How a great SEO copywriter can help your business grow

You’re probably always thinking about ways to help your business grow, right?

Well, there’s one very effective way of giving it a helping hand, and that’s to hire a skilled SEO copywriter.

Maybe you’ve never hired an SEO copywriter before, or you’re not sure what benefits they may bring to your organization.

We’re here to show you how SEO copywriters can be a valuable asset for a growing company, and how to hire one of these word wizards with the assistance of a thorough SEO copywriting test.

What does an SEO copywriter do?

You’ll likely have heard of SEO copywriting – it’s got something to do with keywords and search engines. However, many people aren’t quite sure what dark arts this species of copywriter uses to make their content rank higher than their competition in search results. 

The answer is that SEO copywriting is a finely-tuned mixture of science and creativity, and is a key part of any powerful SEO marketing strategy. The SEO copywriter uses strategically placed keywords and links while creating content that delivers value, answers your reader’s questions, and is, above all, interesting.

SEO copywriting is a specialized branch of copywriting. Our post on how to hire the best copywriter for your brand takes a look at the different types of copywriters and how to create skills assessments for them.

How SEO copywriters optimize your content for search engines

The SEO game has changed: Copywriters have moved on dramatically from throwing lots of keywords into a piece of writing and hoping this will trick the search engines into ranking their content highly.

Keyword stuffing was a successful SEO strategy in the past, but now search engines have changed their algorithms so that keyword stuffing won’t help your pages rank anymore. In fact, doing this can actually harm your SEO and tank your content marketing strategy. 

It’s not just algorithms that search engines are employing to sniff out the stuffers these days – Google has employed up to 100,000 quality raters. These content crusaders decide how well the search results serve their user’s needs, and they ruthlessly track down web content that isn’t deserving of a high Google search ranking.   

This is a good thing, because keyword-stuffed content leads to a bad user experience. 

You’ll have probably read a few of these awful articles yourself, crammed with repetitions of the same words and phrases that don’t need to be there. 

While keywords are still crucial for your SEO strategy, it’s your SEO copywriter’s job to weave them seamlessly into the content they write so they don’t constantly hit the reader in the face with the same words. SEO Copywriters will also format your content, add useful links, and craft titles, headings, and meta tags with SEO in mind.

In the graphic below, you can see there are several essential SEO copywriting skills a writer needs to have (more on these later).

The writer has to strike a balance between creating useful, engaging content designed for real people to read, while still using enough primary and secondary keywords that will be picked up by the search engine crawlers. 

The SEO copywriting skills of a great wordsmith can’t be underestimated if you want your page to rank highly in searches. Over 25% of people click on the first organic search result in Google. 

That first place ranking is where everyone wants their website to be, or at least on the first page. To be on the second or third page is to be banished to the website wilderness, where most searchers refuse to go. Good SEO copywriters are skilled in many ways, and by utilizing TestGorilla’s SEO Copywriting test, you are already one step ahead of the competition. They are still relying on inaccurate and outdated CVs to find suitable candidates, and wasting valuable time.

How do SEO copywriters benefit your business?

So, how can a writer’s SEO copywriting skills boost your brand? We’ve already looked at how their SEO optimized content writing can help your website to rank highly in search engines. There are also several other ways they can increase awareness of your organization and save money.

Keep your brand’s tone of voice consistent

Keeping your organization’s tone of voice consistent is important in building customer trust and engagement. The tone of voice in your content is an outward expression of your brand’s values, and it should be the same across all your written content.  

If you have a blog full of posts created in varying writing styles, it can confuse your readers and put them off. For instance, if your brand’s tone of voice is hip, fun and engaging, writing content in stuffy, formal business English isn’t going to win you many fans amongst your target audience.

A skilled writer will learn about your organization’s values and tone of voice and they will be prepared to change their natural writing style to fit. Of course, it’s easier to hire an SEO writer who already creates content naturally in the same style, but it may take time to find the right fit.

Save money

Many businesses use paid advertising to attract customers, and you’ve probably seen those ads on the first page of a Google search. While people do click on them, organic search accounts for 53% of website traffic, meaning that high-quality SEO content will likely attract more customers than a paid search engine ad. 

SEO copywriting allows you to specifically target the customers you want to engage with, instead of taking the much wider approach of an advert. Skillful SEO writing enables you to rank organically, saving you the cost of expensive advertising campaigns.

Generate sales by creating convincing calls to action

The call to action (CTA) is a key part of content marketing strategy. Those with good copywriting skills can craft a compelling call to action that will get potential customers clicking on that link.

SEO content writers also know that including keywords and key phrases within the linked call to action anchor text can result in higher site ranking in the SERPs. 

Key SEO copywriting skills

Great writing skills alone aren’t enough. An SEO copywriter must also have other abilities in order to succeed in their role. Let’s take a look at what these are:

• Research skills: A good writer must be able to thoroughly research a topic and gain inspiration by reading other high-ranking or authority articles on the subject

• Technical SEO skills: A writer may need to use SEO software like Semrush or Ahrefs to find the best keywords to use

• Time management skills: Content writing is often deadline-driven, so a writer has to have a good grasp of how best to use their time

• Interpersonal skills: Copywriters often work as part of a wider marketing team, so they must be able to build and maintain relationships with others. They also need to be able to take feedback from proofreaders and editors and be prepared to make changes to their work

• Communication skills: Writers must communicate effectively with team members and clients using both the written and spoken word

• Attention to detail: This is crucial because a writer needs to follow tone and style guides as well as build a coherent structure for their article. 

How copywriting tests can make the hiring process simpler

If you’re reading this, maybe you’re looking for a first-class SEO writer. But how can you find one without spending a lot of time and effort trawling through endless CVs and writing samples? It’s easy for someone to claim they are an SEO copywriter on their resume, but how can you know they’re telling the truth?

The answer is simple. You can use our SEO Copywriting test at the start of your hiring process. 

Skills-based tests such as TestGorilla’s SEO Copywriting test enable you to ditch the CV skimming, a process known to be inefficent and bias-ridden. You can use the copywriting test as part of a broader skills assessment to reliably find candidates with SEO writing skills and create a shortlist for interview in no time.

TestGorilla’s SEO Copywriting test covers the following areas:

Below are some example questions from TestGorilla’s SEO Copywriting test to give you an idea of the process:

The question above in the SEO Copywriting test evaluates a candidate’s knowledge of competitive content analysis, and the one below tests backlink strategy:

The Copywriting test will help you find SEO copywriting experts, and you’ll get peace of mind that candidates who score highly on this test will be able to build domain authority and optimize your website’s content. 

The SEO Copywriting test results will show you how those who took the test scored, so you can choose the top-ranking applicants to take on to the interview stage. Skills-based hiring removes the need to rely on outdated and inaccurate hiring tools like the CV, and it also removes the risk of hiring bias which is fairer to the candidates.

You may be worried that your candidates may not want to do a copywriting skills test. Will it push away potential candidates? We’ve addressed some common skills-testing concerns in another blog post, but for now you can rest assured that skills-based testing is just as beneficial for candidates as it is for employers.

You can also tailor the tests to your requirements by adding custom questions relevant to your organization’s job roles, which ensures you find candidates with the right skills for your workplace.

Build a complete skills assessment with TestGorilla

Did you know that you can add tests to TestGorilla’s SEO Copywriting test in order to create a complete skills assessment? It’s no good hiring a candidate with excellent copywriting skills if they can’t communicate or manage their time effectively, so we recommend combining tests in a skills assessment to get a well-rounded view of candidates. For best results, an assessment should be taken at the start of the hiring process to streamline it and save time.

Assessments consist of up to five individual tests which will be taken by the candidate in one sitting. Are you perhaps wondering which other tests may be useful alongside the SEO copywriting test?

Well, we’ve got you covered. The soft skills that you’ll find in the best of copywriters aren’t measurable by a CV, but TestGorilla helps you to test for soft skills as well as technical ones.

The beauty of an assessment is that you can combine up to four other tests with the SEO Copywriting test to give you a fuller view of your candidates. 

Other relevant skills tests for SEO copywriter candidates

Why not have a look at the TestGorilla test library to see if there are any other tests that catch your attention? The test library has a handy search function where you can type in a job title or use the drop-down menus to find recommended tests. Here are just a few of the tests in the library that may be useful in an assessment for an SEO copywriter in addition the the SEO Copywriting test:

Time Management test: This helps evaluate candidates’ ability to manage their working time well. It uses typical workplace scenarios to assess how effective candidates are at prioritizing, planning, executing, and reflecting on tasks and projects.

Communication Skills test: This test shows how well applicants do in communicating clearly and professionally. The test assesses candidates in both written and verbal communication, and also evaluates non-verbal communication skills, such as active listening.

Attention to Detail (Textual) test: Copywriters must be eagle-eyed when it comes to spotting grammatical errors. This test gives the candidates’ tasks that require them to match or filter information, compare statements, and also check the consistency of information. It’s a great choice alongside the SEO Copywriting test. 

This test provides insights on the applicant’s alertness and attention to detail by asking them to find errors, omissions, or inconsistencies in the information presented.

Find out more about tests and assessments with TestGorilla

SEO copywriting is a highly-skilled job, so you need to be sure you’re hiring a good fit for the role.

Hopefully, we’ve managed to give you more insight on how an SEO copywriter can take your business to the front page of the search engine results, and how you can find the right one for you with our SEO Copywriting test.

Are you ready for the next step? Take a look at our blog for more useful articles, check out TestGorilla’s pricing plans, or sign up for a free account. You could even choose to take some of the tests yourself to see how the whole process works – it’s a lot of fun, and gives you a personal insight into TestGorilla’s candidate testing experience.