The Day I Googled 'What Is SEO'… After Being Hired as a Content Writer

I have always loved writing, whether it was elaborate birthday cards for my friends and family, essays in university about viruses, or how and why your brain functions the way it does. Writing has always excited me, and I was often proud of my work. As life moved on, I graduated from school and realized my resume was filled with different bartending experiences, and I wondered how I could find a way to continue writing. I have never been much of a creative writer, as most of my work was for school, but what if I could combine a little creativity and learn about new subjects that I may not have considered before? In addition, I wanted to find a way to ensure that the writing I published had a goal and purpose. The goal, in relation to my job with eQuil Digital Media, is optimizing results. Getting as much traction as possible for the client’s websites by using my words and the right words. What I like to refer to as “Googleable” words. 

That’s how I found myself typing into the computer ‘What is SEO’ after being hired as a content writer!

Hi, my name is Julia, and I am a content writer for eQuil DM!

What Exactly is SEO?

Now, I’ll tell you what I was able to learn from just a quick Google search. 

I learned that SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, is the art and science of making web pages more attractive to search engines like Google. It wasn't just about writing good content and keeping the readers engaged (though that was definitely a very important part!), it’s also about understanding how search engines work, what people are searching for, and how to structure and optimize content to get found.

Keywords, I quickly came to understand, were the terms people typed into Google. Keyword research was the process of figuring out which words were relevant to our businesses and what our target audience was actually searching for. "Organic traffic" refers to the visitors who found our website through unpaid search results – the genuine earned traffic for online visibility. And "ranking on Google" was the ultimate goal: to have our content appear high in search results when people searched for relevant terms. 

How To Create SEO Friendly Content

I took this understanding and it created lots of questions, how exactly does one create SEO friendly content? I thought of personal experiences when I find myself in the search bar looking for a good place to go to dinner, trusted professionals to get my hair done, or a worthwhile experience when travelling to an unfamiliar place. SEO terms are so much more prevalent than I even realized before I was the one creating the content to fill this gap for clients.

SEO for Beginners… 

Thinking up effective SEO content starts by putting yourself in your target audience's shoes. What questions do they have? What are they searching for? Begin by brainstorming broad topics related to your niche, then delve deeper by considering the specific keywords and phrases that everyday people will be using when searching for information on those topics. 

The next part to consider is format! Think about the various content formats that could address these questions – blog posts, Instagram captions, LinkedIn results, Q&As- and which format fits best. 

Focus on creating high-quality, comprehensive content that not only incorporates relevant keywords naturally but also provides genuine value and makes the user happy they chose your link to click on further. Make the content relevant while being engaging, and consider different stages of someone’s journey, from initial awareness to final decision. The aim is to create content that caters to each stage, ultimately establishing your expertise and attracting organic traffic. Just like that! You are becoming an expert in viewer engagement and learning how to become that top search result!

Getting Comfortable in My New Role as a Content Writer 

I brought all of my questions to my first couple of meetings with Zita and Lindsay, Co-Founders of eQuil, asking for feedback in the work that I was submitting, gaining clarity in where the focus should be on the keywords and where in the writing I could have a little more fun with the sentence structure! Thanks to the help and encouragement from them, my role in the position was clearly defined. I’m still learning and growing with each submission, but at least now I don’t feel like I am in complete foreign territory. I have a fairly good grasp of how to hand in the best work for each unique client, making the job one I have been really enjoying! 

I have to admit, I find myself really lucky to be able to engage with different companies, learn about each of their individual offerings for their clients, and research and explore new topics to create their personalized content each month. 

Working for eQuil Digital Media

And that’s kind of how I stumbled into the whole digital writing gig. I work from home, so I have the flexibility to move around, work the hours that are best for me (as long as I meet my deadlines, of course), write content that I am actually interested in, that I hope to encourage viewers to be into too. Pretty cool, right? 

Taking my love for putting words together and actually making them work to get people to see what’s relevant to their search is a different kind of puzzle from what I used to solve in school. I am excited to keep learning “Googleable” language and see what kind of fun and engaging content I can help eQuil create for our clients. I am definitely enjoying this new chapter and can’t wait to see what my new role has in store! 

At eQuil Digital Media, we offer customized digital media solutions tailored to your business needs. CONTACT US to elevate your digital brand as we collaborate to enhance your online presence and deliver tangible results.