Outsourcing Content

Should you outsource your content needs? If you don’t have the time to populate your site with self written content, then the answer is yes – but only if you can get good content and can afford to pay a freelance writer or an SEO firm with processional writers on staff.

Many writers and firms out there offer SEO content on whatever keywords you desire, but the quality can be every poor. They spin out articles at the rate of several an hour, and you are lucky if the finished product makes any sort of sense. Many of these providers still think keyword stuffing equals SEO, and in some cases they may be outsourcing your job to a third party with little or no skills at all.

Even worse are the article spinners who offer to put up ‘unique’ articles for you on directories and submission sites all over the web. They write three articles with a certain number of paragraphs each and your keywords in each paragraph, then use software to mix and match all possible combinations of the paragraphs to make hundreds of articles. Don’t be fooled. The articles are not unique, they will be incomprehensible, and neither search engines nor human readers will be impressed.

What you want is solid, regular content ranging from 300-600 words, added continually to your blog or website (or placed strategically on the web). The content should be naturally keyword optimized, and informative. There should be no run on sentences, overused phrases, or lame attempts to fill space with fluff.  If it comes down to three pieces of bad content per week VS one good one, go for the one good one.

A good copywriter will be able to research, cite, proof their own work, and construct sentences that flow smoothly. They will match their style to your own, bringing out your voice and increasing the value of your content with their own expertise.

It’s not how much a copywriter charges, although your budget is important. It’s what they deliver, and if it brings real value to your website that counts. If you find a good copywriter, hold on to them – be willing to bend a little at times (they are people with crazy home lives and stuff going on, too!) and throw a bonus their way once in a while. It will keep them loyal! Also, if you use the same one for five years, expect their prices to go up – a good copywriter is always in demand, and competition for the really good ones’ time is fierce.

All of the above can also apply to producers of alternate sources of content – there are many talented videographers out there as well as specialists in Squidoo and other types of content – so take advantage of every type of content you can get out there on the web, even if you have to outsource it.

admin