I’ve been writing stories, poems, plays, and anything else that allows me to put my imagination into words since I was able to hold a pencil.
When I first started blogging, I quickly realized that SEO and writing were a natural fit. It became clear that if I wanted readers to find my content, I’d need to optimize for organic search.
Writing has evolved into a profitable business and, later, a full-fledged SEO career for me.
Firstly, how do you create a writing portfolio?
There are numerous types of content portfolios.
You don’t even need a website to show off your work.
To house your content examples and share them with clients, you can use something as simple as a folder in Google Drive.
LinkedIn allows you to publish articles.
You can even save your work as PDFs and email it to prospective clients.
However, having a website is likely the best way to rank your portfolio in organic search.
This gives you the most freedom when it comes to optimizing your content, earning referral traffic, linking to live examples, and so on.
So, in this article, I’ll show you how to use your website to store and link to specific examples of your published work.
1. Join An SEO Keyword Research Tool
SEO tools such as Semrush, Ahrefs, and SpyFu can help you identify the key terms people use to find services similar to yours.
They can calculate how many people (i.e., “users”) are searching for a term, how competitive that term is, and whether it is being targeted by other websites.
A subscription to an SEO tool is essential because it provides you with real-time data to inform your SEO strategy.
You’ll be able to research which keywords to include in your web page content and what topics to cover on your blog.
2. Create and Launch Your Portfolio Website
If you already have a website, you can use SEO tools to determine which keywords to target on your existing web pages.
For example, if you have a page about SEO content writing services, you might want to use the term “seo content writing services” (search volume: 720) in your page content, title, and description.
Do this for as many pages on your website as this applies to.
You can also use SEO tools to discover which keywords your competitors are targeting.
For example, you can use the SEO tool to enter a competitor’s domain, view their keywords, and apply them to your own SEO strategy.
Many of these tools use a “freemium” model in which certain features are provided for free.
If you’re creating a new website, you have an excellent opportunity to plan your content from the ground up.
First, consider all of the services you provide.
Then, using an SEO tool, look for keywords that match these services.
Here’s an example of what a sales copywriter portfolio might look like:
“sales copywriter” (search volume: 170), “sales page copywriter” (home page).
“sales copywriting” (search volume: 110), “sales copywriting services” (services page) (search volume: 30).
Website Copywriting Service: “website copywriter” (search volume: 390).
Email Campaigns Service: “email copywriter” (search volume: 260).
You can see how each page corresponds to a relevant search term in the image above.
This ensures that you create content for and target terms with high monthly search volume, giving you the opportunity to drive organic traffic to your pages.
Seocopywriting.com is an excellent example of a website with well-optimized landing pages.
3. Develop A Blogging Strategy And Calendar
The writing business can be fiercely competitive.
Because there are so many writers online, many of them are targeting the same keywords on their portfolio pages.
With that in mind, you’ll need to get creative with your blog content in order to drive more organic traffic, which is where your SEO tool can help.
When it comes to your blog, I advise against “winging it.”
If you’re going to put effort into creating content, you might as well focus on topics that will drive traffic to your website.
Here’s how you do it:
Enter your preferred SEO tool and begin searching for broad topics such as “writing,” “writer,” “copywriting,” “content,” and so on.
Examine the list of keywords that appear in each category. Make a list of keywords that have a high search volume but a low to medium competition score.
Filter these keywords to see which ones can best be answered in a blog post. “How to Write a Sales Page,” for example, is a far better blog topic than “sales page” or “blogger.”
Enter these keywords into a spreadsheet, such as Google Sheets or Excel. Create a column in which you brainstorm blog titles that correspond to your chosen keyword. (In the previous keyword example, a good title might be “How to Write a Sales Page in 5 Steps.”)
Set the dates for writing, optimizing, and publishing your blog articles. This will assist you in adhering to a schedule.
To encourage people to read your article, include an internal link to a related service page or the Contact page on your website.
4. Use LinkedIn Articles and Medium SEO can take some time to get going, especially if your website is new or small.
I recommend directing users to your own website via platforms that already receive a lot of traffic.
Medium is a fantastic platform that allows anyone to publish free content.
You can write an article that includes a link to your website.
Some of my Medium articles have received over 10,000 reads, far exceeding my expectations.
5. Seek out guest posting opportunities.
In the same vein, you can do guest posting on other websites to leverage their authority and traffic.
In fact, I’ve gotten writing clients directly from other blogs, websites, and online magazines where I’ve guest posted.
Contact other blogs in your niche and offer to write for them.
Alternatively, apply to be a contributor to more reputable websites and publishers. Many will allow you to include a link to your website.
This strategy can assist you in obtaining backlinks to your website, which can improve the SEO of your site.
6. Optimize Your Google Business Profile Page
Google Business Profile is a free platform that allows businesses to create an online profile and generate local, organic traffic.
If you offer writing services to local clients, you can benefit from a Google Business Profile listing.
For example, I have a Google Business Profile that advertises my SEO content services in my home city, Seattle.
Just keep in mind that this listing will be associated with a physical address and a phone number (you can use a Google number instead of your personal number).
If you prefer privacy, this may not be the best option for you.
However, if you are okay with this level of exposure, a Google Business Profile listing can be a great way to generate leads and direct users to your writing portfolio.
7. Participate in Writer Job Boards and Directories
While you wait for organic traffic to come to your website, you can generate leads through popular writer job boards.
Upwork and Fiverr are the most popular platforms.
These are freelance marketplaces where people submit briefs, you apply for the brief, and then you get paid to provide your services.
Many writers have found success with these platforms, though the pay is typically lower than what you would charge as a direct contractor.
Alex Fasulo is a well-known Upwork writer.
