from sites that are dangerous to users
Paid backlinks using exact match anchor text (in English: a paid backlink!)
If you relied on backlinks, you are more than likely going to be drowning by the end of Penguin 2.0 smackdown. Case studies available at: SearchEngineWatch.com. How to Recover:Experienced a drop in rankings from the new Penguin 2.0 beast, and need to get rid of spammy links pointing back to your site? Google’s Link Disavow Tool is for you. It’s a machete if you need to get rid of bad links—with Google, it’s mostly all or nothing with very little success allotted to cliffhangers. Time to cut off all those bad links? Learn more about the Link Disavow Tool. Go directly to the Link Disavow Tool. How To Avoid:To avoid your website content getting hit on PageRank influencing factors, if you are advertising to achieve PageRank, Google says they’ll hit you less if you actually tell your users that. Learn more about how to disclose your paid advertising so you don’t get Google-hit from WebProNews.
Want to avoid getting stuck in this mess altogether? Organically raise your PageRank. This means blogging; social engagement; and overall being a lot more engaged to try to get your website visitors active. Articles posted regularly on your website, social engagement every time you blog—that sort of thing is what Google is looking for in ranking factors.
Here’s 7 MORE IMPORTANT updates to the algorithm, both the good and the bad:
1. Pornographic links won’t give you much juice. Google doesn’t want to get in too much detail, but they will certainly be knocking down on anything spammy, including pornographic links. If you have any adult related content backlinks, they could push you down after Google Penguin 2.0 combs your links. 2. Hackers get revealed. “Hack” sites will be detected with a “next-generation” hack site update (this will roll out in June). Webmaster tools from Google will report the hacker more extensively to help with cleanup. 3. Niche authorities get better ranking. If you’re a site with authority in your niche, you’ll rank in that niche, according to Google. 4. No more cliffhanging. Sites in the border of being good or bad will be clearly defined in the update. No more hanging on the shelf for you. Doing quality content? No worries. Blackhat? You might want to worry. 5. No more clustering and getting multiple pages from your domain on one page of results. A bunch of content from one domain will be spread out over more pages instead of all on the first page. Once you’ve seen a cluster of results from one site, Google will bar the site from reappearing and cluttering your search feed again. 6. The algorithm will affect multiple languages. According to multiple sources, the updated Google Penguin 2.0 will affect websites in multiple languages. 7. Guest blogging will not be as effective as it used to be.Why? Well, Google found out that it’s super-easy for lazy webmasters to find a bunch of free guest blogging websites where you can stick your URL in an author profile, and then blast out a ton of content just to get that backlink. When you blog, don’t duplicate bios; try to create an original bio for each blog. Focus less on your keywords, and more on your anchor text. Authentic guest blogs are identified by these measures now.
Who Lost Out?
So, who lost in the algorithm changes? Dish.com and Educational Testing Service were some of the big names actually using bad SEO for their websites who got penalized. The biggest industry to get affected were Retailers and Real Estate, with a 33% affected rate, according to SEOMoz. Other than that, big websites with untrusted links and small business who hadn’t taken SEO seriously were at the ends of the spectrum, both getting the most affected by Penguin 2.0. SearchMetrics analyzed a whole slew, the list can be found here. Interestingly, it ranges from the Salvation Army to over five different porn websites.
Contrast of Gains & Losses Across Websites
Also from SEOMoz, here’s a brief contrast to see what went backwards and what gained traction and went forwards from the Google updates:
Amazon lost out from the rankings; Wikipedia gained.
Pinterest gained from the rankings; AllRecipies.com lost.
Indeed.com lost out from the rankings; Ebay gained.
Yelp was the biggest loser, at over -8%: Twitter gained the largest growth, at 4%.
What’s the Biggest Things Website Owners Can Take Away from the Penguin Update?
1. Don’t panic. Google Zebra might be tomorrow. Since Google updates all the time, putting a big name on it and labeling the changes is just identifying the changes. It’s not going to stop your world by any means, and for most of the world, it won’t affect in a major way. In short, don’t be terror-stricken. 2. Realize you can’t maintain excellent SEO presence without original, excellent content. Google SERP rankings are now heavily dependent on the amount of content you publish, the value of that content and the originality of that content. Big players like SearchEngineJournal are saying that the quality of your content is the SINGLE, most important factor in maintaining a successful website. 3. Get social. This means Google +, folks. Google likes their own, and adding people in your circles and posting your blogs on their social network is only going to get you favor. Use tools like Hootsuite to sign up on one account and schedule a bunch of posts to go out at optimal times across all your networks. 4. Gain reputable inbound links. Even if it costs money, invest the money necessary to get only the highest quality backlinks for your website. Some are saying content marketing is the new link building. Publishing a blog on a network with your website backlink on it is probably the best backlink you can build (whether that network is your blog domain or a guest blog domain). 5. Consider investing in press releases. This is also linked to the hard-hitting by Google on link spam. An SEO Press Release is one of the best ways to get a backlink, besides blogging and organic article writing and posting on your website. A PR can offer more link juice than a regular blog because one Press Release can hit thousands of locations. And since it’s “news,” it’s not considered duplicate—while you get all those links out of it! Things to consider in creating an effective PR: it must be written well, and it must be newsworthy. PRs can bring in real human eyes, and conversions, if written well enough and attracting the audience directly.
Keywords
Google Penguin 2.0 is going to be picking up keywords that include these variations:
Primary
Derivatives
Synonyms
So, instead of one keyword stuck throughout your content, think of as many phrases as you can (up to 5-10 per 500 words).
There’s lots more we could say, but that’s about the gist of what you need to know for your website content–in a nicely 1,500+ condensed words. Did you lose from Google Penguin 2.0? We’d love to hear in the comments! Bonus — Links we liked that are very helpful:
