“Switch it up!” It’s the battle cry of a thousand marketers, it’s the lifeblood of conversion – it’s about giving the customer what they don’t expect and sneaking in your elevator pitch while they’re still stunned by your brilliance. On the other hand, consistency is also a holy grail of sorts, with everything from internal workflows to posting schedules leaning heavily on the almighty clock to provide a smooth customer-facing experience. Sometimes these two concepts interact in a negative way, sticking you with what looks to be the best of both worlds for you and your freelance writing service but ends up playing out as a headache in your stats.
Repetition is Great Marketing – Just Not in Copy
Most businesses looking to strengthen their SEO adopt a “pet phrase” of sorts – a short or longtail keyword that really drives home the core of their business to the public. It may be as generic as “Vet office in Smithville Virginia” or as specific as “Virginia’s Best 24 Hour Exotic Vet Surgery Center,” but once it’s in use it tends to come up often. Unusual or unique keywords are an important part of a comprehensive optimization strategy, but they need variety to have the biggest impact.
They key to finding the right balance is not to overshoot your aim into discordant areas – Kylie Jenner’s lip challenge may be trending, but it doesn’t have anything to do with spaying and neutering – but rather to explore 5 or 10 naturally-harmonious keyword farming areas (as opposed to 2 or 3) that still hold low competition in the arena of SEO advertising. If you’re on Smith Street, for example, chances are there aren’t any Vets vying for business on the same street – that’s a node rich for keyword harvesting. Do you see parrots, unlike the other 3 vets in town? Highlight various breeds of popular parrots in your keyword strategy, so a worried Macaw owner finds you right away. Naturally, these techniques can be extrapolated to any industry and aren’t relegated to those treating furry and feathered clients.
Get Some Outside Pitches
If you’re only considering your freelance writing service as a means to an end, you aren’t utilizing all of its benefits. If you have a vague idea of what you’d like to see in writing, an anemic framework or even if you only have keywords you know you need, don’t hesitate to ask for pitches from several writers. You’ll be able to look through a variety of choices before selecting a winner, and he or she will be able to turn their ideas into rich, readable articles that will capture your customers’ attentions. Batting around the same ideas across the boardroom table gets stale quickly, so don’t be afraid to reach out to your freelance writer or their SEO writer account manager for ideas ranging from topics to formats – they’ll be able to help coach you to success!
With the right mix of new ideas and old standbys, you can stretch out your content calendar and enjoy better SEO coverage than you thought possible. It’s time to crumple up the checklist of the “same old” keywords and sit down with your freelance writing service to hit a home run with your audience.
Writer Bio: Delany M is a freelance writer available for projects at WriterAccess.
