In-House or Subcontracted SEO Copywriters: Which One Works Best for Your Business?

Even a website with the best marketing and most compelling copy design will fail if it doesn’t get traffic. And to get traffic, you’ve got to appear on Google for the right keywords.

The key to achieving better rankings (and more organic traffic) is to optimize your website. And in your business, you already know how crucial proper SEO copywriting is in achieving this goal.

But, there’s a question that remains: should you hire an in-house SEO copywriter or subcontract the work to a third-party writing agency?

Read on to learn the pros and cons of each option, which should help you make an informed choice.

What does an SEO Copywriter do?

A crucial part of increasing organic rankings and traffic on search engines is engaging an SEO copywriter — who crafts compelling, keyword-rich content that both engages readers and appeals to search engine algorithms.

An SEO copywriter plays an integral role in your company’s digital marketing strategy — they’re responsible for crafting compelling copy that not only engages readers, but also improves a website’s visibility on search engines.

How can SEO copywriters accomplish all this? By researching and incorporating trending keywords, optimizing existing website content, and conducting thorough competitor analyses to stay ahead of the curve. For instance, they might identify high-performing keywords in their industry and strategically weave them into blogposts, product descriptions, and landing pages.

In-House SEO Copywriter

An in-house SEO copywriter is, of course, one that you hire full-time to solely focus on your business. Often, their responsibilities aren’t limited to just writing SEO-friendly content.

They also ensure that each piece of content has a clear call-to-action, guiding visitors towards desired actions, such as signing up for a newsletter or making a purchase. Furthermore, they collaborate with other members of the marketing team to align their content with broader marketing goals. This collaboration helps drive high-quality traffic to the site, leading to increased conversions and sales.

In essence, companies hire in-house SEO copywriters because they bring a unique blend of creativity and technical prowess to the table. Their ability to create engaging, SEO-optimized content can significantly enhance a company’s online visibility, brand reputation, and overall business growth.

Advantages of an In-House SEO Copywriter

1. They Understand Your Brand Voice: An in-house copywriter is a full-time member of your team and thoroughly understands your brand voice. The copywriter fully understands the business, culture, and target audience of the company.

2. Quick Response Time: An in-house writer is more or less present in the office, and you have direct access to work closely with them. Thus, deadlines for writing and editing tasks can be more actively managed with an in-house writer.

3. Greater Control + Consistency: Hiring an in-house writer gives you reliability, consistency, and control. Your hired in-house writer will produce content that meets your writing criteria and maintains formatting and style as per your brand guidelines.

Disadvantages of an In-House SEO Copywriter

1. Cost: Hiring an in-house copywriter can be expensive compared to outsourcing or even crowdsourcing writing. Your SEO copywriter has a given a salary, benefits, training, and other necessary resources.

2. Limited Expertise: An in-house writer may end up being too close to your brand, making it easy for them to miss small errors and opportunities. They also may not know the latest SEO trends as they are not working with multiple clients.

3. Limited Capacity: An in-house writer only has 24 hours a day (and only 8 in an average workday), making it difficult to keep up with the demands of all your digital content marketing projects.

Subcontracted SEO Copywriter

A subcontracted SEO copywriter is either a freelance professional or an agency-style group hired on a project or contract basis to provide these specialized writing services.

Unlike an in-house copywriter who might juggle various tasks within the company, a subcontracted SEO copywriter focuses solely on creating SEO-optimized content — or whatever the given project entails. This can range from blogposts and product descriptions to landing pages and meta tags, all tailored to boost the website’s search engine rankings.

The key advantage of hiring a subcontracted SEO copywriter is their ability to deliver high-quality, targeted content without the long-term commitment and overhead costs of a full-time employee. They bring fresh perspectives, stay updated with the latest SEO trends, and can adapt to your specific industry requirements.

Advantages of a Subcontracted SEO Copywriter

1. Broad Digital Marketing Experience: A professional copywriting agency can have many specialists in different digital communication aspects, such as SEO, PPC, social media, and email marketing. They have a huge knowledge bank at their disposal, which they can leverage for your benefit.

2. Quality Work: As a business owner, you surely want a top-quality copy that can beat the competition. Outsourcing or subcontracting SEO copywriting will give you access to copywriters who possess the skill, experience, and creativity necessary to develop compelling and optimized copy that drives engagement and conversions from your target audience.

3. Scalability + Flexibility: With outsourcing or subcontracting your digital content marketing, you can scale up or down as per your business needs. Your writing team will manage the workload as needed, as these arrangements can often be more flexible than an in-house writer.

Disadvantages of a Subcontracted SEO Copywriter

1. Brand Communication: Outsourcing to writing agencies can be difficult when it comes to complex and specific brand requirements. There might be communication barriers that delay processes as you get them up to speed.

2. Remote Work: If your office prefers face-to-face meetings and interactions, hiring a subcontracted SEO copywriter may prove challenging.

3. Quality Control: If you prioritize price by hiring a subcontracted SEO copywriter based on the bottom line, you’ll likely compromise value and quality too.

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So, is it better to hire an SEO copywriter in-house or to subcontract it? There is no absolute answer, as it depends on the requirements of your business and the resources available to you.

But, consider the advantages and disadvantages of internal vs. external content creation. An experienced and professional writing agency can integrate seamlessly with your in-house team and work in harmony on all of your digital content marketing projects.

By crafting engaging and optimized content, a professional subcontracted SEO copywriter can help your business climb in the search engine rankings, attract more visitors, generate valuable leads, and effectively promote your product.