Why some SEO Agencies don’t use SEO Copywriters

I recently had a discussion with an extremely frustrated business associate.

He had been working with a firm that handles SEO for several weeks. Per his request, that firm had been managing all the back-end behind-the-scenes work for his site pages: cleaning up his site code, adjusting meta and title content, link building, analyzing his navigation – general stuff that most SEO companies do. They had done a fairly good job at making his website more visible to the major search engines.

He knew, however, that the actual content on his site was still falling well short of par. He had a background in marketing, so he knew that the site copy wasn’t doing it, and needed some adjustment. He understand the formulation of words and knew that enhanced writing would equate to increased conversion rates.

He posed this query to the SEO firm and let them know his concerns. They replied by handing him a guide on “SEO best practices – a guideline for self-starting your content optimization” They informed him that they didn’t handle onsite optimization, and that he would have to write that copy on his own. He was frustrated beyond belief.

His question to me was simple: “If they are an SEO agency, shouldn’t they keep an SEO copywriter on staff? Wouldn’t they think that’s an integral part of SEO?”

YUP! And nope.

The majority of SEO agencies are actually more focused on the technical stuff. They specialize in handling ugly site productions that are follies of unskilled web designers. They work on revising sites so that search engines don’t need a GPS and 100% Deet ‘Bug’ repellant to find your site. Honestly, a skilled SEO specialist can unlock the magic of the ancients…or at the very least boost your indexing and open the floodgates of Google juice.
These technical agencies are geared toward ensuring that your site is easily indexed, and they’re typically not marketing wizards. They aren’t there to help your copy convert better.

Not to say that all of them take this stance, but a majority. You’d be surprised how many SEO agencies don’t offer SEO copywriting. They often end up turning to an SEO copywriting professional to tackle the onsite stuff, or they refer the client to the professional and let them work out the details.

The SEO copywriter will focus on turning your copy around. Adjusting current content for optimization or keyphrase editing, meta content and titles, spicing up content in general, etc. It’s a valuable part of the SEO process that the tech-geeks (like myself) don’t get into.

Before you sign with an SEO agency, it’s probably a good idea to ask the right questions. If your conversion rates are in the trash because your content is dull as dirt and downright boring, ask the agency about their approach in SEO copywriting. If they flat out tell you that they don’t offer it, then you’ll have to consider some other options:

1. Write everything yourself and give the copy of the content to your SEO specialists. If you’ve got someone on your staff that is a savvy writer, and they can put a nice spin on your content with decent keyword placement then you’re already ahead of the game. It likely won’t cost you much more to have someone do it in-house and if the copy turns out to perform poorly then your employee is within choking distance.

2. Take the time to find an SEO agency that does keep an SEO copywriter on staff. Trust me, they exist, they’re just not as plentiful as some clients would like. Just make sure you’re very specific about what you want done, request samples of content from the writer who will be managing your account, and make it clear that everything needs your clearance so you can request revisions or make changes on your own. Don’t worry about making a writer feel bad if their content doesn’t click with your needs. The content that a writer puts out often has a personality all its own – a style. Sometimes that clashes with a client. They’re use to it, and a professional writer knows that it’s bound to happen from time to time. Find one that clicks with you so you can rest easy knowing that your content fits the design of your site or business.

3. Best choice in my opinion – Work separately with two different agencies. One SEO Agency to handle the technical side of your site(link building, article marketing, etc) and another SEO Copywriter to handle your onpage content, email marketing, blog postings, etc. The copywriter can focus on your customer persona and conversions while the techies worry about architecture. Since a good SEO copywriter also knows SEO, they will work well with other SEO agencies and specialists. While it seems clunky at first, it’s a notable choice because both agencies get to work and focus on what they do best.

All of the options will give you the best from both ends of the spectrum. A tech-optimized site for search engine love and a great on-site copy that churns out conversions like there’s no tomorrow. Once you’ve got everything in high gear, you can really begin to enjoy the power of great SEO and start building on your success.

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